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ogether-4049960/?utm_content=attributionCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pexels"><b>Pexels</b></a></figcaption></figure><h2 id="8dea">2. Be Pro-Active</h2><p id="14b7">Take the initiative. Help to come up with recipes that could work for both parties. Help with the groceries. You probably know where to find the tempeh, and what it looks like. Make it as <b>easy as possible</b> for them to make a vegan meal or cook something that works for both.</p><p id="222b">You did all the research, they didn’t. It is something you want to do, hence you should take the lead. Initially, this will be a lot of work, but eventually, they will know where to find the lentils and what burger to get for you.</p><p id="9876">One thing that helped me was to have plan B ready. For example, I always had some chickpeas, lentils, nutritional yeast and meat alternatives in my pantry or fridge. Just in case they forgot to think of ‘my proteins’ or wanted to make something where taking out the meat wouldn’t result in a proper meal for me.</p><h2 id="3a09">3. Be Inspirational</h2><p id="6ca7">I used to get furious with my family. Why didn’t they understand? Why wouldn’t they want to eat healthier and reduce their footprint? Why was it so hard?</p><p id="f98c">I learned my lesson. Like with most things, getting angry is not going to help and will only make matters worse. The same thing goes with pushing people to do certain things. Telling people what to do, will not make them want to do it. If it does it will be for the wrong reasons.</p><p id="a3c5">Everyone decides what to do with their own life and they have every right so. You don’t have any control over it. Instead of getting angry or being pushy try to be inspirational.</p><p id="633a">Explain to them your motivation and be pro-active. If they have questions answer them gently, but leave it with that. I know it is can be so frustrating, but trust me once you let it go it will be so much better. You will be a source of inspiration rather than one of the problems and fights.</p><figure id="1a7b"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*fQuTK7tEe-Y72sdGrf-_mA.jpeg"><figcaption>Photo by <a href="https://www.pexels.com/@ketut-subiyanto?utm_content=attributionCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pexels"><b>Ketut Subiyanto</b></a> from <a href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/photo-of-couple-smiling-while-sitting-by-the-wooden-table-4651196/?utm_content=attributionCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pexels"><b>Pexels</b></a></figcaption></figure><h2 id="be97">4. Talk About Tasty</h2><p id="ed71">No one will say no to a good meal. If you are trying to stir your roommates into making a vegan dish, this trick is super simple and will do absolute wonders.</p><p id="c7ea">Instead of talking about making something without meat and dairy, talk about making something delicious. Talk about colourful, satisfying, amazing dishes. Not about meals that have a bunch of restrictions.</p><p id="d963">Tell them you know a tasty dish, not a vegan one. It is li

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ke trying to get a kid to eat vegetables. You don’t persuade them by saying that carrots (for example) are healthy, instead, you will tell them that carrots will give you the eyesight of a superhuman. It is all about how you bring it.</p><h2 id="e75a">5. Do Not Punish Honest Mistakes</h2><p id="66f6">One day I came home late from university to discover that my roommate made an entirely vegan meal. I remember feeling so ecstatic and happy. However, she had made a mistake. Unknowingly she used something that had milk protein in it. I was annoyed, but I remembered that she tried. I decided to be okay with it and enjoy the meal.</p><p id="e9bd">Did you do everything perfectly from the beginning? I didn’t.</p><p id="a39d">If you roommates are genuinely trying and they make an honest mistake, don’t punish them for that. I remember making many mistakes in the beginning. I mean, milk protein…</p><p id="0104">Just allow your roommates or family to have a learning curve, allow them to make mistakes and to learn from it. Just like you did in the beginning. And, tell them this. Tell them that you made mistakes too and that it was part of the process.</p><figure id="fe5d"><img src="https://cdn-images-1.readmedium.com/v2/resize:fit:800/1*cfyNMVzVTiX_BgQRP6ETrQ.jpeg"><figcaption>Photo by <a href="https://www.pexels.com/@fauxels?utm_content=attributionCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pexels"><b>fauxels</b></a> from <a href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/sharing-food-3184177/?utm_content=attributionCopyText&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=pexels"><b>Pexels</b></a></figcaption></figure><h2 id="d776">6. Be Patient & Grateful.</h2><p id="d6f0">Being patient and grateful is by far the most important point. You might have changed overnight. This doesn’t mean that everyone else will too. You had a clear mindset and motivation. You went through a process. Be patient and give your household time to adjust. And yes, some people take ages.</p><p id="de4e">Be grateful that they listen and that they are trying. Be grateful for small changes and tell them that you are. If they are changing their way of cooking they are doing this for you.</p><p id="fef5">By being patient and grateful you will encourage the process. If you are not, you will interrupt it and they might just tell you to cook your own food the next time and eat alone.</p><h2 id="c9cd">Don’t Give Up</h2><p id="3491">Being a vegan in a non-vegan household is difficult, but definitely not impossible. In the beginning, I did a terrible job causing a lot of hart-break. But, I didn’t give up. I said sorry and tried again.</p><p id="d882">When I made changes and followed the above-mentioned points I became an ‘easy’, inspirational vegan with tasty recipes. No longer was I the vegan who would get angry every time there was meat on the table.</p><p id="037d">If you are struggling with being a vegan in a non-vegan household, maybe some of the tips I mentioned will help. I hope it does. If you have any other ideas, let me know! I am still learning too.</p></article></body>

Vegan

6 Tips For A Vegan In A Non-Vegan Household

Making it work is not as difficult as you might think

Photo by **Polina Zimmerman** from **Pexels**

Living as a vegan in a non-vegan household can be hard, frustrating, annoying and hurtful, among a lot of other feelings. Simply put, it is often challenging. Especially if you share food and eat together frequently.

When I became vegan I was living in a student house with seven other people. We ate together every night. None of my roommates were anywhere close to being vegan, nor vegetarian for that matter. It was the same case for my parents, two younger siblings and most of my friends.

Initially, I was an absolute disaster regarding vegan food, arguing all the time. It was terrible, and it felt horrible. However, over time I learned the tricks to make it work. Being a vegan in a non-vegan household is not as hard as you might think.

Now I find my non-vegan partner having educational talks with his friends and telling that vegan food is awesome. Who could have figured?

I wrote down six tips, that I wished had known from the beginning. It would have made things much easier.

1. Explain

First of all, you must explain to your household why you made the change. Why did you decide to become vegan? Most likely, to them, it will have come out of the blue. My roommates had known me for two years, eating everything. And, suddenly I was requesting vegan meals.

It will be easier for roommates or family to respect and understand if you tell them your motivation. Tell them why it is important for you and why you want to do this.

Something that worked for me was telling my roommates that I deliberately decided not to eat certain things. I told them that I believed that with everything you buy you ‘vote’ and give support to a product. As I didn’t support the production of certain products, I didn’t want to buy them anymore. For me, it wasn’t a matter of not being able to eat something, but actively choosing not to. Simple as that.

Photo by **Ekaterina Bolovtsova** from **Pexels**

2. Be Pro-Active

Take the initiative. Help to come up with recipes that could work for both parties. Help with the groceries. You probably know where to find the tempeh, and what it looks like. Make it as easy as possible for them to make a vegan meal or cook something that works for both.

You did all the research, they didn’t. It is something you want to do, hence you should take the lead. Initially, this will be a lot of work, but eventually, they will know where to find the lentils and what burger to get for you.

One thing that helped me was to have plan B ready. For example, I always had some chickpeas, lentils, nutritional yeast and meat alternatives in my pantry or fridge. Just in case they forgot to think of ‘my proteins’ or wanted to make something where taking out the meat wouldn’t result in a proper meal for me.

3. Be Inspirational

I used to get furious with my family. Why didn’t they understand? Why wouldn’t they want to eat healthier and reduce their footprint? Why was it so hard?

I learned my lesson. Like with most things, getting angry is not going to help and will only make matters worse. The same thing goes with pushing people to do certain things. Telling people what to do, will not make them want to do it. If it does it will be for the wrong reasons.

Everyone decides what to do with their own life and they have every right so. You don’t have any control over it. Instead of getting angry or being pushy try to be inspirational.

Explain to them your motivation and be pro-active. If they have questions answer them gently, but leave it with that. I know it is can be so frustrating, but trust me once you let it go it will be so much better. You will be a source of inspiration rather than one of the problems and fights.

Photo by **Ketut Subiyanto** from **Pexels**

4. Talk About Tasty

No one will say no to a good meal. If you are trying to stir your roommates into making a vegan dish, this trick is super simple and will do absolute wonders.

Instead of talking about making something without meat and dairy, talk about making something delicious. Talk about colourful, satisfying, amazing dishes. Not about meals that have a bunch of restrictions.

Tell them you know a tasty dish, not a vegan one. It is like trying to get a kid to eat vegetables. You don’t persuade them by saying that carrots (for example) are healthy, instead, you will tell them that carrots will give you the eyesight of a superhuman. It is all about how you bring it.

5. Do Not Punish Honest Mistakes

One day I came home late from university to discover that my roommate made an entirely vegan meal. I remember feeling so ecstatic and happy. However, she had made a mistake. Unknowingly she used something that had milk protein in it. I was annoyed, but I remembered that she tried. I decided to be okay with it and enjoy the meal.

Did you do everything perfectly from the beginning? I didn’t.

If you roommates are genuinely trying and they make an honest mistake, don’t punish them for that. I remember making many mistakes in the beginning. I mean, milk protein…

Just allow your roommates or family to have a learning curve, allow them to make mistakes and to learn from it. Just like you did in the beginning. And, tell them this. Tell them that you made mistakes too and that it was part of the process.

6. Be Patient & Grateful.

Being patient and grateful is by far the most important point. You might have changed overnight. This doesn’t mean that everyone else will too. You had a clear mindset and motivation. You went through a process. Be patient and give your household time to adjust. And yes, some people take ages.

Be grateful that they listen and that they are trying. Be grateful for small changes and tell them that you are. If they are changing their way of cooking they are doing this for you.

By being patient and grateful you will encourage the process. If you are not, you will interrupt it and they might just tell you to cook your own food the next time and eat alone.

Don’t Give Up

Being a vegan in a non-vegan household is difficult, but definitely not impossible. In the beginning, I did a terrible job causing a lot of hart-break. But, I didn’t give up. I said sorry and tried again.

When I made changes and followed the above-mentioned points I became an ‘easy’, inspirational vegan with tasty recipes. No longer was I the vegan who would get angry every time there was meat on the table.

If you are struggling with being a vegan in a non-vegan household, maybe some of the tips I mentioned will help. I hope it does. If you have any other ideas, let me know! I am still learning too.