Veganuary

[BillyIsMyBunny]

Hello, I’m just wondering if anybody else is planning on doing ‘veganuary’ this year? I’m a long term vegetarian but have never made the plunge to veganism before and thought now would be a good time to make the change. Interested if anybody else is doing the same?

[VallarMorghulis]

Thanks Basin, I'll give those a try.

I've made the vegan mayo using soya milk and I have to say it's a decent substitute for the real thing. Recipe here

[BillyIsMyBunny]

I had my first cup of coffee with oat milk today and whilst I was thoroughly expecting to hate it that wasn’t the case at all, it didn’t curdle and although the taste was different it was nice. I’ve been enjoying my tea more today too and starting to think maybe I will be able to keep it up beyond January.

[Mrbob]

I am going to do some experiments with making cheese so will let you know how they go. I struggle with some vegan products because they seem to have SO much crap in. Half of me thinks butter is just much better for you because it’s just milk and not plastic and then the rest of me thinks of the calves...

[KlausIsMyProphet]

Happy Veganuary everyone!

I first did it in 2016 after being a meat eater my whole life and have stuck with it bar a few cheese and chocolate mishaps in the beginning.

It's incredible seeing how many products, recipes and eateries there are now. More than happy to answer any questions or any kind of support really! Good luck with it all!

[BasinHaircut]

@Mrbob yes absolutely agree, the purpose of cheese alternatives has to be ethical rather than health.

I don’t really intend to eat many of the heavily processed substitutes for animal products, for me the object is to eat minimally processed as much as possible.

[CherryDocsInYrBalls]

Hi I want to try some vegan products, specifically yoghurt for my granola, I usually get Greek or natural, anyone have recommendations? Also milk so I'll try the ones you've suggested. I like a piece of cheddar cheese every day. Oh and sausages? I really don't like Quorn mince or the "chicken" pieces, that's fine, but really like sausages!!

[BillyIsMyBunny]

@CherryDocsInYrBalls I like the Richmond meat free sausages which I think could probably pass for cheap meat sausages and I also quite like Sainsbury’s shroomdogs.

Not sure about yoghurts sorry, I like the alpro fruit yoghurts and actually preferred them to regular yoghurts even before doing veganuary but I’ve never tried their plain or greek-style version.

[RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie]

Another vote for Richmond sausages. Delicious.I

The Alpro plain yoghurt is fine for granola etc, but a bit too sweet to use for savoury things.

[Cityzen74]

I love the Richmond sausages too. My DH who is a meat eater loves them too and thinks they could pass as meat sausages.

I tried alpro Greek style yogurt tonight with some fruit and quite enjoyed it. I had tried the Tesco own brand version of yogurt alternative and hated it so was pleasantly surprised 😀.

Hope everyone is getting on well

[Mrbob]

[quote BasinHaircut]@Mrbob yes absolutely agree, the purpose of cheese alternatives has to be ethical rather than health.

I don’t really intend to eat many of the heavily processed substitutes for animal products, for me the object is to eat minimally processed as much as possible.[/quote]
I am going to see if some of the home made ones taste good! They will never be cheese but I found preciously cheese is very addictive and once you stop eating it for a while you stop missing it and craving it. I think also if we are looking for cheese alternatives to taste similar and do the same job we are always going to be disappointed but eventually it is just about treating them as a different food. I find that with quite a lot of the processed alternatives but they are my gateway drugs to veganism

[Sameshirtdifferentday]

I’m going to try again this year. Already vegetarian (nearly 40 years).
Went to Iceland today and bought Greggs vegan sausage rolls and steak bake and Richmond sausages. Such a healthy start, not . I do like the vegan applewood smoked cheese.
I have been binge watching vegan YouTubers. Not sure my cooking is up to scratch. Definitely need to prep better.

[Kaiken]

Well this year Veganuary club seems very processed-food oriented compared to previous years.
What is the point of eating a worse version of your diet, very much more unhealthy than the "original " . Please embrace the opportunity to try whole food, new vegetables you have never tried.

Try to bake your falafel, create new chickpea salad or try a new couscous with rich and colourful diced vegetables.

[ZaraTheWonderDog]

There are plenty of reasons for going vegan, even for a month - eating more whole foods is only one of them. We should be encouraging people, not telling them off for doing it wrong. The people who have talked about things like Richmond sausages, fake cheese etc have acknowledged they aren't the healthiest choices and presumably are eating other things too!

[Kaiken]

I am just giving a remember that vegan starts with 3 letters V E G

[VallarMorghulis]

[quote BasinHaircut]@Mrbob yes absolutely agree, the purpose of cheese alternatives has to be ethical rather than health.

I don’t really intend to eat many of the heavily processed substitutes for animal products, for me the object is to eat minimally processed as much as possible.[/quote]
Yes this, totally!

I'm interested in hearing more about making vegan cheese from a PP (sorry, I forget who). If I'm going to eat processed stuff, I'd rather do the processing myself if at all possible.

[unicornpower]

I have a wonderful vegetarian cookbook that i substitute with vegan ingredients where necessary, Its a Hugh Fernley Whittingstall and its called 'river cottage veg' Its got fab recipes and is a real vegetable basics book. Some recipes are vegan already but then i just use vegan dairy products where i need to :)

Another good one is the Lucy Watson cookbooks as they are all vegan and healthy too!

[Mrbob]

I think any kind of veganism is a bonus. It doesn’t really matter how or why you go into it. I am trying this time for less processed but in the past have often used meat substitutes because some of them are super yummy and sometimes you just want a sausage I am sure I will have times ahead when I buy some vegan junk food again (in fact I can almost guarantee it as I have an amazing cafe near me that does spectacular vegan options) We all have different aims and are at different places on different paths

[ZaraTheWonderDog]

There's different approaches to making vegan cheese at home. The most fun, and most true to actual cheese, is to use a bacterial culture (like acidophilus tablets, which you can buy from H&B and others) and a nut base, cashew is popular for its mild taste but you can use almonds too or even other things like chickpeas! If you don't want to shell out for a book - there are many! - there's loads of resources online. I make cream cheese this way mostly, which has the advantage of being relatively speedy. But you can make all sorts of things - people use penicillum to produce a camembert-like cheese, for example.

[ZaraTheWonderDog]

I love that book @unicornpower. He wrote another one - 'Much More Veg' - which is actually vegan but I don't like it as much. It may grow on me.

[BasinHaircut]

@ZaraTheWonderDog I think it depends on why you are doing veganuary (health or ethics) and whether or not you intend to carry on past end of Jan.

Swapping out a steak or a sausage roll for a vegan version and leaving it at that type of change is fine if you are doing veganuary for 30 days. But i think it’s OK to acknowledge that that is not a good idea for a long term turn to a plant based diet.

If you are going to be a healthy vegan long term then you need to include lots more (in terms of both volume and variety) fruit, veg and other minimally processed plant foods and rely less on vegan ‘chicken’ Kiev’s and bacon etc.

[ZaraTheWonderDog]

I don't disagree with anything you said @BasinHaircut , in fact I said myself there are lots of reasons for going vegan, so I'm not sure why you're @'ing me. I've been vegan since 2018 and I love cooking and trying new things. Literally no-one on this thread has advocated eating just 'chicken' kievs and sausage rolls, so I was responding to one post in particular which seemed to be suggesting they were.

[BillyIsMyBunny]

@Kaiken I’m already vegetarian so my diet already includes lots of veg which is why I haven’t asked for any advice on how to make main meals vegan. I am already comfortable with plenty of plant based meals all of which are cooked fresh without processed foods. I think there has been a trend towards more plant-based main meals over the last few years so maybe this thread is a sign that those of us who have posted so far already have some plant based meals up our sleeves and don’t need as much advice on how to make a vegan curry/ tagine/ chilli etc.

Most of the dairy I currently consume is in the form of milk, baked goods, chocolate and the odd bit of cheese. I think the reason many of us are asking about processed alternatives to milk/ cheese/yoghurt: sausages etc is probably because they’re the most hit-and-miss things to buy and the things which are hard to substitute with anything other than a processed version. Of course my entire vegan diet isn’t made up of drinking tea/ coffee but the change to vegan milk has felt bigger to me than having vegan main meals which I haven’t really noticed so far.

Also bear in mind we are only 4 days in and I know in my case still functioning a little bit in Christmas mode where I am definitely being lazier and more indulgent than I would normally. As the month goes on I may well find myself out of inspiration in terms of plant based meals and looking for recipe ideas, and certainly if you have any tried and tested recipes or tips please do share them.

[ZaraTheWonderDog]

also it did make me smile that one of the healthy suggestions Kaiken made was cous-cous - which is basically tiny pasta! I mean, I love them both but they are processed foods. We all have such different ideas of what 'healthy' means, I wouldn't presume to tell other people what they should eat - it rarely goes well.

[BasinHaircut]

@ZaraTheWonderDog also just responding to your post that’s all. Having a discussion!

I just meant that pointing out that a simple swap from an animal products to a highly processed vegan alternative isn’t a great choice long term is a valid point to make that shouldn’t be dismissed just as there are other reasons to become vegan.

Anecdotally I think there are many people who go vegan after (for example) watching Game changers and think they have found the answer to eliminating cancer risk and longer life.

@BillyIsMyBunny also agree that the change to a plant based milk is a bigger jump than fully plant based meals.

[goteam]

I have been vegetarian for about 30 years and vegan for 2.5. I think it's fine to use up any dairy you have in, better than wasting it. I would use it now rather than save it for 'after veganuary' because many people end up fully transitioning (anecdotally, quite a few of my friends did - from meat eater to vegan via veganuary).

Someone asked about yoghurt. Coconut collaborative and Alpro coconut yoghurt are both nice with granola. For cheese, Applewood Smoked cheese or Follow Your Hear gouda style slices are good supermarket options. Loads of vegan chocolate out now. Agree about Naturli spread - the beat vegan butter although I always get a tub of Pure or Vitalite for baking.

Good luck everyone!