Thin, pale, sickly, and always a little "over-eco-correct": the clichй of the fun-free vegan persists, but it's not true for a long time! Best examples: Actor Alicia Silverstone, who wrote The Kind diet "Wrote a vegan bestseller. Or ex-President Bill Clinton, who at the Vienna Life Ball was not only visibly fun, but also had a delicious vegan menu on his plate. And then there's Hollywood star Natalie Portman, who even got Dior to tailor some vegan shoes for the red carpet show! "Nice, healthy, successful" is more likely to hit the market in the meantime, so it's no wonder that the number of vegans worldwide is rising sharply – especially in "many meat-eating countries" such as Germany or Austria. By now, there are already around 40,000 – from the vegan women's group from Baden to Ц3 star reporter Elisabeth Sereda to Paul McCartney's ex, the neo-Carter Heather Mills. What is veganism? Veganism is a lifestyle and diet that tries to cause no animal suffering. And because that's supposed to happen when honey is stolen from bees or cows are raised to give milk, vegans absolutely reject any product that is produced on an animal-based basis or contains animal ingredients. This distinguishes them from the vegetarians who do not eat meat, but eggs, cheese, butter, curd cheese and honey. Is not that original and pretty monotonous? No more – now there is the vegan sauce hollandaise for asparagus over vegan pizza and lasagna to the vegan Wiener schnitzel for just about everything that tastes, animal-free replacement! Is that healthy? The expert opinions differ on this. In any case, it is clear that with balanced nutrition, vegans are much less likely to develop diabetes, hypertension and other civilization disorders. Does veganism only affect food? No! Vegans also do not wear any leather products and in winter they let themselves be warmed by wool-free sweaters and scarves! Tofu & seitan are the new meat And what do vegans eat? First of all, a lot of tofu, because it contains healthy ice-white – and because he (again we kill here a clichй!) Also not bland tastes! On the contrary: Tofu is particularly good at absorbing roasting treats and spices, it can be used for both sweet and savory dishes and is also available in the smoked version. Other suitable meat substitutes are tempeh, sweet lupine and saitan. The former is made from Indonesian soybeans and is particularly suitable for frying and frying. The second is actually a flower whose seeds are full of protein. Further processed are eg vegan sausages or meat loaves. And with the vegan "Superstar" Seitan you can cook almost any meat classic of home cooking anyway. "It consists of wheat protein and is extremely low in calories." Please note the sea: Kombu and Nori algae are always used when it tastes of fresh fish They are either roasted, baked or minced-cut used as a fine seasoning.A good binder is agar-agar, a gelling agent from red algae.It is versatile, is suitable for puddings, cakes and terrines.Guarkernmehl is also a great binder , which is used in hot and cold sauces as well as in sweet creams or savory pies Who needs glibbrige gelatine actually …?! Applesauce instead of egg You can not without pastries – and in the next flour just like egg? No problem, with a few spoonfuls of applesauce or a piece of banana can easily be replaced, just use flaxseed and Warm water and instead of animal whipped cream, you can use herbal variants of soy, coconut or rice. How healthy is vegan diet? Basically, nothing speaks against – and much for – a vegan diet and lifestyle. But that does not mean that you can simply eat without animals. On the contrary – the balance is important! People who only eat vegan junk food do not live well, and those who do not know exactly which foods they use to get their vitamins, nutrients and fats will sooner or later suffer from deficiency disorders. By eliminating animal products, for example, deficiency of iron, calcium, vitamin B12 and vitamin D may occur. Those who ignore this, eventually feel chronically tired (iron deficiency) or have problems with the bones (calcium deficiency). However, those who regularly check their nutritional status with the doctor and eat enough nuts, whole grains, soy and dark green vegetables have nothing to fear. However, there is a restriction: Teenagers, pregnant women, women before the change and the chronically ill should definitely contact a doctor before switching to pure vegan food and inform themselves about dietary supplements. How succeed the switch from the meat eater to Veggiefan – who dares to change, should approach him in peace. The radical change from meat cuisine to vegan food is possible, but not necessarily the best method. Good is a gradual omission of animal food. But if they are not sufficiently replaced by vegetable, there is quickly cravings for meat, sausage, eggs or milk. Pulses, nuts, tofu, wholemeal and soybeans distributed throughout the day are the best solution! Vegans worldwide OK, 0.1% of the world population is not (yet) soooo much. But, as I said, the vegans are on the rise – and with every revealed food scandal or every startling article on factory farming, there will be more. How consistently you want to join this trend, ultimately remains a matter of personal conscience – and also the personal taste. Certainly, it has never been so easy (and so ideology-free) to try veganism as it is today: even in the countryside, there is now no supermarket without a "meat-free corner." In most restaurants, vegetarian and vegan dishes are on the menu (where not just meat and sauce was omitted) And even when buying cosmetics or clothing you can easily choose "animal-free", without looking like a Waldschrat. The coolest vegan news from Austria reached us recently though: the first vegan ice cream parlor has just opened in Vienna. If that's not sunny prospects …