“I have a friend who wants to go vegan. I am vegan so she wants my help.
…But where should I start?”

I have lots of ideas for you.

Just pick something you think might work for your friend:

• Give her a vegan starter guide.
  Lots of organizations offer these guides for free. Most guides have basic nutritional information, recipes, and some reasons to go vegan. But some are more health oriented and others are more geared towards younger people who are more concerned with animals or the environment. For people interested in the nutritional aspects of veganism, I suggest the PCRM guide or the one from Vegan Outreach. The starter kit from PETA has info about veg celebrities, suitable for young people. The Mercy For Animals one mostly about animals, for people concerned about ethical eating.
• Take your friend out to eat.
  Show her where you eat and how you order food without animal products. If you’re in a large city that has vegan restaurants, great, show her those places. But if you’re not in a large city with vegan restaurants, your friend will need to learn a few vegan tricks of the trade. A lot of people assume that if it’s not on the menu, the kitchen can’t make it. Show your friend how to scan a menu, how to figure out what ingredients are available, and ask for something special made to order.
• Share recipes.
  Let your friend borrow a vegan cookbook or two. Take a trip to the library or bookstore together and pick out some vegan cookbooks. Or recommend a website that offers vegan recipes.
• Invite her to join a vegan potluck club.
  You can find these on meetup.com or through word-of-mouth.

These should help get you started with helping your friend transition to veganism.

Readers: Do you have any other ideas?

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Sections: Vegan Food, Vegan Resources
Topics: advice, ask a vegan, help, how to go vegan, recipes, starter guides, veg, Vegan