“I want to be vegan but I cannot live without cheese.”
“I need my scrambled eggs for breakfast. Veganism is definitely not for me.”
“What if you go to a restaurant where doesn’t have any vegan options?”
These are the things I usually see on the social media or hear from my friends who are interested in being vegan but don’t have the courage for it.
I’m not going to talk all about all the benefits veganism provides for our body and environment since you can find all the information you need from somewhere on the internet. I want to give some advice to the ones who are trying but just have some guilty pleasure making them give up on a vegan diet.
By making simple changes, you can have a plant-based lifestyle and, trust me, it can be quite easy to be a vegan in the Netherlands. Here are five things you can do when you need to “veganize” your options.
- Scrambled tofu instead of eggs.
If you read my other article about veganism, you already know that I used to be prejudiced about soy consumption. There is still a controversy on this topic among the vegans and scientists, and I was against it since it can provide some hormonal issues, but then I changed my mind when I thought about all the artificial stuff I consume daily. I don’t want to go too deep because it is a long debate so let’s get into the “scrambled tofu”.
You can find tons of recipes online, but to be honest, I never follow the recipes. I just use them as an inspiration and create my own recipe (well, sometimes they don’t come out as what I expected since I’m not good at cooking but at least trying) and for making scrambled tofu, you simply smush the tofu on the pan (that’s what I do). I prefer to add some tomatoes and sometimes vegetables. Also, you can add some turmeric to have a similar color with the real eggs.
2. Wanna eat ice-cream? Try nice-cream.
I think most of you know about this recipe: putting frozen bananas into the blender and have a healthier version of ice-cream. Personally, I sometimes add vanilla seeds to add a little more, well, vanilla.
This is what you can find in a lot of vegan cooking sites and Youtube channels. I included it in the list as a little option which can fit your summer body goals and vegan lifestyle. Furthermore, I know that there are a lot of vegan ice-creams in the markets (vegan Ben & Jerry’s – Chunky Monkey, my favorite), but it doesn’t mean that they are healthy just because they are vegan. However, if you want to treat yourself, go ahead, cuz they are delicious.
3. This is for the cheese lovers.
I’m not eating cheese for a really long time now and to be honest, I was never a fan of cheese. Despite it, I don’t know why, sometimes I feel like eating it.
If you’re interested in veganism, you probably know what nutritional yeast is. If you don’t, it’s okay because I had never seen it in my life either. Making the long story short, nutritional yeast seems to be a great cheese replacement. You can spread it onto your pasta like parmesan cheese or mix it with cashew nuts for a creamy structure, I’m pretty sure it is delicious, but I want to talk about something different: Tempeh.
While I was vegetarian, I used to go for cheeses which are sliced in a cubic structure and put on the salads. It is obviously doesn’t have the same taste as tempeh (tempeh tastes better, I think) but it looks exactly like it.
Bonus: Vegan Cookie Dough
I only made it once in my life when I was in Turkey, and it is life changing. I LOVE cookie dough. It is the best flavor for me. I remember that while I was a kid (okay,I still do it sometimes too) I was eating the raw cookie dough from the container while my mom was preparing cookies. It is more delicious than the real cookies.
It seems hard to veganize but you can actually make it with chickpeas (full of protein). I’m putting the link here and leaving the decision to you:
So, these are my three tips (+bonus) I can give to you if you are interested in veganism.
Author: Zeyneb
Editor: Ayesha