Veganuary 2025

[kikisparks]

A thread for anyone doing this who might need any help or tips 😊 I’m already vegan but happy to offer suggestions or support if anyone wants it!

Also, I'm hoping that by adding some of my meals for them to try we will get more vegan stuff to add to the meal rotation!

Sounds like a great strategy 🤞

Great reminder, I used to use the small health food shops way more when I went vegan 13 years ago but can forget them now there’s so much more choice in the supermarkets.

For me it’s definitely having DD (3) makes it hard to cook from scratch as she doesn’t really like mixed things so I focus on getting her nutrients from the things she does like and just end up eating what she eats. I was raised vegetarian and remember it being the same as I was also a fussy eater, the same meals on rotation that I’d eat. When she was a baby I cooked so many things for her and she tried it all but then fussy toddler stage hit. I do try to get her to eat more variety sometimes but it’s a lot of energy to cook something that will be scraped into the bin.

Having less cooking facilities sounds tough too!

Does anyone cook anything yummy and vegan in airfryer? We might be inheriting one and I've completely missed the trend so far!

I'm doing really well atm. Will definitely try out the egg recipes shared too thanks

We use ours all the time! Mainly for chips and other oven based things like falafel etc, cooks in a fraction of the time using a fraction of the energy. Also did some of the roast potatoes in them at Christmas and they turned out very good! I finish off baked potatoes in there too.

Also well done with how well you are doing. Let us know if you can what you think of the egg recipes as other than the French toast I’ve not tried any of them yet.

@Peskydahlias

We manage by often doing a neutral carb which we will all eat, il add veg to mine and the kids ( 1 &3), partner doesn't eat veg haha, then he will have some kind of beige breadcrumb covered meat, il have either a fake meat or a healthier tofu, and the kids will have either the veggie option or fish fingers.
Either that or we all make something totally random and separate.
We have a lot of "picky bits" i know MNers hate that phrase with a passion but it works well for us 😂.
I love my one pot dishes as well just because I'm lazy ha and vegan curry and chili seems to go down well with everyone!

Oh yeah @kikisparks my 4 year old is the same. I feel like it's the ultimate long game with kids and healthy eating - just have to keep offering them the healthy stuff and accept what they will eat. The lack of variety in his diet though is making me want all the stuff I can't really make as family meals (basically things where the veg is the main component!). I'm going to make a lentil Bolognese tomorrow which I reckon everyone will eat.

Solidarity to those with veg* avoidant kids/partners! Whilst my husband is happy to eat anything I put in front of him, our son is autistic and has a very limited diet.

I went to the most amazing little cafe today, 100% vegan and the choice of cakes/bakes was incredible! 14 different types available, I went for the toffee brownie and biscoff tiffin (husband and I had half each!) washed down with an oat latte. Delicious!

Dinner tonight has been lasagne and roasted veg, courtesy of the bolognese stash in the freezer. This, along with chilli non carne and a curry are always cooked in bulk and frozen in portions for a quick meal when needed.

That sounds lovely @PigInADuvet I don't think I've ever been to a vegan cafe. Do you live in a city?

I had vegan quesadillas for lunch but cous cous salad thing for dinner. But it had an odd taste that I find a lot of pre made supermarket pasta/cous cous salads have. Maybe preservatives. Think I'll try making my own next time!

Oh and my kids are also termed carnivores in our house!

Nope, rural arse end of nowhere! It's a little coffee shop/cafe place in the local park, a real gem of a place

I can't remember who mentioned cauliflower rice but I have actually done this before and it tastes so much nicer if you make it yourself. Basically put it in the food processor then flat on a baking tray for a few mins, makes quite a lot so I'm not sure if you can then freeze it (I don't think cauliflower responds very well to freezing, personally). It's a bit of a faff if you don't have a food processor though, perhaps..

Yes that’s exactly how I feel! When she was at grandparent’s for a sleepover I made a veg and bean curry and it was so nice to have so much veg in a meal!

Merchant Gourmet sachets are a good base for making your own. They do a quinoa one (or fucking quinoa as it’s known in this house) - add finely chopped red onion and red pepper, cucumber, vegan feta and/or chickpeas, beetroot, lemon juice, fresh herbs if you’ve got any.

Tofu is good in the air fryer- cook it then add to stir fries.

Roasted sprouts and carrots - bit of oil and balsamic and cook them then add a bit of honey for the last few minutes. Halve the sprouts. I do the carrots in long, thin batons.

Don't add honey if you're vegan! Maple syrup will be a good substitute.

I'm a vegan who uses honey. It's one of the very few exceptions I make.

Cubed tofu (pressed first if it's a really wet one), scattered with Bouillon powder and nooch and cooked for about 12-15 minutes. Delicious warm as a snack but also keeps well to add to future stir fries etc (I cook the whole pack at once).

Potatoes - cubed or chips. Most vegan sausages and burgers can be thrown in too.

Any roasted veg you might normally have done in the oven.

I use my Instant Pot a lot for stews, curries etc. and batch cook for the freezer.

I assumed people would be able to make the choice, but thanks for the reminder. I'm not vegan.

That sounds great! I live near a city and sadly we’ve lost a lot of the vegan cafes to the cost of living crisis. We still have two fully vegan bakeries though so if I want cake it’s definitely an option- trying to avoid just now after overindulging at Christmas 🙈

That sounds like a nice fresh dish 😋 although I’m not a fan of onion but I do like garlic.

You could definitely leave the onion out/sub with spring onions/add garlic.

I think it's a cafe that happens to be owned by vegans rather than a vegan cafe if that makes sense!

Either way the food was amazing 🤩

I'm on a pilgrimage to Aldi tomorrow in search of the mythical frickles. Tomorrow will be store #5, pray for me!

Also meal planning for next week so keep sharing your meals as I need the inspiration 😆

Oooo frickles!
I had them at V Rev in Manchester once, absolutely delicious