New vegan? Here's how to cap those dairy cravings

The thing about change is that we end up craving the comfort of familiarity. When you join a new company, it takes a while to orient yourself to the work culture, new people and your new KRAs. You move cities and everything may seem as daunting as exciting. Similarly, when we change our diets, the hankering feeling will bother us. Especially since food means so much to us, right? From physical energy to emotional wellbeing, a little gluttony helps us get through many a bad days.

Going vegan is a major transition in terms of food preferences. In fact, it’s just the beginning—your lifestyle, your shopping lists and the restaurants you go to may change. A vegan diet involves consuming only plant-based foods and beverages, and in a country where dairy is such a staple element, it is definitely not easy.

If you’re a new vegan and your cravings are killing you, here’s how you can control those.

Slow your transition

Just like ombre hair, making your transition from dairy to non-dairy rather slow can feel less overwhelming. You don’t have to wake up one day and just stop having your paratha with ghee or gobbling down your favourite dairy-laden pizza. Go slow. If having black tea/coffee doesn’t bother you, start with that. If you can start using non-dairy milk as a substitute on most days, you are still doing good. Harsh transitions will only aggravate your cravings, so start small and keep topping it up.

Vegan-ise your favourite dishes

In today’s day and age, there are a plethora of options for vegans. You can find coconut-based ghee for your lentils, almond milk for your iced coffees and even vegan cheese to go with your pizza. The idea is to let yourself enjoy food that makes you happy, with just a slight twist.

Find a list of vegan restaurants

Many people aren’t able to satisfy their cravings because they haven’t eaten the right kind of vegan food. A new lifestyle will call for you to do extensive research on the right restaurants that serve vegan food and beverages. Read reviews, explore, and then shortlist the ones that really give you foodgasms.

Meet more vegans

The worst episodes of dairy cravings happen when you meet friends who are all gorging on your favourite dairy-dishes. Nobody wants to split a tofu chilli with you, and the paneer tikka on someone else’s plate is making you miss the good ol’ times. Here’s a trick. Don’t disown your friends but also meet new vegans—share your frustrations and dairy-free dishes!

Know the right non-dairy combinations

The thing is, if you use the right combinations, you can have some really delicious food/beverages. Almond milk may not taste well with your tea but it is delicious with coffee. Maybe it is walnut and rice milk that makes the chai-enthusiast in you happy. Hemp seed milk works great in baking as well. It will involve research but after that, it is just you and a delicious new lifestyle!