Veganuary

I admire you for that but it's not for me I'm afraid. I'm just going to do the 5.2 diet for a couple of months.

That's awesome that you're giving an animal-free diet another shot! Freezing the cheese, butter, eggs, and milk for later use is a smart move. It's great that you're taking a step towards a more plant-based lifestyle. If others are trying the same, sharing experiences and tips can make the journey more enjoyable

It seems the Vegan food fad has had its day, several of the companies have closed because not enough want what they sell. Plenty of choice of ingredients if you really want to go Vegan but prepare them yourself.

We won’t be doing it, but in the interests of post-Christmas frugality (my mother called it ‘going on frugals’) not to mention an antidote to all the excess, we’ll be having more no-meat meals than usual.

We already have quite a few meals that’d be vegan if I used all veg stock cubes instead of chicken) - mostly multi-veg/lentil/pearl barley soups, inc. a couple of lovely spicy ones.
We both really like them so it’s no hardship at all.

I won't be doing it either, life is grim enough in the cold dark months of winter. The thought of not even having a lovely warming bowl of homemade chicken soup or delicious homemade shepherd's pie to look forward to is depressing. Time enough for a more plant based diet when my vegetable garden is productive in the warmer months.

I think we eat some lovely stews and casseroles with meat. We don’t eat meat everyday we plan to eat more sustainable fish in the new year. I prepare a lot of meals by choice lentil and barley are meat substitutes my favourites stuffed into vegetables and roasted. I make about three pans of soup a week I love soups. In the summer I like fresh cold soups made with raw veg it’s delicious whether you eat meat or not.

I had a Polish friend round yesterday. She is proper vegan and was telling me all about soups and stews which sounded good. I would miss fish, but not meat.
We brought far too much butter and cheese home from France last week, so as of tomorrow it's all going in the freezer.
I'd be happy to give it a go for a month.

Would not consider going vegan, I like a balanced diet with a few treats, but each to their own. Life is too short to deprive yourself, no cake tastes as good as one made with butter, no artificial milk tastes as good all of them have a tang and a sweetness about them and I don’t take sugar. No doubt it saves a lot of cash though. I will try to walk more though.

I eat a lot of vegetables, chicken and fish and quite a few of my meals are vegan but I don’t think a full vegan diet is a good idea. Our bodies need a balanced diet and completely cutting out dairy products in favour of taking calcium substitutes seems pointless although I respect that for many it’s an ethical decision.

I don’t think I’d last a whole month.

Witzend We won’t be doing it, but in the interests of post-Christmas frugality (my mother called it ‘going on frugals’) not to mention an antidote to all the excess, we’ll be having more no-meat meals than usual.

We'll be vegan, because we are.

Apart from what we'll eat, I like 'going on the frugals' - yes we're always 'on the frugals' -- as our daughters point out often.

I agree with FannyF it’s altogether too hair shirt to further blight the coldest, darkest, most hard-up , ar*e end months of the year with further deprivation.
Go frugal by all means, but chicken soup , Lancashire Hotpot, Shin of beef , Goulash and Ox- cheek casserole here I come!

I could happily be vegetarian/pescatarian, but much as I admire the ethics of veganism I can’t imagine giving up eggs, cheese or butter. There’s no way on this earth that my husband would stop eating meat though, so hearty casseroles, cottage pie, roasts and the like will be consumed during the cold and miserable winter months.

My veganuary got off to a bad start because I had a birthday and lots of cake. Apart from that it’s no hardship to go without cheese, which is very fattening, or eggs, which I only eat incorporated into cake.
I doubt many people could go from meat or fish every day to a totally animal-free diet. It’s very much easier to turn vegetarian than later to try vegan.
It’s no more healthy to live off ultra-processed vegan food than off meaty junk food.

I can't be vegan 😔 I like cheese and butter too much.
I haven't eaten meat for 38years unless by accident.
I occasionally eat fish but am fussy and avoid farmed fish. But when I eat out I don't check the provenance of everything.

watermeadow

My veganuary got off to a bad start because I had a birthday and lots of cake. Apart from that it’s no hardship to go without cheese, which is very fattening, or eggs, which I only eat incorporated into cake.
I doubt many people could go from meat or fish every day to a totally animal-free diet. It’s very much easier to turn vegetarian than later to try vegan.
It’s no more healthy to live off ultra-processed vegan food than off meaty junk food.

I'm quite curious, I read about ultra processed vegan food often on GN. We're vegan, I have no idea what ultra processed food is being referenced?

I bought quorn a very few times, but it really doesn't suit. We tried the burgers, but didn't really care for the flavour. I just cook beans, grind nuts and crumbs, add herbs for veggie burgers.

Vegan food is easy, cheap, healthy. One can cook many types of rices, dried peas, beans and lentils, quinoa, pasta, veg, and breads.

Norah

watermeadow

My veganuary got off to a bad start because I had a birthday and lots of cake. Apart from that it’s no hardship to go without cheese, which is very fattening, or eggs, which I only eat incorporated into cake.
I doubt many people could go from meat or fish every day to a totally animal-free diet. It’s very much easier to turn vegetarian than later to try vegan.
It’s no more healthy to live off ultra-processed vegan food than off meaty junk food.

I'm quite curious, I read about ultra processed vegan food often on GN. We're vegan, I have no idea what ultra processed food is being referenced?

I bought quorn a very few times, but it really doesn't suit. We tried the burgers, but didn't really care for the flavour. I just cook beans, grind nuts and crumbs, add herbs for veggie burgers.

Vegan food is easy, cheap, healthy. One can cook many types of rices, dried peas, beans and lentils, quinoa, pasta, veg, and breads.

You've only got to read the ingredients on plant based foods in any supermarket. Not everyone will cook from scratch, as you do. Seemingly the norm, unfortunately these days,processed foods vegan, and non vegan are the chosen foods for many.
vegan , had a friend once and her and her girls were always ill, is not for all, and a few meals a week without meat seems to be the healthier option, and reduces the potential nutritional deficiencies.

Norah I understand your confusion, there seems to be two types of vegans. Those, like yourself who have chosen a lifestyle where they consume no animal products. You eat meals based on plants, seeds and grains. It’s a healthy way to eat with a variety of wholesome often home cooked meals. There are huge amounts of meals that are suitable for vegetarians and your type of “ old school vegan”.

The “born again vegans”, on the other hand, seen to take being vegan as a badge of honour. They eat vegan food but want it to be meat in all but name. A huge industry of “ plant based” meals has grown up to support them. These are the ultra processed, not necessarily healthy meals. I find it difficult to understand why someone who doesn’t want to eat living creatures would want to eat something that look, tastes and feel like dead animals. Incidentally, vegetarians don’t want to eat this muck either.

Michael Mosely is doing a very interesting series of programmes on R4 at midday on looking after yourself generally.

Today he was talking about diet and diets. One of the interesting things he had to say is that there is a genetic basis to what food we eat and that some people are genetically adapted to be vegan or vegetarian, while others are not. Ther are lots of links to this, but respecting GN members prejudices preferences, I give one that should be politically and ethically acceptable to all (but a few) www.newscientist.com/article/2395444-being-vegetarian-may-be-partly-determined-by-your-genes/

The expert said that there is no such a thing as a diet regime being a failure. It simply doesn't work for you, but most people, if they experiment with different weight loss regimes, should be able to find one that suits them, and works for them, whether its Slimming World 5:2, Atkins, or any other you can name.

There aren't many fat vegans - that was the main conclusion of a study I read about - there can be healthy meat eaters and unhealthy ones - eating sausages and cheap burgers or kebabs isnt any better for you than eating processed vegan food. The main difference that was found was that fewer vegans were overweight.

Mogsmaw I always look at what is done to make it look like the neat counterpart and what I’d used to make it taste like its meat name.
The need for vegan king prawns still defeats me and if you’re going to sell a vegan sandwich with tofu, pickled cucumber ribbons, tangy kimchi, fresh chilli and sesame seeds, why do you need to label it No ham?

Mollygo I'm absolutely with you on the vegan king prawns.
What I never realised is “vegan” and the green V symbol are a licensed brand. Companies pay to put it on their packaging because it will increase their sales. It’s a depressing thought that customers can’t understand a bag of carrots doesn’t contain animal products without a logo.
That probably explains the sandwich labeling.

Vegan cheeses are really good these days. Try Catgedral City vegan cheddar and also in Holland and Barrett there is a vegan Blue Cheese. They really are good

Is the calcium content of vegan cheese as high as cheese made from animal milk?

Given that most people become vegan for environmental and ethical reasons I cannot get my mind around them wanting to eat anything that even pretends to be meat. In the same way, I assume that they would never wear fake fur.

I didn’t like the taste or constituency of vegan cheese even before I read this.

www.eatingwell.com/article/290804/what-exactly-is-vegan-cheese/

It’s a vegan foodstuff for vegans. It isn’t cheese, because cheese is a dairy product.
It’s possible that some vegan simulated cheeses taste good, but recently I noticed that a local cafe now serves jacket potatoes with a vegan substitute for cheese.
Fine for vegans, but actually disgusting to look at and taste if you want the real thing.
After many complaints, they now offer customers the choice, and it’s quite easy to tell if they get it wrong.