Veganuary 2019

I’ve been Vegetarian for over half of my life now. I was Vegan for a month about 15 years ago, for a bet. Other than that, it’s been Cheese for the win. I had some allergy and intolerance tests done recently, and they showed that I am allergic to dairy, and intolerant to egg. This could be part of the reason why my health has been so up and down the past 9 months. So, with that in mind, I have decided to join in with Veganuary.

What Is Veganuary?

Veganuary involves being Vegan for January. See what they did there? The Vegan diet involves cutting meat, dairy and eggs completely from your diet, and living a plant based life. But if you want to take it to the next level, you can ditch leather and suede too.

My Vegan Plan

I am not going into this expecting to make fresh, clean food every day. I am definitely a convenient vegan. So, if you can buy it pre-made, I will do! Something tells me I’ll be eating a lot of Quorn, plenty of chips and drinking tea and coffee with soya or oat milk replacements.

Follow My Vegan Progress

I’ll be doing a weekly update with my progress throughout January, so do check back to find out how I have got on.

I may follow a few quick recipes, and I will be sure to share any recipes and products I love on my blog as well. As a result, I have set up a new Instagram account just for sharing my Vegan journey – you can follow that here.

Sneaky Animal Products

When I became Vegetarian, I was so shocked at how many products contain Gelatine. (This is thickener which is made from animal products). It is found lurking in so many foods. For example Jelly, Jelly Sweets and lots of low fat or fat free yogurts. The same can be said for Dairy products. I have spotted it hiding in lots of things!

Check The Labels!

During Veganuary, I am focussing purely on the food I eat. The list below is just some of the sneaky items to look out for on ingredients lists. You can find a full list of things to look out for in foods, cosmetics, drinks and more here.

• Whey – from milk. Whey powder is in many products, look out for it in crisps, bread and baked products etc.
• Collagen – from the skin, bones, and connective tissues of animals such as cows, chickens, pigs, and fish – used in cosmetics
• Casein – from milk (a protein)
• Lactose – from milk (a sugar)
• Lard/tallow – animal fat
• Honey – food for bees, made by bees
• Cod liver oil – in lubricating creams and lotions, vitamins and supplements
• Gelatine/gelatin – obtained by boiling skin, tendons, ligaments, and/or bones and is usually from cows or pigs. Used in jelly, chewy sweets, cakes, and in vitamins; as coating/capsules
• Vitamin D3 – from fish-liver oil; in creams, lotions and other cosmetics
• Albumen/albumin – from egg (typically)
• Isinglass – a substance obtained from the dried swim bladders of fish, and is used mainly for the clarification of wine and beer
• Elastin – found in the neck ligaments and aorta of bovine, similar to collagen
• Aspic – industry alternative to gelatine; made from clarified meat, fish or vegetable stocks and gelatine
• Pepsin – from the stomachs of pigs, a clotting agent used in vitamins

Finally: If you’re joining in with Veganuary, do let me know! I’d love to follow your journey too!