Monday, January 3, 2022

VEGAN FOOD HAUL FOR BEGINNERS | VEGANUARY 2022

 

Does the word ‘Veganuary’ strike fear into your soul? Or does it make you feel inspired? For me, I think it’s a bit of both. The inspiration comes from the notion that I’ll be getting incredibly creative in the kitchen; breaking away from the routine spag bols, chicken curries and bacon sandwiches. Not to mention the expectation that such a post-Christmas detox would do wonders for my skin, my liver, my energy levels. I have visions of myself getting up at the crack of dawn, going for a jog and doing yoga before bed [absolutely NONE of which are ever going to happen, but that’s just the imagery that doing Veganuary conjures up for me]. The ‘fear’ portion of such a commitment undoubtedly comes from breaking away from my beloved spag bols, chicken curries and bacon sandwiches, and the absolute daylight robbery I’m expected to courteously smile and thank the cashier for at the supermarket for the next 4 weeks. 


In any event, I’m known to be on the obsessive side. Once I’ve got an idea into my head, I’m getting it done and committing to it 100%. Come hell or high water, [or drained bank account and the runs] I will be completing Veganuary 2022. I’ve only done Veganuary once before, and it was definitely before all the hype surrounding veganism took off, and certainly long before all the big brands jumped on the meat-free hype and started releasing their own options. So with that in mind, I do think that if you’re thinking of trying it, then it’s much easier to get involved now than it has ever been before. 


I’d definitely categorise myself and Kyle as home-cooks; we are both definite foodies and make most meals from scratch. However, I’d definitely say we’re beginners in the vegan-department as literally 99.9% of meals we have at home contain some form of animal product. It’s currently day 3 of Veganuary 2022 and we managed to drop around £70 on a vegan food shop yesterday. If I didn’t write a blog post I’d probably feel quite sick at the thought of that spend, so as long as I can squeeze a bit of content out of it, it’ll definitely take the edge off. Here’s what we got!


We’re usually big into our meat, so meat substitutes were quite high on the list of priorities so we don’t spend the month feeling like we’re going without. As well as this, there are so many new meat-substitute options and so many new brands in the shops to try, so we really want to have a go at trying as many as possible. Firstly, we grabbed the THIS ISN’T BACON Plant-Based Bacon so we can try a cooked breakfast or maybe some ‘bacon’ sandwiches. Whenever you tell anyone you’re doing Veganuary the first thing they say is ‘’what about bacon?!?!?!’’, so we’ve got that base covered, at least. Then we chose some Linda McCartney’s 2 Vegetarian Mozzarella Burgers to whack in the freezer for a lazy mid-week dinner at some point. I’ve only ever heard great things about these, so I’m excited to try them. I adore a fish finger, so I chose some Bird’s Eye Green Cuisine Fishes Fingers for a lazy snack whilst I’m working from home, or a cheeky fish finger wrap for lunch at the weekend. We also got some Plant Pioneers No Duck Spring Rolls which contain jackfruit, so they will be very experimental. Again, for the fry-up, we wanted some Linda McCartney 6 Vegetarian Sausages which we’ve had in the past, even before veganuary and really enjoyed them. Then finally, the freezer section provided goods in the form of Bird’s Eye Green Cuisine Meat Free Meatballs for one of the estimated 29 pasta dishes I’ll be eating over the next 29 days.


For dairy substitutes, milk especially, it’s already been a rocky ride. I have already come to the conclusion that myself and ANY brand of coconut milk drink are not pals. I tried a coconut-milk iced latte at home on day one, and I was absolutely horrified. I will be telling my grandchildren about how horrific it was. With this in mind, it seems I have settled on Oat-Ly! Oat Drink Semi, which seems to go down quite well in my teas and both hot and iced coffee. However, Kyle and I want to try every milk-alternative we can find [including the dreaded pea milk]. Instead of our Utterly Butterly, we’ve got the Sainsbury’s Plant Pioneers Lightly Salted Spread which seems absolutely fine to me. I was also really surprised to find that the Hellman’s Vegan Mayo smells absolutely identical - if not better - than normal mayo. I’ve not actually eaten any yet, but it smelt great. Next, we chose some Sainsbury’s Plant Pioneers No Soured Cream & Chive Dip because we want to make some vegan burrito bowls, although I’m slightly skeptical of a sour cream with no sour cream. Sour cream in and of itself is quite dodgy so how on God’s green earth is this going to work? But, alas, nothing on this list is perturbing me in the way that our The Tofoo Co. Scrambled is perturbing me. As I mentioned, we’d love to try to recreate a fully vegan cooked breakfast, and tofu seems to be the best way to create scrambled ‘eggs’. I’ll definitely have to let you know how this goes.



Then the other bits we grabbed were some BOSH! Nutritional Yeast which has appeared in loads of the vegan recipes I’ve been looking at on YouTube and blogs. I still have basically no idea what it is - but it was an eye-watering £3 in Sainsbury’s - and apparently it gives a bit of a cheesy flavour to dishes. My mind is open, but on first inspection it doesn’t half resemble fish food. I’ve been enjoying tinned options for a long time, even before Veganuary, just because they’re so easy and super filling, but I’m excited to try some different varieties and branching out with some different ingredients. So I got a Princes Plant Based Lentil & Mushroom Bolognese which I intend to whack in a saucepan one day, and throw it on a plate with some pasta for a really quick lunch. Another really easy peasy one is the Sainsbury’s Love Your Veg Tomato, Red Pepper & Lentil Soup which will be a lovely winter warmer, and is undoubtedly something I’d have chosen before Veganuary too. Next, we got some Waitrose Plantlife Rainbow Vegetable Fritters to go with a picky lunch or as a side-dish to a curry for dinner. And finally, I really cannot go any amount of time with a tortellini-type situation so I splurged on the Dell Ugo Pumpkin & Sage Ravolini which I’m very excited to try. 


I’m not going to lie, even though there are soooo many more options for us attempting Veganuary on the supermarket shelves [which is a great thing, and obviously fantastic for all you brave and noble full-time vegans!], it still seems to be rather pricy to go for the meat and dairy substitutes. Obviously it’d be cheap as chips if you were happy with stir-fried vegetables and potatoes every day, as we all know they don’t cost a fortune, but nobody wants to be restricted in their diet like that. Regardless, I’m super excited to see how this month plays out. I’m excited to see whether I feel as bright and energised as I expect to, or whether I drop 5 stone in an instant, or as some people have warned; spending the majority of the month with diarrhoea. We’re also doing Dry January, so the risk of drunkenly ordering a doner kebab at 1am has luckily been eliminated. I’m also filming a few bits here and there for my YouTube channel which I think I’m going to edit into a month-long Vlog about how I felt Veganuary went for me. 



Are you going to be cutting down on meat/dairy this month? If you’re doing Veganuary, how are you finding it?


Lots of love,

Jasmine x

SHARE:

3 comments

  1. Love it! Good luck with the rest of the month 🥦🥒🍠🥕🍅🫑🥑

    ReplyDelete
  2. Congratulations on your Veganuary resolve!!!!!!
    I have been an ovo-lacto vegetarian for most of my life, but going vegan would be even more in keeping with my beliefs and my conscience.
    You are providing me good inspiration for going completely vegan!
    Your purchases from the vegan food shop look yummy.
    I will try to make a point of being the lookout for extra firm tofu, onions, potatoes, tomatoes, a variety of peppers (among other things) on my next food-shopping excursion,
    and also be on the lookout for more markets that carry vegan cuisine.
    Here in the U.S. Amy's Kitchen makes some frozen vegan meals in addition to their ovo-lacto vegetarian ones.
    Best wishes for a very healthy, successful and happy year 2022!!!

    my blog (a new post)
    my YouTube channel
    my Twitter

    ReplyDelete
  3. I've been Vegan since May 2021 and these are some great meat-free alternatives. Love the this bacon and fishless fingers! x

    Zoey | www.zoeyolivia.com

    ReplyDelete

Blog Design Created by pipdig