A gentle guide
How to begin — ten steps that actually stick.
No transformation stories. No perfection. Just ten small, boring things that add up to a diet you can hold onto.
The ten steps
The whole method, on one page.
- 01
Start with a swap, not a rule.
Replace milk with soy or oat. Replace mince with lentils. One swap per week — that's it.
- 02
Keep three plant proteins in the house.
Beans (canned or dry), tofu or tempeh, and lentils. From these you can build almost any cuisine.
- 03
Learn five weeknight meals cold.
A pasta, a stew, a rice bowl, a soup, a curry. Repeat until they're muscle memory.
- 04
Read one label a day.
Milk in the pastries, fish in the sauces, eggs in the pasta. Awareness compounds fast.
- 05
Say 'I'm eating mostly plants right now'.
It's honest, it's easy, it defuses defensiveness. Nobody argues with a fact.
- 06
Take a B12 supplement.
Plan a reliable source of B12. Ask a qualified healthcare professional about a suitable supplement and dose for your age and circumstances; this guide does not prescribe a dose or treat a deficiency.
- 07
Bookmark two go-to recipe sites.
One for weeknights, one for a Sunday project. You don't need thirty; you need seven.
- 08
Give it four weeks before deciding.
Your palate genuinely re-tunes. What tastes 'empty' in week one tastes normal by week four.
- 09
Find one plant-based restaurant near you.
Or one restaurant with a solid plant-based option. Going out shouldn't feel like a chore.
- 10
Aim for progress, not purity.
Every plant-based meal counts. Every one. The math is on your side.
7-day starter menu
One week, seven dinners, zero drama.
Seven dinner ideas, not a complete nutrition plan. Choose portions and ingredients for your needs, check allergens, and allow extra time for uncooked beans or grains. The shopping list is a starting point, not a complete recipe inventory.
Chickpea coconut curry, rice
One-pot lentil bolognese
Miso peanut noodles, tofu
Loaded sweet potato + black beans
Mushroom + white bean tacos
Roasted vegetable + tahini bowl
Silky red-lentil dhal, flatbread
The starter shopping list
Six shelves, everything else is optional.
Seven dinner ideas, not a complete nutrition plan. Choose portions and ingredients for your needs, check allergens, and allow extra time for uncooked beans or grains. The shopping list is a starting point, not a complete recipe inventory.
Proteins
Grains & carbs
Fats & flavour
Aromatics
Dairy swaps
Veg workhorses
Reality check
Plant-based vs. omnivore, side by side.
Compare real recipes, not diet labels: price your ingredients locally, include preparation and cooking time, and check nutrition per serving. Environmental comparisons need a stated portion, production method and source; no single number describes every meal.
- Cost per meal
- Prep time (avg)
- CO₂e per meal
- Sat fat
Common pitfalls
The five ways beginners stall — and how to avoid them.
Trying to be perfect on day one.
Purity is brittle. Habits are elastic. Aim for one plant-based meal a day for a fortnight before scaling up.
Under-seasoning.
Plants are quiet by default. Salt properly, brown your aromatics, finish with acid — vinegar, citrus, tamari.
Skipping the protein.
Check your whole day's meals, portions and individual needs rather than assuming the menu is sufficient. Include foods such as beans, lentils or tofu and seek personalized nutrition advice if you are unsure.
Forgetting B12.
Plan a reliable source of B12. Ask a qualified healthcare professional about a suitable supplement and dose for your age and circumstances; this guide does not prescribe a dose or treat a deficiency.
Buying every 'vegan' packaged product.
Whole foods are cheaper and better for you. Save the packaged burgers and cheeses for weekends.
Make it concrete
See what your week actually saves.
Follow the plan for seven days and the numbers stop being abstract. Slide to see what a week — or a year — of your kitchen quietly avoids.
Illustrative estimates, not measured personal savings. Fixed daily assumptions are multiplied by days; the water figure is an upper-bound footprint estimate. Results depend on the original diet, location, food production and waste. They do not count individual animals rescued or land actually released.
Upper-bound estimates from Poore & Nemecek (Science, 2018); Mekonnen & Hoekstra (water footprints); Counting Animals (incl. aquatic).
The common questions
Questions we get every week
One recipe email a week. Nothing else.
A single weeknight plant-based dinner, tested and timed, straight to your inbox.