Why Vegans Don’t Care About Being Picky and Why YOU Shouldn’t Either

Written By: Rachel.

I think at some point in our lives, we have all been a picky eater. Whether it was when we were really young or in our teenage years, we’ve all had our moments.

Now, I’m not saying that all vegans don’t care about being picky because, well, that’s probably not true. 

There will always be vegans who are picky eaters, and that’s not a bad thing! Everyone has different taste buds and more importantly different dietary requirements.

I think there is a universal trend, when you first go vegan, that everyone starts to experiment with their food as if they couldn’t do that properly when eating meat and dairy.

Weird huh?

But I see it with a lot of people who turn their diets into a vegan one. Trying more herbs and all sorts of vegetables.

I was definitely one of those people. I thought when I first went vegan, I was all of a sudden limited to what I could eat. 

Oh how wrong I was to think such a thing.

I even made soup for the first time in the first couple of months being vegan!

That’s not something big for a lot of people but I wouldn’t have thought about making my own soup beforehand. 

Being vegan allowed me to be LESS picky. It allowed me to explore new foods and try new recipes. 

And now three years later, I’m making my own seitan?! Who would have thought. 

But enough about me, let’s talk about some reasons that vegans don’t care about being picky:

• Endless Vegan Foods To Please Everyone.

If you love your fast food, like me, then being vegan won’t restrict you! There’s vegan burgers, pizzas, curries and more that you can buy and who doesn’t love a nice cheesy pizza knowing that it’s vegan?!

OK, there might be some places that are a huge struggle to get vegan options but a lot of fast food places are slowly rolling out the options.

There’s no need to worry if you prefer healthy wholesome meals because veggies are everywhere! Well, pretty much anyway. 

So if you don’t like broccoli, then there’s always carrots. But if you don’t like carrots then there’s always cauliflower. And even if you don’t like cauliflower, there will be some type of vegetable that you like… I hope. 

And don’t forget about all the recipes you can find online or in books because I can tell you with confidence, there are thousands of them. And more!

Let’s not forget about sweet foods. Chocolate, cake, sweets and more. They’re all delicious!

Thankfully most cafes and supermarkets now offer vegan options for cakes and sweets. And they’re pretty yum too!

There are the ‘accidentally vegan’ products too - like oreos! They just so happen to not contain any animal products but don’t promote themselves as being a vegan product.

• Alternative Milks and Meat Options - They’re Everywhere!

There are SO MANY dairy free milk products today. To be honest, I find it a little overwhelming sometimes. 

When you find yourself in the milk aisle, there are a variety of brands to buy from. There will be five different types of soy, almond, oat and coconut milks to choose from and that’s tricky!

Not only are there different types of brands, but there’s sweetened and sweetened versions to try and please everyone.

There’s even chocolate milk options!!

VEGAN CHOCOLATE MILK GUYS!

OK, there’s also vanilla flavoured milks but chocolate is just so much more exciting.

Basically, you need to try them all. That’s my best advise.

Then there’s the ‘meat’ options. 

Again, there are so many!!

Different flavour sausages, burgers, chickn and the list goes on!

It makes it pretty darn difficult to be picky.

So if you’re one of those people who liked the taste of meat before turning veggie or vegan, then it’s a dream come try with all the vegan alternatives.

• Great Nutrition.

OK, we’ve all heard about the great nutrition values that a vegan diet will offer.

Unfortunately some people don’t want to believe such a statement but it’s no lie. In fact, you can read about where vegans get their calcium here and how they get enough protein here.

It’s not unknown that fruit and vegetables offer a whole load of nutrients and like I said before, vegans tend to experiment lots with the veggies. 

So, why would vegans be so picky when they know they can load up on all the good stuff.

I’m talking about vitamins, proteins and healthy fats. Obviously. 

So why shouldn't you be picky either? Well here are a few reasons why:

• Being Picky Isn’t An Option - Think Of The Animals.

To be brutally honest, animals that are used for human food literally don’t have a choice, they don’t have time to be picky!

So us vegans can find it in our hearts to realise that we shouldn't be so picky with our food. Because at the end of the day, we are privileged enough to still have an incredible variety of food to choose from. 

We get to eat yummy foods without harming any animals in the process and that makes me never want to be a picky eater.

Basically, think of all the animals you are trying to save while you might be having a picky moment.

It might actually help a lot!

• Time To Experiment With Food.

Seriously guys, go out of your cooking comfort zone!! Start using more spices and herbs - I promise you will be forever thankful. 

If you’re a dessert lover, like a lot of people, then start baking! And don’t worry about it tasting different to cakes or chocolates that ‘require’ milk and eggs because you really can’t tell. 

If anything, it tastes better! 

Especially knowing there are no animal products included in your delicious baked goods.

If you love your chocolate bars, then I totally recommend looking at this vegan snickers bar recipe that Kelsey did. You can’t go wrong!

Baked stuffed butternut pumpkin with cashew coriander cream cheese

• Being Vegan And Picky Can Sometimes Limit Your Options.

There will unfortunately be times where finding something vegan is a lil bit difficult.

It might just depend on where you are or which cafe/restaurant you’re in. But it will happen at some point.

It’s not the end of the world. If you’re vegan, then you’re most probably vegan for a good reason and so it won’t discourage you too much.

But I get it. When you’re really hungry and you have to watch your friends eat a nice big meal while you sit there with your side salad and perhaps some chips if you’re lucky.

Luckily, today, most place will offer at least one option.

But if you’re a picky eater and the one option that is being sold is not up your alley, then it’s going to feel like there’s no option at all.

You could always request a little change around within the meal but I’m not too sure every place will cater for that. Sadly.

That’s why everyone will recommend doing research before choosing somewhere to eat. It’s good to have options!

It’s quite beneficial though, if you expand your food range like mentioned before because then the one options might end up suiting you!