Very rarely are we conditioned to be a vegan from the onset of our life, however everyone can always choose the option to become a vegan and with this article I am happy to share that for those who decided to make the switch yet fear they will miss meat or many other products, even those who are having a harder time adjusting than they thought to the vegan lifestyle, this is the perfect read for you.

Vegan swap is the art, yes art of finding meat substitutes or animal by product substitutes that fall under the vegan accepted diet and/or need. Of course as this is vegan, it is also considered as clean eating and is pretty much good for you and your body, which let’s face it, is a very great bonus to this wonderful lifestyle.

Butter/margarine – This is quite a consideration for a lot of people, after all butter is used almost on a daily basis prior to becoming a vegan, the versatility of butter is something that is often sought after by vegans. There are a ton of options for clean eating such as pure sunflower, soya and olive as a substitute for margarine and not only does it taste the same, the cost does not differ too much.

Milk – Everyone is concerned with finding a source of calcium, as they should be, and even though there are plenty of other sources of calcium including several vegetables, there is just something about a nice glass of milk right? Well look no further, my fellow vegan people, there are a ton of options out there such as: coconut, hazelnut, the ever-dependable soy, rice and so much more. There are no lacking options for milk out here and a lot of them fall under clean eating, so perk up my other vegan friends, have a glass of milk without worrying if a cow was hurt in the process.

Tempeh makes a great alternative to chicken and burgers.

Chocolate – Yes the sweetness of chocolate is something you don’t have to miss out on, well milk chocolate won’t seem likely however a lot of dark chocolate should be perfect for a lot of vegan people. Let’s not forget that dark chocolate has a lot of antioxidants that are also good for you, aside from the fact that it falls under a vegan diet, this is a tasty treat that you’ll surely enjoy.

Cheese – This is perhaps one of the largest challenges that a lot of potential converters have when deciding to become a vegan, cheese the oh so delicious cheese. Well worry not, there is a dairy free swap that works well for vegan dieters, a soya based spread that is pretty much delicious and fairly easy to find in most groceries. Give it a shot and I am planning to try it with a couple of vegetables that have been begging for some cheese, yummy.

Burgers – Before you chose the path of a vegan, did you use to enjoy a burger from time to time? While I can’t imagine eating one now, I do still remember the satisfaction of one from awhile back, and again for newly turned vegan people you may want to know there are a lot of swaps for this option. There are bean burgers out there, tempeh, soya burgers, the sky is the limit here. There happens to be a ton of recipes as well that are just simply wonderful and delicious, I highly suggest you look some of them up and cook yourself a vegan tasty delight. Don’t forget there are a lot of ‘meaty’ mushrooms out there such as a shitakes that make for wonderful swaps as well, give them a try. Add some more vegetables and other clean eating ingredients, and for sure you have a sure crowd pleaser. In fact a lot of the potential vegan swaps listed here are part of the clean eating list and if you want to learn more about clean eating, please read my other article: The how to guide to clean eating.

Eggs – This is a bit tricky as you need to know what in particular you need from the eggs, however there are quite a few options ready for all vegan foodies. For scrambled eggs that seem to go great with almost any breakfast meal, I suggest using tofu as a swap. Need a binder for some type of dessert? Try a ripe banana or applesauce that works just as well and adds a little more taste to it my opinion.

Honey – Yes the natural sweetener should be left to who made them, namely the bees. For us vegan, who are looking for a great sweetener that has not been processed or comes with chemicals, there are a ton of options. I happen to favor maple syrup, fruit sugar syrups and so on, the options are fairly open for various vegan needs.

Chicken – Personally there are a lot of swaps that can be done to make it vegan friendly, quite frankly as they say, a lot of things taste like chicken. That being said, try the vegan options such as soya, which you can fairly change to make it take the texture of many things. Should that not work for you, seitan or tempeh, they are a very versatile ingredient and can be made to taste much like anything with proper care and cooking. Keep trying this clean eating method and you’ll never miss eating chicken ever again.

Instead of dairy ice cream, a great alternative would be frozen fruit smoothies. Vegan yogurt is also a tasty option since it comes from alternative milk sources such as almond milk, coconut milk and soy milk.

Ice cream – Yes the dairy filled goodness that a lot of people cannot live without and I would be amiss if I said that I don’t understand. However I am happy to say that there is an amazing vegan alternative and a happy friend to clean eating: frozen, blended fruits. I cannot say how happy I am to freeze up some fresh bananas and then blend it when I have a hankering for a good cup of ice cream. I add other fruits for more flavor and get my cravings done while still remaining faithful to my vegan needs, plus the added vitamins from fruits are a great bonus for this tasty snack.

Make up – While I don’t have a direct swap for this, it would be best to find out what products you are supporting by checking their website for any products that might affect animals or use other by products that will not agree with vegan needs. Just be mindful and I am sure you can find products that work best for you and your needs.

As you can see from the list there are a ton of vegan swap options for a lot of things other than just meat. You can fairly choose and find vegan solutions to a number of requirements as long as you take the time to decide and find out your options, the world is your virtual oyster or in our case, the soy based food, cooked and carefully placed in a vegetable shaped to resemble a shell and that sounds pretty awesome to me.

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