Being Vegan is something that you have to grow into.

Take your time. I ALWAYS recommend that if you want to be vegan or vegetarian you should take your time. I know that there are a ton of documentaries out here telling you about the horrors of the meat industry and yes it’s scary af. Immersing yourself in the information is the first step. But waking up one day, after eating a 6 pc lemon pepper wing and steak tacos talking about “I’m going vegan” is setting you up for failure.

Gotta start by cutting out what disturbs you the most and take it step by step. Everybody’s journey is different.

First, for me, it was beef and pork. Because BRUH. That ish is foul. Especially the ground beef that comes in the 5 lb roll. Like G. Come on now. *super side eye*. Every time you cook it you see all the fat and juices seeping out. At least respect yourself and get you some good quality ish. 

And then it was transitioning all of my milk to non-dairy and that was hit or miss. I don’t really rock with soy milk, which is a whole other topic, so I leaned towards almond milk. Then I fell in love with coconut milk… because of its creamy sweetness. But I also drink cashew milk because of its more neutral taste and use that in recipes.

Then the chicken, then turkey, then fish. It’s a gradual process. I was still hanging on to my tuna and salmon croquettes but eventually gave that up because Fukushima leaked dead into the ocean and mercury is dangerous af.

Start incorporating fruits and veggies into your DAILY diet. Yes. Daily. That means every single day eat something that grows on a tree or out of the ground lol. Drink more water. Start trying to convert your favorite recipes into a meat free version. Like you don’t have to put a pound of ground meat into the spaghetti, throw in some peppers, onions, mushrooms, even beans.

And whatever you do don’t decide to go vegan cold turkey around Thanksgiving because you’re gonna give in… hot turkey lol. (I’m lame for that joke).

Now I am the ending phases of this transition and that is the battle with eggs and dairy.

Now I can’t sit here and say that I won’t eat some caramel cake or a Snickers because it has eggs and milk in it. To me, that is doing the most. And Chicago got some pretty good black bakeries that throws down on the sweets (Angelica’s Bakery Caramel Cake pictured below) and I have to indulge sometimes. And baked mac and cheese (example also pictured below) is also hard to resist sometimes…. Just to be honest!

But you know your own limitations and what you are willing to compromise on. Just take your time wit it and do it for yourself. You have to have your own reasons. And maybe being completely meat free isn’t your thing. BUT I would hope that if you are grown, that eating more fruits and vegetables and drinking more water is “your thing”.

I’m not ya mama tho.

Good luck on your transition to healthiness and I hope you can find a few good meal ideas off the site! More recipes coming soon.