I am always reading posts about people’s struggles to switch their diet from some sort of Westernized diet to vegan, vegetarian, etc. And it is true. It is definitely tough. I think everyone has their own struggles as to why this process is difficult so I wanted to tell you all my personal struggles. Whether you are having the same struggles or are about to try and transition your diet, hopefully this information can help you make the process much easier then the rest of us.

I’ll start off with what was the easiest for me and why.

The easiest part for me was eliminating meat in my diet. I had already spent my entire life not eating meat so that transition was no problem to me. I did, and still do, however have a struggle with eliminating fish. Since I didn’t eat meat growing up, I resorted to fish. I haven’t had a problem making meals for myself without fish but every time I go out to a restaurant, that craving still very much exist for me.

What I do to try to help myself with this is avoid strict seafood restaurants. If I go to a restaurant that has way more options then just fish, I will make the right decision. Going to a seafood restaurant, if you have other options other then seafood, it’s usually some sort of other meat. Avoiding this has helped me a lot.

My next struggle, which also seems to be the hardest for a lot of people, is eliminating dairy. I had already switched to soy milk before I started this process so that wasn’t an issue for me. Butter is easy to substitute either with margarine or a butter alternative like Earth Balance. No one can notice the difference with either of those choices. The biggest problem was cheese. I love Parmesan and mozzarella cheese. I know it isn’t the best solution but I have found alternatives for these that give me my fix. I use the Follow Your Heart Parmesan Shreds or the Go Veggie Grated Parmesan when my store has the vegan option (for some reason they always have the lactose free but not the vegan). For the mozzarella, I have tried the Go Veggie brand but I prefer the Daiya Brand. The Daiya brand cheese just tastes much better as well as melts much better.

If you want to try to avoid buying cheese substitutes and still be able to make your favorite mac and cheese, try using raw soaked cashews. After blending, cashews are great for making any sort of cheese sauce.

My last struggle, which I am still dealing with everyday, is trying to avoid the processed junk food vegan options. Lets face it, we live in a world of needing convenience. I find myself heating up an already made veggie burger or making a sandwich with Tofurky slices at least a few times a week. These types of foods are not good to have all the time due to how much they are processed. They usually don’t have the extensive nutrients that vegetarians/vegans need everyday.

To have a healthy diet being vegetarian/vegan, we need to make sure we get the proper nutrients everyday. The easiest way to do that is to have whole grains and non processed foods. Instead of heating up that can of Amy’s Soup, try making your own and make enough for left overs. Everything that you are buying processed can be made just as easily, and probably for a quarter of the price.

If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment. I am not a nutritionist or an expert in the subject but I can definitely answer some questions from my personal experiences.