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7 Learn how to cook, even just a little.  Okay, I am not saying that every vegan needs to blossom into a competitor on Iron Chef but I highly recommend learning some cooking basics. I would recommend this for every adult but especially vegans. Hear me out: If you know how to cook some vegan dishes, not only will you be less tempted to fall back on your default eating habits during your transitional period, you will be modeling to the world that vegan food is not about sacrifice. Do you want to be that vegan who is projecting to the world the idea that our food is limited and depressing? Of course not. Don’t be that vegan. Learn how to cook a little. In addition to gaining access to some great dishes you can make yourself, you can ultimately use these culinary skills for effective outreach. For example, if you can bring a bangin’ lasagna or batch of sublime brownies to your office potluck, it can lead people to consider vegan food in a new way and you have made valuable inroads. Great vegan food is as powerful and slyly persuasive an outreach tool as we have. Also, if you develop some basic skills in the kitchen, it will help you to be able to more easily see and offer suggestions to the menus you see when dining out at non-vegan restaurants. (Please see our dining out guide for much more helpful advice on the topic.) There are about a billion vegan cookbooks out now, give or take a few, but I recommend anything from Robin Robertson’s canon as well as Zsu Dever and Skye Michael Conroy. There are really so many talented chefs and recipe developers today. In addition to traditional cookbooks, there are diverse recipe sites like Rabbit and Wolves, Blissful Basil, The First Mess, Hot for Food, The Buddhist Chef, World of Vegan, Carrots and Flowers, Happy Healthy Life, Vegan Richa, and Mouthwatering Vegan Recipes. (We also have Vegan Street recipes, of course.) Videos are also a great option for visual learners. Hot for Food, The Vegan Zombie, Korenn Rachelle, It Doesn’t Taste Like Chicken, The Edgy Veg, Every Day Dish TV, Bosh! and Vegan Black Metal Chef are just some options for vegan recipe ideas in handy video form. < Previous page . . Next page > ALL CHAPTERS Intro: Welcome new vegan! 1. Finding your way in an imperfect world 2. Make peace with making mistakes 3. Find community 4. Don't overload on disturbing videos and content 5. Develop your vegan voice and assertiveness 6. Stay strong against social pressure and gain resilience as a vegan 7. Learn how to cook, even just a little 8. Technology helps you over hurdles 9. Listen to vegan podcasts 10. Take advantage of other resources 11. The health benefits of a plant-based diet 12. Don't let yourself get famished 13. Expect that your digestive system might take a little while to get straightened out 14. Untangle and tame food cravings 15. Dining out as a vegan 16. A primer on vegan kitchen appliances, tools & gadgets 17. Bring joy to your vegan practice © 2013-2018, Vegan Street