Introduction (Why Vegan Food Is Not Inherently Kosher)
Many people might assume that vegan food is inherently kosher. Not so! A vegan meal still poses many challenges. It must meet the standards for insect checking, must not be cooked on the Sabbath, must not be prepared on equipment used to prepare or cook non-kosher food, and can be subject to cross-contamination with meat or dairy which affects its status as pareve, milchig, or fleishig. In other words, it's not just about the ingredients, it's also about what equipment is used to prepare and cook those ingredients, who cooks them, and when. The laws of kashrus are complex, even for a vegan kitchen! The Orthodox Union (OU) provides an explanation here. A list of reliable kosher symbols for prepared/packaged food is available here.
How My Life Changed When Going From Vegan To Frum Vegan
Vegan Restaurants And The Vegan Community
Before my geirus in 2020, I made it a point to support vegan restaurants. Whenever I traveled, I always looked for vegan restaurants, and they were an important part of my travel -- and identity. Sometimes this took me off the beaten path, away from the touristy stuff, and more into the local community. It was always an adventure and I got to eat many of the world's cuisines this way. I did this by using the website happycow.net ever since its inception in 1999. In the 2010's it became an app that I couldn't imagine living without. With the help of this app, I traveled to Israel, France, England, Taipei, Ireland, Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Canada, and all over the United States and ate very well! Highlights included Horizons (Philadelphia, PA), that one vegan Thai place in Boston, LOV in Montreal, Canada, and so many other places, many of which are well known in the vegan community. Through these experiences I saw even more of the world than I would have.
But here's the thing: once you become an Orthodox Jew, you are no longer of the vegan community at large. You are now separate, distinct, different, an intersection. The purpose of kashrus is much more than technical -- it is also spiritual and identity-defining. To set something aside as separate is to sanctify it. We are set aside by Hashem to serve Him in a unique way. In doing so, we agree to a covenant, a set of laws that we keep, hold by. These laws protect us from becoming too assimilated in other communities where we might lose our footing, leading to our suffering. The law strengthens us and keeps us focused on Hashem and our cohesion and continuity as a people.
A New Way Of Living
My life now looks different. No longer do I travel the world and go off the beaten path to find vegan restaurants. Now I travel the world and look for kosher restaurants. This also takes me to places I would not have otherwise visited, beyond the boundaries of the usual tourist areas and into the local community. The difference is that my community is now one that is focused on Torah, tefillah and tzedakah in a very distinctive way that is aligned with the unique assignment of being a Jew. Rather than looking for the next culinary high or spiritual peak experience, I am looking for tips on where to find the kosher grape juice for Shabbat in my hotel room. I can say that in Nova Scotia there is a specific grocery store outside of the tourist areas in Halifax where the Kedem grape juice lives. I know that because I've been on that journey, and I can now pass that information along to the next shomer kashrus person to travel to that wonderful place. I'm in the same world, but focused on different parts than I was before. The food and people I pay attention to are different than before.
Photo: An assortment of vegan foods (including Yves Canadian Veggie Bacon) for a Shabbos meal in a hotel room in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Not eating at non-kosher restaurants was awkward at first. Where would my friends and I get together? Throughout my teens and twenties, restaurants were the default place to meet and catch up with friends, grab a bite to eat after a long day, or celebrate a significant life event. How do you do these things when you live in a town that doesn't have a lot of (or any, really) conveniently located kosher restaurants -- let alone with adequate vegan options for you and your friends?
Now days I meet my friends in parks, malls, cafes (such as Starbucks or Whole Foods where I can get plenty of vegan snacks with reliable hechshers and some water, tea, or a bottled beverage with a reliable hechsher), museums, and sometimes host them for meals. Occasionally we go out of our way to one of the kosher restaurants with vegan options. Some of the kosher restaurants are fully vegan or vegetarian, too! But gone are the days of meeting up at Chipotle or Subway or getting food from any random food truck or street vendor. When I want to grab a bite to eat after a long day, I can make one of the frozen pot pies or pierogis I keep in my freezer. When I want to celebrate a significant life event, I give tzedakah and either attend or host a seudah or go to a kosher restaurant. Over the years, I have probably saved thousands of dollars in money that I would have spent on dining out, given more to tzedakah, become a better cook, and more!
David Chu's in Baltimore, MD.
Big Changes To Groceries And Pantry Items
Prepared Foods
When I told my parents I was keeping Shabbos, they did not flinch. When I told them I was keeping kosher, they did not flinch. When I told them I was wearing a tznius bathing suit and had replaced my wardrobe of pant suits and yoga pants with skirts, they did not flinch. But when I told them I am no longer eating Amy's pizza and other Amy's products, I thought they might pass out! The shock was genuine. "Sarah without Amy's food? What world is this?!"
For the uninitiated, Amy's is not under a hechsher that most communities hold by, including my own. This has long been a source of discussion. Without Amy's what was I going to do? Amy's pizza (this one specifically) got me through graduate school! Amy's canned soups got me through bouts of grief and sickness. Amy's burritos got me through finals. Amy's was that safety net that ensured I would always be able to eat something wherever I went.
So what now?
Turns out that although there is no replacement for the Amy's product line, there are ways to adapt here and there. I had to learn to treasure hunt at the local supermarkets and kosher market. As mentioned above, frozen pierogis, spring rolls, and vegan frozen pot pies and quiches have saved the day. There is also Mon Cuisine, whose frozen entrees and pot pies I have been impressed with in terms of taste, texture, and fulfillment. For ramen and cup noodles, there are certain flavors of Lotus Foods noodle cups, and their ramen noodle packs. Living with chronic illness, and having a busy life, these things are important to have around at all times, along with some Orgain RTD shakes (pretty sure these shakes saved my life in recent years). I must also mention Souper Girl, a kosher vegan establishment which has gotten me through some difficult Passovers.
But all of that is just the prepared, convenience foods. What about ingredients? How has that changed? One might assume that the rest of my shopping would be unaffected. Not so!
Single Ingredient Items
Interestingly, for instance, not all canned corn has a hechsher, and this can pose kashrus problems. Imagine that you purchased canned corn, cooked it in your microwave in a glass bowl, and then discovered that the can does not have a kosher symbol. What do you do? What is the status of the corn? What is the status of the microwave and of the dish used to heat it? These are the sorts of questions a beis din will want to know that you know how to approach (notice that I said "approach," not "answer").
If the corn happened to be produced on equipment used to can pork that was not cleaned and kashered before processing the corn, does that render the corn treif? Does it mean you need to re-kasher your glass bowl and microwave? Worse, if you heated the corn in a bowl that is made of a material that cannot be kashered, is the bowl now useless?
Standing there with a bowl of corn, you only have 30 minutes before Shabbos begins, and it is after 5pm on a Friday and so there is no way that you can call the manufacturer to get an answer about the status of the equipment. This is where halachic reference books (I highly recommend this one) and a rabbi come in. Call your rabbi. In doing so, as a geirus, you need to know what elements to tell him, what information might help him give a quick and informed answer. The answer may vary based on the particulars of the situation. This is the way that we have to learn to think. Before I was Jewish, I had no such problems! Ah but what a privilege it is to have such worries.
Once you face a few of these situations, you know how to handle them. But it takes time.
While there are many vegan foods which do not require a hechsher, this list is much shorter than what I was told back in my non-Orthodox days. As a result, there are some foods which I had to give up entirely since my conversion due to not being able to find them with a reliable hechsher. As an example, a trip to a seaside village in Ireland led me to experience bladderwrack and dillisk which I then incorporated into my regular diet. I also greatly enjoyed dulse. It turns out that these can be infested and must bear a reliable hechsher. I have yet to find affordable options, or any options, for these within the kashrus system. As a result, I had to start buying and using iodized salt for my iodine source. This is quite a shift in the flavor profile of my signature tofu scramble, and other recipes.
Tofu scramble with vegan French toast.
Insect Checking
Prior to my geirus, I always tried to keep kosher as well as I knew how. One of the things I knew a little bit about was insect checking. Whenever I would dine out (at non-kosher restaurants), I always checked my food for insects. There were multiple times over the years that I had to stop eating at certain vegan places, or stop eating certain menu items at non-vegan places, due to this issue.
Fast forward to life in the frum world. I am now aware of issues I did not know about before, such as broccoli and cauliflower infestation. I did not believe it at first, but after purchasing several heads of broccoli and cauliflower, I found that it was much too laborious and the yield too low for the effort to be worthwhile. I had no idea there were so many thrips hiding in these two foods!
Broccoli, which was once a staple in my diet, is now a delicacy. Since the kosher market where pre-checked produce is carried is not very close to me, I order it at kosher restaurants as a treat when I go out. To enjoy a whole plateful of broccoli without having to do the work to check it is a luxury! When I have time and energy and want to make a nice, Indian meal, I take the time to carefully check cauliflower and make my favorite dish, aloo gobi. This is one of the things I cooked for a meal I hosted for my 1-year anniversary of my mikvah date.
It's funny how in this way, distinguishing myself from the vegan community at large by keeping kosher, I am actually even more vegan than I was before. How many hundreds or thousands of insects and tiny sea critters have I not consumed by keeping kosher? How much animal product "taste" and cross contamination have I not been exposed to? It's amazing when you stop to think about it.
Not Eating By Friends And Family
Perhaps one of the most difficult to explain things is that I will not eat food prepared at someone else's house unless I know they are shomer kashrus as well -- and this means not just the food but the equipment, and the day of week it is cooked, etc. This can make it difficult to be in the larger secular community in the same way, where potlucks and home baked goods are often shared.
This was another important shift in my lifestyle, though not as extreme for me since I already tended to not eat at other people's houses since most didn't know how to cook vegan food. I explained it to my non-Jewish friends by saying that keeping kosher is not just about the food itself but also the equipment it is cooked on, and even in a vegan home, if the person is someone who eats at non-kosher restaurants and uses their microwave or oven to reheat that food, or cooks with vegan ingredients that have infestations or cross-contaminants, it is a problem. There is also the potential issue of bishul akum.
Funnily enough, I am actually eating at more people's houses since I became Orthodox than I did before, but they are all Jewish people! This is because of the strong culture of hosting meals for Shabbos and Yom Tov in our community. Attending a meat meal often means there will be a vegan dessert such as chocolate covered pretzels, and tons of vegan side dishes to choose from. I have been to extraordinary Shabbos/Yom Tov meals where every single dish is vegan expect for a plate of meat that is passed around. And even some meals where every single dish is vegan. And of course, when I host, it's all vegan...and pareve, which brings me to the next issue.
Cooking For Other Frum Jews
Thought being vegan meant kashrus would be a cake walk? Surprised by all of the above? Well, believe it or not, there's more!
In our world there exist foods that are vegan but not pareve. These tend to be foods that are cooked or processed on equipment also used to process dairy ingredients. While they may even be free of dairy in the allergen statement, they still possess some sort of dairy status in the kashrus system. They often receive a kosher - dairy status, or a kosher - dairy equipment status. This has implications for those who eat meat -- they cannot eat these foods at the same time or within the same time frame. What does this have to do with us vegans? The biggest thing is in our ability to provide food for others.
As part of a community, we want to host meals for others. On Purim we may even want to bake for others. The issue is that most people in our community do eat meat and will need to be considerate of the timing of when they eat these items. This raises questions such as: "If I bake cookies with kosher dairy chocolate chips that are vegan, can my guests eat the cookies if they came directly from a meat meal? If I baked a cake in the oven at the same time and it has all pareve ingredients, what is the status of the cake?" This again, is where returning to the reference books for a quick refresher and consulting with your rabbi if needed are in order.
If this all sounds like nonsensical technicalities to you, here is an example of how it actually arises in real life. I baked some vegan hamantaschen for Purim and handed it out to people at shul. One man said, "since you are vegan, I assume these are pareve?" I had to think about it for a moment. Did I use any ingredients made on dairy equipment? While that wouldn't be a problem for me, it matters for the others in my community. Since that day, I decided that I will only cook with pareve ingredients so that there is no risk for someone to assume something from my kitchen is pareve when it is technically not.
Reheating Takeout
Another way that this issue comes up is in what to do with takeout that is from a non-pareve kosher restaurant. One of my favorite restaurants is a meat restaurant that makes amazing vegan food. Another favorite restaurant is a dairy pizza restaurant that offers vegan cheese. If I put food from these restaurants on my dishes and reheat in the microwave, there could be some meat or dairy from the respective restaurant that changes the status of my dishes and microwave. To avoid this issue, I reheat all takeout from non-pareve restaurants on paper plates and re-kasher my microwave before I use it on my own food or plates again, just to be safe. These same considerations must be applied to food cooked by others in my community who may cook vegan food with non-vegan food with implications for its status.
In Summary
Identity And Navigating A New Community
These are all things I did not have to think about as a vegan-at-large. As a shomer kashrus vegan, my life looks a little different, and for that I am grateful. In some ways my vegan identity has had to take a backseat to my Jewish identity (e.g., I now look for kosher restaurants instead of vegan ones when traveling). It ended up being easier than I thought to make this shift.
I also found that there are so many more vegans in the frum world than I had anticipated. Even people who are not vegan are much more well-versed in vegan cuisine than I had expected. And even when I'm among people who are not familiar with veganism, our kashrus system makes it easier for me to find my way around. I mainly just have to watch out for eggs and fish gelatin, which are pareve. (Those kosher marshmallows may not be vegan!)
And when eating at a Shabbos meal, I have to inform the host ahead of time that I cannot eat challah with eggs. Instead, they can make or purchase water challah from the bakery, or serve matzah. I am happy to bring some to share. But just in case, I started carrying a little baggy of matzah in my Shabbos clutch (a fancy little purse that I carry some essential items in within the eruv). This way if the host forgets to provide an egg-free bread, I can say "amen" to Hamotzi and and recite Birkat HaMazon.
A Unique Mission
The Tu B'Shevat seder table.
At the end of the day, my primary focus is on that unique relationship with Hashem which we cultivate through 100 daily brachot and keeping all the laws which He gave to us, and in doing so keep our relationship with Hashem at the center of our lives. As vegans, we have an even more unique way to serve as a light unto the world and bring Torah values to life. As Jewish vegans this light is amplified.
Vegan challah, six strand, round, maple glaze.