How to Go Vegan–Part One: Vegan Substitutes
If you have ever thought about transitioning to a vegan diet (or eating less dairy and meat) in 2020, I highly suggest you make it a part of your new year! Going vegan was one of the best things I’ve ever done and has changed my life and my health for the better.
I never in a million years imagined myself as a vegan (cheese dip at Mexican restaurants was my weakness and I once ate an entire stick of butter at Thanksgiving as a child…). But once I tried it for a week, then a month, then several months more, I realized how much it changed my health, life, and the way I look at food.
If you’re veg curious, you’ve come to the right place! This is part one of a series of blog posts where I will walk you through the beginning steps to going vegan or starting your journey to eating less animal products.
Part One: Vegan Substitutes
Part Two: Resources and Education
I will spare you the long discussion about how veganism is great for your health, the environment, and saving animal lives through compassion (In part two of this series, I will list a lot of resources that help you explore these topics!). Although these topics are extremely important––they are the reason I’ve stayed vegan for more than 2 years now––everyone comes to veganism for their own reasons and each of these reasons I explored in my own time through paths along my journey.
However, through this first post, I want to cover the main question I hear all the time.
What do you eat?!?
According to Merriam Webster the definition of vegan is as follows:
This means no beef, chicken, turkey, fish, shellfish, butter, cheese, milk, milk fat, milk powder, lard, beef tallow, milkfat, casein (another type of dairy protein), whey, eggs, cream, yogurt, egg whites… and so on. Essentially, anything that is produced by an animal.
If you feel like this sounds next to impossible, think again! The popularity of vegan food has exploded in recent years and there are so many options for substitutes in your local grocery store. Vegan mock meats, cheese, butter, and more exist in most grocery stores. While these foods aren’t considered health foods in most cases, they do help transition to eating less animal products and are okay in moderation.
Below, I’ve made the largest list of substitutes I know of and that are readily available in your local store’s natural food section or even the sections with the rest of the non-vegan food. Keep in mind I do live in the U.S., so this only includes products that are found here in the states. (For those in the UK, I envy your vegan sausage rolls like you wouldn’t believe…)
I’ve found most of these products at stores like Walmart, Food Lion, Wegmans, Kroger, Publix, ALDI, Trader Joe’s, and more.
MEAT SUBSTITUTES
Beef:
MorningStar Farms Grillers Crumbles
Wegman’s Don’t Be Piggy Meatless Style Sausage Crumbles
Kroger Simple Truth Meatless Crumbles
Gardein Beefless Ground (my personal fave!!)
Gardein Sizzling Szechuan Beefless Strips
LightLife Smart Ground (also comes in Mexican flavor)
...or make your own vegan ground beef with my recipe!
Meatballs:
LightLife SmartMenu Plant Based Meatballs
Turkey/Ham/Deli Meat:
LightLife Plant Based Slices (ham, turkey, pepperoni, veggie slices, and more)
Kroger Simple Truth Turkey Style Deli Slices and Kroger Simple Truth Plant Based Ham Slices
Tofurky Plant-Based Slices (they have a large variety of flavors and types including turkey, ham, and even bologna–the hickory smoked is my pick!)
Tofurky Ham Roasts, Turkey Roasts, and Holiday Roast
Chicken:
ALDI Earth Grown Chickenless Tenders & Patties
BOCA Chicken Patties & Chicken Nuggets (Be sure to check––not all are vegan.)
MorningStar Farms Chicken Nuggets, Chicken Strips, Chicken Patties (I grew up eating these chicken patties. They’re the best!)
Gardein Chicken Wings, Nuggets, Tenders, Scallopini, Sliders
Wegmans Don’t Be Chicken Nuggets
...for a recipe idea using chick’n strips, check out my Vegan Chicken Tacos with Refried Black Beans.
Or check out my Vegan Lemon Caper Chicken Piccata made with Gardein chicken!
Burgers:
ALDI Earth Grown Burgers (large variety!)
BOCA Burgers and Patties (Be sure to check––not all are vegan.)
MorningStar Farms Burgers (Be sure to check––not all are vegan. My favorite is the meat lovers!)
Fish:
Gardein Crabless Cakes & Fish Filets
Chorizo:
MorningStar Farms Chorizo Crumbles
Kroger Simple Truth Vegan Chorizo
Trader Joe’s Soy Chorizo
Upton’s Naturals Chorizo Seitan (Upton’s has a large selection of jackfruit and seitan mock meats!)
Bacon:
Tofurky Tempeh Bacon (I love their smoky maple bacon.)
Yves Veggie Cuisine Canadian Bacon
Breakfast sausage & regular sausages/hot dogs:
Field Roast Apple Maple Breakfast Sausage
Field Roast Sausages/Frankfurters (wide variety––I love the Apple Sage or Italian!)
Gardein Breakfast Sausage & Sliced Italian Sausage
Kroger Simple Truth Meatless Breakfast Patties
Wegmans Don’t Be Piggy Breakfast Patties
Beyond Sausage (brats and italian)
LightLife GimmeLean–Sausage (my absolutely favorite for making breakfast sausages!)
LightLife Hot Dogs, Bratwurst, Italian Sausage and more (The jumbo hot dogs work great for campfires.)
Tofurky Sausage and Hot Dogs (lots of variety!)
Corn dogs:
MorningStar Farms Corn Dogs (I grew up eating these and now they’re vegan...amazing!)
Field Roast Miniature Corn Dogs
DAIRY/EGG SUBSTITUTES
Butter:
I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter Vegan
Earth Balance Vegan Butter Spreads and Sticks
Country Crock Plant Butter–Spreads and Sticks (my current pick!)
Cheese:
Violife (shreds, slices, parmesan, feta)
Daiya (shreds, blocks, slices, pizza, alfredo/cheese sauce)
Field Roast Chao Cheese Slices
Follow Your Heart (slices, parmesan, shreds, etc.)
ALDI Earth Grown Vegan Mozzarella Style Shreds
Trader Joe’s Vegan Mozzarella Style Shreds
Miyoko’s Vegan Cheese Wheel & Mozzarella (this mozz melts like butter!!)
Tofutti Better than Cheese Ricotta
Mayo:
Hellman’s Vegan Dressing & Sandwich Spread (personal fave!)
Ranch/Caesar dressing:
Daiya (ranch, Caesar, italian, blue cheese, honey mustard)
Follow Your Heart (ranch, Caesar, honey mustard, etc.)
Eggs:
Sour cream:
Whipped cream:
Reddi Wip Almond or Coconut Whipped Cream
So Delicious Dairy Free CocoWhip Coconut Whipped Topping
Cream cheese:
Kroger Simple Truth Plant Based Cream Cheese
Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese
Follow Your Heart Cream Cheese
Trader Joe’s Vegan Cream Cheese
ALDI Earth Grown Vegan Cream Cheese
Mac & Cheese:
Daiya Cheezy Mac (many varieties)
Modern Table Vegan Mac (This stuff is great–also high in protein.)
…or make your own! My Baked Vegan Mac & Cheese recipe is my personal favorite.
(I decided to leave out plant-based coffee creamer, yogurt, and milk since they’ve become fairly mainstream recently and can be found in most dairy sections!)
JUST FOR FUN
Kroger Simple Truth Plant Based Cookie Dough
Kroger Simple Truth Plant Based Pudding
Kroger Simple Truth French Onion Dip
Flying Goose Sriracha Mayo Sauce
Earth Balance Vegan Cheddar Crackers or Vegan Puffs
Hippeas Organic Chickpea Puffs (these are like Cheetos... I love the white cheddar ones!)
Enjoy Life Foods Crunchy & Soft-Baked Cookies and Chocolate Chips
This list will be ongoing and I will add as needed or as I think of more products. Essentially, eating vegan in 2020 is easier than ever before due to the rise of plant-based products. Use these substitutes as a way to help transition into a more plant-based diet. Check out your local grocery store, ask around, join a local vegan Facebook group that shares their shopping finds––there’s so much to discover!