RESOURCES AND FAQs AROUND PLANT-BASED EATING
Need help with making the switch to plant-based eating?
Check out these free resources
Free Veggie challenges & mentoring
Sign up for one these plant-based challenges below and receive nutritional advice, support, recipes and more. It is free to participate!
Plant-based meal planning
Getting your diet on track with healthy eating is about to happen! These meal plans are so easy and have everything you need to kickstart your healthy eating habits. BREAKFAST, LUNCH and DINNER!
Plant-based Breakfast ideas & recipes
Yummy recipes to lure you out of bed.
https://www.foodnetwork.ca/healthy-eating/photos/vegan-breakfast-recipes/
https://www.yummymummykitchen.com/2018/05/35-amazing-vegan-breakfast-ideas.html
https://foodwithfeeling.com/vegan-breakfast-recipes/
https://www.nutriplanet.org/2019/01/healthy-vegan-breakfast-recipes/
https://www.bonappetit.com/gallery/vegan-breakfast-recipes
https://www.veganricha.com/category/breakfast/
https://www.olivemagazine.com/recipes/vegan/best-vegan-breakfast-recipes/
https://chooseveg.com/blog/7-easy-vegan-breakfast-ideas-for-people-with-almost-no-time-to-cook/
https://www.ilovevegan.com/how-to-make-a-vegan-breakfast-sandwich/
https://runningonrealfood.com/easy-vegan-breakfast-skillet/
https://minimalistbaker.com/fluffy-chickpea-scramble-30-minutes/
Plant-based Lunch ideas & recipes
To help with lunchtime, here are out top vegan lunch ideas! These colorful and healthy plant based recipes make lunch something to look forward to.
https://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/category/special-diets/vegan/
https://www.bonappetit.com/gallery/vegan-dinner-recipes-that-we-just-love
https://cookieandkate.com/29-vegan-dinner-recipes/
https://www.loveandlemons.com/vegan-recipes/
https://www.ambitiouskitchen.com/vegan-dinner-recipes/
https://foodwithfeeling.com/vegan-dinner-recipes/
https://foodwithfeeling.com/vegan-dinner-recipes/
https://www.themediterraneandish.com/vegan-dinner-recipes/
https://chooseveg.com/blog/30-vegan-dinners-in-30-minutes-or-less/
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/collection/vegan-dinner
https://www.delish.com/cooking/g4811/vegan-dinner-recipes/
https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/food-recipes/healthy/g807/vegan-recipes/
https://veggiefestchicago.org/recipes/?cooked_search_s=VEGAN&cooked_browse_sort_by=date_desc
Plant-based Dinner ideas & recipes
These easy vegan recipes for beginners make eating a whole food plant-based diet fun, healthy, and most importantly: delicious!
https://www.ambitiouskitchen.com/vegan-lunch-recipes/
https://veganheaven.org/all-recipes/40-easy-vegan-lunch-ideas/
http://wallflowerkitchen.com/20-vegan-packed-lunch-recipes/
https://www.karissasvegankitchen.com/quick-and-easy-vegan-lunch- recipes/ https://www.emilieeats.com/10-healthy-vegan-lunches-for-work/
Easy Plant-based Recipe Ideas For Kids
Lots of easy kid-friendly vegan recipes that your child will love!
https://chooseveg.com/blog/17-kid-friendly-vegan-recipes-for-the-little-ones-in-your-life/
https://www.hummusapien.com/kid-friendly-vegan-recipes-2/
https://itdoesnttastelikechicken.com/35-vegan-recipes-for-kids/
https://www.mydarlingvegan.com/kid-friendly-dinners/
https://holycowvegan.net/66-kid-friendly-vegan-recipes-from-a-vegan-mom/
https://www.veganrunnereats.com/9214/kid-friendly-vegan-recipes/
https://www.tasteofhome.com/collection/vegan-recipes-for-kids/
https://www.thekitchn.com/10-quick-easy-vegan-lunch-ideas-260389
https://www.veggiesdontbite.com/easy-plant-based-vegan-school-lunch-ideas/
Budget-friendly Plant-based recipes
Plant based vegan recipes are naturally budget–friendly. Learn how to use low cost vegetables and legumes to make low-cost, filling, and flavorful recipes.
https://jessicainthekitchen.com/25-budget-vegan-recipes/
https://chooseveg.com/blog/vegan-on-a-budget-17-easy-affordable-recipes-2/
https://www.veganricha.com/20-cheap-vegan-meals-vegan-on-a-budget/
https://www.staceyhomemaker.com/cheap-vegan-meals/
https://www.budgetbytes.com/category/recipes/vegetarian/vegan/
Inspirational Movies
Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret is a groundbreaking environmental documentary that uncovers the most destructive industry facing the planet today.
Forks over Knives examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting animal-based and processed foods.
Earthlings is a documentary film about humankind’s total dependence on animals for economic purposes. Presented in five chapters (pets, food, clothing, entertainment and scientific research), the film is narrated by Joaquin Phoenix and features music by Moby.
Inspirational Books
Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer is a very thorough book examining animal agribusiness that reveals the ethical implications of factory farming.
The World Peace Diet by Will Tuttle presents the outlines of a more empowering understanding of our world, based on the comprehending the far-reaching implications of our food choices.
Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs, and Wear Cows by Melanie Joy offers an absorbing look at why and how humans can so wholeheartedly devote ourselves to certain animals and then allow others to suffer needlessly, especially those slaughtered for our consumption.
The 30-Day Vegan Challenge by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau holds your hand every step of the way as you try out the vegan lifestyle for 30 days, giving you the tools, resources, and recipes you need to make the vegan transition.
The Plant-Based Journey by Lani Muelrath offers a positive, non-judgmental approach and provides the support you need to make your transition into eating plant-based a fun and (ful)filling experience.
Inspirational Podcasts
Food for Thought has been running for more than 10 years. This podcast by Colleen Patrick Goudreau covers all aspects of living healthfully and compassionately.
Main Street Vegan is hosted by Victoria Moran, who interviews vegans from all walks of life who are doing exciting things to grow the vegan movement.
The Bearded Vegans moves beyond the basic Vegan 101 and creates more nuanced discussions for the seasoned vegan.
Inspirational Youtubers
Bite Size Vegan is veganism simplified. The host, Emily, delivers vegan education in the form of “vegan nugget” videos with loads of information distilled down to fast, power-packed bites.
Plant Based Bride is a channel hosted by Elizabeth Turnbull, a young Canadian woman who makes videos about veganism, minimalism, and vegan and cruelty-free beauty.
The Viet Vegan is a channel hosted by Lisa Le, a child of first generation Vietnamese boat refugees, growing up in Southern Ontario. Currently living just outside of Toronto, The Viet Vegan shares veganized comfort food recipes, personal essays, and self-reflections about veganism, nerd culture, feminism, and more.
Local Vegan Resources (KW & Around)
Follow these local vegan accounts for local vegan finds, restaurants and recipes! Going vegan couldn’t be easier with all of these local resources!
Plantiful KW: A local resource showcasing all of the vegan products and restaurants available in the Waterloo Region and beyond! Most content is found on Instagram, but you can also find additional information on her website.
FAIR/SQUARE: An online retail store for vegan products made in Canada they sell everything from groceries to cruelty-free beauty products, gift baskets, subscription boxes and vegan-themed lifestyle products such as shirts, bags, purses, jewelry and bags. They also regularly offer free local delivery to Cambridge, Kitchener & Waterloo.
Plant-based Relationship: A local vegan couple who love to share vegan food, finds and recipes. Check out their website for recipes or their Instagram.
The Vegan Delly: A local vegan enthusiast with loads of vegan food inspiration and recipes. Check out her Instagram here.
Kate Is Plant-Based: Looking for local vegan food inspo? Look no further than Kate’s recipe collection. Check out her Instagram and her website.
Zero Waste Bulk: Not just a local bulk store! The owner of ZWB shares incredible recipe content on her Instagram page.
Sports & Fitness Information
Vegan Bodybuilding and Fitness — Robert Cheeke’s passionate community of plant-based athletes, mostly bodybuilders. There’s an active forum community and lots of good articles on sports nutrition.
True Love Health’s “Day in the Life” series — in this video series, registered dietitician Matt Ruscigno hangs out with some amazing vegan athletes and has them share favorite recipes and nutrition and training advice on his blog.
Organic Athlete — a nonprofit dedicated to “creating a better world through sport.” The site highlights a lot of vegan athletes through videos, podcasts, and articles.
Vegan Muscle and Fitness — more nutrition and training articles, mainly from Derek Tresize and Marcella Torres, two competitive vegan bodybuilders.
4-Hour Body — what? 4-Hour Body is for vegetarians? Well, not really. But the few chapters that focus on plant-based diets (including ultrarunner Scott Jurek’s) are totally worth it.
Brooks Running Shoes — while many of the major running shoe companies make animal-friendly shoes, Brooks is the only one I know of that advertises that all of their shoes (except walkers) are vegetarian- and vegan-friendly. Some, like the Green Silence, are eco-friendly as well. Bonus: the aforementioned Scott Jurek helps design lots of the shoes!
Vegan Nutritions Information
Thrive in 30 — vegan pro Ironman Brendan Brazier’s e-course teaching the fundamentals of maximizing energy and vitality through plant-based nutrition in 30 days
PCRM’s 21-Day Vegan Kickstart — a useful starter kit from the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, including a meal plan, a community forum, and lots of nutrition information. Check out PCRM’s homepage for lots more good stuff, some of which is surprisingly light-hearted and funny.
Primitive Nutrition — a series of videos (over 70!) arguing against the popular Paleo diet. I think it would have a greater impact if it were more balanced and not quite so overtly in favor of veganism, but there are a lot of interesting points in the few videos I’ve watched.
Protein in the Vegan Diet — the Vegetarian Resource Group’s explanation of how much we need, and a list of good sources of high-protein vegetarian foods
Iron in the Vegan Diet — another good article from the VRG, this one addressing the second-most popular question people ask about vegetarian nutrition
PaleoVeganology — the argument that we should look at the past and how are bodies have evolved to decide what’s good for us makes a lot of sense. PaleoVeganology does this, but draws conclusions that are often very different from those of the Paleo diet crowd.