When I first discovered veganism, I was lowkey skeptical about not eating animal products anymore, as all my life I have been eating it for breakfast, lunch and dinner (snacks too). I thought it was going to be very expensive, not diverse at all and that I would miss eating meat the most. But then started to get informed by reading blogs and books, as well by asking advice from friends of mine which already were vegan. I changed my diet to a vegan diet about a year ago now. After a certain time, I felt a huge difference in my body. I felt more energetic, had more enthusiasm to do things and I felt sick less often. I just felt great.

Let me share to all of you my experience, some facts about veganism and give you guys some inspiration with several recipes:

Some facts:

The European Union counts 512 million EU citizens which are responsible for 16 percent of the world’s total meat consumption. It is the region with the highest meat consumption around the World.

The environmental, ethical and health impacts have caused the EU to sets out policies against this social problem. Throughout the years, the EU has seen a trend in vegans among younger people. Currently there are approximately 30 million vegetarians and vegans in the European Vegetarian Union. 

Data published by th European Commission estimated that if EU citizens would reduce their meat consumption, their dairy products and eggs by 50%, this would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 25 to 40 percent.

Why animal products are bad for you and the environment?

• Increases risk for cancer
• Increases risk for heart disease and diabetes
• Most meat contain hormones 
• Reinforce greenhouse emissions 
• Contributes to animal abuse 
• Enormous amount of water use to give the animals to drink, clean farms, grow crops to feed the animals
• Vast land use to grow crops, which also has consequences for the space of other animals because taking the space for agriculture purposes contributes to the destruction of the space of other animals.   

Pros and cons of vegan (on your body and environment)

• The state of being malnourished as a result of a vegan diet is often regarded as ‘Hidden hunger’.  Hidden hunger is vitamin and mineral deficiency and it is estimated to affect 2 billion people globally.
•  Iodine, which is richly found in meat and dairy products is deficient in a vegan diet and it causes on estimate 18 million babies to be born mentally impaired each year.
• Other minerals and vitamins that the vegan diet often lacks, and that are vital to the immune system, brain function and bone development can include, Iron, Vitamin A, vitamin b12 and vitamin D
• Pricy
• There are alternative sources of B-12 (tofu, soy milk, cereals)
• You are doing something against animal agriculture
• Vegan diet is eco-friendly and environmentally sustainable
• A vegan diet promotes weight loss (much lower in calories)
• Nowadays it is getting easier and easier to buy plant proteins and other vegan products

Finally, here are a few ideas of recipes for vegan breakfast, lunch and dinner (published by PETA):

Breakfast

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. oil
• 1/2 block tofu, pressed
• 1/2 cup soy chorizo
• 1 cup chopped kale or spinach
• 6 small corn tortillas, warmed
• Optional toppings: cilantro, vegan sour cream, vegan cheese, cayenne pepper

Preparation

1. Warm the oil in a pan over medium heat and crumble in the tofu. Cook, stirring regularly, for about 5 minutes.
2. Add the soy chorizo and mix well. Heat for a couple of minutes, then add the chopped greens and cook until wilted.
3. Divide evenly among the warmed tortillas and add desired toppings.

Lunch:

Ingredients

• 1 pkg. Daiya Cheddar Style Cheezy Mac
• 4 strips Benevolent Bacon
• 1/4 cup bread crumbs

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC.
2. Prepare the Daiya macaroni and cheese according to package directions.
3. Cook the Benevolent Bacon according to package directions, let cool, and cut into small pieces.
4. Place the mac and cheese in a baking dish, and top with the breadcrumbs. Bake, uncovered, for 15 minutes.
5. Top with the “bacon” strips and enjoy!

Dinner:

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. dairy-free butter (we used Earth Balance)
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable stock
• 1 tsp. Better Than Bouillon Vegetarian No Chicken Base (optional)
• 1 tsp. Italian-style seasoning
• 1 tsp. ground black pepper
• 1 cup rice, cooked
• 1 pkg. vegan chicken strips (we used Beyond Meat Lightly Seasoned Strips)
• 1 pkg. vegan sausage (we used Field Roast Italian Sausage)
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• Hot sauce (optional)

Preparation

1. In a large pot, combine the dairy-free butter, vegetable stock, vegan chicken base (if using), Italian-style seasoning, and ground black pepper. Bring to a boil, then add the rice and reduce the heat to low.
2. Chop the vegan chicken and sausage into bite-size pieces.
3. In a separate pan, heat the oil and sauté the vegan chicken and sausage until heated all the way through and browned.
4. Add to the rice mixture. Cover and continue simmering until most of the liquid has been absorbed. Stir occasionally until the desired consistency is reached.
5. Serve warm. Top with your favorite hot sauce, if desired.

You can check out PETA’s website for more recipes: https://www.peta.org/recipes/type/all/

I really hope this might have helped some of you who had questions about veganism and might encourage others to follow my experience!