How to Eat Plant-Based

Go all in or take tiny steps. Either way, make it fun.

Start Simple.

How to Transition to a Plant-Based Eating Pattern:

Shifting to a plant-based way of eating can be simple and enjoyable.

Start by adding more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes to everyday meals, and replace animal products at a comfortable pace with plant-based options.

Keep recipes easy, repeat favorite dishes, and let curiosity guide new choices.

A reliable source of vitamin B12 is essential.

Small, steady changes quickly add up, making plant-based eating both practical and satisfying.

Tips:

  • Starting by replacing fluid milk is accesible to most people. Fortified soy milk is nutritionally similar to cow’s milk: similar protein, calcium, vitamin D, etc. Choosing unsweetened actually makes it less sugary than cow’s milk, which is surprisingly high in sugar, and lactose causes GI issues for many people. Cutting it out is win-win!

    • Other options for plant-based milk are plentiful! They have slightly different tastes, consistency, and nutrient content, so try different kinds for different uses. I tend to use soy milk for cereal, kids, coffee, and baking. I don’t love it in savory dishes, so I use coconut milk, rice milk, oat milk, or almond milk for other situations.

    • There’s a lot of misinformation out there about soy being dangerous for health, but the oposite is true. Eating soy foods daily REDUCES rates of many cancers, including breast cancer. Soy milk even contains fiber!

  • Search for plant-based, whole food plant-based, or vegan versions of favorite meals until working with plant-based ingredients becomes familiar and comfortable. Then, see what you come up with on your own!

Simple Swaps

Simple Plant-Based Swaps

  • Cow’s milk → oat milk, soy milk, or almond milk

  • Yogurt → plant-based yogurt (soy, coconut, almond)

  • Cheese → cashew cheese or nutritional yeast for “cheesy” flavor

  • Butter → avocado, nut butter, or plant-based butter

  • Eggs in baking → flax “egg”, applesauce, canned pumpkin, aquafaba (liquid from canned chickpeas), powered egg replacers

  • Ground beef → lentils, crumbled tofu, textured vegetables protein, plant-based meat replacer (freezer section)

  • Chicken strips → chickpeas, tofu, seitan, plant-based meat replacers (freezer section)

  • Fish → chickpea “tuna,” hearts of palm, or tofu

  • Mayonnaise → vegan mayo or mashed avocado

  • Cream → cashew cream or coconut cream

  • Ice cream → plant-based ice cream (soy, oat, coconut, or cashew)

For more fiber and nutrients from your grains…

  • White rice → brown rice or quinoa

  • White pasta → whole-grain or legume-based pasta

Foods that are already plant-based: vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts, seeds, nut butters, seed butters

Common Animal-Derived Food Additives:

Directly Animal-Based

  • Gelatin – made from animal skin, bones, and connective tissue

  • Isinglass – fish bladder collagen (used in some beer/wine clarification)

  • Rennet (animal rennet) – enzymes from calf stomachs (used in cheese)

  • Lard / Tallow – rendered animal fat

  • Bone Char – used to refine some sugars (not an ingredient but part of the process)

Often Animal-Derived (but can be vegan if specified)

  • Vitamin D3 – often derived from lanolin (sheep’s wool)

  • Lecithin (if not labeled “soy” or “sunflower”) – sometimes from egg yolk

  • Whey – from dairy

  • Casein / Caseinate – dairy proteins

  • Lactose – milk sugar

  • Glycerin / Glycerol – can come from animal fat

  • Mono- & Diglycerides – can be animal- or plant-derived

  • Stearic Acid / Magnesium Stearate – may come from animal fat

  • Natural Flavors – can include animal-derived components unless labeled vegan

  • Shortening – may contain animal fats

  • Suet – animal fat

  • Shellac – resin from the lac bug (used on shiny candies, fruits)

  • Carmine / Cochineal – red coloring made from crushed insects

  • Tallowate (e.g., sodium tallowate) – animal fat (often in soaps, but sometimes foods)

Less Common but Still Animal-Derived

  • Pepsin – from hog stomachs (used in some cheese-making)

  • Albumin – from eggs or blood

  • Lactylates (e.g., calcium stearoyl lactylate) – can be animal-derived

  • Oleic Acid – may come from animal fat

  • Lanolin – from sheep’s wool (used in some food-grade coatings)

Make It

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