The Care and Feeding of Your New Vegan

Or, how I learned to stop worrying and love teaching my friends about the joys of non-dairy creamer

Vegan newbie Joel and his totally normal cat Girlfriend.

Short of an end to global suffering and a decent eggless angel food cake, all I want is to help other people become vegan too. This is a common vegan dream, but what do you do when it actually happens? I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, as a good friend has just seen the plant-based light.

My friend and coworker, let’s call him Joel (because that’s his name), texted me a few months ago, pretty much out of the blue: “I watched Eating Animals last night. Yikes.” Apparently, the Natalie Portman-backed film had affected him so much, he hadn’t had an animal product since. Of course, I was more excited than a tap dancing corgi, but now what?

I’m so glad you asked, I have some tips.

Joel enjoying the vegan splendors of avocado toast

Food: the most important meal of the day.

If I had a nickel for every time I heard, “I could never give up cheese,” I could buy a year’s worth of Fauxgonzola. Everyone has to eat, and food seems to get the most attention when it comes to…