How to Go Vegan and a Shepherd's Pie Recipe

By, Mark Reinfeld, Intent

It is important for those who care about our environment to look at the impact their food choices have on the Earth’s limited resources. Here are five suggestions for those wishing to include more plant-based foods in their diet as a way to go green.

1. Go Slowly. It took years for you to develop your current eating habits. Most people are not willing or able to make radical changes overnight. Many times when people do make drastic changes, they find themselves falling back to old ways when the going gets tough. (Some people are of course ready to go cold Tofurky – only you can decide!)

2. Create a plan. Take a look at where you are at and where you would like to be. You can approach this in several ways. You can commit to having one vegan day a week for a month. Then go up to two days a week the second month, three days a week on the third month…(you get the idea) until you arrive at your desired outcome. Another way is to have vegan snacks for the first month, vegan snacks and breakfasts for the second month, vegan snacks, breakfasts and lunches the next month and so on. An even more gradual approach would be to have one vegan meal a week for the first month, two vegan meals a week for the second month… Make the changes at a pace you are comfortable with.

3. Choose wisely. Remember the importance of feeling satisfied at every meal. Look for vegan alternatives that come close to the taste and texture of the foods you are craving. There are many plant based products on the market now that can make this a delicious transition for you.

4. Educate yourself. It’s extremely helpful for sticking to your convictions to learn about the full impact our food choices have upon our health and the health of our planet. Check out the following books for starters: Vegan Fusion World Cuisine, Diet for a New America, The China Study, and The World Peace Diet.

5. Be gentle. Please don’t beat yourself up if you find yourself falling back into old ways of eating. Simply accept and acknowledge that it takes time to retrain your body and mind to eat in new ways and remind yourself why you are exerting the effort. Stick to your plan as much as possible.

Next page: A meat-less Shepherd’s Pie. This is a hearty main course from our book Vegan Fusion World Cuisine that will satisfy omnivores and vegans alike.

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Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Jennifer C.

5:07PM PDT on Sep 29, 2011

Great. Thanks.

send a green star

Michele W.

1:42PM PDT on Jul 26, 2011

Thank you

Katalin T.

11:41PM PDT on Mar 29, 2011

I keep a log of my vegan cooking "experiments" here:
www.vegancucc.com

11:38PM PDT on Mar 29, 2011

I followed a gradual path to becoming vegan as well: first I stopped eating non-organic meat, then meat altogether, after that fish, then milkm eggs, and finally dairy. The last step was the hardest, and it is great that there are some non-dairy substitutes. I adore ricemilk with almond. I feel so happy about living guilt free! And I keep discovering fantastic new flavours day to day. It is a myth that you "need meat" - if you have any doubts, just google and you will find many athletes who are vegan. They certainly work hard! In fact, if you are sick, you should not hinder your body by loading it with harmful chemicals from meat. Besides, if you go vegan, you will find that you will be healthier anyway.

Laurie H.

12:50PM PDT on Mar 28, 2011

Love almond milk-love having gone veg-it's "Veg For Life," for me! So many options and I love trying out new recipes. How sweet it is and how great it feels~ If I had a wish it would be for the whole world to go happily, veg!~ Thanks for posting~

Robin R.

12:20PM PST on Mar 11, 2011

Sophie T try almond milk! There are lots of options out there other than dairy or soy milk - rice, oat, hemp, etc but almond is definitely the best tasting of the alternative "milks".

Adam K.

5:01PM PST on Dec 2, 2010

Going vegan is definitely do-able. I have been a vegan for more than 16 years and wouldn't think about going down to that lowly plane of consciousness that is the carnivore.

Susan B.

4:18AM PST on Nov 22, 2010

Noted,thanks.

Lisa D.

12:29PM PDT on Sep 29, 2010

I would like to go vegan. I really could do without meat and poultry. My only concern is getting a balanced diet. There is so much information out there. I would like to lose weight and just be healthier. I have looked at the Vegan Pyramid, and that is helpful. I would like to know how others do it, what to eat for breakfast, any ideas on how to get started. Books, Etc.

Karlyn R.

11:06AM PDT on May 27, 2010

I am setting a goal to be vegan in a year from now. Step 1: I am cutting out dairy. (so far so good) Steps 2 and 3 involve eggs and meat. Is there anything I am missing? Please drop a line.