April 17, 2024

As those of you who are already eating more compassionately can attest, it’s a journey of a lifetime. It’s sometimes challenging but always rewarding — for you, for the planet, and most importantly, for the animals.

CAA supports you on your journey

CAA’s support doesn’t stop with the end of Veg Week. Compassionate Action for Animals is in it for the long haul. We will continue to offer a variety of events, tips, and resources throughout the year. 

Most importantly, we are a community of like-minded individuals, ready to enthusiastically support you in any way we can. After all, each one of us has seen how important support is.

One of our community members shared an important aspect to keep in mind as you continue on this journey: “Take it slow, give yourself grace.”  -Allison Gamble 

Connecting with CAA

For continued support, be sure to keep connected to CAA. If you haven’t done so already, sign up for our weekly newsletter, and connect with us @exploreveg on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. That way, you won’t miss out on the wide variety of events we schedule each month. Take advantage of those opportunities for learning and community. They will see you through.

Following are some other final tips and words of inspiration from our community. Whether you are a new vegan or have long been plant-based, may they help you along your veg pathway.

Community quotes for more inspiration for your journey

• Remind yourself regularly about what you do to help and care for animals. Keep a binder or folder of your favorite vegan recipes to look back on and re-create. -Beatrix Olson
• I always think of the animals first. When I do that, there is no other way to eat or live. -Stephanie Paquin
• [Remember] Mr. Rogers [who said] – “I never eat anything that had a mother.” -Roland Halpern
• Passion and compassion. And curiosity. And personal forgiveness when you don’t do vegan. -Juliet L. Hutchings
• Don’t beat yourself up if you slip up. Just give yourself that freebie and then get back on the horse. It’s ok. -Allison Gamble
• Find lots of recipes, get some vegan recipe books. Learn to enjoy cooking. Prepare large batches and freeze portions. Prepare veg as soon as you get home from the grocery store. Find networks of vegans, social and/or in-person. Find restaurants that offer vegan food. Listen to vegan podcasts e.g. Our Hen House, The Vegan Pod. Follow vegans on social media e.g. plantbasednews. -Nicola Philpott
• Find meals that work for you and your schedule so you don’t burn out with cooking – I love cooking and making meals from whole foods, but I also have some easy meals for when I don’t have the energy, like vegan ramen, Daiya mac and cheeze, frozen pizza, frozen Bao buns, Trader Joe’s freezer section things, etc. Know easy things to grab if you are on the go and need food in a not-vegan friendly area – Clif Bars Builder Bars, Lenny and Larry’s Complete cookie for example. -Grace Prins
• Be flexible and accepting that sometimes meal choices will be limited. Plan meals ahead of time and keep healthy snacks on hand. -Kim Milligan
• Figuring out different versions of your favorite cultural or comfort foods can be key. Luckily, there are a lot of great plant-based dairy, meat, seafood, egg, and honey alternatives out there now that make that process much easier. -Catherine Krummey
• I encourage people wanting to transition to take it slow. It takes time to learn how to cook, and there’s likely not built-in or inherited recipes and cooking methods to support you. Find a few staples and build over time. Eventually you stop caring about the lack of cheese and other indulgent tastes of a meat heavy life. It’s not always an easy choice, but it’s getting better overall and your skills will grow over time. -Micah Norman-Pace
• Keeping in mind your core motivation for being vegan. Making sure you are meeting your nutritional needs so you have the health and energy to thrive on a vegan diet. Finding support systems in friends, family, or community. -Hannah Milos
• If you are struggling watch some slaughter videos or undercover videos of what happens to egg laying hens and dairy cows.  -Phil Martens
• Plan ahead, look out for yourself and always, always, always have your easy meal ingredients on hand for those moments where you don’t have time/energy. Be positive… it makes veganism more interesting to those around you when you glow. -Stephanie Paquin
• Go to a vegan restaurant to see how many choices there are and how people are having so much fun eating. -Roland Halpern
• Be patient and kind with yourself. There is no perfect. There is habit forming. The basic tenets of habit forming: precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance. Be patient with the machine that is your body. You’ll get there and it will take the time it’s going to take. There is no deadline for compassion. -Juliet L. Hutchings
• You don’t have to transform your whole family’s diet to make these changes for yourself – just keep your recipes simple and you can do it. -Allison Gamble
• Join us at a potluck! First Thursday of the month, 6:30pm at Unmapped Brewing Co. Minnetonka. We’d love to meet you! -Nicola Philpott
• It felt pretty lonely at first when I didn’t know any other vegans besides my partner, but volunteering with CAA and Farmaste Sanctuary were a great way to meet other people with the same values! 🙂 -Grace Prins
• I would ask the person to explore themselves and ask why they are exploring a more plant-based diet at this time in their life. When you connect to and know your “why,” it’s the fuel that drives change and transformation. -Kim Milligan
• Start by recreating some of your favorite comfort foods with vegan ingredients. You don’t have to live on a diet of tofu, veggies, and fruit. -Catherine Krummey
• Think of what you normally like to cook and then look online for the vegan version of it. There’s nothing I’ve been craving that hasn’t been veganized online. There are so many awesome YouTube cooking channels and blogs that can help you learn more about plant-based eating and recipes. [Borrowing] cookbooks from the library is also a great resource. Talk to others who are vegan or following a plant-based diet for tips and ideas on what to cook. Make sure you are eating a balanced diet and meeting your nutritional needs. Be curious and try new foods and recipes. -Hannah Milos