Tips For Vegans Living In A Non-Vegan Household

Maintaining harmony in your household can be challenging in itself, let alone when you add conflicting diets into the mix. However, conflict can be managed with a little patience and understanding from everyone involved. You see, not many of us are fortunate enough to live in a house full of plant-based peers; we have to instead come up with our own weird and wonderful ways to keep the peace And if that sounds like you, keep on reading to find out a few of my favourites methods!

I feel fortunate to have a section in the refrigerator in my home that’s separate from any animal products. It works well because I don’t need to be concerned about cross-contamination, and the rest of my household can use their sections of the fridge without second-guessing where they’re putting nonvegan foods. Some homes even like to have their own dedicated baking trays, pots, and pans. 

Sharing food is an undeniable act of love and appreciation. And what’s more satisfying than someone enjoying a dish that you’ve worked hard on creating? Sharing vegan food with your loved ones will likely make them more understanding of your lifestyle. Once people find out that plant-based food is delicious (and more than just tofu and lentils), they tend to eventually drop the stereotypical vegan jokes. People often make fun of what they don’t know much about, so help your loved ones understand by cooking them delicious food! Here are some recipes that I think meat-eaters would love:

Takeaway nights and restaurant visits can sometimes be filled with indecision and frustration in households with differing diets. Make sure to do your research on places that cater to both vegan and nonvegan diets, because they do exist! Even if a menu or website doesn’t explicitly say that it caters for plant-based diets, I always call the restaurant to ask if they could make anything particular. Also, there are now plenty of high street restaurants that even offer fake meat dishes, which makes eating out a breeze.

Spending time with like-minded individuals is essential for everyone. It makes you feel understood and less alone. Even if you’re chatting to other vegans online, or on a forum, it will help a lot if you’re ever feeling frustrated or in need of advice.

Depending on how open-minded your household is, they might even be willing to join in with something like Meatless Mondays or going vegan for a full day a week. If you don’t ask, you’ll never find out!

There are tonnes of highstreet favourites that just so happen to be vegan, so fill your kitchen with them for everyone to enjoy! A few accidentally vegan products include:

I understand that it’s not easy to be compassionate when your lifestyle and beliefs are being questioned or undermined, but retaliating to negative comments and taunting isn’t likely going to make the situation any better. Try to read the room and know the right and wrong times to bring up certain subjects, for example, you could set rules for not discussing veganism or anything remotely political at the dinner table. It might sound silly, but it’ll keep the peace!