A Very Late Veganuary

Pumpkin chilli

I always like to try giving up meat and (most) dairy* for Veganuary, but this year I started rather late because my twisted ankles made standing to cook difficult. By mid-month I was feeling better, so started then and carried on into February. 

Pumpkin goulash

Normally my hope is to use huge quantities of homegrown, frozen veg, but this year I took advantage of more vegan substitutes -  sausages, chicken tenders, chorizo shroomdogs, chicken pies etc. They're quick and easy, and certainly require less standing around in the kitchen while cooking (put them on a baking tray with chips and pop in the oven). Discovering a homegrown pumpkin starting to rot meant using that up as quickly as possible, so it made a lot of appearances in chillis and goulash. 

Leek and potato

Lunch always seems to be a problem. Despite being at home all day, I generally snatch a quick sandwich which doesn't require thinking about in advance; avoiding cheese and ham is tricky. Yes, a couple of days I went for the lazy jam sandwich option, or toasted sandwiches with vegan cheese, but on colder days I tried to make more effort with soups. Leek and potato, leftover goulash, a gorgeous 'orange' soup made with carrots and pumpkin, a lazy mushroom and tinned cannellini bean soup which inspired a sort-of mock carbonara a few days later. 

Mushroom and cannelini 

I've made a couple of good discoveries this year: a plant-based butter from Flora (which tastes good and costs a lot less than my usual organic butter), 'chicken' tenders from VFC (which taste as good as the real thing) and Hellmann's vegan baconnaise (good on vegan chicken burgers, great on kidney beans in a salad), all of which I'll continue to eat after this 'special' month.

Going forward I want to try to reduce the amount of meat I eat. It's just as easy to make a stir fry without, for example, chicken as with, or a goulash with pumpkin instead of pork. I think I don't eat much anyway but certainly pies and fish are staples that I fall back on when I can't be bothered to cook. 

* I have my milk delivered, and it doesn't seem right to cancel the order for a month, but I try to use only vegan cheese and butter.