Try Vegan this January

If you don't fancy doing Dry January this year, why not try Veganuary?

Veganuary aims to educate and promote people by encouraging them to follow a vegan lifestyle for the month of January. Veganism is where people do not use or eat any form of animal products, you'd be surprised at how many products are still tested on animals or have some form of animal product in them. Some of these include honey, Haribo and items such as Carmex lip balm, you may think veganism limits what you can eat and use but there are so many amazing vegan products out there.

Becoming vegan for January doesn't mean you have to throw out everything you own that isn't currently vegan friendly if you are eating vegan and shopping vegan for the month of January that's a great start, and who knows, you may carry it on for the rest of the year.

Ok, so you may be thinking how do you start? Well, the best way is to keep things easy and exciting. We've got a selection of breakfast lunch and dinner options for you to try out for the first few days, from there Google has so many vegan recipes you can have a go with.

Breakfast

We've all heard it's the most important meal of the day so let's make it a good one, whether you're on the go or having a relaxed morning at home.

Pancakes

Let's start with something delicious top them with your favourite treats to keep it exciting (our favourite: strawberries and maple syrup).

• 300g self-raising flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp sugar (any kind)
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 400ml plant-based milk (such as oat, almond or soya)
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil for cooking

Check out the method here.

Granola

This is perfect for on-the-go, you can make this at the start of the week or the night before and you're good to go, great when you have a 9am lecture and you want that extra 5 minutes in bed.

• 400g jumbo oats
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 150g dried apple
• 150g coconut oil
• 250g pack mixed nuts
• 100ml maple syrup

Check out the method here.

Lunch

Keeping it exciting and something you want to look forward to is important so we've chosen some colourful dishes to keep you going at lunch.

Chickpea curry jacket potato

This simple protein-filled lunch is going to give you the energy you need. Not to mention you could make this in bulk and freeze it.

• 4 sweet potatoes
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 ½ tsp cumin seeds
• 1 large onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• thumb-sized piece ginger
• 1 green chilli
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• ½ tsp turmeric
• 2 tbsp tikka masala paste
• 2 x 400g can chopped tomatoes
• 2 x 400g can chickpeas
• lemon wedges and coriander leaves, to serve

Check out the method here. 

Veggie olive wraps with mustard vinaigrette

This will definitely be the most colourful meal you've made in a while and extra healthy too!

• 1 carrot
• 80g wedge red cabbage
• 2 spring onions
• 1 courgette
• handful basil leaves
• 5 green olives
• ½ tsp English mustard powder
• 2 tsp extra virgin rapeseed oil
• 1 tbsp cider vinegar
• 1 large seeded tortilla

Check out the method here.

Dinner

The last meal of the day, we've picked out two hot meals to warm you up on a winter's evening.

Greek-inspired cauliflower stew

We all love a stew with some crunchy fresh bread, perfect after a day at uni cuddled up on the sofa.

• 1 lemon
• olive oil
• 1 bulb of garlic
• 2 red onions
• 10 black olives
• 300g new potatoes
• ½ a bunch/15g of fresh oregano
• 10 large ripe plum tomatoes
• 1 head of cauliflower, ideally with leaves (800g)
• 200g fresh or frozen peas, or broad beans

Check out the method here.

Vegan burgers

Who doesn't love a good cheat meal, burgers and chips! Although this one's not actually a cheat meal because it is super healthy - win-win!

For the burgers:

• 100g walnuts
• 164g chickpeas
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp vegan mayonnaise
• 1 tsp hoisin sauce
• 1 tsp dijon mustard
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/8 tsp liquid smoke
• 157g couscous
• 57g vital wheat gluten
• 2 tbsp vegan barbecue sauce
• 2 tbsp olive oil

For Serving:

• burger buns
• lettuce
•  tomato
•  pickles
• avocado
• red onion
• vegan thousand island dressing

Check out the method here.