Anyone else doing veganuary?

[Ozzyskye]

I'm a guilty meat eater but for the past few years have done vegetarianuary. This year I want to try veganuary, at least at home (we go to pil for dinner once a week and don't want to add pressure!). Is anyone else giving it a go? Want to share any ideas? I could also do with losing a stone but though calorie counting and veganuary might be a bit much. I'm also doing dry January so that'll help hopefully!

My usual go to food is hearty food like stews, toad in the hole, cottage pie etc...

I can make a mean Passata for pasta, and I'm thinking chunky vegetable soups, tofu stir frys etc but would welcome any ideas! Also will look into some smoothies and juices with coconut milk or overnight oats for breakfast (when I actually eat it) I drink a lot of coffee but already prefer with oat milk.

I'm not planning on continuing past January, I enjoy meat and dairy too much but am willing to commit for a month at least and maybe discover some tasty dishes to integrate into my repertoire!

@NoMoreFalafelsForYou I know! Note the amount of vegans who do the same on threads for meat eaters / carnivore diets - zero.

Ooh yes, nutritional yeast is a good shout, also if you see the word "nooch" in a vegan context this is what they're referring to 🙂
Good for B vitamins
I use it like parmesan cheese, it's great sprinkled on pasta dishes or into baked beans if having beans on toast.

Ooh yes I've just remembered I used to make D's a vegan curry with chickpeas, spinach and sweet potato, added to the shopping list. Also going to grab some almond or cashew butter as it's nice on toast. And some vitamin b

Thanks so much for all the suggestions I'm taking notes!

If you want a really nice vegan treat, we love making the Dishoom dal or the jackfruit biryani (we’re veggie but it’s easy to make them both vegan): https://www.theguardian.com/food/2019/sep/07/four-classic-indian-recipes-dishoom-chaat-dal-salad-jackfruit-biyani-chicken-makhani-curry

I also agree that the Richmond meat free sausages are the nicest ones, I also really like the “This… Isn’t Streaky Bacon” for a BLT!

I did it 4 years ago and I'm still vegan. Made an amazing veggie wellington for Christmas lunch. Mashed roasted butternut squash, onion, garlic, lentils, chopped apricots and pine nuts in jus rol puff pastry.

I was vegan for six years then went veggie this year as I got pregnant as I got worried about baby getting what they need. Baby due in January so once she’s here going back to vegan again. I’m quite looking forward to it as there’s lots of exciting vegan food out there.

Some essentials/ideas:

• find a plant milk you love - we are oat milk drinkers in this house although hubby occasionally gets hazelnut milk
• vitalite spread instead of butter - I also use it in baking and things
• tofu - lots of people say it’s boring etc. but if you marinade it and add lots of flavour to it it’s really tasty
• lentils we like too and use them in curries and also for vegan spag Bol
• I had a Gousto recipe once that used spinach, oat milk and basil to make a really nice pesto
• if you need a chocolate fix then Nomo chocolate is the best and also GU do plant based desserts now

I am trying it, tried last year but found vegan cheese to be really awful, struggle with the sweetness of almond milk. I am also concerned about processed veg sausages which seem to suggested a lot. Aiming for lentils beans and chickpeas.

@Hellostrawberries that sounds delicious (and will give me something to eat with Brussels and chestnuts!) Do you have a recipe or is it kind of chuck it all together?

https://amp.theguardian.com/society/2023/nov/13/some-ultra-processed-foods-are-good-for-your-health-who-backed-study-finds

This study found only processed meat was harmful to health. Processed meat free foods had no negative health effects. That said, you’re obviously going to get more positive health benefits eating a whole foods plant based diet. What milks have you tried other than almond milk? You can get both sweetened and unsweetened plant milks- I like oat but there’s also soya, coconut, hemp, cashew etc.

Vegan cheese wise some is better than others. Vegan nut based cheeses are really nice, you don’t tend to get them in the supermarket but you can order online- I am nut ok, kinda co, la fauxmagerie, honestly tasty, tyne are some brands, or you can make your own https://lovingitvegan.com/sliceable-cashew-cheese/#recipe

Almond milk is gross. Oat milk (the more expensive, barista type) is the best.

The best vegan cheeses in my extensive experience are;

Lidl feta and Parmesan
cathedral city cheddar
applewood smoked cheddar
and when you want to push the boat out la fauxmagerie which you can buy in Waitrose.

Naturli vegan block is by far the best butter and the healthiest with the lowest proportion of vegetable oils. You can buy it in Waitrose and Sainsbury's.

To pp's, I just can't digest beans. It's chicken and egg, if you'll excuse the pun. I don't like them because I'm intolerant. Because I'm intolerant I can't face eating them......

I do make chili, but will only eat a few beans, and still I get the most awful tummy ache. No ache with Bolognese or similar, so defo the beans. Also baked beans, pasta fagioli, etc, just no.

Do you like/tolerate lentils or soya mince? I know the latter can be difficult for some people to digest. Chilli with lots of veg and lentils is lovely.

Aldi and Lidl both have stuff in for veganuary. From Lidl I got pizza, hazelnut choc spread, blueberry granola yoghurt, chocolate mousse, pretzel “milk” chocolate bar, cookies, stuffed pasta, escalopes gnocchi and bacon, they also had sandwich spreads, meatballs, mini pizzas, coconut yoghurts, chicken nuggets and vegetable nuggets and they have money off some of the range if you have the app.

@kikisparks - thank you! That is really helpful. I haven’t tried any other milks yet

Not a chance

@RowanMayfair - thank you will give some of those a try

Will definitely going shopping in Aldi and Lidl next week

Aldi's brilliant for stocking vegan stuff.
Love their pizzas

Vegetable lasagne, veg chilli, gnocchi, daal, curries, tofu especially the firm tofu as a meat substitute, roasted cauliflower covered in nutritional yeast and chilli oil with smashed aubergine and garlic dip 😋, veggie sausages cooked with cranberries, lentils and vegetable stock with a splash of balsamic vinegar , so many options …
Good luck

Also if you're wanting some crisps /biscuits as well, Chilli Heatwave Doritos are vegan, so are Walkers Punchy Paprika, party rings, pink wafers, Oreos and jammy Dodgers are too

I am whole food plant based. Have been mostly plant based for nearly 3 years but strict the past two months. It's been a gradual transition.

I don't understand ppl doing veganuary and eating lots of ultra processed foods. Surely it would make more sense to cut back on your meat/ dairy consumption and avoid UPFs as much as possible? Eating fake meats etc won't help anyone's health. You'd be better off eating some real butter or unprocessed meat.

I know some are doing it for environmental reasons only. It annoys me that companies have created a whole market of fake UPFs and people are falling for it and buying them.

I don't understand ppl doing veganuary and eating lots of ultra processed foods. Surely it would make more sense to cut back on your meat/ dairy consumption and avoid UPFs as much as possible? Eating fake meats etc won't help anyone's health. You'd be better off eating some real butter or unprocessed meat
I don't understand why some people don't realise that we're not all the same, might not all be doing it for the same reasons?
Some might do for health, some might do because they're feeling increasingly uncomfortable about eating meat but still like the taste, so meat alternatives etc and fake stuff is an easy way to transition.

@Ozzyskye it's pretty much a throw everything together according to taste. I love garlic and used a whole bulb! Basically roasted half a butternut squash in olive oil. Then mashed it with sautéed onion and garlic and stirred in a tin of lentils, handful of pine nuts, chopped apricots, rosemary and seasoning. Then used as a filling in puff pastry.

Another dish I really enjoy is African peanut stew
https://www.makingthymeforhealth.com/one-pot-african-peanut-stew/

Was just about to watch Joey carbstrongs new talk at the Oxford Uni if anyone would like to see it too

I started going vegan last year. Have definately fallen off the wagon a few times but overall its been a positive journey. I wish I'd known what I do now about animal agriculture, years ago. The less we can contribute to these industries the better quite frankly. Good luck with veganuary everyone!

I think it becomes a lot easier when you do it for the animals btw, as opposed to things like health or even the environment. Have a look into what they go through and the lies these industries tell us about it being 'humane' (like 'free range' eggs). I felt so fkn lied to when I started looking into things, it was really eye opening.