Vegan Life
You may or may not be aware of Veganuary 2018 but I want to take some time today to talk about it. At the beginning of December many of my omni and vegetarian friends were upset about climate change (because of a video of a polar bear that was doing the rounds). I posted on my Facebook letting them know that one of the best things they could do to help stop climate change is to reduce the amount of meat and dairy they consume. Animal agriculture is one of the biggest causes of deforestation, and one of the biggest producers of greenhouse gases.
I didn’t ask anyone to go vegan, I know for some it’s just not a practical option, and for others they just don’t care enough. So I just talked about reducing because I think everyone can eat one or two meals a week that are cruelty free. I’m not expecting anyone to permanently change their lifestyle and eating habits because of this post but please consider trying to cut down. Even if you can only do it a few days a week, it adds up, and will help. For the more enthusiastic you could try joining in with Veganuary.
Veganuary 2018
Launched in January 2014, Veganuary is a campaign to encourage and promote veganism to the masses. The team’s vision is a world where veganism is a mainstream lifestyle choice, with positive action at all levels of society and government to promote the benefits of plant-based eating. Their website and support is available year round, and you can pledge to try vegan for a month at any time. However, Veganuary (Vegan January) is their big push, their main campaign of the year.
They have celebrity Ambassadors, and if you pledge you get a daily email with advice, tips, recipes to support you throughout the month. Their website is a great resource all on it’s own but it has a fabulous vegan starter kit that is full of great ideas and help to get you started on your vegan journey.
I found a couple of really great graphics that show what a balanced vegan diet looks like. I have to admit I am too much of a junk food vegan, and one of my goals for 2018 is to try and eat more whole foods, and attempt to cut out a lot of the junk and processed foods I have been eating.
My Tips for Going Vegan
- The thing that took me forever was settling on a good non-dairy milk for my coffee. I drink my coffee really strong and finding a solution that tasted good and didn’t curdle in my coffee was really important to me. I also wanted one I didn’t have to mess around warming up, I just wanted to be able to grab it out of the fridge and pour into my coffee. The first one I found that worked was Alpro Soy Milk (original); the flavour wasn’t overpowering and it didn’t curdle but I didn’t love the background taste. For a long time it was my go to, it also had the benefit of being reasonably cheap and often on offer. However, few months ago I discovered Oatly Barista (the grey carton). It is amazing. It’s rich and creamy, and goes perfectly in my coffee. It’s been a long time since I had dairy (allergies) but it reminds me very much of the taste of coffee with whole milk….and I can pour it straight from the fridge. Only downside is it costs £1.80 per litre and isn’t on offer very often. When it is (assuming I have money) I tend to stock up.
- Choc chip hobnobs, Biscoff, and Oreos (except Peanut butter) are all accidentally vegan. You’re welcome. ;D
- Most supermarket own brand cereal is accidentally vegan, just watch out for milk and milk powder in the ingredients.
- Non-dairy cheese is NEVER going to taste like dairy cheese, there are some that get close, and some that are really yummy. Violife creamy is an excellent alternative to Philidelphia. And Sainsbury’s do a Feta style one that is great on salads.
- Extra firm smoked tofu is a great bacon substitute. Slice it, then marinade in a mix of red wine (or balsamic) vinegar, (vegan) Worcestershire sauce, maple syrup, oil. Leave in the mixture for an hour or overnight, then bake in the oven for 20-25 mins. It’s great for sandwiches, or as part of a big ‘breakfast’.
- Tinned lentils are a very good alternative to mince in most recipes; bolognaise, chilli, keema, shepherd’s pie, tacos, etc. They’re also a great source of protein.
Below I’ve included a photo (props to Sabira Yameen) that gives you a list of videos you can watch for further information. Some of these contain extremely distressing and graphic images, so if you do proceed with them consider googling first to double check the content.
