Veganuary support and reflections

[Thinkle]

Can we have a thread for this please? I did day one yesterday (from meat eater with emerging interest in plant based) and this is what I found:

1. It’s easy to eat out vegan in London even with non vegan hubby and kids
2. Oat milk in coffee is nicer and creamier than cows milk
3. People don’t react in the way I’ve expected, most are interested in good recipes and my motivations
4. There doesn’t seem to be one single food supplement that covers all the essentials but please prove me wrong!

I’m going to try to support my daughter in her decision to do this particularly while she’s home with us from uni - she was pescatarian prior to this Veganuary. Sadly shoe told me after I planned and bought ingredients for meals using the new cook book she asked for as a Christmas gift. All vegetarian, but not vegan. Next week will be better. Great cook book though Plenty by Yotah Ottolenghi.

Waitrose has a good vegan section.

I find that a good food supplement is yeast flakes. all health food shops sell them, there is a high B12 one which is what vegans need. It's very tasty in soups as a stock, I make a veg stock too but it's not necessary if you're in a hurry.

Tell you what , soya milk makes a much better cappuccino than cows milk, it fluffs up beautiifully. I'm not keen on most plant milks because the manufacturerers pad them out it with sunflower oil which I don't like. Alpro do a cheap, good almond milk without the boring sunfl. oil.

I have some yeast flakes and I’ve made my first cheese style sauce which was lovely. I can see myself getting through these.
I hadn’t noticed the added oil in my oat milk but now I’ve seen it... not sure it’ll change my mind though as I’m happy with my oatly tea and coffee at home.

Yes Thinkle I make a fabulous mac n cheese, totally vegan, and you wouldn't know! GF too!

Hi veganuaries!

I'm a long-time vegan. I found two vegans hugely helpful in information on nutrition, animal welfare, and all things vegan. Not preachy, not angry, just two very well informed women sharing their experience of being vegan for many years.

They are Colleen Patrick-Goudreau (great podcaster, you can search by topics that interest you. Her arguments just make so much sense to me) www.colleenpatrickgoudreau.com/_

and Victoria Moran (another podcaster, but also author and film producer) mainstreetvegan.net/

Hope you enjoy trying out new foods and living your best lives! Glad to have you on board.

Day 6 😊
First few days I few awful, felt more bloated and lethargic but now I’m feeling much better.

I have discovered vegan kabab meat (Sainsbury’s and Tesco sell it).

Haven’t found a cheese I like and I think I would rather go without than try anymore 🤢.

I’m missing eggs the most and finding lunch the hardest meal of the day as I often grab a sandwich at work. I have started making my own soup but have had to cut out the bread as I think it was making me bloated.

We have quite a few places near by that swerve vegan food despite being in a rural/farming community.

I’m enjoying trying new things but come February I will be having Mac and cheese for my birthday and maybe a steak 🤣 but I think I will choose more plant based meat alternatives or possibly become Veggie but not full vegan.

Hi, I'd like to join! I've been vegetarian for over 20 years so a smaller step. I am liking either oat or almond milk for tea and coffee.
I bought some avocado oil spread
from Waitrose and have realised I do actually like peanut butter on toast (the Pip n Nut one is lovely).
I bought a bag of grated cheddar style "cheese" from Sainsbury's which is fine to add on pasta dishes. I haven't forayed into the world of vegan cheeses as yet.
Dinner is aubergine and tomato pasta. I'm also making a tomato and red lentil soup for lunches.

I’ve been eating like a vegan queen this last week as I’ve been off work and working through the Bosh book. Today was first day back at work for me so the start of the real test. Tonight is ”huevos” rancheros but with scrambled tofu Instead of eggs and vegan cheese on top.
My DH isn’t doing it so he’ll get the original version. I don’t know how I’ll feel at the end of the month, so far I’m not feeling restricted and enjoying feeling lighter after meals but curiously not hungry. Think carnivorous DH is counting down to February 🤣
Thank you for the support and helpful links @forkfun, I saw another thread on here earlier saying that people doing veganuary aren’t really vegan - all very negative. I’m not claiming to be vegan, I want to learn to make changes to my diet that benefit the environment so your support is appreciated.

I'd be interested to hear about the scrambled tofu. I have no idea what tofu to use for it!

For those looking for vegan bad foods (biscuits, sweets...).....

academy.plantbasednews.org/blog/accidentally-vegan-food

I was hoping to lose weight going vegan but I have still been eating quite a bit including a few take aways (so many places doing vegan alternatives), it’s a lot easier than I thought it would be.
I had stir fry veg, lots of added mushrooms for lunch, meat alternative kebab and roasted sweet potato for dinner and a few Oreos for dessert.

Marmite is my source of B12, roast potatoes with marmite are amazing 😉

Scrambled tofu Pro tip - use black salt (which is actually pink). It has that sulfur flavour that eggs have.

Also, tofoo is by far the best firm tofu you can easily get. Great for stir frys or oven baking. If you have a Chinese shop near by, check out their tofu selection. Lots of variety (silken, soft, tofu skin, etc). A fun ingredient for the experimental cook.

If any of you aren't instantly feeling fabulous on eating vegan, changing from a low fibre to high fibre diet can take some time to adjust to.

Vegan cheese - no advice from me. When I turned vegan there was hardly any available so I just copied without. Now I don't miss cheese at all, so don't bother with it.

If anyone is here primarily for health, check out nutritionfacts.org - a great resource by an American medical doctor.

Anyway, cheering you all on!