Mix it up a bit: because vegan is fun
There are moments when you think: I would actually like to do something good for the world a bit more often. Waste less, eat a bit more consciously, maybe live a little more sustainably. But as soon as it feels like you have to completely change your entire existence, rewrite all the rules, and never eat a piece of cheese or a good pasta carbonara again, then a person quickly loses interest.
Fortunately, it doesn't have to be that drastic at all. In fact, often the biggest gains are in small things, in making a switch, in not cutting out or being strict with yourself, but occasionally making a different choice. And that is exactly the thought behind the new initiative Wissel ‘ns Wat!, a cheerful invitation to occasionally choose something plant-based, in a way that suits you and without having to adopt a completely new identity right away.
Because let's be honest: life is complicated enough as it is.
The secret lies in small switches
Somewhere we got the idea that you only really make a difference if you completely turn your life around, as if you only contribute if you become fully vegetarian or even vegan overnight, while that is not how it works at all. For example, if you eat a plant-based meal once a week, that already makes a surprisingly big difference for the environment, and the same goes for small, almost careless switches in your daily routine, like having plant-based yogurt in your breakfast bowl, a bit of hummus or nut spread on your bread instead of cheese, or making a pasta on a weekday evening where the vegetables take center stage and not the meat.
These are small choices, but precisely because we make them so often, they add up significantly in the end.
WisselWoensdag, or simply the day that works for you
One of the ideas of the campaign is WisselWoensdag, a kind of friendly nudge to eat something plant-based on a fixed day each week. Not because you have to, but because routines help, and because it is often easier to stick to something if you attach it to a fixed moment. And the nice thing is: eating plant-based really doesn't have to be complicated. Think of a steaming bowl of pasta with roasted vegetables, a curry with chickpeas and coconut milk, or a salad that has so much flavor and texture that you don't think for a second about what might be missing.
In fact, the chances are high that after a few times you will think: why didn't I do this earlier?
The biggest misconception about plant-based eating
Many people still think that eating plant-based automatically means you spend hours in the kitchen with obscure ingredients that you don't even know how to pronounce, while a large part of world cuisine has been largely plant-based for centuries. Think of Italian tomato sauces simmering on the stove, Indian lentil curries, Mexican bean dishes, or a simple risotto with mushrooms and lemon. These are dishes that don't feel like a compromise, but just like good food, even comfort food, and perhaps therein lies the secret.
About that plant-based milk then
By the way, there is also some discussion about plant-based milk, and that's not entirely unjustified, because some variants are more processed than others and not every carton from the fridge is automatically a holy product. Oat milk, for example, has received quite a bit of attention in recent years, and with it criticism, partly because some brands use oil or other additives and because the marketing around it sometimes made it seem as if one cappuccino with oat milk personally saves the planet.
But if you keep it simple and compare it to regular cow's milk, the conclusion remains largely the same: plant-based milk generally has a smaller climate impact. Oats, soy, and other plant-based alternatives require less land and produce less emissions than dairy, and that makes such a small switch suddenly more interesting than you might think at first glance. Not perfect, but better, and that's actually exactly the vibe that Wissel ‘ns Wat! leans on.
My own small switch
One of my own favorite switches is perhaps the simplest imaginable: occasionally choosing a plant-based milk in my coffee or breakfast, not because I have to, but because I now just like it. Sometimes a bit creamier, a bit softer too, and moreover, it feels good to know that such a small adjustment can already contribute something. I know there is also some criticism of oat milk, but in terms of CO2 emissions, it is definitely better than cow's milk.
The whole idea behind Wissel ‘ns Wat! is not to do everything differently, but to try something different occasionally. And for me, that works really well, no obligation or that big ‘this is forbidden’ sign constantly hovering over you, but a sympathetic initiative to encourage you to eat a bit more consciously and see that it is at least just as tasty.
A plant-based switch that always works: creamy lemon pasta with spinach
For those who think: nice story, but what do I eat on such a WisselWoensdag, here is a recipe that is so easy it’s almost embarrassing, but at the same time has exactly that comfort feeling you crave on a weekday evening.
You cook a good pasta, for example linguine or tagliatelle, in plenty of salted water. While it cooks, you sauté a finely chopped shallot in a bit of olive oil in a pan, add a clove of garlic, and then a generous handful of fresh spinach that can wilt down. Then you pour in a splash of plant-based cooking cream, add the zest and juice of a lemon, a handful of roasted pine nuts, and a few spoons of the pasta cooking water, so that everything becomes nice and creamy and glossy.
Then you mix in the pasta, taste if it needs a bit more pepper and salt, and finish it off with a handful of fresh basil. The result is a plate of pasta that is creamy, fresh, savory, and surprisingly light, a dish that makes you think after the first bite: I’m missing nothing here.
You don't have to be perfect
Perhaps the most important thing to remember is that you don't have to do it perfectly. No one expects you to have a completely new diet tomorrow and turn your entire fridge into a plant-based paradise. But if you occasionally switch something, an ingredient, a dish, or a habit, you are already helping the world a bit, and who knows, you might discover a few new favorite dishes along the way.
That might just be the best bonus of all.
