Yup, I did Veganuary. I never thought I could go from eating meat to becoming a (part-time) vegetarian to not eating meat or anything that is produced by animals. But my main reason for doing Veganuary was to challenge myself and I did. Here is what I learned.
1. I don’t like tofu
Maybe it’s because of how I cooked it? But when I did, I even put seasoning on it and it tasted AWFUL. From the day I tried it, I knew that tofu was not the food for me (Unless it’s a tofu hotdog from Goji Cafe that Francisca introduced to me).
2. I felt like I wasn’t eating enough
Although I was eating, I felt like it wasn’t enough. I didn’t really know what foods to cook and the meals I did eat started to get repetitive and boring.
3. Going vegan doesn’t mean you eat healthy food all the time
I found myself eating processed food most days, mainly consisting of chips, sweet potato chips, and the Quorn vegan burger. Although I went gym consistently throughout Veganuary, I didn’t see any physical changes because I was eating a bunch of unhealthy food!
4. I can and will eat salad wraps any time and any day
It’s a shame that I realised how AMAZING salad wraps were towards the end of Veganuary, but I eat them so often now even though Veganuary is over!
5. Although I won’t carry on being a vegan in the future, I did find some meals that I absolutely love
Salad Wrap
1. Add cherry tomatoes and salad into a bowl or pot
2. Add salt, pepper, paprika (+ any other seasoning you have) and lemon and herb. Mix everything in the bowl or pot with a spoon
3. Get a tortilla wrap (I personally prefer wholemeal) and spread sweet chilli hummus in the middle
4. Wash and chop a few cucumber pieces and place on the wrap
5. Add the seasoned salad in the bowl or pot onto the wrap
6. Wrap it up like a tortilla
Avocado and Mushroom on Toast
1. Chop and saute your mushrooms in a frying pan
2. Toast your bread
3. Spread avocado on the toast
4. Add your sauteed mushrooms on top
Vegan English Breakfast (I have it for brunch though)
1. Put Stella McCartney vegan sausages in the oven
2. Meanwhile, chop mushrooms and saute them in a frying pan
3. Put baked beans in the microwave
4. Toast your bread
5. Put everything on a plate and your Vegan Full English is all done!
Quorn Vegan Burger
1. Let the Quorn vegan burger and fries (regular, wedges, or sweet potato) cook in the oven
2. Get burger buns, add a condiment on it and put your vegan burger in between the buns and the chips on the side
3. Yup, it’s that easy
Although this was a good challenge, I found that being Vegan wasn’t a lifestyle choice that I wanted to carry on. I very much prefer being (almost) Vegetarian because of the range of foods I can make.
Are you Vegan? Would you ever try going vegan for a period of time?
