Vegan foods are often already abundant in any given kitchen! Some examples include:
Tortilla Chips & Salsa
Mr. Noodles Beef
Mr. Noodles Chicken
Mr. Noodles Vegetable
Mr. Noodles Spicy Chicken
Chef Woo Braised Beef Ramen Cups
Chef Woo Roasted Chicken Ramen Cups
Bread/Nut Butters/Jam
Uncrustables
Quinoa
Rice
Potatoes
Smiley Fries
Curly Fries
French Fries
Frozen Hash Potatoes
Frozen Potato Hash Patties
Wheat Pasta
Lasagna Noodles
Tomato Sauce
Rice Noodles
Pinto Beans
Chickpeas
Black Beans
Refried Beans
Mini Corns
Frozen Peas
Frozen Berries
Cheemo Potato & Onion Perogies
Cheemo Ukrainian Style Garlic Perogies
Almonds
Cashews
Olives
Quaker Instant Oat Meal Apple & Cinnamon
Quaker Instant Oat Meal Maple & Brown Sugar
Maple Breakfast Beans
Tomato Breakfast Beans
Oreos
Fudgee-os
Many of the “Dare” cookies
Triscuits (nondairy flavours)
Wheat Thins
Vegetable Thins
Breton Crackers (Most flavours)
Sweet Chili Heat Doritos
Nutella Peanut Spread
Dunkaroos - Cinnamon Toast Crunch Vanilla Cookies & Cinnadust Frosting
Truffle Oil & Sea Salt Kettle Brand Chips
“Strawberry Rhubarb” Bakery Pies in clear clam shells from IGA
“Apple” Bakery Pies in clear clam shells from IGA
President’s Choice Protein Tortillas
President’s Choice “Sweet & Salty” Kettle Corn
Dempster’s Tortillas/Wraps
Old El Paso Soft Flour Tortillas
Old El Paso “Stand & Stuff” Taco Shells
Old El Paso “Crunchy” Taco Shells

Most breads and bagels. (Always skim ingredients, and watch for L-Cysteine.) but here’s a quick list:
All Dempster’s
Costco Blueberry Bagels
Silver Hills Breads
Wonder Bread “Ballpark Classics” Hamburger Bun
D’Italiano “Gusto! Sesame” Hamburger Buns
D’Italiano “Gusto! Brioche Style” Hamburger Buns
Ace Bakery “Sourdough Bistro”
“Jumbo Hotdog Buns, 12” from Superstore
“Brioche Hamburger Buns, 12” from Superstore
“Bagel, Blueberry 6-pack” from superstore
Country Harvest Whole Grain & Protein Blend Bread
Wonder Bread “Ballpark Classics” Hotdog Buns
Country Harvest 14 Grains & Protein Sliced Bread



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Subway footlong veggie on artisian italian (add your own Tofurky and cheese if desired), all dressed chips or whatever other vegan chips, soda or water!

A&W burger - no uncle sauce, no mayo. Onion rings are vegan in Canada! Rootbeer obvs

Burger King - Impossible Whopper, no mayo! French toast sticks! Pepsi

McDonalds - fries are vegan in Canada, fruit pies (just not the chocolate pies etc). Coke/coke zero, their new redbull drinks look bomb

Chopped Leaf Harvest Bowl is my favourite, add double tofu if you want to!

Panago - pepperoni, daiya cheese, impossible chicken nuggets, vegan honey mustard, build your own salads go hard! (either use your own dressing or their balsamic vinaigrette  is vegan)

Pizza Pizza - an entire “plant based” section with pepperoni, vegan cheese, chicken sandwiches, panzerotti and stuff!

Red Swan Pizza - No vegan meat, but really delicious vegan cheese, sesame crust

Meltwich - chicken sandwiches, poutine

Edo - Teriyaki Tofu slaps!!

Tim Hortons -  potato wedges, hash patties, sliced almond milk lattes, soy/oat/almond lattes, unbuttered (dry) english muffin with peanut butter

Download the HappyCow app on your phone to have all the options at your fingertips! There might be more vegan options in your area than you think!

Cactus Club - Crispy Tofu Bowl, they have way more vegan options in BC which is annoying, HOWEVER the crispy tofu bowl is great

Earls Restaurant & Bar -  They have an entire “plant based” menu! Kale & mushroom pizza, Vegan Garden Burger, Vegan Hunan Kung Pao, Korean Tofu Bibimbap, Crispy Chili Tofu

The Old Spaghetti Factory -Spaghetti with Impossible Meatballs !! Their minestrone is also vegan to start, and their bottomless whipped garlic butter and bread is vegan!!!

Original Joe’s - Chicken Club Wrap, The Kona Burger, Cajun Chicken Cheddar Sandwich, Teriyaki Chicken Rice Bowl and more - they are very specific on their menu as far as what modifications you have to make when ordering!

Milestones - brunch served until 3pm weekends and holidays and they have a vegan brunch option! “M CLASSIC BREAKFAST - VEGAN scrambled 'just egg', smoked apple sage 'sausage', roasted potatoes, schiacciata bread”
Rest of menu: Tofu lettuce wraps, roasted mushroom soup (i would double check that one is vegan but is has the symbols on it)
Specifically in their “plant based” section: stuffed portobello mushroom cap, shiitake teriyaki bowl, Vegan med bowl.

Wondering what our national codes of practice for the care & handling of farmed animals looks like? Canada guidelines can be found here:

https://www.nfacc.ca/codes-of-practice

For many when first going vegan, the apathy of those around them can be the most jarring part of their journey. Not only can a lack of support be disappointing, but it can be confusing and disorienting when we show our loved ones what is happening to the animals… and their immediate reaction isn’t a desire to to stop contributing to the horrors. The will dig their heels in. They will double-down.

…but at at the end of the day, that’s the most difficult part about veganism. The rest is easy. And in my experience at least SOME of your friends &/or family will be cool and supportive which will bring you even closer because we love supportive people! Some of them might go vegan with you. It’s a numbers game.

I encourage all vegans to join their local vegan facebook groups for support and to keep in the loop. You’ll find out about all the important stuff like new vegan options/products, vegan meet ups, Veg Fests. When planning trips, one of the first things I do is join the destination’s vegan facebook groups! I want to know where the locals are eating and what they get up to. These groups can also indicate if there is any activism happening in the area if that is something you have interest in participating in (highly recommend taken action for the animals whenever possible).

You also want to get your algorithm on track because there are so many vegan creators in so many different niches. Find recipes, food inspo, scientists, doctors, politicians, debaters, activism, musicians, comics, gym/trainer content…. it’s endless. Immersing yourself in the online vegan community makes you feel less alone and it’s one of the most supportive communities ever. Don’t know where to start? Steal my algorithm! Go to my instagram “reposts” @veggiedawwg, and watch and interact with few of the reels! Your FYP will be more vegan friendly in no time.

A “May Contain” statement at the end of an ingredient list is to warn that the ingredients listed may be present by accident due to particles in the air or shared factory equipment and is generally considered suitable for vegans.

For efficiency and to save time while shopping, I recommend skipping to the “Contains” section first. If you see milk, dairy, or eggs there, you don’t need to read the rest. If it doesn’t, skim the ingredients!

Insidious Ingredients to keep an eye out for:

Confectioner’s Glaze (bugs)
L-Cystene (hair and feathers)
Rennet (Taken from the inner lining of a young animal's stomach, usually a calf - in parmesan!!)
Gelatin (boiled skin, bones, cartilage & sinew)

Most of the restaurants listed above have cross contamination in their kitchens, please modify your orders as necessary, depending on if a shared fryer bothers you or not.

A shared fryer does not cause animal suffering, and is purely preference. As somebody who is not comfortable eating out of a shared fryer or off of a shared grill - it’s disheartening when we judge or shame others who are. Do I wish more places/all places had separate cooking surfaces? Yes. Will I judge fellow vegans who aren’t bothered by it at this point in their journey? No. Do I believe we all have internalized speciesism, myself included? Yes. If a restaurant was cooking dog or human meat in the kitchen but had a separate fryer for vegan stuff.. hell, if a place serves foie gras or shark? I’m not stepping foot in there. However, I will eat options that I speculate to be low to no cross contamination at somewhere like Spaghetti Factory.

Eating out of a shared fryer does not increase animal suffering, but infighting certainly has potential to. Extending the same kindness and compassion we extend to animals to each other when it comes to topics like this is always a good idea.

Note:
I have never found a McDonald’s without a fryer used exclusively for french fries, and their french fries are vegan in Canada.

When going out for dinner, I recommend calling in advance in order to keep things as easy as possible when you arrive at the restaurant. If you want to help other vegans out, you can include these details about fryers/cooking surfaces in a HappyCow review.

To not have to think about any of this: support your local vegan restaurants when possible!