When you change your diet, it can take a little while to find new dishes that become a habit. In time, the new habits become easy to follow. Here are simple swaps and meal ideas for every day.
In short
- Replace milk with plant drinks; check the label to see if they are calcium-fortified.
- In baking, an egg can be replaced with banana, apple purée or cornflour.
- Many Moldovan dishes are already vegan or easy to adapt.
- Nutritional yeast can give a “cheesy” taste and, if fortified, contains vitamin B12.
Useful swaps
- Milk: soy, oat, rice or almond drinks. According to NIH, milk substitutes can be fortified with calcium, so read the label.
- Eggs in baking: ripe banana or apple purée in cakes; cornflour for binding, in small amounts.
- Cheese: marinated or smoked tofu, nut or seed pastes; nutritional yeast for flavour. NIH notes that nutritional yeast is among the plant foods fortified with B12.
- Sour cream and butter: plain plant yoghurt, nut pastes or vegetable oil, depending on the recipe.
Simple meals through the day
- Breakfast: oat porridge, cereal with a plant drink, bread with peanut butter and fruit, fruit purée.
- Lunch and dinner: vegetable or bean soups, mămăligă with mushrooms, mashed beans, baked or mashed potatoes, pasta with tomato sauce, vegetable stew, rice sarmale, stir-fried tofu or tempeh.
- Snacks: fresh or dried fruit, nuts, almonds, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, popcorn.
Start with what you already know
You do not have to buy special products. Start from dishes you already cook and gradually remove the animal ingredients. For fasting recipes see Fasting food, and for first steps the Vegan guide to Moldova.
For the nutrients worth watching (especially vitamin B12), see A vegan diet: the nutrients to watch and A balanced vegan diet in practice.
The information in this article is for guidance only and does not replace the advice of a doctor or a nutritionist.
Sources
Updated: 26 October 2026
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