Try going vegan 1 day a week

More and more people are choosing to go Vegan for financial, environmental and animal rights reasons. If you’d like to give the vegan lifestyle a try, we’ll share a simple way to get started 1 day at a time.

Vegans don’t eat, drink or use any animal products. This means no meat (including seafood and poultry), no dairy products, no eggs, no honey, and no other by-products in their diet. That might sound restrictive, but it’s easier than you would think.

Take a look at our tips to try vegan food 1 day at a time.

Monday – Nutritious Breakfast

Start your journey with an entirely vegan breakfast. It’s easy to make simple, healthy substitutions for dairy products this time of day. Think about:

• Baked beans on toast
• Cereal served with soy or rice milk
• Porridge cooked with almond milk, raisins and maple syrup
• Toast with mashed avocado, healthy peanut butter, or chopped banana
• Fruit salad and vegan yoghurt

Tuesday – Easy Supper

Try having an entirely vegan dinner, and keep things simple to see how easy and filling it can be. You could cook:

• Penne pasta with tomato sauce and vegetables
• Vegetable pilaf
• Spaghetti bolognaise made with soy mince instead of beef
• A warming one-pot curry
• When you’re cooking, you can make substitutes in your favourite recipes to keep things vegan. Try using coconut milk instead of cow’s milk, olive oil for butter or animal fat, wholewheat pasta for egg pasta, vegan bouillon for beef or chicken stock.

Wednesday – Healthy Lunch

Whether you take a lunch to work or eat at home, you’ll find that it can be a great time to eat healthy vegan food. Try:

• Sandwiches filled with hummus and salad
• Couscous mixed with grilled vegetables
• Roast sweet potato topped with chickpeas and hummus
• Vegetable soup and oatcakes

Thursday – Dairy Free Drinks

If you take milk in your tea or coffee, cutting out dairy can seem like it’s going to be a challenge. However there are lots of dairy-free milks available to buy in local grocers and supermarkets near the milk section.

Start by having it in a naturally sweet product like cereal, or in a latte or cappuccino made by an expert barista.

You could try:

• Soy milk – the most readily available, and normally comes sweetened or unsweetened
• Rice milk – thinner and more subtle than soy milk
• Almond milk – with a delicate nutty taste
• Coconut milk – often a little sweeter in taste

It’s a good idea to try a few different types of dairy-free milk to see what you like best.

You could also use this as an opportunity to cut down on your caffeine, and instead switch to hot herbal infusions.

Friday – Find Inspiration

There are thousands of recipes online for food. Some of our favourites are:

• The Minimalist Baker – featuring quick recipes, with few ingredients
• The Post Punk Kitchen – recipes and books from one of the most popular vegan chefs in the US
• Oh She Glows – often gluten free as well as vegan
• Have Cake Will Travel – lovely recipes for people with a sweet tooth
• You can find also vegan recipes and resources on the vegan society website.

Saturday – Big Brunch

Many of us enjoy a lie in and tasty brunch on the weekends, so it’s the perfect time to try making a few vegan substitutions. Why not make:

• Vegan blueberry muffin pancakes
• A full English breakfast with vegan sausages (like Linda McCartney), hash browns, mushrooms, baked beans, tomato and toast
• Scrambled tofu, spinach, mushrooms and toast 

Sunday – Roast Dinner

Go all out on Sunday and make a roast dinner with a difference. There’s no need to serve side dishes without the ‘main event’ of a chicken or roast beef. Instead, you can make a delicious vegan alternative.

This vegan nut roast from Jamie Oliver would make an eye-catching centrepiece for a Sunday meal with family. Serve it with potatoes roasted in olive oil and seasonal veg.

Finish the meal off with a moist chocolate fudge cake.

Are you tempted to try vegan food?