Homepage Membership Our Aims News and Events Vegan Food @   University of Glasgow Vegan Glasgow Vegan Scotland Information about Veganism Becoming Vegan Online Vegan Shopping Vegan Recipes Government, Research and   Charitable Organisations Vegan Moodle:   Forum, Wiki and News	Becoming Vegan: It can seem daunting becoming vegan but things are getting easier as there are now so many vegan substitute foods available in shops and from the internet. Also remember that you can go at your own pace and do lots to avoid animal products and reduce animal cruelty without becoming fully vegan all at once. Below are a few tips that we have found of help with becoming vegan. The Animal Free Shopper, is an excellent handbook about what is vegan and what is not. It is very useful for those starting out as a guide to your supermarket and also to give you ideas of things that are vegan that you might not have suspected were. It is available from the UK Vegan Society. Shoes: Most shoes are made of leather and trying to get alternatives of the kind you want can sometimes be difficult. However there are three main sources of vegan shoes: (1) Sometimes very cheap shoes from discount or low-cost shops are not made with leather. These are often made with man-made materials or plastic and may not breathe. They may also be made by an exploited workforce. (2) It is worthwhile knowing which brands of shoes regularly produce at least some vegan-friendly shoes. These include Converse, Rocket Dog and Birkenstock. Doctor Martins used to produce vegetarian shoes and boots but no longer do. (3) There are many shops online where you can buy vegan shoes online. They are typically well-made of breathable material and are not made in sweat shops. See our online vegan shopping links for stores. Food: Of course all vegans bake their own bread, make their own soy yoghurt, and cook every meal from scratch - as if! We too are often busy people that don't have enough time and want quick and easy food. Some vegans disagree about whether to use some meat or dairy replacements, or which ones, but, without taking a stance on such issues here, the following are products are some of our favourites that can make going vegan much easier. They are available in delicatessens (see here for some good ones in the West End) and increasingly available in supermarkets, and of course available online. See also the recipe page for some inspiration. Staples: Many tomato based pasta sauces that can be bought in jars are vegan friendly. A spice favourite of mine is Loyd Grossman's Tomato and Chilli. Another great pasta sauce is pesto. You have to look hard to find vegan ones but they are out there. Check out Zest foods' many different varieties of vegan pesto sauces. The Really Interesting Food Company makes lots of interesting vegan food products - curries and soups mainly. This is my favourite. You would just not believe it was canned curry! It can be bought at Tesco stores and online at Goodness Direct. I love it with egg-free noodles. Many Linda McCartney products are vegan, including her Deep Country Pies, Cocktail Sausage Rolls, Sausage Rolls (excellent for parties), Vegetable Slice, Sausage and Sundried Tomato Sausage. My Mum always has one of these products in her freezer and when I pop round for dinner she cooks it and I eat that and the traditional potatoes and two veg that usually everyone else is having with their non-vegan pie, or steak or the like. Many, but not all, veggie burgers are suitable for vegan. My vegan favourites are Dragonfly's Beanys. Hummus or Hummous: food of the Gods. I don't know how any vegan could live without it. Use it as a dip, spread it on your toast, or stuff a pita with some falafel, hummous and salad - yum! You can buy it in shops pre-made but it is very easy to make your own. Ingredients: 2 x 15oz cans of chick peas, 4 tablespoons of tahini, 2 or 3 cloves of garlic, juice of one small lemon, two tablespoons of olive oil, a little water if the mixture is too firm. Put all the ingredients in a food processor/blender and zap! Sprinkle some papikra and some fresh corriander in the top if you feel the need. Cheesy products: Florentino Parmazano - vegan parmazan Tofutti make many flavours of cream cheese.  It is the best cream cheese replacement in my opinion. For a really creamy pasta sauce gently melt some in a pan and add soya milk. You can serve this by itself on pasta or add some sun-dried tomato paste for a great sauce. Tofutti also make the best hard cheese products in my opion available on the market although there are other manufacturers - e.g. Isle of Bute Scheese and Cheezly. These cheese singles come in different kinds and are great on vegan pizza. When you are buying cheese substitutes watch out that they don't contain casein (which his derived from milk). A few dairy replacement products contain this - particularly ones that are sold overseas in the USA or Australia. Engevita Nutritional Yeast - packed full of B vitamins this cheesy nutty food can be sprinkled in soups and stews, on cereal and, if added to a white sauce made with vegan margarine, flour and soya milk makes a lovely cheese sauce. Other Dairy Substitutes: There are very many milk alternatives: soy, rice, oat, etc. They  vary a lot - so experiment until you find one you like. The taste of soy milk varies a lot from brand to brand. There are fresh ones in the chilled cabinet and long-life ones (usually in the long-life milk dept. of the supermarket). A big distinction is between ones sweetened with apple juice and those not. There are ones fortified with calcium and vitamins. Many supermarkets have their own cheap brand of soy milk which can be almost half the price of some! Many coffee shops now offer soy milk so you can still enjoy a capuchino or latte. Starbucks and Costa do, as do more local concerns such as Tinderbox and Little Italy. Many small coffee shops don't explicitly advertise that they have it - but they do! Plamil non-dairy mayonnaise - they make different kinds There are different brands of this handy baking product. Tofutti make great ice-cream style products: tubs and ice-cream type bars. Sweet treats: Booja Booja make all sorts of amazingly delicious truffles. Whizzers make all sorts of great packets sweets: Smartie-type products, chocolate footballs, mini-eggs, etc. Chocoreale make different kinds of lovely chocolate spread. Green and Black's dark chocolate is suitable for vegans. Very many brands of dark chocolate are suitable for vegans too. Just Wholefoods make different flavours of vegan friendly jelly. Now vegan life round the campfire is complete! Other guides for new vegans: Veg for Life: How To The book: Becoming Vegan McSpotlight: Guide to Becoming Vegan Going All the Way: Becoming a Vegan Family The Vegan's Society: Plant Based Nutrition and Health