Nowadays you will find that most supermarkets have a vegan section with a lot of expensive processed food labelled ‘vegan friendly’. This makes it very easy for new vegans to find vegan food. There are, however, two factors you might consider as you browse the ‘vegan friendly’ aisles. Firstly, much of this food is artificially constructed to look and taste like various dead animals and fish. Secondly, this food is usually highly processed (and priced).
Many people that go vegan are revolted by the thought of eating dead flesh. Most of these people are equally revolted by artificial products engineered to look, smell, and taste just like dead animals. We are making no judgement on these products or on whether you wish to eat them or not. We just want to point out that while there are some vegans that love these products, there are other vegans that are revolted by them. You need to keep this in mind especially if you are cooking for other vegans.
Many people that go vegan are motivated by the health benefits. There are massive benefits to be gained from a diet that excludes meat, fish, dairy and eggs. When people are motivated to improve their diet because they want the health benefits, they will usually eliminate as much processed food from their diet as practical, as well as eliminating meat, fish, dairy and eggs. Most people will also trend towards increasing the percentage of fresh fruit, nuts, and vegetables in their diet.
It is very easy to learn how to cook beautiful and delicious meals from fresh wholesome fruit and vegetables as soon as you decide you want to do this. It is also very cheap to buy the ingredients. You can find beautiful vegan recipes all over the internet. You can also take many recipes that are not vegan and make them vegan by eliminating or substituting the non-vegan elements.
The fact that you have decided to go vegan is fantastic. This is the beginning of a new exciting journey for you. It is important to make this journey a happy and positive experience for yourself because no one else is going to do that for you. You are responsible for your own wellbeing and happiness.
Whatever decisions you make regarding the usage of vegan meat substitute products is up to you. You should also remember that there is no need to make an absolute decision with regards to eating these products. Your decisions are yours to make and no one else’s opinion should matter to you. Just be ready to find that some of your vegan friends will not eat the vegan meat substitutes you offer them, regardless of your well-meaning intentions.