I haven’t managed to “convert” anyone to veganism, but I have at least helped to dispell stereotypes and spread awareness. Most people’s experience with vegans is just the extremely vocal and perhaps extremist ones you find online, calling everyone rapists and murderers. And look, I understand that there is some logic behind that, but if your goal is to try to bring more people towards veganism, you won’t do it by insulting people.

I’ve managed to convince most people that vegan food isn’t gross. I offer people little bits of vegan food that I make or eat and they’re often impressed.

I’ve dispelled myths about imitation meat being really unhealthy (not arguing it’s healthy, but some people act like it’s the worst thing you can eat). You’d be surprised how many people think it’s some lab made nasty chemical.

I’ve dispelled a lot of myths (always respectfully, of course) about vegan nutrition. Most people aren’t trying to be harmful, but they’ve heard a line or two online about how vegans can’t build protein, can’t get certain vitamins, etc.

Mostly, I think by just being a respectful and amicable human being, I’ve shown people that you can be vegan and not make your whole life about it. Most people don’t even know I’m vegan until we eat together and I have to explain it. I don’t want veganism to be some kind of religion or cult you have to join, I want it to just be a normal thing that people choose to do for the animals.

That being said, I do hope that I can eventually convince at least one person to become vegan, but I think trying too hard will just have the opposite effect. I’ll continue to live by example and hoping people follow.

Prenote

Congrats on trying out veganism!

First off, based on your message, I think you might have a couple misunderstandings about veganism. Understand that veganism isn’t a diet nor is it inherently healthy. You can be vegan and eat processed food and imitation products all day long. Veganism is primarily an ethical stance - choosing not to partake in the industrial scale abuse and torture of our animal friends.

I hate to say something that goes against my own beliefs, but I don’t think it really makes sense to go fully vegan just for health reasons. Yes, virtually all nutritionists would say that people need to cut down and significantly reduce the amount of meat and animal products people eat, but for purely health reasons there aren’t many reasons to go down to absolutely 0. Plus, although there are plenty of benefits to outweigh the negatives, it is important to recognize that vegans can have a slightly harder time getting some nutrients, like vitamin D, iron, zinc, omega 3 fatty acids (most people struggle with these nutrients anyway, it’s just that vegans struggle a little more). And uniquely, there is virtually no vegan source of B12, so you need to take a supplement, or eat fortified foods.

I’m saying this because people who go vegan only for health reasons almost always quit eventually. Do it for the animals, but also enjoy the health benefits that come along naturally.

Don’t make these mistakes

Going vegan, especially suddenly, can take a toll on your body, just as making any sudden dietary change can.

• Make sure you are eating enough. A lot of vegan food isn’t as dense as animal products, usually because it contains a lot more water. The actual “volume” of food that you eat should increase quite a bit. Although I’m normally against it, I actually recommend calorie counting for a bit when you first go vegan (but do understand the dangers of calorie counting long term).
• Understands symptoms of suddenly eating a lot of fiber: One of the healthiest aspects of veganism is the high intake of fiber, which is fantastic for your digestive system. However, most people eat way too little fiber, and the sudden change from little fiber to lots of fiber can actually be a bit uncomfortable: bloating, stomach pain, diarrhea. Long term healthy, but maybe short term take it slow.
• Eat satiating foods: Vegetables and fruits are great for your health, but you have to eat foods that provide long term energy and make you feel full. If you are feeling hungry all the time, that’s not good. The overarching categories here are grains (preferably whole), legumes (beans, lentils, tofu, fake meat), nuts, seeds.
• Get your vitamins checked 3-6 months after going vegan: I just think this is too important after any dietary change.

Onto your actual question

The main breakfasts I eat are:

• Granola or cereal and plant milk
• Tofu scramble (can meal prep this easily) and toast, sometimes impossible breakfast sausage. To make good tofu scramble you need some unconventional ingredients you might not find at a grocery store, like black salt (kala namak)
• Beans and toast
• Leftovers from last night’s dinner
• Skip breakfast (or just eat a small fruit) and instead have a big lunch

I will occasionally have toast with peanut butter and banana on it, but that’s so calorie dense, I only eat it on days I know I’ll be doing a lot of physical activities.

This is actually a great breakfast. I understand your concern about it being calorie dense, but recognize that this is very satiating, and will keep you full and energized for a long time.

Also, don’t be afraid to eat some vegan imitation products. I promise they’re not nearly as bad as people demonize them to be, just don’t eat them all the time. I love impossible brand breakfast sausage, bratwurst, burgers, and chicken nuggets. In modern day, you can be vegan and still indulge in some tasty foods occasionally.

Tumeric is used for coloring food a ton. Presentation of food matters way more than most people think.

If you went to a halal restaurant and they served you white rice wouldn’t that feel weird? I promise that the turmeric they add to the rice isn’t making that significant of a flavor difference, it’s mostly there for coloring.

I believe it! I had two types and they were god awful, but I’d be willing to give it another shot

That’s funny about cream cheese, I have mostly heard complaints about vegan cream cheese. Maybe I haven’t had the right brand yet but of the three types I tried I wasn’t a big fan.

Updated the list! My girlfriend has celiac’s disease and those usually aren’t gluten free so I don’t have them often

Same, I preferred plant milk to real milk for a few years before I went vegan.

I feel like that’s a common trend with vegan food. Take a delicious food item and overuse it until it’s almost disgusting. I love hummus but I can imagine if I ate it all the time I would get sick of it. I’m like that a little bit with mushrooms, I love mushrooms but eating a ton of them makes them gross for me.

I think something sorta unique about hummus that makes it really popular is that it’s a vegan protein source that is served cold and can surprisingly substitute meat and cheese well. Like you mentioned about sandwiches, you can take out the deli meat and cheese and replace it with hummus and it still tastes delicious. Most vegan protein sources are cooked and served warm, or don’t taste well with garden vegetables (like peanut butter).

I think I’m very okay with admitting that I probably just haven’t had good falafel yet. But I’ll make more effort to do so based on everyone’s comments!

From a taste perspective, umami.

From a health perspective, eating more protein is really good for satiety and therefore weight loss. Personally, when I don’t go out of my way to incorporate extra protein sources, I usually just don’t feel satisfied and full. I understand and recognize that you literally don’t need a ton of extra protein to be healthy, but I feel best when I have it.

Honestly, I in general don’t really like when a meat is substituted for a food that is not a primarily protein source. Like replacing meat for cauliflower or jackfruit, as opposed to something with legumes or lentils

I’ve never tried a durian but it’s kind of tempting, bucket list item for sure. What do you hate about it?

That’s fair, as someone who went vegan recently I quite enjoy a couple meat substitutes. I imagine someone who’s been vegan for a while doesn’t care for them much though.

I really like impossible ground beef and its derivatives (meatballs, burgers). This has been my main way of convincing my friends they could maybe go vegan, all but one of my really picky friends still enjoy these. But the vast majority of vegan imitation meats I don’t care much for.

I think there are a few spots where vegan cheese works.

There’s a couple simple parmesan cheese recipes that are pretty much just blended cashews, nooch, and seasonings that I enjoy on spaghetti. I’m sure it wouldn’t fool anybody but it works like a charm for me.

I also think you can make queso dips pretty well, the main ingredient usually being blended cashews or blended potatoes and carrots.

Sorry for bringing up cashews again but you can also make a really good cashew ricotta that’s a good spread on crackers.

I tend not to enjoy the imitation cheeses. I prefer just going all in on the nuts and enjoying the final product as it’s own unique item.

I’ve never been all that fond of falafel. I feel like I would like it in theory but when I eat it it’s just, meh.

I wish this was true. I have some pet lizards I got before I went vegan, two of them are omnivores (blue tongue skink and Argentine black and white tegu). They can’t be vegan. I mean, honestly, if there was a large scale effort to research it, I bet we could come up with a suitable vegan diet for them, but I don’t think anyone will put a bunch of resources into that.

So the major problem with this, is that only hens produce eggs. So what do you do with all the roosters? You really don’t need that many roosters to breed hens. Since there is a roughly 50/50 split of roosters/hens, and only a couple roosters are used for breeding, what do you think happens to the rest of them? So the idea is that you can’t buy or own hens without them being a product of a massive amount of roosters being murdered.

I don’t support egg or dairy. As I said in the post, my view on the “tier 2” animals is basically that I think it is possible to ethically keep them in captivity. That doesn’t mean keeping them in captivity is ethical in general, but that if you really do it right I think it is okay. I think it’s okay to keep a dog or a cow or a pig as a pet, but I think you really have to make sure you give them lots of space and enrichment. I don’t believe you should be able to use them for resources though.

The difference being that tier 1 animals, even if you really try to give them a good life, I don’t think should ever be kept as pets or in zoos. Like I don’t care if you built the coolest ever whale terrarium, sorry, not allowed to put an animal like that in captivity.

I totally agree with the representation part. I understand I might not technically be 100% vegan, but calling myself vegan spreads awareness of veganism within my friend and family circle.

There’s definitely an extent to which my conclusion of “it’s okay to eat insects” stems from trying to cope with the fact that I have pet reptiles that need to eat insects.

I definitely believe that insects feel pain, which is why I try to give them a good life while they are alive. I guess I’m saying that if they are killed instantly, then they could potentially die a painless death, and maybe that’s okay because they don’t live that long in the first place.