Hey Ladies!
I'm thinking of doing 'Veganuary' for a new year challenge and to shake up my meal choices (any one else feel like they're making the same 5 dinners every week?)
Wondered if anyone fancied joining me? Or if anyone fancied sharing any must-have Vegan recipes or tips?
It's going to be tough; but I'm looking forward to trying some new things and boosting my veggie intake! (Yes, I have checked if my fav Prosecco is vegan, it is - phew!)
C 🥦
Hey 👋 I've been vegan for almost 5 years now. Can't quite believe it!! I grew up in a meat & diary eating family and never dreamt of going veggie or vegan. But its the best thing I've ever done and honestly so much easier than it sounds ... you are in for a treat. Even 5 years ago there was hardly any alternatives, and now there is literally an alternative for everything!! I love January as heaps of new things come out for me to try and it's ace fun discovering and trying loads of new things. Personally I cook a lot more now that I ever did and eat a much bigger variety of food. Which sound crazy as a lot of people think you are cutting things out and limiting yourself, but you so aren't! The best tip I can probably give is get yourself a couple of cook books (or just search the recipes online. Bosh! (Books 1 & 2 are excellent), also Lucy Watson has a book that I found helped me so much to begin with. Really easy to follow. And please don't hesitate to give me a shout if you need any help!! (Check out my Insta if you fancy, I've got loads of recipes on there too vegan_helsey_ldn) x
Oh amazing! Thanks so much; I'll give you a follow now!
I'm really looking forward to it to be honest, can't wait to try some new things, my friend turned vegan last year and said she'll never look back. There's quite a few vegan restaurants and pop ups in Manchester so if we ever get allowed out again, I'm definitely going to give them a try!!
@Caron Moore love this! I've been vegan for around 4/5 years. We went to our favourite American smokehouse restaurant, ordered a meat platter and when it arrived I couldn't face it and went vegan that night! There are some great resources and recipes online and totally agree with@Helen Madden about alternatives. My favourite at the moment is "it's not bacon" which is sooo good!! Enjoy the challenge and cooking and trying lots of new things xx
@Shaunagh Smith@Caron Moore the 'This! isn't Bacon' is amazing in a Sunday morning BLT sandwich!
@Caron Moore ohhhh Manchester was amazing for vegan food. We went last year for a weekend! Just trying to think where we went ... Fingers crossed places are still open after all this! We've only been in Tier 4 like a week and I'm dying to go out already 😤😭 So bored of cooking! ... I think you have a Dishoom in Manchester. If you do, that's one of my fav restaurants in London. Loads of vegan options! ... ohhh another thing is that in Veganuary loads of restaurants usually do 50% off thier new menus. Not sure if that will happen this year though. Maybe with takeaways at least ♥️
@Caron Moore I'm really keen to do veganuary too! I did it a last year and absolutely loved it, but fell off the bandwagon during lockdown 🙈 It would be fab to get a few queens to give it a go together! 😍
I was the biggest dairy eater EVER up until October then i decided to go dairy free to see if it would help with my skin and it has! I dont think ill ever go back to eating dairy as theres so many tasty options avalible (oat milk is beet for tea and coffee i think 😄). The only animal products I eat now are fish and eggs and I feel great. Veganuary definitely worth a try I think!
@Helen Madden fingers crossed!! Yes, we do have a Dishoom! That's a great shout for a takeaway treat! Fingers crossed no T4 for us yet, must be really difficult!
This came through this morning on your recommendation. The recipes look fab! Can't wait to give some a try (once I've finished that massive Toblerone obvs! 🤣🤣)
@Lucy Mulvaney yes, Lucy! We can do it together!
@Karyn Mannion I do love Almond Milk in a shake! I'm not big on tea or coffee so that's an easy one. I think my downfall will be cheese and chocolate but I'm sure after Xmas I'll be happy to have a break from them both! 🤣🤣
@Caron Moore Lindt 70% and up dark chocolate is dairy free as they use soya instead of dairy in those bars. I was the same with cheese I think thats the only thing I'd still miss, but there is great dairy free cheese too just keep trying them until you find one you like 🤗
@Karyn Mannion I am a huge fan of oat milk too! I love it in porridge and coffee 😍
@Caron Moore I might have to invest in the Bosh book too. Let me know how you get on with the recipes in it! Trying to put together a bit of a vegan meal plan atm and slightly struggling 😅
I eat meat and dairy but try and eat plant based as much as I can! One of my favourite vegan recipes are courgette fritters (basically a super yummy hash brown!!) - I tend to have halloumi or scrambled eggs with them making the whole meal veggie not vegan, but the fritters themselves are vegan! You could also put smashed avocado with these.
It's from The Food Medic on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/B_cDTzZlU_6/
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 onion, diced
1 courgette, grated
500g white potato (approx 2 medium), peeled + grated
3 tablespoons of gram flour*
3/4 teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons of paprika
Pinch of pepper
METHOD
1️⃣Begin by draining the water out of the grated courgette and potato. You can do this by placing in a tea towel and wringing the liquid out. Empty into a bowl once drained.
2️⃣Add the crushed garlic, diced onion, gram flour, salt, paprika and pepper to the bowl and combine.
3️⃣In a large saucepan on a medium heat add a large glug of olive oil and split the mixture into 8 fritters. In a couple of batches fry them in the pan for around 3 minutes on each side until crispy and cooked through.
Enjoy!!
Hi @Amy Williams @Lucy Mulvaney @Karyn Mannion @Caron Moore was reading through this thread and wondered if I might be able to help.
I've recently joined the platform but am fully plant based and have a website and IG page dedicated to simple easy to make vegan recipes https://www.instagram.com/fortheutterloveoffood/ if any of you need any advice on swaps to make give me a shout as I'm sure I can help xx
@Laura Davis wow just checked out your instagram there youve so many yummy recipies there! I'll definitely have to try them out thank you 😄
@Karyn Mannion Thanks 😊 I'd love to know what you think if you get a chance to make any of them, or give me a shout if you need any advice with anything.
Hi @Laura Davis, amazing! I've just had a quick look and looks soooo good! I'll definitely have a stalk over the weekend whilst I'm planning for the week ahead.
I'm finding it a lot easier than I thought it would be actually; I'm not really craving anything yet! I think the main challenge has been finding recipes the other half will eat too; even if he is adding cheese to most things (nothing new there though!). So far the Bosh Dan Dan Noodles are the winner. 😄
Your food styling is great on the page - do you do it all yourself?
C
@Caron Moore Thank you so much! Let me know if you have any questions as always more than happyo to help. But yep everything on that page is my own including the styling, that is the bit I find the most fun! 😊
I can so relate to that as my partner isn't vegan and often tells me he is missing meat 😄. There are so many great products out there now though it is often quite easy to substitute.
@Laura Davis I will do thanks so much for the offer! It's great! I work in Food Marketing, looking after packaging design for Co-op and the photography and styling side is my fav bit too! 😊
Haha, bless him! You're right, most taste exactly the same! They'd never know if we didn't tell them! haha
Hi ladies! .. I'm just wondering how everyone got on with Veganuary and if we have any new full time vegans as a result? .. I'm curious if you weren't vegan/veggie before how you found it! 💕👑
