Veganuary Tips

Yup, it’s that time of the year again. For about 2-3 weeks people around the world are extra nice, extra studious, extra fit and extra healthy. A lot of the people even try to go vegan for a month! In my opinion, Veganuary is a great opportunity to challenge yourself and explore healthier, cruelty free and environmentally foods, and a lot of people who say they could never be vegan will find it a lot easier than they would have thought. A few may even convert to this new way of life! A friend of mine is trying Veganuary and asked me for some tips, so I thought I might share some of my knowledge I have acquired after being Vegan for nearly 3 years with a wider audience too. Even if you are not doing Veganuary, some of the recipes I will be giving are really yummy and a healthier alternative to processed animal products, so I hope it helps anyway. Even reducing your animal product intake by one or two days a week can help the environment so much.

Why go vegan anyway?

Check out my post on why I’m vegan! https://earthyelena.com/why-am-i-vegan

Craving?

We’ve all heard it before. “I would love to be vegan, but I would just crave chocolate!”
Yup, I used to crave non vegan things all the time when I first went vegan, and believe it or not, when I’m out with friends and the only vegan option is a bland lettuce and tomato salad I still feel tempted! Although nowadays vegan options are becoming increasingly better, in my experience it’s always handy to have a few homemade treats to satisfy the craving.

If I’m craving something sweet, I love to grab an energy ball or bar from the cupboard- and they’re so easy to make! You can also make your own vegan cheese, burgers, Mac n cheese… pretty much any of your favourite comfort foods and they’re all pretty damn delicious. I’ll link some recipes at the end. Furthermore, always try to remain in control and tell yourself, your brain is asking for this food because you are used to eating it. You don’t NEED it. If you’re hungry, go make yourself some avo toast. Or grab a banana. You won’t die from lack of cheese.

Going out

As a vegan, my biggest struggle is eating out. Many times I’ve had to settle for the side salad, or just a cup of milk-less coffee whilst all my friends ate cake and biscuits. But it doesn’t have to be that hard! My key word for you is ASK. Nearly all the coffee shops now have a dairy free option of milk if you ask. Many restaurants will make a vegetarian option without the cheese or eggs on request. Some restaurants even have a “secret” vegan menu, which I found after asking the waitress at Ask Italian if they had any vegan options. When I went on holiday, many of the chefs improvised new vegan recipes specially for me and then decided to put them on the recipe and name them after me, which was quite amusing! But it’s also a good idea to always carry around a piece of fruit with you- just in case.

What can you ACTUALLY eat though?

There are a lot of stereotypes surrounding vegans, which can result in most people thinking we eat “rabbit food”. But realistically, if vegans ate measly piles of lettuce for lunch and kale for dinner, the current 3.5 million vegans in the UK would be more like -3.5 million. I highly doubt anyone would want that. The reality is that vegans eat a wide variety of colourful, nutritious and delicious food- so I thought I would share with you a couple of my favourite meals which are super easy and SO YUMMY!

-Stir fry(just cut up some vegetables and throw them into a wok with some coconut oil. I love to add coconut milk, almond butter and molasses for some extra creaminess and flavour)

-Burgers! Everyone loves a good burger, so try making a veggie one! My favourite flavour is beetroot, but there are so many fun different flavours out there so just do some googling and start the fun!

– Energy balls- these are impossibly easy and super healthy; the perfect snack on the go. Blend together dates, nuts and any other flavours you like(I love adding raw cacao powder for a chocolatey Nutella taste) and roll into balls. You can freeze them or store them in a cupboard for any time you need some quick energy!

-Mac n cheese! The reason people don’t want to go vegan. But good news- you can still have it! Use nutritional yeast for a lush cheesy flavour and a plant based milk.

-Lentil spag bol- this is so incredibly easy yet full of texture and absolutely divine. Make spaghetti bolognese as you usually would but add lentils instead of mincemeat. Trust me. It’s gorgeous.

Here are some of my favourite blogs and websites which I really recommend you check out to help you with your journey. Even if you’re not doing veganuary, the recipes are super delicious and healthy, and even reducing the amount of animal products you intake by a tiny bit can help the environment so so much.

https://deliciouslyella.com
https://minimalistbaker.com
https://www.earthyandy.com
https://thebigmansworld.com
https://thehappypear.ie
https://tropicallylina.com
https://www.naturally-nina.com

Have a wonderful rest of veganuary!

Elena xxx