Prenote

Congrats on trying out veganism!

First off, based on your message, I think you might have a couple misunderstandings about veganism. Understand that veganism isn’t a diet nor is it inherently healthy. You can be vegan and eat processed food and imitation products all day long. Veganism is primarily an ethical stance - choosing not to partake in the industrial scale abuse and torture of our animal friends.

I hate to say something that goes against my own beliefs, but I don’t think it really makes sense to go fully vegan just for health reasons. Yes, virtually all nutritionists would say that people need to cut down and significantly reduce the amount of meat and animal products people eat, but for purely health reasons there aren’t many reasons to go down to absolutely 0. Plus, although there are plenty of benefits to outweigh the negatives, it is important to recognize that vegans can have a slightly harder time getting some nutrients, like vitamin D, iron, zinc, omega 3 fatty acids (most people struggle with these nutrients anyway, it’s just that vegans struggle a little more). And uniquely, there is virtually no vegan source of B12, so you need to take a supplement, or eat fortified foods.

I’m saying this because people who go vegan only for health reasons almost always quit eventually. Do it for the animals, but also enjoy the health benefits that come along naturally.

Don’t make these mistakes

Going vegan, especially suddenly, can take a toll on your body, just as making any sudden dietary change can.

• Make sure you are eating enough. A lot of vegan food isn’t as dense as animal products, usually because it contains a lot more water. The actual “volume” of food that you eat should increase quite a bit. Although I’m normally against it, I actually recommend calorie counting for a bit when you first go vegan (but do understand the dangers of calorie counting long term).
• Understands symptoms of suddenly eating a lot of fiber: One of the healthiest aspects of veganism is the high intake of fiber, which is fantastic for your digestive system. However, most people eat way too little fiber, and the sudden change from little fiber to lots of fiber can actually be a bit uncomfortable: bloating, stomach pain, diarrhea. Long term healthy, but maybe short term take it slow.
• Eat satiating foods: Vegetables and fruits are great for your health, but you have to eat foods that provide long term energy and make you feel full. If you are feeling hungry all the time, that’s not good. The overarching categories here are grains (preferably whole), legumes (beans, lentils, tofu, fake meat), nuts, seeds.
• Get your vitamins checked 3-6 months after going vegan: I just think this is too important after any dietary change.

Onto your actual question

The main breakfasts I eat are:

• Granola or cereal and plant milk
• Tofu scramble (can meal prep this easily) and toast, sometimes impossible breakfast sausage. To make good tofu scramble you need some unconventional ingredients you might not find at a grocery store, like black salt (kala namak)
• Beans and toast
• Leftovers from last night’s dinner
• Skip breakfast (or just eat a small fruit) and instead have a big lunch

I will occasionally have toast with peanut butter and banana on it, but that’s so calorie dense, I only eat it on days I know I’ll be doing a lot of physical activities.

This is actually a great breakfast. I understand your concern about it being calorie dense, but recognize that this is very satiating, and will keep you full and energized for a long time.

Also, don’t be afraid to eat some vegan imitation products. I promise they’re not nearly as bad as people demonize them to be, just don’t eat them all the time. I love impossible brand breakfast sausage, bratwurst, burgers, and chicken nuggets. In modern day, you can be vegan and still indulge in some tasty foods occasionally.

Tumeric is used for coloring food a ton. Presentation of food matters way more than most people think.

If you went to a halal restaurant and they served you white rice wouldn’t that feel weird? I promise that the turmeric they add to the rice isn’t making that significant of a flavor difference, it’s mostly there for coloring.

I believe it! I had two types and they were god awful, but I’d be willing to give it another shot

That’s funny about cream cheese, I have mostly heard complaints about vegan cream cheese. Maybe I haven’t had the right brand yet but of the three types I tried I wasn’t a big fan.

Updated the list! My girlfriend has celiac’s disease and those usually aren’t gluten free so I don’t have them often

Same, I preferred plant milk to real milk for a few years before I went vegan.

I feel like that’s a common trend with vegan food. Take a delicious food item and overuse it until it’s almost disgusting. I love hummus but I can imagine if I ate it all the time I would get sick of it. I’m like that a little bit with mushrooms, I love mushrooms but eating a ton of them makes them gross for me.

I think something sorta unique about hummus that makes it really popular is that it’s a vegan protein source that is served cold and can surprisingly substitute meat and cheese well. Like you mentioned about sandwiches, you can take out the deli meat and cheese and replace it with hummus and it still tastes delicious. Most vegan protein sources are cooked and served warm, or don’t taste well with garden vegetables (like peanut butter).

I think I’m very okay with admitting that I probably just haven’t had good falafel yet. But I’ll make more effort to do so based on everyone’s comments!

From a taste perspective, umami.

From a health perspective, eating more protein is really good for satiety and therefore weight loss. Personally, when I don’t go out of my way to incorporate extra protein sources, I usually just don’t feel satisfied and full. I understand and recognize that you literally don’t need a ton of extra protein to be healthy, but I feel best when I have it.

Honestly, I in general don’t really like when a meat is substituted for a food that is not a primarily protein source. Like replacing meat for cauliflower or jackfruit, as opposed to something with legumes or lentils

I’ve never tried a durian but it’s kind of tempting, bucket list item for sure. What do you hate about it?

That’s fair, as someone who went vegan recently I quite enjoy a couple meat substitutes. I imagine someone who’s been vegan for a while doesn’t care for them much though.

I really like impossible ground beef and its derivatives (meatballs, burgers). This has been my main way of convincing my friends they could maybe go vegan, all but one of my really picky friends still enjoy these. But the vast majority of vegan imitation meats I don’t care much for.

I think there are a few spots where vegan cheese works.

There’s a couple simple parmesan cheese recipes that are pretty much just blended cashews, nooch, and seasonings that I enjoy on spaghetti. I’m sure it wouldn’t fool anybody but it works like a charm for me.

I also think you can make queso dips pretty well, the main ingredient usually being blended cashews or blended potatoes and carrots.

Sorry for bringing up cashews again but you can also make a really good cashew ricotta that’s a good spread on crackers.

I tend not to enjoy the imitation cheeses. I prefer just going all in on the nuts and enjoying the final product as it’s own unique item.

I’ve never been all that fond of falafel. I feel like I would like it in theory but when I eat it it’s just, meh.

I wish this was true. I have some pet lizards I got before I went vegan, two of them are omnivores (blue tongue skink and Argentine black and white tegu). They can’t be vegan. I mean, honestly, if there was a large scale effort to research it, I bet we could come up with a suitable vegan diet for them, but I don’t think anyone will put a bunch of resources into that.