Ethical and Vegan (2024)

08/06/2020

Let’s talk about vegan businesses 🌱

We can spend our money on vegan options from big companies, let’s try not to forget the people who have been working to bring us good vegan products for years, and that’s independent vegan businesses.

By all means, buy the vegan options in mainstream eateries, show them these products are in demand and worth selling.

But if you are able to eat at an independent vegan place for lunch, your money and your business would contribute a lot more than you might think.

When you support an independent business, you are helping the realisation of someone’s dream. Someone had that idea, started that business and worked very hard to get to where they are. Every time you shop, eat, or hire an independent, you are paying respect to that journey, that hustle and that independent ethos.

When you buy independent your money goes to the people running the business, not to faceless boards of directors.
When you buy from an independent vegan business you will likely meet the people that actually own that business or their core team, and you will get their care and quality. It’s their business so they care about the details, and they care about your experience of buying from or working with them.

And on the subject of money, if you’re supporting a vegan-owned business, wages and profits will likely go back into the vegan space, and not into animal agriculture industries. The money you spend is going back into your vegan community.

06/06/2020

"Some of George Floyd's last words were 'I can't breathe.' When oxygen and the right to breathe become currency in the economy of race relations, you, breathing oxygen right now as you read this, can be assured you are in the Battle of Racism. Like it or not, you are in it as we all are; for or against racism. Passively, perhaps, but only until you know it exists. Afterwards, only actively. Your being involved is therefore not your choice. But your response is." – Imani Shola. ⁠
⁠

In the face of any kind of oppression, any kind of injustice, to take a neutral stance would mean you are on the side of the oppressor. Acknowledge the embedded systematic racism and stand in solidarity against it by raising awareness and helping local black communities in any way you can. Compliance does not create reforms. It never will. ⁠
⁠

The black community is standing up and fighting back, and I think it is important that the world knows which side we are on. Never stop learning how to be an ally to people of colour, and be grateful if racism is something you have to learn about not something you have to experience from childhood.

BlackLivesMatter ✊

03/06/2020

Everybody enjoys indulging in juicy red cherries during the summer season. This vibrant red fruit is a great blend of sweet flavours with a tingle of sourness and adds the perfect pop of colour to your desserts.

Cherries can be eaten raw or can also be used in a variety of recipes such as cakes, tarts, pies and cheesecakes.

They are a wonderful topping for a bowl of yogurt or your breakfast cereal. But not many know that this delicious fruit has numerous qualities that are good for your health.

Dubbed as one of the healthiest superfoods, cherries have "the highest medicinal value because they are rich in antioxidants , are a good anti-inflammatory , and are useful in the prevention and treatment of gout.

They are also one of very few fruits to contain melatonin, which can help treat insomnia.

Cherries are believed to be one of the most energy boosting fruits. They can help in building blood cells which automatically eases circulation and boosts our energy levels.

Recipe idea :

Speculoos Cherry Almond Trifle may be a dessert, but it could easily classify as a breakfast. Crumbled speculoos cookies, almond yogurt, and cherries cooked with sugar until thick and syrupy, it has layers of delicious flavors.

The cookies are crunchy with hints of cinnamon, the almond yogurt is creamy, and the cherries are sweet, sugary, and juicy. If you’d like the yogurt to be a little thicker, try setting it in a coffee filter and let it refrigerator overnight.

Enjoy 🌱

01/06/2020

This Strawberry Cream Naked Cake not only looks pretty, but it also tastes incredibly delicious! This Strawberry Cake is made of four soft, pillowy and moist vanilla cake layers with fresh strawberry filling and cream. The perfect dessert for summer!

Ingredients ✨

Lemon cake

* 1 1/4 cup non-dairy milk 300ml, or yogurt
* 3/4 cup lemon juice 180ml
* 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 420g
* 1 tbsp baking powder
* 1 tsp baking soda
* 1 1/2 cups sugar 300g
* 1 tsp salt
* 1/2 cup oil 120ml
* 1/3 cup melted vegan butter 80ml, or add 1/4 cup more oil
* 1 tbsp vanilla extract
* 1/2 tsp turmeric for yellow color (optional)
* 1 tbsp lemon zest

Blackberry Jam

* 14 oz blackberries 400g, frozen or fresh
* 1/4 cup sugar 50g, or to taste
* 1 tbsp cornstarch
* 3-4 tbsp water

Strawberry cream frosting

* 3/4 cup freeze dried strawberries 14g, ground until to 1 tbsp powder
* 1 cup unsalted butter 225g, softened
* 8 oz cream vegan cheese (or coconut cream) 225g, softened
* 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar 180g
* 1-2 tbsp lemon juice

Instructions ✨

Vegan Lemon Cake

* Combine non-dairy milk with lemon juice and set aside until it curdles and becomes vegan buttermilk. (If you don't want to make vegan buttermilk, you can simply add non-dairy yogurt + lemon juice or milk in step 4).
* Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease two 8-inch (20cm) cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
* In a large bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and salt.

* Stir the oil, melted vegan butter, vanilla and lemon zest into the vegan buttermilk. Then pour it into the flour mixture and mix everything just until the ingredients are combined. (Please don't overmix or your cakes will get dense).
* Divide the batter evenly between the two cake pans and bake for about 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. (Please don't overbake or your cakes will get dry.)
* Let cool completely. (Optionally, wrap each cake in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 2 hours until well chilled because this makes them easier to cut evenly.)

Blackberry Jam

* Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook until the blackberries are soft and the mixture has thickened, about 5 minutes, stirring constantly.

* Let cool to room temperature. (It will thicken more as it cools.)

Strawberry Frosting

* Mix the soft vegan butter with a handheld mixer until creamy. Then add the softened cream cheese and mix again. Lastly, sift in powdered sugar, dried strawberries and a squeeze of lemon juice and mix again until creamy and well combined. (If it’s too firm and not spreadable, stir in more lemon juice. Or if it is too soft, add more powdered sugar).

Assembling the Cake:

* Cut each cake horizontally in two equal layers.
* Place one cake layer on a serving plate. Spread 1/3 of the blackberry jam over the cake. Then spread 1/4 of the strawberry frosting over.
* Top with the next layer, and repeat this process for the second and third layer. Place the fourth layer on top and spread the remaining lemon frosting over it.
* Chill 3-4 hours in the fridge before decorating and serving.

Enjoy! ✨

30/05/2020

Avoiding meat and dairy products is the single biggest way to reduce your environmental impact on the planet, according to the scientists behind the most comprehensive analysis to date of the damage farming does to the planet.

An extremely important study showed that water footprints of meat from beef cattle (15 400 m 3 /ton as a global average) is much larger than the footprints of meat from sheep (10 400 m 3 /ton), pig (6000 m 3 /ton), goat (5 500 m 3 /ton) or chicken (4 300 m 3 /ton). The global average water footprint of chicken egg is 3 300 m 3 /ton, while the water footprint of cow milk amounts to 1000 m 3 /ton. estimated that while vegetables had a footprint of about 322 litres per kg, and fruits drank up 962, meat was far more thirsty: chicken came in at 4,325l/kg, pork at 5,988l/kg, sheep/goat meat at 8,763l/kg, and beef at a stupendous 15,415l/kg. Some non-meat products were also pretty eye-watering: nuts came in at 9,063l/kg.

Farms contribute to water pollution in a range of ways: some of those are associated more closely with arable farming, and some with livestock, but it’s worth remembering that one-third of the world’s grain is now fed to animals. The FAO believes that the livestock sector, which is growing and intensifying faster than crop production, has “serious implications” for water quality.
The types of water pollution include: nutrient (nitrogen and phosphorus from fertilisers and animal excreta); pesticides; sediment; organic matter (oxygen demanding substances such as plant matter and livestock excreta); pathogens (E coli etc); metals (selenium etc) and emerging pollutants (drug residues, hormones and feed additives).

Livestock is the world’s largest user of land resources, says the FAO, “with grazing land and cropland dedicated to the production of feed representing almost 80% of all agricultural land. Feed crops are grown in one-third of total cropland, while the total land area occupied by pasture is equivalent to 26% of the ice-free terrestrial surface”.

By 2050, dietary changes could free up several million square kilometres of land, and reduce global CO2 emissions by up to eight billion tonnes per year, relative to business as usual, the scientists estimate.

Do you care about the environment and our planet’s future ? GO VEGAN

27/05/2020

Vegan Chocolate Layer Cake with Whip Cream & Strawberries !

This cake is so elegant and perfect for any occasion. It’s a great dessert for summer time and fresh strawberry season, but it would be great any time of year as well. You could also try layering this dessert with any fruit you like, although strawberries, whip cream, and chocolate are such classic pairings and the three of them together are a match made in heaven.

INGREDIENTS

Chocolate Cake :

* 4½ cups oat flour (oats blended into a fine flour)
* 1 cup cocoa powder
* 2 tablespoons baking powder
* 2 teaspoons baking soda
* 1 cup coconut cream (the thick white part from two chilled cans of coconut milk)
* 1½ cups coconut milk (the remaining liquid from the cans of coconut milk)
* ¾ cup maple syrup
* 4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
* 2 teaspoons vanilla

Whip Cream :

* Coconut cream from two 400 ml cans of coconut milk (the thick white part from a chilled coconut milk can)
* 2 tablespoons maple syrup
* 2 teaspoons vanilla
* 2 cups fresh strawberries, sliced

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Chill four 400 ml cans of coconut milk in the fridge overnight.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line two 9x9 round baking pans with a criss-cross of two thin strips of parchment paper for easy removal.

3. To prepare the cakes, combine the oat flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and baking soda in a large bowl. Add the coconut cream, coconut milk, and maple syrup. Stir to combine. Add the apple cider vinegar and vanilla and stir until fully combined.

4. Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake pans. Bake in the preheated oven for 35-37 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Set in the fridge to cool completely.

5. When the cakes are cooled completely, prepare the whip cream by adding the coconut cream, maple syrup, and vanilla to a large bowl or stand mixer. Beat until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes.

6. To assemble the cake, lay your first cake on your serving plate. Dollop just under half the whip cream onto the cake and spread evenly to the edges, leaving a border ¼ cm from the edges. Layer 1 cup of strawberries evenly over the cake. Lay the second cake on top. Spread the remaining whip cream over the top of the cake and lay your remaining strawberries on top in a circle or any decorative design you prefer. Serve immediately or store in the fridge until serving.

7. Store leftovers in the fridge for about 4 days, or individually freeze leftover slices for up to a month.

Notes ! ✨

Make sure you use full-fat coconut milk in order to separate the cream from the coconut milk. Chill your coconut milk cans in the fridge overnight before separating. Save any extra milk or cream that you do not use for adding to smoothies, curries, soups, or other recipes.

Enjoy 🍓🍓

25/05/2020

Olives are very high in vitamin E and other powerful antioxidants. Studies show that they are good for the heart and may protect against osteoporosis and cancer.

The healthy fats in olives are extracted to produce olive oil, one of the key components of the incredibly healthy Mediterranean diet.

1. Low Calorie – One olive only has about 7 calories. They have a ‘negative calorie load’, which means you burn more calories digesting an olive that you gain eating one.

2. Good Fat - Despite the common misperception, olives are not fattening. They contain mono-unsaturated fat, the same good fat you find in nuts and avocados. Mono-unsaturated fat in the diet increases good cholesterol. In research studies, when diets increase mono-unsaturated fat (without becoming too high in total fat), participants experienced a decrease in their blood cholesterol,

3. Olives contain polyphenols, a natural chemical that reduce oxidative stress in the brain. By eating a daily serving of healthy olives you can help improve your memory. Remember that!

4. Eating healthy olives helps skin stay soft and healthy since they contain oleic acid. Eat olives = stay good-looking.

5. Olives oil contain oleocanthal, a substance with anti-inflammatory agents that can act as a natural Ibuprofen.

Recipe Idea :

Mixed Olives and Spinach Pizza is a simple twist on traditional pizza, and a generous dose of baby spinach or arugula makes it healthier. Do try finding the pepperjack or other spicy vegan cheese, which gives this a bit of a kick.

Enjoy ! 🫒

23/05/2020

Carnism and speciesism survive not only by keeping the truth hidden from us, maintaining these ideologies also requires us to deny truths even when we do stumble upon them. The fact that the meat and dairy industry spends millions of dollars on propaganda will come as no surprise, since these industries have an obvious vested interest in actively hiding and distorting the truth.

We have seen this in multiple campaigns, factory farms displaying green fields on the packaging of a product produced in a warehouse, ‘Got Milk’ propagating blatant falsities about the health benefits of dairy, and just about any advert would have us believe in the idyllic lie of a utopian version of animal agriculture. What is far more surprising though, is that much of this distortion and denial of basic, verifiable facts comes not just from the industries, but from consumers themselves.

It is fairly uncontroversial to acknowledge that many people remain shockingly ignorant of how their food is produced, and that applies to many vegans as well. When it comes to animal agriculture practices however, what people exhibit is often more than mere ignorance, but active denialism.

In the same way that climate change deniers actively work to obscure demonstrable fact, people very often seek to deny practices that are not even secretive, often ones that are openly acknowledged and discussed by the industry themselves.

20/05/2020

Raspberry rose vegan macarons ✨

Fruity, creamy and sweet Raspberry Rose. Gluten Free + Vegan ! !

Ingredients

Macaron Shells:

* 250 grams Aquafaba
* 1/8 teaspoon Cream of Tartar
* Pinch of Salt
* 150 grams Ground Almonds
* 130 gram Pure Icing Sugar
* 110 grams Superfine/Caster Sugar
* A drop of Vegan Red Food Coloring
* A few drops of Organic Rose Extract

Raspberry Rose Buttercream:

* 125 grams Vegan Butter Substitute
* 55 grams Icing Sugar
* A few drops of Organic Rose Extract
* A few drops of Vegan Red Food Coloring
* 25 Raspberries

Extras:

* Piping Bags with a Round Tip attached
* Silpat Mats or Silicone Baking Paper
* Baking Trays
* Spray Bottle filled with Water

Instructions

1. The night before you want to make your Macarons, prepare your Aquafaba. In a small saucepan, bring 250 grams of Aquafaba to a simmer. Let this simmer away until it has reduced to 110 grams of Aquafaba. (I pour it out and weigh it on a kitchen scale a few times in-between to check). Once it has reached 110 grams, pour it into a bowl to cool and then refrigerate overnight.

2. Macaron Shells: Process Ground Almonds and Icing Sugar in a food processor and then sieve into a bowl, making sure there are no lumps in your mixture. Set aside.

3. With a stand mixer fitted with a clean bowl and with clean beaters, whisk Aquafaba, cream of tartar and salt on high till it turns foamy and resembles frothed up egg whites. Make sure there is no more liquid left at the bottom of the bowl before moving on to the next step.

4. Gradually add caster sugar in, bit by bit, whilst your mixer is turned on. Add your food coloring and Rose Extract in and then continue whisking on high for another minute. You should end up with a thick, glossy meringue.

5. Tip in half of your almond/icing sugar mixture into the meringue, and fold gently with spatula until it has incorporated with the meringue. Add the second half of your almond/icing sugar mixture, and continue to fold it into the batter. You don't have to be too gentle with this, but you don't want to go crazy either.

6. Once your mixture has been incorporated, continue folding until you end up with a mixture that resembles thick lava. Do not over-mix or your batter will be too runny and you will end up with macaron UFOs. You will know that you have reached the right consistency when you dollop a tablespoon of batter onto a flat surface and it gradually smoothens out into a nice round shape, without any "ni***es" forming on top.

7. Fill a piping bag fitted with a round nozzle with macaron mixture and pipe into 2 inch rounds on a Silpat or Silicone Baking Paper lined mat. This recipe makes enough to make 50 individual macaron shells, so you may need to have 3 or 4 trays ready.

8. Once piped, slam the tray down on your kitchen counter to eliminate any air bubbles in your piped macaron mixture. Leave your trays to rest in a cool area for 2-3 hours. They are ready to bake when they have turned matt and you are able to gently touch the surface of the shells without anything sticking to your finger.

9. Preheat oven to 120 degrees Celsius*. Bake each tray of macarons individually for 28-30 minutes, without opening the oven door inbetween. Smaller macarons or ovens may take slightly more or less than 30 minutes. It's all about trial and error.

10. Once 30 minutes is up, leave your macarons in the oven for another 15 minutes without opening the door. After 15 minutes, open the oven door slightly and leave macarons in the oven with the door ajar for a further 15 minutes. Remove tray from oven and leave to cool thoroughly before peeling macaron shells off from Silpat/Silicone paper.

11. Repeat baking process with remaining trays of macarons.

12. Filling: In a stand mixer, whisk Vegan Butter with Icing Sugar, Rose Extract and food coloring. Whisk till fluffy and then transfer to a piping bag fitted with a round nozzle. Wash and dry your raspberries and keep them aside.

13. Assembly: Once you have gently peeled off all your macarons from your Silpat/Silicone Paper, place them on a kitchen counter with the bottom side up (rounded side down). Using your spray bottle, lightly mist the bottoms of the macarons with water and leave for 5 minutes before filling.

14. To fill, pipe a ring of buttercream around the base of a macaron and place a whole raspberry in the empty circle inside your buttercream. Sandwich with another macaron shell and repeat the process till all your shells have been sandwiched.

15. Place macarons into a box and leave in the fridge overnight, or ideally for 2 nights so that they have time to mature and form the right texture.

16. Macarons are best served at room temperature or 10 minutes out of the refrigerator, not straight out from the fridge.

Enjoy ! 🌱

18/05/2020

If you think you can't eat healthy when you're short on time, meal prepping a week of vegan lunches can help! Meal prepping is budget-friendly, helps you stick to your diet and saves time during the busy week. Being vegan (or simply eating more plant-based foods) can decrease your risk for heart disease, diabetes and certain types of cancer. Plus, thanks to all the filling high-fiber food (think veggies, fruit, whole grains and beans), you'll be more satisfied and are more likely to lose or maintain your weight.

Vegan meal prep is all about cooking a few healthy meals ahead of time and portioning them out through the week.

You decide what to eat, prepare a grocery list based on the recipes you picked and batch cook your meals altogether.This will help you to save time, money, and eat much healthier unprocessed plant-based meals.

A rich and creamy chickpea curry, with great depth of flavors, surprisingly ready in only 10 minutes. This is one of my favorite vegan meal prep ideas. I eat it pretty much every week !

The avocado has become an incredibly popular food among health-conscious individuals. It’s often referred to as a superfood, which is not surprising given its health properties !

Enjoy 🌱

16/05/2020

The desire to deny what is happening to animals and to ignore our kinship with them comes from a need to protect ourselves. We want to not only avoid truths we would rather not know, but also to avoid taking responsibility for the harm we have been causing. To face up to our own bias, and in doing so come to terms with the reality of the role we played in the suffering of the animals on our plates, is no easy thing.

This is how we can watch footage of animal slaughter, can be in agreement that this treatment is horrifically cruel, then continue to consume more animals who were likely slaughtered in a very similar manner. It isn’t usually the case that we view such treatment as unfortunate but ultimately necessary either.

Most of us agree that such treatment is utterly indefensible, but we rarely connect the dots between our own behaviour and the cruelty we observe. For most of us, our reaction to witnessing these acts are not so different from our reactions when watching bombs fall in some far away place. What we see upsets us, we know in our hearts that it is cruel but we don’t feel that we are in any way to blame. We are not the ones committing these acts, and we see no reason to feel personally responsible.

The cruelties inflicted against animals are evil, most of us don’t view ourselves as capable of supporting evil, so we cannot think of what we are doing as in any way contributing to that cruelty.

Go vegan ! 🌱

13/05/2020

let’s talk about plants 🌱

Indoor plants have the ability to transform the home and give life to a room, while being soothing at the same time — which is what we all need right now.

With the current COVID-19 situation, a lot of us are stuck indoors.Gardening indoors with houseplants is a great way to maintain connection with nature, even if you're inside.

For people living in apartments or in cities, the luxury of a backyard isn't necessarily there, so being able to bring a little bit of greenery indoors can help create that green, outdoor feeling inside.

It's also important to create a calming space in the current climate and plants can help achieve this.

If your living room is large or sparse on furniture, fill the visual gaps with a big statement plant like a Fiddle Leaf Fig, Giant Bird of Paradise, Swiss Cheese Plant or Philodendron Shangri-La.

If you're an on-the-go family or more of a hands-off plant parent, a Burgundy Rubber Tree is a great low-maintenance option.

Right now staying indoors is priority for a lot of people and the good news is if you're feeling inspired to get your hands on some plants, now it’s the time ! 🌱

11/05/2020

Baked Beetroot ✨

Ingredients ✨

* 6-7 whole beets

* 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, or oil of choice .

* 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt .

* Optional: dusting of garlic powder, fresh ground black pepper, paprika, cumin or chili powder

Instructions ✨

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Line a large baking sheet with a nonstick pad or tinfoil lightly coated in nonstick spray. Set aside.

2. Rinse, then scrub the beets with a brush or coarse sponge. Transfer to a plastic cutting board (if you use wood/bamboo, it may become permanently stained). Use a sharp knife to cut off the step and root ends of each beet, then chop into 1/2" cubes or 1/4" slices (which are prettier, but take longer to cook).

3. Transfer cubes to a large mixing bowl and toss with oil, then salt (and other spices of choice, if desired).

4. Spread the beet cubes in an evenly-spaced layer on the prepared baking sheet.

5. Bake for 45-60 minutes or until beets are slightly crisp around the edges and tender in the middle. Again, remember that if you sliced the beets into discs or larger cubes, your bake time might be longer.

Note : Store completely cooled beets in an airtight container for a week or more in the fridge, or up to 6 months in the freezer.

Enjoy ! 🌱

09/05/2020

Dairy is scary •

It’s time to accept the truth: If she’s not your mom, it’s not your milk.

Besides humans (and companion animals who are fed by humans), no species drinks milk beyond their natural age of weaning or drinks the milk of another species. Cow’s milk is suited to the nutritional needs of calves and not for humans, so it’s no wonder that consuming it and its derivatives causes us so many problems.

Cows are often pumped full of antibiotics to keep them alive and producing milk in filthy factory farm conditions. We can thank this rampant overuse of them for the surge in antibiotic-resistant bacteria. When humans are infected by these superbugs, antibiotics at best have decreased effectiveness and at worst are powerless.

When she gives birth, her calf will typically be removed within 36 hours, so the farmers can steal and sell you the milk that is meant for her baby. Wildlife experts say that a strong bond between cow and calf is formed quickly after birth. Following that callous separation, the mother will bellow and scream for days, wondering where her baby is. The answer depends on the gender of the calf. If male, he will probably either be shot and tossed into a bin, or sold to be raised for veal, which delays his death by just a matter of months. But if the calf is female, she will usually be prepared for her own entry into dairy production, where she will face the same cycle of hell that her mother is trapped in: forced impregnation, the theft of her baby, and a return to the cattle crush two or three months later.

Dairy is proving to be a vulnerable spot for the entire slaughter racket. The public is steadily waking up to the fact that the reality of milk production is not a matter of trivial imperfections, of concern only to idealist vegans, but in fact the most dark and wicked part of all farming. And delicious, non-dairy milk, cheese and dessert alternatives are now widely available, so as people learn the truth it is easy for them to ditch dairy for good.

06/05/2020

There are many effective methods for going vegan, from going cold Tofurkey to a slow transition over several weeks or months. There is really no best way to go vegan. While everyone is different, most successful transitions have a great deal in common and seem to follow some familiar stages, forming the basis for what I believe to be an effective four-step process to going vegan.

Step One: Get inspired

This is all about igniting that initial passion for going vegan, as this drive is something that is needed to get through some of the initial difficulties you are likely to experience. Inspiration is key.

Step Two: Get educated

All the inspiration in the world won’t help if you just don’t know what you’re doing. This is the nitty gritty of going veganism in terms of which products to avoid, why, and what to replace them with. One of the greatest challenges most vegans deal with is usually the one that most surprises them, which is the hostility and criticism from those around them. Being educated on the theory behind veganism, animal rights, animal farming and animal ethics is extremely important.

Step Three: Transition

This is the part where you actually begin to put into practice everything you have learnt and achieved in the first two steps. This is where we begin to move away from animal products and towards a plant-based diet and a vegan lifestyle. You may feel like this is the tough part, but if you’ve done everything in the first two steps then you should be prepared to begin cutting out animal products or even do it all at once.

Step Four: Commitment

This is the step that is much less obvious, and often it is one which is missing from similar resources. It’s all very well going vegan, most people can do that, the problem is staying vegan when the documentaries you watched feel like a distant memory, but the cheese pizza you’re craving very much does not. This step gives you methods on how to stay motivated, how to engage with veganism on a deeper level and what your next steps may be moving forward. This section also includes a little bit about vegan activism and how to get involved, if that’s something you’re interested in.

This method allows a great deal of flexibility in how you approach the process of transitioning, and offers a helpful framework to make your journey as simple as possible. It will help keep you focused on the road ahead, but this is by no means a straight path. You will take wrong turns, you will trip up or end up going around in circles. Mistakes are normal, even experienced vegans make them. The important thing is to recognise these as the learning experiences they are, rather than viewing them as barriers to your veganism.

Remember, veganism is not dogmatic and it isn’t something you can win or lose; we are all at different stages and perfection is not possible. So long as you truly are doing your best, it’s more than enough ! 🌱

Ethical and Vegan