How to become vegan? Sounds overwhelming when you start thinking of how to completely change a lifestyle you have been accustomed to for years! But I have good news for you, it's not that hard!!! 
Being vegan these days is a piece of cake compared to 20 years ago. We are in an era where we are lucky to be vegan!!! YAY!!! (happy dance!)

So let's begin! In my previous post I explained the difference between veganism and being a vegetarian, I am a strict vegan who also maintains a gluten-free lifestyle. In my posts I will always promote anything that is vegan & gluten-free, from vegan foods to vegan nail polish to vegan shoes. I will also be posting quick and easy gluten-free and vegan recipes for you and your family. And I also welcome people to share their vegan recipes! 

First things, first! The one thing you should quickly remove from your everyday lifestyle is any meat. YES any and all sorts of meat (beef, chicken, seadfood)...What can you have instead? Well there are so many options today! 
You have to go to your local supermarket or a health food store and find the vegetarian/vegan section. There you will find tons of different meat-substitute brands for beef, chicken or even seafood. If you don't find a vegan brand or if you live in a small town, request to speak to a manager and place an order! The more you ask and others, the more likely they will order it! 

Beyond Meat 

One of my favorite meat-substitute is the brand Beyond Meat! 
Their chicken-free strips taste and feel like chicken! You can even pull it apart like a chicken and its feels exactly the same. Best part It cooks in just a few minutes! 
The chicken-free strips come in 3 different flavors: Grilled, Lightly Seasoned and Southwest. 
It's real meat made from 100% plant protein. It's made from peas and soy. It's also gluten-free. 
For those of you that avoid soy like myself, I still make Beyond Meat chicken-free strips once in a while. 

However, their Beef-free Crumbles I do have often! They are soy-free and gluten-free! YAY!!!
They come in two flavors: Beefy and Feisty. 
The beef-free crumbles taste exactly like ground beef. It's incredible! 
Its made from peas. It's the only gluten-free and soy free beef-free crumble in the market!
I love adding them to my vegan gluten-free taco nights or to make some yummy pasta dishes. 
I will be sharing some great recipes down the road.

You can find Beyond Meat at your local Whole Foods, Publix, Sprouts or HEB markets. 
If you don't find it, remember ask the manager to place an order for you! 
www.beyondmeat.com
 
Next items you should quickly eliminate from your everyday lifestyle is your DAIRY products! 
I personally LOVE cheese, ice cream, and milk with my cereals. But once I ended my romance with dairy and switched to vegan dairy products, I felt so much healthier even though I was eating so much "dairy"! 
I noticed I no longer had to worry about catching a cold during winter season. 
During all my intensive research I discovered the link between dairy and mucus, acne, gas, osteoporosis and migraines to name a few. After all that knowledge there is no way I can ever have dairy again! Yuck! 
But now I can enjoy my cream cheese, pizza, ice cream and not feel guilty at all because its all vegan! 

Milk 

There are so many different delicious non-dairy beverages you can drink these days. 
I highly recommend drinking almond milk, cashew milk, coconut milk, rice milk and hazelnut milk.
I drink all of them from different brands. I switch every week to a different one.  
I love the brand Dream for coconut milk, rice and cashew milk. For almond milk I enjoy the brand So Delicious.
Pacific Natural Foods brand has an awesome non-dairy beverage selection for almond and hazelnut milk which you can find at Trader Joe's or any health food store.  
www.tastethedream.com
www.sodeliciousdairyfree.com
www.pacificfoods.com

Cheese

When it comes to vegan cheese the best one in the market is Daiya! 
Daiya products are all dairy-free, gluten-free and soy-free.
The Daiya shreds style come in different flavors and they come in handy for pizza, quesadillas or even nachos.
The Daiya Wedges style are ideal for a fancy platter, melt them into your sauce or cut them for your kid's lunchbox.
The Daiya Slices style are perfect for your favorite sandwich. They feel and taste like real cheese. 
The Daiya Cream Cheese style spread is delicious to have with your favorite bagel. 
The Daiya Pizza come already prepared for you in different flavors and all you do is place it in the oven. 
After trying all their products I am hooked and can't live without them! 
I suggest you switch over to Daiya cheese products right away!!! 
us.daiyafoods.com

Bread


Believe it or not, not all breads are vegan. A lot of breads contain eggs, milk or even honey. So when choosing a vegan bread make sure it is one 100% vegan. I personally love Food for Life brand because its vegan and they have gluten-free options. They even have vegan and gluten-free English Muffins! 
You can find Food for Life products at any health food markets and Trader Joe's. 
www.foodforlife.com

Pasta

When it comes to pasta its always important to double check and make sure it is egg-free. Most boxed pasta contain eggs. 
I'm half Italian so I automatically live for pasta! I could have it everyday if I could!!! 
But I only have vegan and gluten-free pasta.
There are so many brands out there that are gluten-free and vegan. Check your local health food store to see what brands you like and taste delicious to you.
De Boles offer that Al dente taste that I so love!
www.deboles.com

Butter

Vegan butter is a sensitive subject to some. There is the famous vegan butter that everyone loves but people also seem to not realize that they use palm oil which kills the Orangutans. Most animal activists like myself have been avoiding any vegan butter brands that contain palm oil (palm fruit oil) and have resorted to making our own butter.
Of course there are different butters out there like almond, cashew and coconut butter but if you're looking for the buttery taste then I would suggest making your own. 
I will later include a delicious, easy and quick recipe for you to make! 

I hope you can you use this post as a reference and guide on how to substitute your current meat and dairy products! Being vegan these days is a piece of cake! 
I highly recommend always checking your ingredients on all your products while you are at your favorite health food store. I know it sounds like a drag but you quickly get used to it and kind of love it!!! 
I look forward to posting more information on how to become vegan and some yummy recipes. 

And remember: 
Girlie Vegans Do It Better!!!

Love and light,
Leda xxx


Photo Courtesy: Gourmandia.net, Peta.org, Veganessentials.com, Meredone.com, Naturalie.net, Daiya, Onegreenplanet.org, Deboles, Vegan.com

What is Vegan you ask? Well the correct answer is: "A person who does not eat or use animal products."
Many people correlate vegan as a diet. But being vegan is more of a lifestyle choice and a philosophy than a diet. 
What is Veganism? According to Wikipedia, It's the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products, particularly in diet, as well as following an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of sentient animals. A follower of veganism is known as a vegan. 
In other words, veganism is a lifestyle choice and a belief that one should not eat any meat, dairy, eggs, honey or anything that is an animal or contains animal by-products. The same as your lifestyle choices like what you wear and your everyday products. Being vegan means you are the person that follows a veganism lifestyle. Kapish? Comprende? YAY! 

Okay so now that you understand what being vegan means lets discuss what a vegetarian is! Hahaha
Being a vegetarian simply means restricting from the consumption of any meat (red meat, poultry, seafood and the flesh of any other animal) and any by-products of animal slaughter. 
Vegetarians still have the option of consuming dairy products including eggs. 

Why become vegan you may ask? There are a million reasons why everyone on earth should be vegan, but I will only share a few! 
Did you know that the meat, dairy, egg industry slaughter over 9 BILLION animals each year?
In 2010 the UN reported that a global shift towards a vegan diet would be vital to saving the world from hunger, fuel poverty and global warming. 
There is an increased risk of breast cancer and fatal ovarian cancer for women who consume meat & eggs 3 or more times a week, 
There is also an increased risk of prostate cancer and heart attack risk for men who eat meat on a daily basis. 
Why sometimes you have friends who tell you they have anxiety feelings in their chest, headaches or have stomach issues. 
Head over to the Vegan Facts tab and learn about more vegan facts! 

Many individuals convert to a vegan lifestyle to prevent animal cruelty, for health reasons, to tap into a higher spiritual dimension or simply to follow a cool trend...
Whatever your reason is, it is important to do it right! Many of my friends have tried being vegan for a week or two and then gave up for lack of knowledge, where to shop, what to buy, or didn't know how to cook. 
After I led some of my close friends into a vegan lifestyle, I am happy to state that most of them are still vegan! YAY!!! (Clapping hands)

That is why I have such a passion for sharing what has worked for me! GirlieVegan will show you how to be smart, cute, sassy, fun, cool, spiritual and lovable all while being VEGAN!!! ;)

And remember: 

GirlieVegans Do It Better!!! 

Love and light,
Leda xxx


Photo Courtesy of VeganFoodPyramid.com

Darling Angels, 

I hope when you are reading this you are ready to embark a new journey and realize that today, at this very moment, you have a fresh start on life. It is never too late to begin a new healthy lifestyle!

Before I was vegan, boy, did I LOVE LOVE LOVE junk food!!! All I could eat!!! I was obsessed! All my life I struggled with my weight. Gained, lost, gained, lost and gained again.
All throughout my teenage years I tried every diet there was out there from Slim Fast, to just eating cereal all day to the Atkins diet, you name it, I did it! I even did the baby food diet!!! I can’t! Aghhh!!!
Now that I am a bit wiser when it comes to food and healing, I realized that the reason I struggled with my weight was due to family issues and most importantly, what I was putting in my body. 

I lived in Texas for a few years and when I arrived I was super skinny and when I left I had gained triple the weight. How could I not? I was eating bad food all the time! I lived at Whataburger and had the nerve to Whatasize the
meals! Everyone at Cici’s Pizza knew me! I would eat 3 pies all by myself. YES, that’s right, 3 whole pies! White Pizza, Barbecue Pizza and Pepperoni Pizza! I had nooo problem eating all 3 plus dessert!!!  My own friends who were born and raised there couldn’t even believe how much I could eat! I have a stomach ache now just thinking about it!

When I moved back to NYC I realized I had to do something about my weight, I shed a few pounds just from walking in NY but I was still overweight. Working in the entertainment industry only put more pressure to lose weight and I became more stressed out. I started thinking I was eating healthier because instead of eating 3 pies of pizzas I was only eating 2 slices of pizza a week. Working crazy hours and traveling the world was just hard to pay attention to my eating habits.

I started getting bad feelings every time I ate. Like if something was wrong. I couldn’t pin point it but I knew it had to do with what I was placing inside my body. Then one day I watched a video about how the animals are slaughtered just so we can eat meat and dairy. I couldn’t stop crying and realized that I could never touch meat again. At that very moment I ended my journey with meat. I instantly became a vegetarian and within 3 months and I became vegan.
I was so fascinated with my new journey and even more baffled not only about the weight I lost, but how much energy I had and how great I felt just after 3 weeks being vegan! Was incredible!

Fast forward to today, I LOVE my vegan and gluten-free lifestyle! After years of researching veganism and helping friends and clients transition into a vegan lifestyle, I am happy to say that vegans now have much more options
when it comes to vegan products and restaurants! 
I will teach you how to simply switch from a meat-centered diet to a plant-based diet and still enjoy the luxury and taste of food! I am also welcoming other vegans to share some of their yummy vegan recipes! 

Remember you are what you eat!!!

GirlieVegans Do It Better!!!

Love and light,
Leda xxx