Tips for going vegan?

[Colour Bandit]

Bit of backstory; To put this politely, my boyfriend was 'challenged' by a family friend to go vegan, to put it rudely he was told by one of those stereotypical "anyone who eats meat is the devil" vegans that they thought he couldn't stomach not going without meat for a month. So my boyfriend has taken up that challenge (with a few modifications, in that his doctor has advised him not to do the whole month due to him being overweight so he is doing two weeks instead) and with me being the all supportive girlfriend I will be joining him, sort of, as my doctor has advised against me going fully vegan full stop due to pre-existing health problems, so while I am at work I am allowed to eat non vegan foods.

Tldr; Boyfriend has been challenged to temporarily go vegan and I will be going semi-vegan for two weeks. We will be doing this in June to give us time to prep and because of other events in the coming months.

Anyone got any tips to help us prepare? Any good recipes at all, especially for sweet treats since we can't have chocolate? Any good vegan brands to go for? (We are in the UK so any available here would be helpful)

Right now we are going through the process of finding alternatives, trialling milk alternatives (already had to cut out coconut and rice milk because bf doesn't like the sound of them :/ ) and finding alternatives for our animal product containing goods.
I was really disappointed to find that Quorn isn't vegan friendly, a lot of their products contain milk or eggs, so I can't just swap out the meat in a lot of my favourite recipes, it couldn't be that easy could it?!

Our end goal with this isn't to go full vegan (doctors have advised us against it) but to cut down our meat and animal product consumption and go semi-vegan or vegetarian. (Most likely semi-veggie so I can use Quorn rather than meat)

Please no hate, either directed at my boyfriend and I or at Vegans, I just want some advice and tips so I can make the transition as easy as possible.

 

[mogyay]

amy's kitchen is a (uk) brand that do a range of vegan frozen meals like quorn, i don't personally like them but it's something and quick and easy i guess, especially if it's just for a couple of weeks

 

[Colour Bandit]

amy's kitchen is a (uk) brand that do a range of vegan frozen meals like quorn, i don't personally like them but it's something and quick and easy i guess, especially if it's just for a couple of weeks

I should have specified but I don't want to go the frozen meal route, I much prefer cooking from scratch as it is cheaper and I don't want to get lazy with my food, especially since I want to incorporate vegan foods into my weekly food routine after the two weeks.

I had a look and apparently the Linda McCartney brand is suitable for vegans, anyone tried their stuff out?

 

[mogyay]

I should have specified but I don't want to go the frozen meal route, I much prefer cooking from scratch as it is cheaper and I don't want to get lazy with my food :/

ah ok, then instead of using quorn mince (assuming that's an alternative you use) soya mince is nicer than the quorn stuff in my opinion (although i've never tried the frozen kind, just the dried variant).

honestly there a million and one recipes online, just google it! especially curries and indian dishes, chickpeas and lentils will become your best friend, they can add a nice texture to dishes and playing around with spices makes it really delicious eating vegan.

as for milk i recommend almond milk or soya milk, honestly i've yet to find any milk alternative that tastes like milk so your bf might just have to suck it up but almond milk is nice and sweet.

in place of meat a lot of people say mushrooms have a nice meaty texture (i hate mushrooms) but i really love tofu when it's nicely flavoured, it's kind of bland on it's own but it's nice in stir fries with lots of veg!

again i don't know where you live but whole foods have a good selection of vegan treats and even sainsburies iirc had a few in their gluten free section, there's definitely treats out there if you're wanting them. i heard ben and jerries do a vegan ice cream now haha. also vegan baking has become pretty popular, lots of recipes online and on youtube

 

[Tensu]

Ok, here's a tip. Don't.

 

[mogyay]

I should have specified but I don't want to go the frozen meal route, I much prefer cooking from scratch as it is cheaper and I don't want to get lazy with my food, especially since I want to incorporate vegan foods into my weekly food routine after the two weeks.

I had a look and apparently the Linda McCartney brand is suitable for vegans, anyone tried their stuff out?

yeah i love linda mccartney! i didn't realise they were vegan! they don't really do as many sort of basic substitutes as quorn though (like mince and chicken pieces), a lot of frozen meals i think but their sausages and sausage rolls are really nice haha, i just wish they had more of a range where i live (quorn tends to always dominate)

 

[KarlaKGB]

sayyestomeat

 

[p e p p e r]

Good luck with this, a vegan diet is very restricting - I was vegatarian for a while & that is pretty easy to do...

Where I live there are actually a lot of vegan restaurants so it would be easy if you have that by you, I don't think WholeFoods market is in the UK - but they have a great selection of vegan groceries

here are foods that will keep you full: avocados, having a tablespoon of raw coconut oil before your meals, any nut butters and any type of beans would be a great source of protein

Here's a recipe for Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients
1 cup peanut butter (you can also use ? peanut butter and ? almond butter)

1 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

⅔ cup oat flour (use 1 cup if you prefer chewy cookies rather than tender cookies)

1 teaspoon baking soda

⅛ teaspoon salt

? cup water (readers have also had success using ? cup almond milk)

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a large mixing bowl, cream together the peanut butter and brown sugar for 1 minute. Add in the vanilla extract and beat for another 30 seconds.

In a separate mixing bowl, mix the dry ingredients together (oat flour, baking soda, and salt).

While beating the peanut butter mixture, slowly add in the oat flour mixture and beat until a crumby dough forms. Add in the water and continue to beat until distributed. Do not over mix.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Roll the dough into balls (about 1? - 2 tablespoons per cookie), drop on parchment paper, and flatten with a fork one way and then the other to create a crisscross pattern.

Bake for 8-10 minutes or until just starting to turn golden on edges (they bake FAST so watch them carefully).
Let cool completely.

Store in an airtight plastic container to keep the cookies soft and chewy.

-------------------------------------------------------

I make this vegan snack often, they are crispy & packed with protein (this is a great snack for anyone really)

Spicy Oven Roasted Chickpeas

2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, also known as garbanzo beans, thoroughly drained and rinsed (about 3 cups)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Heat the oven to 400?F and arrange a rack in the middle.

Spread the chickpeas in an even layer on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until crisp, about 30 to 40 minutes.

About 20 minutes into baking, take the chickpeas out & place in a large bowl and toss with the remaining ingredients until evenly coated.

put it back into oven for another 10-20 mins (until they're a little brown and crispy - keep an eye on them or they'll burn)

 

[Dorian]

Vegan is extremely difficult due to it's massive restrictions. My advice is experiment with the few staples of a vegan diet. Try many different recipes and just keep at it. Good luck!

 

[KaydeeKrunk]

Some of my favorite vegan meals are spinach based veggie patties and falafel. You can find a lot of really good recipes online, I suggest looking for a vegan food blog and get some recipes there, usually when I google a recipe it's the vegan cooking blogs that have the best recipes. I am pescaterian so I still eat eggs milk and fish but I do enjoy things that don't always have those things in them. I also really like making tofu scrambles which you just cube some firm tofu, add seasonings as you like, and usually I'll put in spinach, onion and tomato and soysauce and garlic for flavorings and then kind of smoosh it up as you cook it down until it dries out a bit and isn't as "wet" then either put it into a tortilla or just eat it on it's own, it's really good! I am not familiar with with brands are sold in the UK but I do like using the meat substitutes a lot as well, one of my favorite brands here in the US is Field Roast but I am not sure if they are Vegan or if they are available in the UK, but I really like their sausages and stuff. =]

 

[Sheepette]

I recommend Bragg's products, such as their liquid aminos (read: soy sauce) and yellow flake yeast seasoning. You can get some of your complete proteins and vitamins.

 

[Mariah]

I get a lot of recipes from
https://www.instagram.com/bestofvegan/?hl=en