Thinking of going vegan? What to expect when transitioning
Going vegan is a very personal decision and it’s often motivated by a rise of awareness and a will to act according to your own values. Sometimes, people feel overwhelmed when they realise they have to give up their favourite food and don’t dare to go further. If you would like to go vegan but you like dairy too much, give it a chance, allow yourself some time to get used to new flavours and believe me, there is life beyond cheese.
In this post we are going to share three immediate benefits and three common challenges when turning vegan. Let’s start with the advantages:
Eating healthy without noticing it. Most ultra-processed foods have animal products in it and just by cutting those off you will start eating more whole foods and, therefore, healthier. Veganism doesn’t mean depriving but exploring different ways of nourishment and arising awareness about what and how you feed yourself.
Starting is usually the hardest part, but once you’ve taken the first steps it will only get better. So here are probably the three most challenging situations you might face as a vegan beginner.
Wide offer of vegan products. The offer has highly increased over the last few years. You can easily find in almost every supermarket vegan butter, milk, cheese, cookies, yogurt, and the list goes on. Some other products are more difficult to find though, that’s why we make vegan dressings like pesto, faux-feta, aioli, and pepperoni. If you haven’t tried them yet, go and check out our store.
Eating out. That’s usually the problem. Whether it’s going out per se or a social gathering, it tends to be an uncomfortable situation for vegans. But it doesn’t have to be. Vegan options in regular restaurants in Oslo are on fire, and vegan restaurants and cafes are popping out of nowhere. To make your life easier you can use the very recommended Vegan Norway app, which will help you find vegan food near you.
Giving up food you like. Embrace this feeling as part of the process of becoming vegan and make slow but steady steps. Our tip for you is to focus on and experiment with all the products you can eat instead of those you “can’t”, and find out what you enjoy the most, when you feel more energised, and what keeps you full longer.
Recreating the same texture or flavour as your non-vegan meals. Some mock meat really looks, tastes and smells like meat, especially burgers. However, fish and seafood, for example, are more difficult to recreate but also possible.
The best tip here is to not try to replace meat for fake meat, but to switch the way you feed yourself and to start incorporating new ingredients into your diet. One of the most exciting things about going vegan is that you can experiment with a wide variety of foods that otherwise you’d have never known they existed. Instead of getting obsessed with trying to find a specific flavour, go to the store or a local market, have a look at what they have, get inspired by reading recipes, and experiment yourself. You will eventually get used to new flavours that you will enjoy as well
Social gatherings. Even if you manage to eat vegan on your own, there is always this uncomfortable feeling at the beginning when you have to let others know that you’ve changed your diet. Going vegan can be hard if your environment doesn’t fully support it. Good news is that it doesn’t take long until they get used to it and it stops being a topic to talk about every time you meet. Our advice is to take it easy, answer the questions they might have and, you know, at the end you do you. As long as you are content with your decision, that’s the only thing that matters.
We are Chill, it’s Vegan, a small vegan & sustainable company that makes vegan products from scratch in our kitchen in Torshov. This year we are launching a Christmas bundle and we would love to have your feedback to keep improving. Feel free to have a look at our store and contact us if you have any questions.