r/PlantBasedDiet • u/eternalxsun for the planet • 17h ago

Beginner here

I apologize, in advance, if these types of posts are overdone here.

I have spent most of my life willfully ignorant of politics, climate change, and factory farming. I was suffering greatly with my mental health and just trying to survive. But now, I’m trying to find myself for the first time in my life.

In an effort to live more authentically, I have grown increasingly concerned with the health of our planet, the state of American politics, and the cruelty associated with factory farming.

So I want to start eating a more plant-based diet. My plan is to start slow and gather recipes as I go so I can create a sustainable lifestyle. I will probably continue to eat some meat from a local farm where the animals live out happy lives till the end. And I don’t feel ready to give up dairy completely but I want to make serious efforts to reduce my carbon footprint and lessen the amount I’m complacent in factory farming.

I’ve done some research for meat swaps and I have a few plant-based and vegetarian meals to try this week.

- General Tso Glazed Soy Curls w/ rice & roasted broccoli
- Black bean burgers & fries
- And I bought Beyond Breakfast Sausage & Morning Star Chick’n Nuggets

What are some tips you would give to beginners? What are some of your go-to meals?
What do you wish you would’ve known sooner?

Thank you!

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u/Ez_ezzie 16h ago

Read Ed Winters 'How to go (and stay) vegan', it is a great resource for beginners.

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u/eternalxsun 14h ago

Thank you! I’ll check this out.

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u/ethereality___ 16h ago

Don't get in the habit of swapping in plant-based "meats" like the morning star and beyond stuff where you'd normally have meat. Those things are all salt and oil. Eat a lot of dark leafy greens and beans. Tofu should be a staple because it's really versatile

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u/Opposite-Drag-6450 16h ago

Go-to meals: veg chili, I’ve used impossible, tvp or beans only for protein. Dal. Chana Masala. Bean soup (many variations). Stir fry, currently tofu and udon noodles with whatever veg.

It will take you a while to learn to know what to cook each day but it’s just the habit change. Not because it’s actually hard. There are so many vegetables, legumes and grains.

I can’t think of anything that I wished I knew sooner. I guess maybe try some convenience foods and have some for when you don’t feel like cooking. For me, it’s Amy’s canned chili, actual veggies black bean burgers, several kinds of canned beans, canned corn and marinara/whole grain pasta.

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u/DingoMittens 15h ago

Meat substitutes can maybe help you transition. But they tend to be highly processed and also poor substitutes in terms of flavor and texture. You'll probably enjoy food more if you just eat plants as plants. Put beans and boiled potatoes on a salad, or make vegetable chili or soup with barley, do bean burritos, etc. Tofu scramble is good with onions, peppers, and mushrooms. Make sandwiches with hummus. 

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u/eternalxsun 12h ago

Thanks, I’m a bit weird when it comes to combining certain textures. Beans or potato on a salad makes me feel ill 😅 but I love those things separately and I love hummus on sandwiches.

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u/LASFV818 16h ago

Follow Thee Burger Dude! 🍔 He has awesome recipes, easy to make! https://theeburgerdude.com/

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u/SoundApprehensive685 13h ago

dont overthink it just start cooking. i wish someone told me that sooner when i started, you dont need to replace meat in every meal. beans and rice with some salsa is cheap and filling, add avocado if you got money to burn

the soy curls are good choice, soak them in vegetable broth instead of plain water. makes huge difference

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u/Pale-Onion-1003 16h ago

Make sure your knife is sharp, you'll likely have to do a ton of chopping. Also be aware that too sudden of a change in diet can cause some bad intestinal distress. You say your are going to do it slow so it should be fine, the likely suspect would be making a meal that's dramatically higher in fiber than you may have had before.

As far as a real tip: when roasting veggies you want everything to be spaced out enough for a little clearance from its neighbours. Too close and the veggies steam more than roast. I am REALLY bad for this

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u/Embarrassed_Sea_5772 15h ago

Give yourself grace. I stopped eating four legged animals, then 2 legged animals, then swimming animals, then eggs and dairy. I tried to incorporate vegan meals along the way. I also failed to focus on nutrition and struggle to get enough protein in my diet. Vegan cooking was very different from what I was used to. You’ll need to learn to incorporate beans,legumes, and soy into your diet as you take the animal products out. You might start with a recipe app to help you use what you have in the kitchen. Fresh produce doesn’t keep as long as shelf stable foods.

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u/eternalxsun 12h ago

Thank you. I appreciate the kind understanding that this is a big change and that I need to slow my way into it. Do you have a specific recipe app that you’d recommend?

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u/No_Welcome_7182 15h ago

This is the best way to do it in my opinion. Find plant based replacements for your favorite tastes and textures and comfort meals. You are much more likely to be successful this way. They a few new products a month. And definitely join some online groups to get ideas for recipes and meals. And remember… any positive change you make, no matter how small, adds up to make a positive difference overall. So don’t get down on yourself if you aren’t ready to go completely plant based. You’re doing great.

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u/eternalxsun 12h ago

Thank you so much! This is really sweet and encouraging.

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u/AnimalLoversRVegan 15h ago

Juicy marbles brand ribs and porkish product. Thrilling foods bacon. Yo egg patties. Just egg liquid egg. Beyond and impossible burgers. Silk soy milk. Credo queso sauce. Rebel cheese. Violife cheese. Great stuff in here. On YouTube for recipes Derek Sarno and Sauce Stache

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u/eternalxsun 12h ago

Thank you! I’ll definitely be looking for these things to try. And thanks for the YouTube recommendations.

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u/lefty_juggler 16h ago

You might want to check out the "planetary diet".

https://eatforum.org/eat-lancet/the-planetary-health-diet/ They have recipes here too.

"The Planetary Health Diet (also known as the EAT-Lancet diet) is a flexitarian, science-based global reference diet designed to optimize human health while keeping food production within safe environmental boundaries for a population of up to 10 billion people. The diet is predominantly plant-based, encouraging high intake of whole foods while significantly reducing resource-heavy animal products and processed item."

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u/eternalxsun 12h ago

Thank you! I think this a good description for what I’m trying to achieve right now.

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u/AnimalLoversRVegan 15h ago

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DbqzSSuNawC/?vrfl=eGxpeTBoOGs1MTBy here’s your local award winning farm. Local means f all to the animal.

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u/kjx1297 4h ago

https://youtube.com/shorts/GjnQnNk9eRQ backing up the comments about enjoying plants as plants, bakinghermann / Julius Fiedler is a great channel to have in your subs as a beginner as he does a great job of showcasing just how ubiquitous and ancient plant-based vegan dishes and cuisine are in human culture (and basically making it easier to conceptualize vegan dishes as main and tasty and normal).

I highly recommend finding a favorite legume and eating a ton of it, both for the health benefits and because it makes it easier to establish a baseline habit for making plant dishes substantial and filling. Being familiar with a good vegan/bean soup, chili, and/or curry is also great because not only is it a lot of food for very little money and effort that you can meal prep, it's also more or less the most energy efficient way to feed ourselves.

Finding a favorite grain will help a ton too, adding rice to soups and chilis is a great way to make them filling, and they're a versatile base for all manner of toppings and stir fry. Technically stuff like bulgur and farro has more fiber than even brown rice, but as a diabetic I've found that my blood work is somehow the best during my periods of eating exclusively rice. Go figure. Oats are another top tier staple to fall back on when you need something to eat for little physical and mental effort, and it's a great vehicle and excuse to get more of a couple of other highly beneficial food groups (fruits and nuts).

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u/kjx1297 3h ago

My brother's favorite food ever is beef and broccoli on rice, so he was stoked to find a vegan version. From experimenting with it he tells me that in veganized versions of dishes like that, soy curls, tvp, tofu, and even some types of beans are often interchangeable depending on your taste for nutritional profile or preferred texture.

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u/eternalxsun 1h ago

Thank you! This is very helpful advice.

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u/Crazy_Caramel801 3h ago

Just jump straight in. You are talking about continuing an omnivore diet. Skip the processed junk vegan 'foods' and check out the whole food plant based diet doctors on YouTube. Eat beans every day and pair them with a grain or sweet potatoes or ordinary potatoes. Add some veggies and enjoy. Breakfast for me is steel cut oats with blueberries, banana and dates. Eat simply and your tastes will change. You will feel better and things will happen internally such as your arteries will start to clear themselves of plaque, your insulin will go down, blood pressure down and more. It will be tough to start but stay firm and your tastes will change.

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u/eternalxsun 1h ago

Thank you. I don’t feel quite ready to dive head first into the deep end. In the past, when I did similar approaches to weight loss it wasn’t sustainable. And I also cook for my husband who has expressed that he doesn’t mind having vegan meals mixed in but doesn’t want to give up meat or dairy completely. And yes, while technically I’d still be eating an omnivore diet, my goal right now is to practice harm reduction not elimination because that is what feels doable and sustainable to me.

But I love a lot of whole foods already so I’m definitely going to lean on that. I love soy milk, veggies, fruits, rice, potatoes, black beans, hummus, etc.

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u/monemori 16h ago

I recommend the acti-veg website. Great info and resources. R/vegan's wiki is also good.

I'd like to point out that animals at "local" farms are not happy when they are killed. I recommend watching a documentary like Dominion (2018) which has footage from high welfare farms and slaughterhouses. Anyone who eats meat and willingly chooses to continue eating it should watch it, imo.

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u/eternalxsun 12h ago

Thank you. I’ll definitely look at that website.

And yes, I’m sure that no animal is happy to be killed but it does mean a great deal to me if, up until that point, they lived happily or if they were horrifically abused.

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u/monemori 4h ago

I think it would be helpful to ask yourself if you would find it acceptable if it was happening to s dog or a cat instead. Maybe your dog or your cat. If someone killed them unnecessarily but then argued that it was okay because they were loved, what would be your opinion? I think it's useful to be honest about this type of questions to ourselves.

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u/eternalxsun 1h ago

Pigs are actually my favorite animal and the only pet I ever had. I would have never killed her or eaten her. I never said it was okay for animals to be killed. I’m simply saying that it does matter to me if the animals are treated humanely or not, leading up to their death. I don’t expect anyone to agree with me on that. But it is how I feel.