Veganuary -Week 1
Rise and shine it’s New Year’s Day! Well not really, my first thoughts were: “Shit! I’m vegan and extremely hungover!”. My husband and I did the Veganuary pledge to eat vegan in January, but with the chaos of the holidays and entertaining, I did not stock our fridge and pantry to prepare us for our vegan trial. Honestly, I didn’t have time to think about it! Before I get into how the first week went, let me explain Veganuary and why we are doing it. Let’s start with the definition of vegan. The Vegan Society coined the term "vegan" as “a way of living which seeks to exclude, as far as is possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose.". Our choice to try Veganuary is because we love animals, we are aware of the environmental impact farming has on our environment, we feel the need to do something healthy for our bodies, and I am looking forward to expanding my vegan cooking skills and knowledge. If you are unaware that farming is one of the biggest environmental problems we have, then start by watching Cowspiracy. There are many aspects of being vegan, but my focus here is in the kitchen cooking and eating vegan foods.
New vegan pizza from Franco Manca
So back to my first week of Veganuary. The first two days we survived on deliveries. Horrible Chinese, amazing vegan pizzas and some delicious Asian noodle soups got us through the first 48 hours. As the house got organised and clean, I placed an online grocery delivery. I have to say being vegan is easier than it has ever been. I’ve read in numerous articles that veganism is the fasted growing lifestyle trends. Grab and go food places, supermarkets, restaurants, and cafes are stocking up and creating amazing vegan offerings. When I went to place my online grocery order, I typed the word vegan in the search box and had a long list of products. I try to avoid the processed fake meat offerings and focus on healthy and satisfying meals full of seasonal veggies. I was happy to see fresh vegan spinach ravioli, fresh pasta sauces, soups, plant-based yogurts, and so on. Thankfully on day three, an army of vegan food supplies was delivered.
Feeling like I could now avoid the takeaway meal deliveries, I felt confident that we could do this. My next step was a shopping trip to Hetu, my sister in law’s vegan zero waste store. With a bag full of glass containers and my dog pulling me down the street I made it to the shop. At Hetu, you bring empty containers (they supply free recycled glass jars or new ones for purchase too) and you weigh the container, fill it with the items you desire and when you pay they deduct the weight of the container and charge you just for the product. The purpose is to create less waste for our planet and eliminate the use of single-use plastic. I love that almost everything is organic in the shop. During my shop at Hetu, I bought cashew cream cheese, a carrot spread that mimics smoked salmon, crackers, hazelnut chocolate, pasta, polenta, banana chips, wasabi peas, maple syrup, hazelnut butter freshly poured from their nut grinder machine and some household products. The beauty of shopping there is that I don’t have to read labels since everything in the shop is vegan …plus I felt good about filling up my glass jars, and I love the way it presents the ingredients in my pantry!
Vegan cream cheese, carrot “salmon” and crackers from Hetu.
Now I am cooking some great vegan meals, and we have plenty of vegan snacks on hand, but my mind filled with doubts and kept thinking “what am I going to cook all month? And keep it varied and satisfying?”. I felt like we were eating pasta every other night, which I do love. However, I wanted to challenge myself to make more interesting dishes -I am a chef after all! That’s when my Veganuary list of dishes, snacks, deliveries, and restaurants was born. We already ate 95% vegetarian at home anyways, but this shift to vegan still felt challenging. It’s a process of reacquainting yourself with your ingredients and learning how to live without some. I sat down with all my vegan cookbooks, did some Pinterest and Google searching for inspiration and I made a list of vegan dishes. Right now, this list has been very helpful when deciding what to cook. Tonight, it will be a soft polenta with stewed winter vegetables; tomorrow, a miso noodle soup with a medley of Asian vegetables and smoked tofu. The list is a cheat sheet for when I am tired or feeling overwhelmed by the transition of having a vegan kitchen and diet. The list of vegan snacks helps me when I do my online grocery shopping, and the restaurants remind us of our date night options. Some of the dishes I have listed are not complete dishes, but styles of food or basic dish concepts that can vary immensely by the ingredients I use, for example, Thai style curries. I can make a red, yellow, green, or massaman style curry. I can serve it with a variety of rice, noodles, or make a starchy curry with sweet potatoes, regular potatoes or pumpkin which is nice to eat without rice or noodles. I could also turn that curry into a soup by thinning it out with vegetable stock or even better an Asian lemongrass broth. Now, this still isn’t taking into account all of the vegetable variations. I could use only green vegetables (snap peas, broccoli, green beans, bok choy), mixed mushrooms, aubergine, cauliflower, baby corn, cabbages, edamame beans, leafy green vegetables. Whatever method and ingredients you choose there is the option of toppings: spring onions, coriander, crispy shallots, sesame seeds, bean sprouts, sliced chillies, chopped peanuts, coconut flakes. There you have hundreds of Thai curry inspired combinations. Hope you like the flavours of Thai curries! At home make life easy and buy a jar of curry paste, just double check its vegan and doesn’t contain dried shrimp. If you love fish sauce as I do and it’s a must-have in my curries there are veggie/vegan fish sauces on the market made from seaweed. If you live in a suburban area, it might be harder to find, but always check online and guess what? Amazon sells it and delivers it to your home. If you have the time and can source the ingredients yourself and you make your curry paste and vegan fish sauce, then even better! I’m proud of you!
Winter vegetable display at Borough Market.
It’s a learning process. I thought the crisps we had been snacking on for the first week were vegan, but double checking the label I read “buttermilk powder.” It’s ok, we’re not perfect, and these mistakes are common. Like I said it’s a learning process, especially for shopping and cooking. If you want to try Veganuary, it’s never too late. First of all, it doesn’t have to be January! Secondly, don’t waste what’s in your fridge. Take your time to finish your cheese, eggs, and meat. While you are finishing it, start your list of vegan dishes and snacks you would like. Research the best places to shop for your ingredients and start stocking up your pantry. If you plan, like I wish I did, you will not feel as overwhelmed and the goal feels attainable -and it’s ok if you make a mistake! If you do want to start this month, I recommend signing the pledge on Veganuary.com, because they send you daily emails with tips, recipes, and useful information.
Cinnamon, banana and walnut vegan pancakes.
Will I become vegan after this? Honestly, I do not believe I will ever be 100% vegan, and I am ok with that. I am a chef, and my clients are not all vegan, so I have to cook what they desire. I mostly work alone in kitchens, and I must taste what I am cooking to make sure it’s delicious and well-seasoned. I also love to travel and experience the local cuisines. I can’t see myself going to Japan for the first time and not eating sushi. Yes, there is vegan sushi, but Japan is about the quality of fish and techniques behind it. I also don’t like the idea of labelling myself. If I must, I would say I am a “plant-base focussed person”. I intend to keep my home kitchen plant-based once January comes to an end and when clients request vegan meals, I will have more tricks up my sleeve! I think when trying anything new and trying to quit something the first weeks are the hardest, but once you change your mindset, your habits, and find your feet in this new lifestyle, it becomes easier. Ultimately it is about what works for you and finding your right balance without being so hard on yourself. Maybe start with eating vegan one day a week? Vegan Mondays? Most importantly always eat well and eat food that makes you happy. If steak makes you happy, try having it less often, and you will find you enjoy it more -and our planet will thank you.
Useful links & interesting reads:
http://watchdocumentaries.com/cowspiracy-the-sustainability-secret/
https://www.standard.co.uk/go/london/restaurants/best-vegan-food-in-london-a3977831.html