People become vegans for various reasons – moral beliefs, health reasons, or simply because they want to try it out. While vegetarianism involves refraining from eating the meat of animals themselves, veganism is something quite different. A vegan cannot eat any animal products at all, so if it’s related to an animal, it can’t go on your plate. This, of course, rules out eggs, milk, and all dairy products.
Below is what can vegans eat and not eat list. If you intend to join the vegan family but not sure what you can eat and what you can’t, you may always refer to the list.
A lot of vegans abstain from eating animal meat, fish, and eggs, but some others are stricter with their diets and avoid any foods which contain anything related to dairy. This often greatly limits their diets, since cake, pastries, pizza, and pasta are often excluded.
If you’re starting out as a vegan and wondering exactly what vegans can eat, here is a useful guide which should help you along the way.
Breakfast
Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, so even though you’re not going to cover your cereal with lashing of full-fat milk, it doesn’t mean that you can’t have a hearty meal. Bagels, toast, and pancakes are still on the list for many vegans, and you can top these with a variety of foods, including berries, bananas, vegan yogurt or cream cheese. Shop for dairy-free milk if you want to start the day with granola or another type of vegan-friendly cereal.
Make the most of vegetable burgers and mock meats in order to get a quick lunch. If you’re eating out at work, you will find several vegan options in supermarkets or in local cafes and restaurants. Regular fries and sweet potato fries are a great accompaniment to any lunch, and salad can make a refreshing midday meal.
Stir-fry is a filling meal for vegans, particularly if you’re at home and want to make something within 10-15 minutes. You can add tofu to the ingredients for some extra taste, and cashew nuts or sesame seeds can help to bring out more flavor too.
Many vegans eat pasta, and this can keep you going for the whole afternoon if you boil it and serve with some tomato sauce. Vegetable pizzas can be cooked in the morning and taken to work or school in a lunch box, and homemade tofu lasagne is delicious if you have enough time to get one together.
A little more time is often spent on making dinner, which means you have the chance to be slightly more adventurous. Make full use of vegetables for dinner, including carrots, green beans, mushrooms, broccoli, and cauliflower. Not only are they good for you, but all vegans can eat these. Create a warm soup or combine with noodles to make a hot pot.
If you’re looking for a filling sandwich, consider avocado, hummus, red peppers, onions, and basil for some great recipes. You can combine these ingredients as you like to create some tasty sandwich fillings.
For the very adventurous vegan chefs, why not try making your own vegan-friendly pastries and creating a vegetable pie from scratch? Using your staple ingredients, you’ll be able to create some amazing dishes which even your non-vegan friends will want to try!