Anyone thinking of doing Veganuary?

[DuggeesWooOOooggle]

Have thought about it the last few years but chickened out for various reasons (tea or coffee without proper milk being one!)

Now feel I ought to give it a go. We eat plenty of plant based meals as it is but hopefully doing it will widen the repertoire and help me reduce dairy intake by making me rely on alternatives for a month. Going without meat won't be too hard but cheese definitely!

However we are moving house mid month and I think I am pregnant (the test was very very faint so waiting til tomorrow to do another) so if I don't last the distance I won't beat myself up too much. Have a DH and 3 year old DS who won't be joining in.

Anyone else?

I am going to try a vegan week once I am back from holiday. I really need to cut down on cheese and chocolate anyway! I eat a lot of eggs though so breakfasts may prove difficult. I like porridge but use milk to make it. Can you use vegan milk to make porridge?

Apollo yes, absolutely try a variety and see what you like! For that eggy flavour, get some black salt; nice and sulphurous. I made this quiche for my sister's wedding (at her request!) so might be nice for you too if you like eggs.

www.theveganhousehold.com/mains/the-gourmet-vegan-cant-tell-the-difference-quiche/

As a general comment, a quick and easy lunch (if at home) is:
1 tin chopped toms
1 tin chickpeas, drained
Chili flakes
Cumin seeds
Combine in a saucepan, heat through and serve. Yummy and low-calorie too

Oh, and congratulations Duggee!!

we're going "mostly" vegan in this house.

the only time we're going non-vegan is when we have particular guests.

when we do buy meat/milk/eggs whatever for guests, it will be organic and high welfare.

We haven't actually started yet because we need to do a shop and obviously couldn't do that yesterday so today will be the our first day.
Just going to have bagels with vitalite for breakfast.

Love the look of that quiche christmas

still drink too much wine 😂

How will I know which wine is vegan and which isn't though?
Feeling a bit overwhelmed as food and drink you might assume is vegan, bread, wine etc. Isn't always vegan.
I thought I'd be fine with bread rolls say, but some are brushed with egg.

There’s a website called barnivore where you can check booze to see if it’s cegsb

Vegan

Maybe if vegans start calling themselves Cegsb we'll attract less flack Purple confuse the masses!

For wine: Yellowtail red wine is vegan, as is white Ogio (I think). Sainsburys own brand red is also vegan as standard I believe. But as said, Barnivore is your friend! For beer, bottled is often vegan while cask is not. Badger is vegan, as is St Austell. Also many ciders. I'm not an alcoholic, honestly!

Can anyone recommend a cookbook or website that is good for simple recipes, I mean ones with five or so ingredients? I don't need to be getting out 20 different ingredients to make my lunch :(

I can't think of one resource offhand, but there are loads of 'quick and easy vegan' cookbooks out there atm.

Jacket potato with beans
Beans on toast
Daal (cup of lentils, lump of coconut cream if wanted, turmeric, cumin and a tomato - add water and heat up)
Hummus sandwich
Falafel sandwich
Smoked tofu (they have it at Waitrose) sandwich
Or the recipe I posted upthread also works with any other bean/pulse.
Quinoa/bulgur wheat/couscous with soy beans and a bit of tomato paste
Many supermarkets sell at least one vegan sandwich now, and M&S has at least one suitable salad.

Hope some of those are useful! If starving, the Trek bar range are vegan and also protein-loaded.

Do you buy your falafel or make it?

I am trying to do the whole food plant based thing, so steering clear of shop bought sandwiches etc. I had never thought of hummus as anything other than a dip before but had it on a baked potato yesterday and it was amazing :)

The veganuary website has recipes on

I tend to just buy falafel sandwiches when I'm out and about and need a quick meal tbh it is fairly easy to make though, so I've heard!

Also, seitan. A big lump of cooked gluten. Sounds awful, tastes good.

I haven't quite got going yet as we have had a couple of bits and bobs to use up - I would have frozen it but we are moving house soon so wouldn't get chance to use it. But I hope to be eating just plants by the end of the week!

Anyone got a good pancake recipe? I tried a Tesco vegan banana pancake recipe yesterday but it wasn't great.

Today I was in asda to pick up some more Oatly barista and there was another woman there reading the labels on the Oatly. I told her it's really good stuff and she said she was buying it as she's doing Veganuary. If that was one of you lot then hello again and I hope you liked it ! I also found it at Tesco the other day so for a pp who says you can't find it at the supermarket anymore I suppose it depends where you live (I'm in the NW).

Also have bought some "beyond burger" vegan burgers and a vegan mushroom pizza with "sheese" on it for those nights I can't be bothered to cook. Last night I had white bean stew with lemon and rosemary served on garlic mash and it was really nice. Tonight I had sweet potato falafel. I think Veganuary is going to be easier than I expected! I hope everyone else is getting on well too..

Not sure if anyone's mentioned this yet, but Oatly Barista is in the long life milk section not chilled. I thought my local stores were out of it for ages before I realised! D'oh.

What recipe did you use for the white bean stew, Whatsnew? Sounds lovely.

I tried a No Dough pizza recently in the reduced section at Sainsbury's which had a cauliflower crust. The one I got was a vegan Margherita but sadly the cheese was nasty and the crust wasn't great either! Would have hated to have paid full price.

I have long used an avocado pasta sauce recipe from the Oh She Glows website, which is basically just avocado whizzed up with basil, lemon juice and olive oil. Really simple and tasty (although it takes it to another level with crispy bacon and/or blue cheese sprinkled over ). If you made a pangritata type thing (seasoned breadcrumbs fried in olive oil) that would be good over the top too, to add some crunch.

I've just got a load of things in Sainsbury’s today. A lot of their vegan stuff and products like quorn are half price at the moment.

Also got some vegan mayonnaise. Got free from pesto as well planning to make that with pasta for dinner because we were out late but it has soya beans and my little one is allergic so I couldn't have it. Ended up with plain pasta with olive oil and chilli flakes 🙈.

Nicely stocked up now though so tomorrow should be better.

I just drained some white beans, put them in a pan with olive oil and heated them through with fresh rosemary, lemon juice, and a handful of spinach and some parsley. So quick and easy and quite tasty with the garlic mash (made that in the instant pot, mashed with Oatly and olive oil spread).

2 days in and I’m doing okay but my 17yo DD has been vegan for 2 years so have a fair bit of vegan stuff in cupboards.

Really liked the sainsburys meat free burgers yesterday. Used Oatly in my coffee this morning - it does have a taste different to using cows milk but it was nice enough and I’d be happy to continue using that although I will be on the look out for the UHT aversion. Tried Alpro protein yoghurts and they were also lovely. Had to ask my DD for some of her vegan chocolate last night as the other in the house were scoffing a tub of celebrations!

I went into Holland and Barrett today for some of the facial wash I like and found loads of vegan bargains - their vegan friendly chocolate was reduced so I got a couple of bars to try (plain and a pumpkin spice one), a jar of coconut jam (!?) for £1 (should have been a fiver!), which was definitely an impulse buy and some red lentils so I could make a daal again. I feel a bit bereft without lentils in the cupboard. And some walnuts which I like sprinkled over spinach salads (although will have to live without the blue cheese for now) and oats etc.

In about 9 months time you can try the Tesco fake blue cheese op - its better than the average vegan cheese because the blue bit is exactly right!

Ha ha I suspect I'll be desperate for the real thing by then Contessa! I guess I can have it as long as it's cooked through....

May I join? I'm on another thread (hi purpledaisies, thank you for helping me out yesterday) but it's rather lonely over there at the moment.

I've been vegetarian for over 27 years but I cook meat for my dc. By the time I've cooked their meal, I tend just to rely on cheese in some form for me. I'm overweight and I hope that a vegan month will help me be more imaginative and healthier in my meals going forward.

So far, meals have been lovely and I've batch-cooked to avoid reliance on peanut butter on toast for every meal. Comfort food, on the other hand, is a bit of a struggle. I probably ate about 3 times the number of calories yesterday, searching the fridge and cupboards, trying to hit my pmt craving.