Anyone planning to do Veganuary this time?

[OfficerPetriHawkinsByrd]

So, January 2020 I mean.

Obviously, we have a couple of months till it starts, but I like to get prepared and practice some vegan meals in the run up.

Is anyone else planning to do it and would they like to join me on here?

Thank you all for trying Veganuary!

For anyone thinking of carrying on beyond this month don’t worry about instantly throwing away anything you own that isn’t vegan. Most vegans don’t think it’s a good idea to send all that stuff to landfill and contribute to other problems. Wear it out, use it up or donate it.

Focus on your vegan pound. Every time you spend money try to support products and in the long term, companies that are vegan. People have given up waiting for politicians to tackle climate change and bad farming practices so they are forcing a change with their pennies!

I agree Applejane - you can give non-vegan foods to family and friends or donate them to a food bank.

You don't have to be perfect, I always say I'm 99% vegan because although I only eat vegan foods I still have some non-vegan products that I need to clear out still. Trying to be 100%made me give up altogether on my previous attempts to become vegan.

Trying veganism out for month is really good, because at the end of the month you can assess how you think it has improved your health and wellbeing.

Absolutely mindproject. It's about finding your own line and setting yourself mini goals. You don't have to do it overnight.

At first, I made a list of all the meals we ate regularly and did a quick internet search to see how to veganise them to give me an instant shopping list to get started.

Then I took a longer period of time to change our meals to more seasonal veggies and vegan recipes aiming to try and add a new meal every week or two.

Now I have a list of all the meals my family like and at the beginning of the month I batch cook a month's worth of meals to freeze. This saves me lots of time and money and I know we can grab good healthy meals quickly.

We also try out the new vegan junk food that is always coming out but it's no different to any way of eating. You can eat totally healthy or not or a happy medium in between

We've been Vegan for almost 2 years. Best Vegan chocolate that isn't dark is Nomo in our opinion. Salted caramel or fruit really good. From H n B and Tesco. Rather given up on cheese but Violife say their new one out this month is like cheddar so will try that. My son eats Falafel pizza (frozen Goodfellows) and Asda Vegan pepper one. Pizza Hut Vegan pizza pretty good and they do an amazing Vegan cheesecake. We don't eat alot of faux meat but do have LMcC vegetarian sausages. Try and freeze stuff coz it is alot of chopping and cooking. Tbh I struggle with the inconvenience and expense alot/most of the time.

It can get expensive, especially if you are trying all the new things out all the time or going to a vegan deli store or health food shop.

Most of the meals I make are very cheap, lots of rice, pasta, beans and cheap vegetables, so that brings the cost down. There are plenty of accidentally vegan foods that are cheaper too. When I first started being a vegan I watched a few YouTube videos on accidentally vegan foods which really helped. If I see a special offer on I buy a few and freeze or store. I shop around and look for bargains. So my vegan diet doesn't cost any more now than my old diet did.

I hope everyone is enjoying their new foods.

Vegan cheese is mostly horrible or doesn't melt properly. I like Violife the most, but I just buy it occasionally.

I might have to go to Pizza Hut now and try their vegan cheesecake. Their pizza is good.

I've been a vegetarian for years but am doing veganuary this year, and may possibly continue being vegan!

I was just wondering if anybody knows if curry sauce from a Chinese takeaway is vegan? Or if not what can you order from there that is vegan?

Quite a few options at a Chinese - anything veggie should also be vegan sas they don't really use dairy. e.g.
Stir fried veg & tofu, vegetable fried rice, veggie pancake rolls etc...

Careful with the fried rice though as they do add egg to most of them. Same for fish sauce.

If in doubt I'm sure they will confirm for you if you ask :)

I've made a discovery this morning - Naturli Vegan Block. It is almost identical to butter in taste and texture.

Currently £1.90 in Sainsbury's, in the same section as the real butter.

I just slathered it all over my toast and want MORE MORE MORE

I bought that yesterday laundry - it's organic too.

Shame it's packaged in plastic though.

Yesterday I bought the engevita yeast flakes as I've seen a lot of vegans use them for creamy sauces etc.

Now the problem is, I have no clue what to do with it! Does anybody else use the yeast flakes or have any suggestions on what I can put them in?

Yeast flakes have a good amount of B12, so they are very useful for a vegan diet. Put them in cheese sauce, pasta sauce, bolognaise, curries, dal, stews, soups. I personally don't like them sprinkled of things instead of cheese as they remind me of fish flakes, but I know a lot of vegans do.

Made macaroni "cheese" tonight which was ace. The sauce is made of liquidised carrots and had it before, so just replaced the cheese with vegan cheese. Was yummy with a green salad. Have tried freezing some too for lunches. The recipe is on TastefullyVikkie tastefullyvikkie.com/1-5-syn-slimming-world-slow-cooker-macaroni-cheese/

This is quite impressive!!
Does God really want us to become vegans?
thebrilliantway.net/2020/01/15/does-god-really-want-us-to-become-vegans/

Day 16 and I feel awful, I’m craving mac and cheese, I feel tired, I have a head ache and possible low in iron (after a heavier than normal period). Anyone else struggling?

I had southern fried tofu for dinner and it was awful, I’m hungry and grumpy.

Just have mac and cheese! I’m having spaghetti, marmite and cheese for dinner.

Have you found a good vegan cheese or are you rule breaking?
I’m fed up with spending money on vegan cheese only for them to be horrible.

I like the follow your heart Gouda and the Waitrose block one.
It’s never going to be as good as real cheese but it’s ok

I am just reviving this thread to see how you all got on and if anyone here is still eating vegan or will be doing veganuary again this year?

Me and DH will be doing it in 2021 and because I’m an over-organiser I’m prepping already!

I’m a pretty good cook and whilst we do eat meat now we do not eat it every day and I could easily go veggie tomorrow but I LOVE cheese and milk.

I’ve ordered some vegan protein powders to try from myprotein (I do a lot of weight training so already use protein powders and already take these with almond milk). I’ve also ordered oatly barista and hazelnut milk alternatives to try out in preparation for January.

Is there really nothing that will do as a cheese alternative? Or has anything significant happened in the last 12 months?

I’ve been vegan for a few years now after doing veganuary and discovering dairy triggered my IBS.

Is there really nothing that will do as a cheese alternative? Or has anything significant happened in the last 12 months?

Most vegan cheeses are grim. There are a few I think are acceptable but they’re really personal taste so might need to try a few. For example, someone mentioned violife as good and think it’s the worst one. I’d eat applewood smoked, Sainsbury’s free from cheddar and Greek style cheese, adsa mature cheddar. The soft cheeses are better. There’s a one nush with chives in which is lovely. Most supermarket fake soft cheeses are ok.

To be honest though, if you’re a cheese lover you might be better going cold turkey. All vegan cheese is better if you haven’t had the real stuff recently.

I think I’ll have to test a couple out. The applewood one might be a good shout. I’ll try the free from one too.

I make these epic bean burgers but they are made so much better with a loaf of melted cheese on top. Same with (for example) enchiladas. I make them with black beans rather than meat but it’s the cheese that makes that meal for me.

I accept I won’t be eating many (vegan) cheeseboards though

I'm not vegan but i eat a lot of vegan food. For pp.who mentioned liking cheese on top of bean burgers, it might be worth trying Leon vegan burger sauce. It's not cheese but its amazing on a burger.

I havent found a vegan cheese I like and I've tried quite a few.