Maria Siriano

When I decided to take the plunge into veganism, I anticipated some pitfalls. I thought I’d maybe lose my cool and dive headfirst into a pile of cheeseburgers, or maybe sneak some brie at a party. But the hardest part of going vegan hasn’t been cravings, which are surprisingly few and far between. For me, the social ramifications of going vegan were far more discouraging.

Up until two months ago, I was one of those people who swore that butter was my lifeblood and that I would absolutely die without cheese. My favorite thing to cook was pulled pork in the slow cooker, and my husband had just perfected sous vide steak. Then, in an afternoon, I decided none of that was for me anymore. I didn’t find out I had an allergy to dairy, and I didn’t have any health scares to encourage me to avoid meat.

People like to joke that the only thing vegans can eat is lettuce, but that is far from the truth! In fact, I’ve been surprised by how little my grocery shopping has changed. The most important thing I stock up on is still fruits and vegetables, and my budget is basically the same. Of course, I’ve added a few new items to my weekly grocery list, and some things I just buy in greater quantities. After I hit the produce section, here are the things that I look for.

As a kid, I lived for the holidays. The weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas were always a happy blur, with frenzied cooking and cleaning and car trips from one relative’s house to the next. Thanksgiving was two or three huge meals packed into one day, eating so much we thought we’d die, and then going back for another slice of pie anyway.