Veganuary anyone?

[mnpeasantry]

So, never had a lot of luck with launching popular threads but wondered if anyone was game for a bit of vegan January?

My plan is to eat a plant based diet and cut out booze for all except 3 pre planned events in January.

I've put together a list of meals that sound good to me and not too arduous to put together on top of working and caring for two under 3.

Meals include:

Chips
Quinoa and sweet potato cakes
Avocado
Guacamole and tortilla chips
Veg chilli
Lentil soup
Brocolli and cashew stir fry
Spicy coconut noodles
Onion bhaji
Aubergine curry
Hummus
Sweet potato and white bean chilli
Curried coconut veg noodles
www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/veggie-noodles-with-curried-coconut-sauce/
Sweet potato chickpea curry
www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/sweet-potato-chickpea-amp-spinach-curry/
Pumpkin, chickpeas and coconut curry
www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetable-recipes/pumpkin-chickpea-coconut-curry/
Vegan shepherds pie
www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/vegan-shepherd-s-pie/
Best vegan burger
www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/the-best-vegan-burger/

Why? Feeling a bit fat after Christmas and still need to lose a bit of baby weight. I feel that I have become a bit meat based in my meal planning lately and would like to diversify a bit. I'm aware of environmental and ethical issues surrounding the consumption of meat and I feel like I'm starting to believe that dairy doesn't really agree with me and triggers a number of allergies in my family.

So, is anybody with me? Let's (hopefully) improve our health and fitness, complexions, environment, digestion, etc! Feeling hopeful.

thanks for all the eating out tips, we're going away for the weekend next week so it's good to have places that I know I can eat.

So far so good for me today, porridge for breakfast and crackers, hummus and cherry tomatoes for lunch. Not sure what dinner will be as I really need to go shopping.

I missed breakfast, lunch was a pumpkin wrap, dinner is going to be a Buddha bowl (a ridiculously wanky pretentious name for a bowl of whatever grains, roasties and green veg you have lying around - tonight's is khorasan wheat, roast sweet potatoes, leeks and broccoli, with a tahini-yoghurt dressing).

Love Buddha Bowl!

So all these eating out suggestions got me googling and Veganuary has this helpful eating out guide

veganuary.com/eating-out/

Astounded at how many places feature including burger joints.

Day 4 and I'm still on the wagon. Have started to miss cheese a bit but have enjoyed what I've been eating and made a few nice discoveries. The things I've liked have been:
Jamie Oliver's best vegan burger
Koko coconut & lemon yoghurt alternative (really tasty and creamy)
Quorn vegan pieces
M&S glorious greens and seeds veggie pot (this was devine!)
Salted corn, sesame sticks, Bombay mix, nutritional yeast, banana soya milk and veg sausage roll from Holland & Barrett.
Waitrose coconut rice noodles for stir-fry.
I've also bought some hobnobs as I started having biscuit withdrawal.

I've had coconut milk in my tea all week which hasn't been great, but I've just had a shopping delivery with almond milk and Oatly foamable so am going to give them a go.

The thing I've noticed is how easy it is to slip up. I opened a yoghurt for DD and some went on my finger so I instinctively licked it off and then realised and went to spit it out and rinse my mouth out! Didn't want to have failed so telling myself that because I didn't swallow it doesn't count haha!

My fave recipe so far has been an aubergine and cauliflower curry that I made as a bit of a bodge of one of Jack Monroe's recipes. It tasted 'professional' and I was so pleased

I would be interested in any nice biscuit recipes anyone might know of. We bought some cookie cutters for Christmas and I'd like to make some with DD if I can find a decent recommendation.

I haven't made them myself but I've tasted someone else's shortbread made to this recipe and it was great! wallflowerkitchen.com/vegan-shortbread/

Thanks, they look nice. Quite a few recipes on there; I also like the look of the spiced orange oatmeal raisin cookies. Will have a go tomorrow!

EM, you made me laugh with the rinsing of your mouth!

Will seek out that M&S veggie pot.

I made a pretty lacklustre stir fry for dinner but it was filling. I would love a glass of wine and a Lindor right now but have made myself a lovely peppermint tea which I'm enjoying with the great interior design challenge

I know! Think DH thought I'd lost the plot as I just went "Aaargh, I'm a VEGAAAAN!!" and pegged it to the sink! Going to takes bit of getting used to but I am happy to report that Oatly foamable is way nicer in tea than the coconut milk. I haven't foamed it up but it tastes creamier and more like the real thing so I'm happy about that!

Hi, I've started this to. Four days in so far so good. I am trying to stay pretty relaxed about it & eat the foods I know I like without using meat replacements, I just don't think I'd like them. Will find it difficult when I go back to work though. No staff room, no shop near by, will need to start looking at lunch/dinner options before I go back tomorrow night.

I found a bag of kale tops in Waitrose for 49p, roasted them with chilli oil and then dipped in hummus for a snack. It was lovely.

Tonight dinner is a roasted veg/chick pea chilli.

I was vegan a couple of years ago, and I felt so good, gorgeous skin, skinny legs. Right now I am heavier and grey from drinking and smoking. I want the old me back!

I ate out for lunch today and had a veggie haggis roll and chips. Not very healthy! But making up for it this evening with my own innovative slow cooker split pea soup, inspired by something I once ate in Morocco but in no way authentic.

Still missing my morning latte but feeling espresso might be the way to go.

Jen, are you not keen on soya latte? I genuinely like the taste of foamed soya hot drinks. I sometimes order them when I'm not avoiding dairy for the taste. Does that make me strange? I also drink decaf coffees so probably.

I never think to get kale though I quite like it. Is it a thing to roast kale? Sounds very tasty. What sort of temperature and for how long?

Sainsbury's do vegan "meatballs" (most of the other shop brands and quorn have egg so haven't had them in ages) cooked these with onion, mushrooms and a jar of Chilli tomato sauce and spaghetti and was delish!

How is everyone progressing?

I've found I've been sleeping much better.

Today was my usual breakfast of peanut butter and banana.

L - avocado, hummus and carrots

D - veg chilli with quorn (I know, I know but I thought it was vegan when I bought it)

I weighed myself this morning and was under 11 stone for the first time since I had norovirus back in November. Hopefully my journey to pre pregnancy weight is back on track!

Yesterday I lived mostly on humous and raw spinach plus a falafel and humous wrap from a petrol station (Tesco I think), today I had a clementine and a banana for breakfast, chip shop chips in a bread roll for lunch, humous and oat cakes this evening.

I had a vegan day today, as I posted before I can't do it 100% at the moment for various reasons.

I (should be!) gluten free as well.

Today breakfast was Doves Farm fibre flakes with almond milk and some dried blueberries & seeds on top

Lunch salad red peppers, tomato, onion, olives with rocket, more seeds, oatcakes with pure sunflower spread.

Dinner brown rice pasta with tomato sauce and some veggies

Snacks were salt & pepper roasted mixed nuts (homemade), fruit, and green & blacks maya gold chocolate.

I checked and am very happy my favourite gin is vegan

Phew that your favourite gin is vegan Phoenix ! I'd better check mine is too... I had some wine this week (one of my favourites) and only thought to check after I'd drunk it. Sure enough, they use dairy to filter it or something . Oh well. I should be cutting well back on wine anyway after Xmas.

Today:

B: I'm still eating it and it isn't terribly healthy / diety, but it is vegan and damn delicious! Hot chocolate made with cocoa, sugar, a bit of salt and oat milk and a really, really yummy vegan yoghurt. It's a mango and passion fruit one by coconut collaborative and it truly is much nicer than any dairy yoghurt I've had before.

L: red pepper and tomato soup with bread

T: don't know, but I found a really nice recipe for a rice noodle salad. It's from the Thug Kitchen cookbook. Looks lovely. Might make it for DH and me.

Snacks: fruit, carrot sticks, maybe a nakd bar, tea and coffee with oat milk

There's a great site www.barnivore.com which will check booze for veganism for you! Very handy at the supermarket.

I've been vegan for a yr,(apart from a run in with dh malteasers advent calendar )it's been good for me..going in to a costa I don't even drool at the cakes as I know I can't eat them being vegan....

I feel like I'm really getting into the swing of things now and I'm really enjoying my food!

Breakfast today is porridge with a blueberry compote, lunch will be out again but I'm determined to find something vegan! dinner will be a cauliflower crust pizza with veggies

thanks for the links to check the booze! I'd better do that with my wine stash

I am so rubbish at remembering to pack lunch so I often end up buying a sandwich or something out.

Pret always have a vegan option - usually more than one.

Subway plain salad sub is vegan.

EAT usually have a vegan option.

Supermarket salads are often ok. Instant noodles also often ok. Even most crappy newsagents do a veg samosa and a bag of crisps. The worst supermarket I've found is actuallt M&S where they put yoghurt or cheese into things that don't need it... like falafels and sushi! But they also do a samosa that's vegan.

Lunch was a stir fried Jerusalem artichoke, broccoli, green bean and spinach, mixed with veg haggis, in a wrap with a bit of red pepper hummus.

Vegetarian Haggis is amazing, I think I have created my new favourite sandwich.

Mnpeasantry - I roast kale by just massaging it with a tiny bit of oil, salt and pepper, then on a baking tray for 10 mins, keep an eye on it though, it can go from nice hot and a bit crispy to acrid and burnt in nano seconds.

hi everyone, can i join? Managed since 1st Jan so far... (I did have a brioche roll but otherwise vegan!)....

i'm veggie and been trying for years to go vegan... basically cut everything out before this except cheese, and occasional other dairy when out and about.

I think the cheese thing is more about getting into the habit of not having it I guess? so maybe a whole month and i will keep going!!

lucky to live near some nice vegan restaurants / cafes so eating out not as hard as it might be...

good luck to everyone... :)

Nice to see everyone's enjoy this. I started on the 1st & so far so good except from a cup of tea my colleague made me.

Breakfast is usually porridge with soy milk & topped with mixed berries.

For lunch I had a vegan wrap with salad 🥗 & spicy cous cous, it was delicious.

Not sure what to have for dinner tonight though am usually at work & don't get the chance to eat dinner. Need something handy tonight for everyone.