10 Rules to Make Living with a Vegan Easier (when you’re not one yourself)

I want to talk to you guys quickly about
strategies for living a vegan when you're not necessarily a vegan yourself. So the first thing is totally counter-intuitive, but making your house vegan has actually been the easiest thing for us. Then we don't have to have any discussions on if something belongs there of if it doesn't belong there. So just veganize the house. The next thing is getting getting creative. I love cooking. I think of myself as a good cook. But this was a whole different genre for me. It almost felt like I was going to cooking school, learning to cook vegan and get creative with my recipes. With that finding stuff that you love. You don't have to eat garbage when you're vegan. You can eat really delicious foods. So I found some recipes that I make every week that I love that Lenny loves, every week.

The other thing is really enjoying family time. Family time is where I don't have to stay vegan. But because Lenny and I kind of represent this vegan lifestyle, we always bring something vegan to share to a family potluck or holiday that way we can introduce more people to a plant-based lifestyle and you can find me at the cheese platter. Another thing that really helps is finding restaurants that cater to both vegan and non-vegan lifestyles.

I go to a lot of just vegan restaurants with Lenny. It's nice sometimes to go out and get to eat something that I normally wouldn't at home. So finding restaurants that serve both is really helpful. Another thing that I find helpful is having car snacks. I keep things like milk chocolate trail mix in the car. That way, if I've been feeling like I'm stuck at home all day in my vegan lifestyle I can get in the car and shove some M&M's in my mouth and feel better.

If it makes you feel any better, my foot hurts. It doesn't. Why would that make me feel better? Has your foot hurt for 9 months? Did it make you gain 30 pounds? Do you have to shove your foot
plus your calf out of your pee hole? I am a huge proponent, no matter what kind of lifestyle you're living, of meal planning. But with a vegan lifestyle you really have to meal plan. You have to make sure that you're getting enough protein that you're getting enough nutrients that you're keeping your husband full.

I meal plan pretty specifically every week to make sure that we have lunches and dinners covered for the week. And I think that people don't really recognize especially if they're new to the vegan lifestyle that you can still have comfort food. You don't have to eat salad every day if you're vegan. If you're living plant-based you can still have mac and cheese and you can still have burger night. You just substitute out some of the ingredients.

But there are nights where we just want to grub and we'll make something that isn't necessarily considered good for us. Chicken nuggets or something like that but we just do the plant-based form of them. And the trick there is to put all the normal toppings that you normally would, and then it's absolutely delicious. You can trick a lot of carnivores
into eating a Beyond Burger. Something I've found to be helpful when you're living with a vegan and you're not a vegan is a little self-loathing. This is my type humor anyway, but I kind of tease both Lenny and I when people ask me about the way that we live. I'll jab a little joke at him, I'll jab a little joke at me and that makes people a bit more comfortable.

We don't preach to people that they need to be plant-based, especially me, that would be extremely hypocritical
considering I'm not a full time vegan. But a little bit of joking helps kind of everyone feel comfortable with the situation. And the last one and maybe
the most important one is just to let it go. I have to just let it go and understand that 95 percent of my diet now is plant-based. We eat a lot of our meals at home,
and our home is vegan. But that letting go, I recognize that
I feel better than I've ever felt. Honestly I look better than I've ever looked,
and I feel great. And so yes my partner has made a choice to be a vegan but it's really been a good choice for both of us.

This lifestyle might not be for everyone. I feel like it's been a really good choice for Lenny and I. If you like videos like this please subscribe to our channel. Hit the thumbs up if you like this video. Put in the comments what you think might help live with a vegan. Help you live with a vegan. And we'll see you in the next one. Thanks guys..

Video Transcript – As found on YouTube

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