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!

Yum! Do you have the recipes?

@kikisparks www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/vegan-brownies#commentsFeed I've used this one and added cranberries (so it's basically a health food now!) Batter is glorious, brownies in over

Not sure what recipe for rocky road as DH made that with ds and I think it's veggie not vegan , I don't actually like RR so that's fine!

About to make a vegan mince spag bol, wonder how much of a fuss D's will kick up 😅

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/vegan-banana-bread

Would recommend this! We tweaked it though - less cinnamon than suggested and a pinch of all spice. Also a knob of vegan butter and a bit of almond butter. Was so good 🍌

@bakewellbride That's the recipe I use for when I make banana bread! Made it loads of times before, it's so good.
You seriously wouldn't know it had no eggs in

I've never tried it but apparently chia seeds cam be used as an egg substitute to bind in baking.

You have to mix them in water and they'll go gloopy after a bit.

...though oil might be better lol.
But if you're trying to be health conscious then chia seeds might be worth considering.

I’ve tried this and it works! Flax seeds too!

I’m doing dry Veganuary so thanks for the ideas everyone! I seem to be eating mainly potato waffles and vegan royales so far though 😂 although some of the recipes in the Veganuary cookbook look good and I made a great bolognese last week.

I might try my hand at some baking today, my guru cupcake Jemma has a vegan playlist (I’ll take my yield into the office of course)

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdMhfauwzukU8iQDavraJeorTegu8rXrt&si=inh7ToooZujl3hmZ

for something healthier, this is my fave peanut butter curry:

https://oneingredientchef.com/peanut-butter-curry/

That was me when I did it for the first time about 8 years ago - waffles, linda mccartney sausages and baked beans 5 times a week 😂

Got lots of books now, happy to share any recipes. BOSH! Also have an Instagram channel (is that the technical term?!) where they share recipes too.

How is everyone doing at the end of week 1?
I've been vegan for a couple of years now, and am trying to focus on using less meat replacement products this month

Ooh, let us know the recipes if they turn out well - we have a couple vegans in our department at work, so I try to do vegan baking if I take something in for them.

Hi, just joining in, it is great to read all the tips! Especially grateful to the people who are full time vegans offering the benefit of their experience! It's my first time doing Veganuary and I am also doing Dry Jan, and both are going fairly well so far. I think I am starting to feel more energetic and my skin is looking clearer. My sleep is a bit rubbish (probably from stopping drinking), but even with less sleep I seem to have more energy.

I haven't been that keen on most of the meat/dairy alternatives I have tried so far, so mainly just eating veg, beans, nuts, grains etc.
Breakfast has been pretty much normal for me except for switching to Flora Plant spread, which is nice. Coffee, ginger shot and wholemeal toast with marmite and banana.
Lunch has also been pretty good. The last few days I have had: garlic mushrooms on toast; houmous and guacamole with rice cakes and crudites; homemade soups x 2; leftover dinners; and a tesco meal deal houmous and harrisa veg sandwich.
Dinners have been: harissa aubergine dish from Rukmini Iyer book with rice; broccoli, chilli and garlic pasta with capers and red onion; bean chilli; cauliflower and potato curry; another rice dish I made up with stir fried green veg and peanuts with Thai spices; Lidl Moroccan burgers with houmous, homemade chips, salad and aioli.

Less successful: White Rabbit pizza (can't remember the brand) - are there any good frozen pizzas out there?
Cathedral City vegan cheese and onion spread - yuk.
The oat milk I have bought (Oatly barista) seems to coat my tongue... is that normal? I have just started drinking coffee black as I don't like the feeling.
I can't remember the brand of yogurt I bought, but I didn't like that either! Tempted to give up on dairy alternatives...

I have bought the Richmond sausages for a quick dinner tomorrow though - going to convert today's leftover bean chilli into a barbecue beans side to go with the sausages. Would oat milk work okay to make mashed potato or is it likely to ruin it? If so, I might switch for baked potatoes and Flora spread. I have also bought the ingredients for the tamarind sprouts recipe that was mentioned up-thread, so will make that on Thurs.

ColouringPencils your evening meals sound good.

Which milk you like really is just down to personal preference, I would say oat milk is fine in mash potato but then I like oat milk.

I'd avoid all cheese if I were you, when I gave up dairy I read that cheese have a chemical that makes you crave it, until you break the link you really can't get over the oddness that is vegan cheese, I hated them all when I started but am fine with them now

Pizzas, is it possible you're not liking it because of the cheese?

Anyone seen Veganise Me? Really interesting documentary. I watched it on YouTube

Yes I find with vegan pizza you're usually better off going for ones that are more...I dunno the name but, like, flatbreads with onion ect... hummus and vegetable ones etc... with as little fake cheese as possible basically.

There's a new show on netflix where a bunch of identical twins go on one vegan, one omnivore diet. Thet found the vegans genes after the 8 weeks on it were on average 10% 'younger'. Suggesting the diet can potentially slow genetic aging. They also lost more visceral fat.

That cheese chemical is something like quaesomorphin or something I think... it's in milk to attract baby cows back to their mothers. But for some reason it seems intensified in cheese. Probably why it's such a struggle for many people to give up.

The m&s chilled pizzas are good. I think white rabbit suffers from being gluten free. Oatly barista has rapeseed oil in it, most plant milks don’t have oil added though so maybe look for one without?

The Aldi stuffed crust pizzas in the freezers are really good

Pinkbonbon the programme you mention sounds very interesting, you don't recall any of the title do you?

“You Are What You Eat: A Twin Experiment

Is this it, sorry should have googled before I asked

Haha was just on netflix so took a look. Yep that's the one.

It's a bit drawn out tbh. But it's got some interesting animal agriculture fact through it.

There's a lot of stuff on netflix I'm seeing now infact. What the health, game changers, conspiracy, seaspiracy. They must have put them up for veganuary.

Pinkbonbon thanks, I've seen seaspiracy and been meaning to watch the others hadn't heard of What the health.

I have COVID and feel rough so have been tempted to break veganuary but have persevered... Albeit mostly through carbs! Porridge with oat milk and sugar has been my go to comfort at the moment!

@Ozzyskye get well soon x

Thank you for the pizza and milk advice! I think you are right that I am cheese addict and that is probably why all the fake cheese tastes crap to me. I will avoid it for a while I think, it will do me good! I did buy an almost milk, which has no oil in it and I think I prefer.

I watched the You Are What You Eat programme and found it interesting, although probably nothing that new healthwise, it was a good reminder to me of all the ethical reasons to pursue a vegan diet.

Last night I made the Rukmini Iyer tamarind sprouts, which was very nice, though after having leftover bean chilli for lunch I did feel a bit full of beans.

Tonight I fancy something greedy and indulgent, but also quick, as I will get home quite late. I am thinking of making potato wedges and serving with humous, aoili, guacamole, red onion, fresh chilli, coriander, and pickles. I might add fake steak pieces (are the Squeaky ones any good?) and roasted chickpeas. A feast! Thinking about dinner already... 😂😋

COVID broke me today - I needed comfort food and knew we had Mac and cheese in the fridge. I'm pausing and might add the days on!

Sorry you had Covid! I love a good vegan Mac n cheese, I make mine with violife soft cheese, plant based milk or cream nutritional yeast, blended butternut squash and some applewood or cathedral city vegan grated cheese but there are so many recipes, I’ve seen some with cashews or tofu I’d like to try for higher protein version.

Hope you are feeling better @Ozzyskye.

I have been eating well this week, but pretty much just the best meals I had last week repeated, so I could have been more adventurous. Tonight we are having stir fried tofu, broccoli, red pepper, red onion and peanuts with whatever sauce DH has come up. I have been very good at taking in leftovers for lunch all week, but tomorrow I think I might have a Subway as I quite like their vegan options.

In general, it just feels pretty normal to eat a vegan diet at the moment and I am not having to put much thought into it, which is great. A lot easier than I expected. I am going out for a meal at the weekend, so that feels like a bit of a test.

Anyone got any good chocolate recommendations?