Many people believe that eliminating all animal products will greatly narrow their menus. But according to most vegans, quite the opposite happens. Once you start frequenting your local health/natural food stores and co-ops, perusing the dozens of vegan cookbooks, or just following the suggestions in this guide, you will soon become familiar with the wide variety of options that weren’t a part of your previous diet. Over time, you will also discover that it is possible to follow almost any recipe by substituting ingredients.

For those who prefer not to cook, there are a wide variety of packaged foods from which to choose: frozen dinners; canned and dehydrated soups, stews, and chilies; items of all sorts for quick and easy sandwiches like vegan dogs and burgers, deli slices, bacons, sausages, untuna and unchicken salads, and soy and rice cheeses; and delicious desserts including soy yogurts and ice creams. The variety is growing every year; and more and more supermarkets are starting to carry the same products that used to be found only in specialty stores. You may even find that your local health food store has its own deli counter, stocked with prepared foods.

If you do not have many vegan offerings in your area, you may want to contact Pangea or the Mail Order Catalog, a great source for ordering meat and dairy substitutes like soy products, seitan, TVP, nutritional yeast, and broth mixes.

Simple Meal Ideas

Here are just a few examples.

Breakfast

Oatmeal or cold cereal with fruit and nondairy milk

Toast, bagel, or English muffin with fruit spread and peanut butter or vegan cream cheese

Fruit smoothie made with nondairy milk or soy yogurt

Pancakes or waffles (many brands of prepared mixes and a variety of Van’s frozen waffles are vegan)

Tofu scramble with hash browns and veggie sausage

Fruit-filled toaster pastry

Lunch

Veggie burger or dog with fries

Faux lunchmeat sandwich with chips

Veggie pizza

Bean burrito

Falafel pita sandwich with hummus

Peanut butter and jelly

Dinner

Pasta with faux meat sauce, faux meatballs, or faux sausage

Veggie chili

Faux meat tacos, burritos, or enchiladas (click here for cooking tips on vegan tacos and chili)

Stir-fry with tofu, tempeh, or faux meat (see tips)

Faux meat with gravy and mashed potatoes

Vegetable tofu lasagna (see tofu ricotta recipe)

Right: Pasta and tomato sauce topped with Tofurky Sweet Italian Sausage.

Snacks or Dessert

Nondairy ice cream or frozen soy yogurt

Vegan cookies, pie, cake, or pudding (see recipes)

Fresh or dried fruit

Nuts or seeds

Trail mix

Pretzels or popcorn

Chips and salsa

Energy bar (vegan Clif Bar)

Right: An assortment of delicious dairy-free desserts. Keep in mind, though, many popular snacks and other convenience foods are also vegan—see “I Can’t Believe It’s Vegan!”

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