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Veganuary (and beyond?) 2024

Alix

Alix

TS Member
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The Swarm or Oblivion
How do you know you’re talking to a vegan – don’t worry they’ll tell you!

Those who’ve read my recent post on the Aramark thread will now know I’m a vegan, but what you might not be aware of is that January is officially Veganuary where everyone is encouraged to think about the various benefits of going vegan and maybe even try it.

I try really hard not to be a preachy vegan, so I'm not going to tell you meat is murder, or that dairy products are full of cow tears, but I will try to tempt you with accidentally vegan treats!

If anyone is interested in having a go, here are some useful resources and ideas. I am no expert, nor can I speak for all vegans, however if anyone wants to know more I’m happy to try and help.

Official Veganuary Web Site: https://veganuary.com

Accidentally vegan: https://veganuary.com/accidentally-vegan-products-uk/

Some starting points for accidentally vegan treats:

Biscuits – Bourbons, Hobnobs, Fox’s Party Rings, Jammie Dodgers

Sweets – Skittles, Fruit Pastilles, M&S Veggie Percy Pigs & Colin Caterpillars

Coffee Shop Cake: Greggs: plain ring doughnuts; Costa: rocky road; Starbucks: Banana muffin.

Even if you just swap out your usual cake for a vegan one you’re making a positive step away from intensive animal farming – sadly I can’t promise it’ll be healthier (as it’s cake!) but if you progress to more vegan items in your diet your body may thank you.

Come to the green side - we have cake :)
 
Hopefully many people take this up.

For me personally, the issue I have with vegan - and to a lesser extent vegetarian - diets is protein. My perception is that If you are on a high protein diet but also watching calories, then it is hard to make the switch from meat and dairy, and then maintain protein levels without dramatically increasing calories, carbs, and/or fats.
 
I’ve been vegan for many years and it’s true, we do have some very good cake. I received a box of Cakehead vegan brownies and rocky road for Christmas, absolute delicious and I don’t think you’d know that it was vegan unless you were told.

www.cakehead.co.uk

Vegan & Gluten Free - Cakehead

Browse and purchase from our range of products listed under Vegan & Gluten Free in the Cakehead onlline store.
www.cakehead.co.uk www.cakehead.co.uk

And for anyone wanting to give a vegan burger a go, next time you are in a Wetherspoons give the Beyond Burger a try.
 
Tom said:
Hopefully many people take this up.

For me personally, the issue I have with vegan - and to a lesser extent vegetarian - diets is protein. My perception is that If you are on a high protein diet but also watching calories, then it is hard to make the switch from meat and dairy, and then maintain protein levels without dramatically increasing calories, carbs, and/or fats.
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I’m totally unqualified to advise here, however the vegan society has very useful nutrition guides which may help (example linked below).

I found the first year or so of being vegan hard work, as it’s not as simple as just removing animal products - you have to replace those nutrients some how, and sometimes you need to eat a lot of something to get the same amount - but once you get the hang of it it’s not that hard. I’d recommend a lot of home cooking though - vegan ready made stuff is likely to be as bad for you as animal based ready made.
https://www.vegansociety.com/resources/nutrition-and-health/nutrients/protein
 
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MattyH said:
I did have Bourbons earlier...

Admittedly followed later on by Bacon.

Points for trying?
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Baby steps so 1 point! I’m afraid bacon seems to be the one meat that can’t be replicated successfully - I’ve tried many brands and they’re all terrible.

@Shaggy_Dog_ I’m not a huge fan of beyond burgers - they’re too much like real meat. So I suppose for a meat eater they’re probably perfect 😁
 
Alix said:
Baby steps so 1 point! I’m afraid bacon seems to be the one meat that can’t be replicated successfully - I’ve tried many brands and they’re all terrible.

@Shaggy_Dog_ I’m not a huge fan of beyond burgers - they’re too much like real meat. So I suppose for a meat eater they’re probably perfect
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The first time I had a Beyond Burger it really shocked me, I thought they’d made a mistake and served me a meat burger instead. Same with the Richmond vegan sausages as well. I’m not one for most “fake meats” as some of them don’t actually taste that nice but those two products are great, as is anything from The Vegan Butcher and Vivera.
 
Best vegan alternative I’ve had to its meat equivalent has been the KFC vegan burger - really really great stuff that one is. Still has the same spices but the meat is Quorn instead, and the mayo is vegan too.

I do then tend to cover it in the decidedly not vegan gravy though 😂
 
Becoming vegan is something that I would like to do one day. I was vegan for a month at the age of 10, but I eventually decided to go back to eating meat and dairy products (I am not sure if there was a specific event that made me quit). I am trying to cut down on the amount of meat that I eat, and I very rarely have dairy products.
 
Zeock said:
Becoming vegan is something that I would like to do one day. I was vegan for a month at the age of 10, but I eventually decided to go back to eating meat and dairy products (I am not sure if there was a specific event that made me quit). I am trying to cut down on the amount of meat that I eat, and I very rarely have dairy products.
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That’s great news Zeock - Make sure you do your research, and I’d recommend a gradual transition rather than just switching overnight. Make sure you replace that missing meat with new sources of protein, vitamins etc. The vegan society has a section of their website devoted to teen vegans - might be worth a look https://www.vegansociety.com/lifestyle/teen-hub
 
I travel a lot with work and eat out a fair bit as a result. Made the conscious choice to go veggie only two days a week, and red meat only once a week.

It's not much but helps I guess.
 
Not trying to upset anyone, but I actually went the other way a few years ago and went pretty much carnivorous.

Basically, I wanted to loose weight and feel better so it started by cutting down on carbs. I looked in to numerous different diets and pretty much every way forward meant cutting out something. I eat meat every day so I decided I couldn't do without it. Fillet steak with mustard was my favourite. After a few weeks I felt amazing. The weight fell off, shopping was cheap, I was happy eating once per day, had loads of energy, no more heartburn and my digestive system operated well.

But the reason for posting it here was to highlight how unsustainable it was. Every time I ate, it had to be prepared and when you're out and about there's very limited options. Everything either came with something carb heavy or processed.

The world seems set up to flog you sugar and saturate laced processed crap. I seem to have fallen back in to my old ways of just grabbing something quick.
 
The McPlant thing from McDonalds is actually quite nice, as was the KFC one. The Burger King Whopper was OK as I recall, but they share griddles with the meat burgers so not sure that will please everyone.
 
While I don't plan on going Vegan, I do tend to keep an eye on what the vegan options are a bit more nowadays, I guess having a few vegan friends highlights how often they get left behind.
 
MattyH said:
While I don't plan on going Vegan, I do tend to keep an eye on what the vegan options are a bit more nowadays, I guess having a few vegan friends highlights how often they get left behind.
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It seems more likely for vegetarians to get left behind nowadays, many places offer more vegan dishes but fewer vegetarian ones now. So if you like cheese but not meat there can be fewer options than a few years ago.
 
jon81uk said:
It seems more likely for vegetarians to get left behind nowadays, many places offer more vegan dishes but fewer vegetarian ones now. So if you like cheese but not meat there can be fewer options than a few years ago.
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I think it must depend on where you are, I’ve not really noticed this myself.

In my experience, most chains have a good selection of meat and veggie with a couple of vegan options - but for me what can be a bit frustrating is when the burger is vegan but the chips are not.
 
jon81uk said:
It seems more likely for vegetarians to get left behind nowadays, many places offer more vegan dishes but fewer vegetarian ones now. So if you like cheese but not meat there can be fewer options than a few years ago.
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But then again a vegetarian can eat any vegan dish, but a vegan can’t just eat any vegetarian thing. You don’t know the pain of grabbing a packet of ready salted crisps only to find that they contain milk powder.
 
Shaggy_Dog_ said:
But then again a vegetarian can eat any vegan dish, but a vegan can’t just eat any vegetarian thing. You don’t know the pain of grabbing a packet of ready salted crisps only to find that they contain milk powder.
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It’s more that I’ve seen complaints about the removal of choice, so instead of chicken, beef, fish, vegetarian or vegan dishes, some places might just offer chicken, fish or vegan only.
 
rob666 said:
Sorry, lasted 13 hours before my magnificent burger in the ribble valley.
We have cut our red meat by half, and have spent many years on the green side, honest.
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For somebody so vocal about making positive changes to help the environment, colour me disappointed! ;)

I’ve been vegan for over four years now. Don’t miss a thing.

The high protein, nutrient heavy meals are there if you do the research (although sadly ingredients can cost a little extra). Alternatives are also becoming very good. Cheese was the final frontier but I think they’ve just about cracked it.

For those tempted by a little change, I’m yet to talk to anybody that has tried the McPlant at McDonalds and not preferred it to their standard burger. Not that it’s a high bar to beat. Give it a go next time you’re getting fast food :)
 
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