The Best Online Resources for Starting Your Vegan Lifestyle

It’s no secret that being vegan helps you reap a ton of health benefits. Studies have shown that going vegan can help you lose excess weight and lower the risk of major ailments like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and even cancer. 

This is why it’s no surprise that more than a third of Americans want to adopt a vegan lifestyle, according to a Wakefield Research survey. This growing interest can be attributed to the need to maintain good health, prioritize animal welfare, and the desire to promote environmental sustainability.

However, switching to veganism can be difficult if you don’t know where to start. Without the proper nutritional tips and information to guide you, sustaining a plant-based diet can be a challenge. Thankfully, there are a ton of valuable tools online that can help you kickstart your vegan journey. Here are some of the best online resources for starting your vegan lifestyle:

Ebooks

Reading books and cookbooks about plant-based and environmentally friendly lifestyles can help you feel comfortable and confident in your new vegan life. However, individual books can cost a lot, take up a lot of space, and aren’t very sustainable if you’re just planning on reading them once. Luckily, Everand hosts a variety of cooking ebooks like Sarah Roslin’s Plant Based Diet Cookbook for Beginners to help you build beginner-friendly plant-based recipes. These ebooks are accessible through a subscription that costs less than a physical book, and you can find other vegan ebook and audiobook resources like Sarah Meyers’ Vegan Diet for Beginners to guide you through your new vegan way of life. Ebooks are also easy to download and can be annotated, allowing you to personalize your learning journey.

Online cooking courses

You can also enroll in online cooking classes that teach the basics of sustaining a plant-based diet. Take Food Future Institute’s online cooking courses, which consist of lessons and modules that help students learn how to prepare meals, utilize superfoods that provide energy, minimize cooking waste through composting and repurposing, and maintain a vegan lifestyle overall. The course focuses on the various nutritional aspects of a plant-based diet, helping you create vegan meals without sacrificing essential nutrients that help you feel full and sustained. Joining online cooking classes also enables you to get used to the vegan lifestyle through actual practice at your own pace and from the comfort of your kitchen.

Educational videos 

If you don’t have the time to enroll and participate in online cooking courses, you can subscribe to shorter, equally helpful videos instead. For instance, YouTube has many vegan channels or videos that can help you adjust to your new lifestyle, such as plant-based cookbook author Nisha Vora’s channel, where you can learn recipes to amp up your vegan meals. Other content creators like Pick Up Limes also provide a helpful beginner’s guide to veganism to help you get started and stay consistent on your new journey. Watching YouTube videos is an educational and entertaining way to learn how to prep plant-based meals and maintain a vegan diet if online workshops aren’t a good fit for your schedule or budget.

Podcasts

Suppose you’re always on the go or simply an auditory learner. In that case, you can plug in your earphones and listen to podcasts that discuss all things vegan – from expert advice and recipes to common issues facing the vegan community. Spotify has a wide range of podcasts you can listen to wherever and whenever convenient, whether in transit or while prepping your plant-based meal. Irish actress Evanna Lynch’s The Chickpeeps Vegan Podcast discusses animal advocacy in connection with veganism. At the same time, Holly Johnson’s The Simply Vegan Podcast talks about a wide range of all things vegan – from health and ethics to sustainable fashion – that can guide you through living a plant-based life. 

Embarking on a vegan journey may only be possible with proper guidance and informed choices. Check out these online resources to help you stay committed to a greener lifestyle.