I have been thinking of ways to help my friends and family eliminate meat from their diet and become healthier without stress.

An easy way to start being vegan is to replace your day to day dairy products with plant based alternative products. Try using almond or soya milk in your tea and breakfast cereals instead of dairy milk? We have tried and tested all of the non-dairy milk brands and we have found KOKO dairy free is our family favourite. But try a few brands and see what you like the best. You can also start to use a dairy free margarine, dairy free yoghurts, dairy free cheese and a dairy free mayonnaise.

As a next step, purchase a variety of beans and pulses. If you already make Fajitas or Burritos at home, then try making them without meat. You can use the tinned bean mixtures (mixed beans and red kidney beans) with peppers and onions. Your family really won’t taste the difference.

Now you have started with a few plant based alternatives, the switch to a healthier plant based diet doesn’t seem as daunting and soon you will be experimenting with colours, flavours and textures.

A plant based diet isn’t boring and the choice of ingredients is wide ranging. Try and make a few small changes and see how you feel.

Please note I haven’t been sponsored by any of these brands and these are just our family favourites. See what you prefer as the choice of plant based products is growing by the day in our every day supermarkets.