Nowadays, the vegan diet and way of life are becoming more and more popular. There is a stronger push for making choices that have a better impact on our environment, and the vegan lifestyle fits well into this ideal. However, the challenge of being a vegan is that it can be pretty difficult to go Tampa shopping for materials and ingredients that fit into this lifestyle.
The reason why this is so challenging is that veganism is different from vegetarianism. The vegan way of life focuses on making buying choices that don’t come from any kind of animal byproducts. This includes items like leather, eggs, milk, basically, anything that comes from an animal.
Vegetarians simply avoid meat products. As you can see, the choices that you can make are fairly limited. If you’re interested in pursuing the vegan lifestyle, here are some ways that you can make your grocery Tampa shopping easier.
Proteins
Proteins are the most challenging part of shopping for a vegan diet. A lot of people balk at the idea of saying goodbye to eating meat for the rest of their lives, which is why they tend to avoid going vegan in the first place.
However, it is possible for vegans to get a decent amount of protein as long as you know what to look out for. These come in the form of plant-based products like soy products and beans.
Carbohydrates
Of course, if you’re going to have a well-rounded diet, you need to include carbohydrates in your diet. Fortunately, there aren’t many animal-based carbohydrates. You can get by with typical carbohydrate sources like rice, oats, and wheat. As much as possible, you should stick to more complex carbohydrates for more healthier options.
Vegetables
Vegetables are pretty much fair game when it comes to being on a vegan diet. All vegetables are available to vegans, so don’t be afraid to go nuts with this category.
Fruit
Fruit is pretty similar to vegetables in that you don’t have to worry about the restrictions of the vegan diet when it comes to fruits. Just remember that there are some fruits that contain a higher amount of fructose compared to other kinds of fruit. But if the vegan part of it is all that you’re concerned about, then that’s not really an issue.
Fats and Oils
This is where it can get a little tricky. Of course, you have to avoid sources of fats like butter, since this is a byproduct of milk, and cheese is an absolute no-no for you. But there are alternative sources of fats and oils that you can incorporate into your diet. This includes oils like avocado oil, coconut oil, olive oil, and the like.
Drinks
Dairy-based drinks like milk are off limits to vegans, but everything else from almond milk to club soda is fair game.