One of the biggest, if not the actual biggest, signs your vegan life is sustainable is when you stop chasing perfection with meals. You stop chasing plates that look pretty on Instagram and settle for what tastes good and fills you up.
I remember how the 2015-2018 era of vegans on social media was full of hot tan bodies in the beach house, eating exotic fruits and drinking smoothies. Hot meals were noodles, burgers and lots of rice.
Now, I love rice and eat it often, but we have to keep it real. Those of us who lack the funds to eat out or buy fancy foods, or if we just don’t enjoy cooking, have to find other ways to make it work.
And yet, comparing myself to what these wealthy influencers and content creators eat daily is just not inspirational. It’s not achievable nor realistic. Quite frankly, if I learnt about veganism through them, I would probably find it intimidating.
If being vegan means having to spend so much time, energy and money just to eat a nutritious, delicious meal, keep it.
I was a stubborn and determined 22-year-old, though, and promised myself that I would figure out a way to make eating plant-based foods easy. Especially because I do not enjoy cooking at all.
I know I am not the only one, so here is how to eat vegan like an average person:
- Stock up on your favourite healthy food staples.
My kitchen always, always, always has the following food items in the pantry: red kidney beans, rice or a 3-grain mix, Bouillon cubes, peas, and onions. I have other foods too, but these are always in stock.
One of the easiest meals to prepare for lunch and dinner (and sometimes breakfast) is a simple soup that includes all 5 staples. Or I just make a nice risotto (to me every rice dish is risotto, please don’t judge) with peas and onions, or I buy tortilla wraps for 1,70€ and make a nice filling with peas and beans.
Bouillon cubes are a must with every meal! They are more important than onions. There, I said it.
Your pantry may look different, and that’s absolutely necessary. You want to make sure that you eat what you want to eat, not what I eat. That’s why deciding on your personal food staples is so crucial.
Once you have your staples, your easiest meals will be created with these items. I chose mine based on what I truly want to eat on most days, and again, this will look different for you. These staples need to be always available, so on those days when you have nothing in your fridge, you still have your go-to meals.
- Think in calories and nutrients, not aesthetics.
I love my favourite snacks, but if I posted them on social media, I guarantee they wouldn’t leave you salivating. They are just not aesthetically pleasing compared to what you normally see.
To repeat myself, we are not eating vegan to please an audience. So stop thinking about your meals in terms of how beautiful they look. It doesn’t matter if they don’t need a filter, because you will eat it anyway.
For example, I like to prepare these sandwiches (is that a sandwich?) with baked zucchini, sliced tomatoes and onions on top. They are very simple and basic-looking, but they make my mouth water immediately.
I never share my food (I did back in 2015!) because there is this pressure to make it beautiful. And at the same time, my message is not about beauty but about sustainability.
Are you getting the necessary intake of calories for your body? Are you getting all the nutrients? Are you full? Are you happy with your meals? That is what it’s all about.
- When you go big, go really big on enjoyment.
I love a good fast food meal, but I rarely eat it. The main reason is that I live in a tiny countryside town and there aren’t any options, but I also love to eat healthily.
Vegan ice cream is available at my local stores only during the summertime. There are no fatty meat alternatives at all (soy pieces are super healthy, so they don’t count), anywhere, and the produce is just top-notch.
It’s also so much more pleasurable to eat one pizza every few months and truly get hit by the deliciousness than eating it every week and losing the appreciation. This might be just me coping with the lack of pizza in my town, but whatever works, right?
If you are on a budget, live behind God’s back, or you just simply cannot afford to eat fast food because not only is there no budget, but you are making just enough to eat beans and potatoes, listen to me carefully.
You don’t have to eat pizza and hamburgers every week or every month. Trust me when I say that I understand how it feels to skip meals or sleep through them to avoid feeling hungry. I understand how it feels to struggle and feel different.
Never feel pressured to keep up with what’s trendy or even normal for other people. If you only get pizza once a year, enjoy that time and feel no shame in it being only a yearly treat. Eating fast food is not a competition, and you probably appreciate the work that the baker put into that goddamn pizza more than someone who consumes it weekly.
Hopefully, these three tips help you eat like a normal vegan because life is not about social media feeds and likes. At least it shouldn’t be.
Oftentimes, we forget that most of these individuals are paid to create beautiful meals. It doesn’t mean they don’t create them just for their own enjoyment, but it’s not realistic for a lot of people who follow them.
Especially if you are just starting and want to simplify your transition. We want simplicity and ease, not to feel overwhelmed and under pressure.
Eventually, you may want to spend more time creating wonderful and harder meals, but, again, as a beginner, you should first master the basics. Once you have the foundation, you can start building, but only if you choose (no pressure!).
If you have any questions regarding anything I mentioned in this post, let me know in the comments. I would love to help you figure out your own way of eating sustainably.
Tanja
