memes

A fair amount of vegans might say that their experiences made them change overnight. I was not one of those people, as addiction is significant in me. When I was transitioning, I would go all in and keep abstaining from animal products as long as I could. Then I would mess up, and fall back into bad habits for a while. But the key thing that made the difference is that I never gave up. I'd track how many days I went without animal products and count that as my high score. Then when I tried again I would gamify it by being determined to get an even higher score.

As time went on I became more skilled at cooking plant-based, which helped keep me going since the food I was eating was beginning to taste better. Likewise my palette was growing more accustomed to plant-based foods. Eventually I messed up one last time by eating some pepperoni, but the experience was different. Because I had gotten so used to eating more wholesome meals, the pepperoni was such an intense salt bomb that I found it inedible (and that's coming from a salt-fiend).

But the other thing that changed was in my mind. Consciously I was already well aware that vegan diets are entirely adequate nutritionally. But a lifetime of unconscious carnist societal conditioning gave me this constant feeling as if I could not survive on plants alone. That was one of the things that always got in the way - this strange feeling like I was missing something and had to eat the stuff that was missing or I would die.

But when I bit into that pepperoni I suddenly had this calm recognition: "I don't need this. In fact this isn't food."

And things have only gotten easier over time. Hopefully this helps?

Not who you replied to originally, but since you said you welcome tips:

Learn to cook tofu. There’s different levels of firmness, and an infinite number of ways to prepare and cook it. Try them all. Not everyone’s texture preference is the same. So the way I cook it and the way you cook it can vary drastically.

I hated tofu for ages until I found a way to cook it that yielded the outcome I liked.

Once you figure out the best way to achieve the texture you’re after, you can start worrying about seasoning it. Then you’re golden.

Same. I use the Forks over Knives app to find new recipes. But, with picky eating kids, it’s difficult to maintain a diet. Lots of black bean burgers. 🍔