A vegan gives their top tips on how to prepare for a meat-free month.
So, you've decided to take the plunge and do Veganuary this year.
It's a brilliant thing to do - you get to learn more about the diet, do your bit for the planet and reap some of the health benefits.
But it can be quite a daunting prospect, particularly if you're a full-time carnivore. What, no meat or dairy - for the whole month?
Like a lot of New Year's resolutions, Veganuary might be tricky to stick to if you're not prepared. The best way to set yourself up for success is to make sure your fridge and cupboards are stocked with all the essentials - but you don't want to have to spend lots of money to overhaul your diet.
If you're writing a shopping list ahead of Veganuary, these are some things to keep in mind...
What to buy...
Nuts: When the 4pm munchies come around, you might be absolutely stumped. What can you have that is actually plant-based, and not totally boring? To make sure you don't spend loads of money on fancy vegan cereal bars or energy balls, we recommend bulk-buying nuts on Amazon. Delicious and filling, a handful of these will sort you out for the rest of the day.
Vegan butter: If you're a complete newbie to veganism, we wouldn't suggest diving into plant-based baking - it's quite tricky and you might be disappointed with the results. Definitely buy a good butter replacement - maybe a sunflower or olive oil spread. We'd argue you can't really taste the difference between that and normal butter, particularly when slathered inside a sandwich.
Vegan yogurt: The same goes for vegan yogurt. Perfect on granola, in curries - you don't have to think much about it, just use it as you would dairy yogurt.
Fresh fruit and veg: This one almost goes without saying and should be part of your shop anyway - Veganuary or not. Opt for fruit and veg that's in season to minimise your carbon footprint, and don't be afraid of buying a lot - you might find you need to eat greater quantities now you're missing out on meat. It's also definitely worth supplementing with beans, grains and pulses - lentils and chickpeas will become your best friend this month.
What not to bother with...
Loads of meat replacements: While you absolutely can't go wrong with a good vegan sausage every once and a while, we wouldn't hugely recommend spending all your money on meat replacements. They tend to be expensive, and you don't necessarily know what's in them - and you don't want to forgo all the health benefits of a vegan diet by exclusively eating processed foods.
Vegan cheese: This is a controversial one, because some vegans love plant-based cheese. Unfortunately, we've never come round to it - it just doesn't really taste like the original, and chances are, you'll be disappointed. Our stance is: if you avoid cheese entirely this month, you won't end up missing your normal hunk of Cheddar.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel