Veganuary 2021 Roundup

I finished Veganuary on Tuesday 2nd February.  This is because I didn’t start Veganuary until January 2nd due to being rather hungover (oops!) on the 1st and fully unable to cook omnivore food, let alone get my head around veganism! 

So, my vegan journey began on January 2nd 2021. My reasons for doing Veganuary this year were two fold.  Firstly, I have become more mindful of my carbon footprint and the impact that it has on the planet. I wanted to do Veganuary so that I would be motivated to search for and try out delicious vegan recipes that I can incorporate into my normal cooking routine. Just by not consuming meat and eating plant-based products instead can have a hugely positive impact on the environment as well as our health.  Secondly, I was intrigued to see whether following a vegan diet would have an impact on my MS symptoms. I have previously tried the Overcoming MS diet which is basically veganism but with seafood and replaces all oils with linseed oil. For me, it was too restrictive and made me miserable, so after 6 weeks of following it I stopped. However, according to medical research, vegans weigh less than omnivores and suffer less chronic diseases, so I thought it was worth giving it a try to gradually move towards a more plant-based diet. 

I love cooking and so during Veganuary I ate mostly homemade food rather than processed or shop bought items. However, what I realised early on in January was that it is still easy to be an unhealthy vegan if you don’t think about what you are eating. For about the first 10 days, I ate whatever I wanted and got really excited when I found out that lots of foods were vegan (ginger nut biscuits, certain flavours of crisps, Green and Blacks dark chocolate with ginger...the list goes on!). At first, I ate whatever I wanted and didn’t think about the calories, but about half way through January I decided to try to lose weight as well as following a vegan diet. This meant that not only did I start exercising, but I also began to watch what I was eating and so stopped snacking on all the ginger nut biscuits just because I could!

I found some really lovely vegan recipes and not all of them were in dedicated vegan cookbooks. At the beginning of Veganuary I collected together all of my cookbooks and highlighted any vegan recipe that sounded nice and that I thought I would have a go at making. By the end I had a list of about 45 recipes to try so I could have gone vegan for a lot longer without getting bored! I mainly used 3 cookbooks:

This is a gorgeous cookbook not just because of the cover and the photos and stories inside, but also because of all of the deliciously authentic Palestinian recipes that writer Yasmin Khan has collected on her travels. Middle Eastern cuisine is great for vegans as traditionally it doesn’t include much dairy and her recipe for hummus is the best that I’ve ever made (I add a teaspoon of Ras El Hanout into mine to spice it up!). I also enjoyed her Burnt Aubergine with Tahini recipe. Both dips served with pitta and veggies made a delicious vegan lunch! One night for dinner though I cooked her Roasted Red Peppers With Olive and Capers and served it with couscous and it was so tasty!

My little brother must have been psychic because he bought Ottolenghi’s new book Flavour for me for Christmas along with some of the magical ingredients needed to bring Ottolenghi’s incredible flavoursome dishes to life. This newest recipe book from Ottolenghi is not a vegetarian or vegan cookbook by design, but does focus on bringing out and celebrating the flavours of vegetables, so there were lots of exciting vegan options inside.  During Veganuary I made The Ultimate Traybake Ragu which was so rich, it was incredible that it didn’t include any cheese or meat, as well as the warming Portobello Steaks and Butter Bean Mash.

However, my favourite dish and a new firm favourite of mine was Noor’s Black Lime Tofu. The combination of crispy deep fried tofu paired with pickled red onions and deep garlic and lime paste is heavenly.

I found The Green Roasting Tin on my mum’s shelf when I visited for Christmas and spent an entire afternoon pouring through the diverse array of recipes. I was inspired so much that I ordered my own copy the same day! The book is split in half with vegan recipes at the beginning and vegetarian recipes in the second half. What is great about the book is that each section is divided into how long each meal takes to cook, from quick dinners to slower cooks. The highlight for anyone living a busy life is that each recipe requires one roasting tin that you pop in the oven, which means that you can cook delicious, nutritious and healthy meals every day without having to slave over the stove! During Veganuary I cooked many different recipes from this book...Rukmini Iyer is my new food hero! From the Quick Thai Okra with Oyster Mushrooms and Coconut Milk to the Simple All-In-One Daal with Roasted Shallots, Coriander, Pomegranate and Cashews and Oven Baked Ratatouille, I now have a list of new firm favourites that have been repeated since finishing Veganuary.

My absolute favourite though is her Miso Aubergines with Tofu, Sesame and Chilli. Served with brown rice and a sprinkling of peanuts this is true comfort food for me. The sesame, lime and chilli dressing that you add at the end gives it a zesty tang and the slow roasted aubergines with miso and ginger are decadent! I like to get as many greens as possible into my dishes so I also add a handful of green beans along with the spring greens suggested in the recipe.

While I like to cook from scratch as much as possible, life doesn’t always work out that way! Business commitments, hobbies, friendships and feeling really tired at the end of a long day all conspired to challenge my commitment to Veganuary and eating well. However, I did find some pre-packaged vegan products that I really liked and that I could turn into a really quick and healthy meal on the days when I wasn’t feeling so creative in the kitchen. Vivera Southern Fried Plant Nuggets These are tasty vegan nuggets essentially, but they are relatively low in calories and are super tasty. Served with a salad, some sweet potato wedges and homemade low-fat tzatziki, I would now choose eating these over meat equivalents any day. Naked Glory BBQ Tenderstrips The same goes for the Naked Glory BBQ Tenderstrips. They come frozen which is really convenient and means no waste. They cook from frozen in a frying pan in 10 minutes and can be added to a salad, a sandwich or used in fajita-esque meals. Again, I really like them and they have become my healthy kebab replacement when I get that dirty craving on a Friday night! Sainsbury's Love Your Veg! Red Pepper & Chipotle FalafelsThese falafels are really tasty and not dry at all. I used them as a meatball replacement and rustled up a 10 minute-take on a tagine using chopped apricots, sultanas, red onion, harissa and a can of chopped tomatoes with a teaspoon of sugar. Cooked down for 10 minutes or until sticky, served with couscous, this was a super quick and healthy evening meal. 

The results of my Veganuary experiment are as follows: 1.I feel really proud of myself for committing to something and seeing it through.2. I now have an amazing list of new vegan recipes that I have continued to incorporate into my normal cooking routine.3. My breakfasts and lunches are all vegetarian or vegan and at least 2 of my evening meals each week are vegan.4. I lost half a stone by the end of Veganuary. However, I would like to caveat this by saying that I started to exercise and do HIIT sessions half way through January that had a big impact on my weight loss. I also really started to watch what I was eating half way through the month. So, I wouldn’t attribute the weight loss just to following a vegan diet, I would attribute it to being more mindful of what I was eating and how I was moving as a whole.

Did you do Veganuary or do you permanently follow a vegan diet? I’d love to know about your experiences and if you have any top recipes or tips, please share them with me by leaving a comment!