Veganuary 2021 -Top tips

More than 500,000 people have pledged to go vegan this month as 2021’s Veganuary breaks its annual records.
The global campaign, which encourages people to try eating vegan food for a month, is growing in popularity as people sign up for health, environmental and animal welfare reasons.
It’s not too late to sign up to take the challenge and if a full month sounds too much to start with why not have a go at introducing vegan Monday or vegan weekends and see how you get on.
Due to the growth in veganism over the past decade, there are now so many great choices for food for people to eat. There are really tasty alternatives to meat, fish and dairy products available which makes it even easier to make the swap.
At Lakeside two of our essential stores that are open at the moment have products available to you to stock up on vegan items to get you started.
In Grape Tree, you can find vegan alternatives and vegan grocery essentials covering everything from sweets to supplements and snacks to cooking ingredients.
Holland and Barratt can provide the right vitamins to support your journey and also have a range of really tasty chocolate and treats – who says being vegan can’t be fun?
Three top tips for trying a vegan lifestyle:
Plan your meals
Opening the cupboards and expecting there to be the right ingredients there for what you want will set you up to fail and will have you reaching for non-vegan meals and snacks. If you plan what you want to eat for the week ahead and shop to make sure you have everything you need you’ll find it a breeze. A simple week of evening meals might look like this; Chickpea curry and rice, Spaghetti Bolognaise, Chilli and chips, Vegan Sausage Casserole with couscous, Vegetable Stir Fry, Vegetable pie and mash, Vegetable stew and dumplings.
There are so many great recipes out there to try and great online cooking videos to follow from people like bosh.tv
Don’t to it alone
Try and get others in your house to give it a try. Cooking separate meals for everyone ii hard work and its extra stress that you just don’t need. The support of having your family take part in Veganuary or vegan days with you will make it much easier and you can all have a go at trying new foods together.
Learn to read the labels
There are so many things to look out for on food labels (there’s a list on the Veganuary website) and not everything vegan is labelled in that way. That’s why is it good to find trusted shops to stock up on your vegan wholefoods, supplements and treats. Holland and Barratt and GrapeTree have clearly labelled products and sections to help to make your vegan journey even easier.
If you decide to give it a go, let us know how you get on and share your favourite recipes with us. Here’s one that we love www.bosh.tv/recipes/cauliflower-buffalo-wings
Photo by Maddi Bazzocco on Unsplash