Veganuary Days 17 & 18

Yesterday I stuffed my face with a large bag of popcorn at the cinema... I shared of course (but that probably doesn't make it any better). So I continue to be incredibly unhealthy but hey, I'm still learning.

Today I decided to do something a little different. I don't bake very often but the fact that I could buy my pastry already made really appealed to me so I made some apple pies and this is how it went.

Despite them not being perfect they actually turned out ok. I smothered one with 'Alpro' cream for the taste test and tomorrow I shall enjoy one with some ice cream.

I used another new product for dinner today, making a vegetable burger (excuse my burger bun falling apart) with some hash browns. I really need to make myself a salad soon.

Veganuary Days 15 & 16

Happy Friday everyone! I hope you've all had a good week and 'Veganuary' is still going well for you. I added something different to my lunch this week... 'Alpro' soya yoghurt's, of which I have a few flavours. The vanilla ones are my favourite.

I had a really random dinner yesterday because I had noodles from 'Lidl' that I was desperate to try and my baby corn was going to go bad if I didn't eat them quick and also the rest of my tofu wieners which I had opened a couple of days ago. Anyone would think I was a student trying to make do with what was left in the cupboards. The noodles are a bargain 18p each and states on the back of the packaging that they are suitable for vegetarians and vegans. They're not bad but a little bland but worked well with the tofu wieners.

Today's dinner consisted of more noodles but Chow Mein style. I used 'Fry's' thick cut chunky strips which I enjoyed with 'Blue Dragon' sauce. Now I could literally explode from eating too much.

Veganuary Days 12, 13 & 14

So I'm still going strong and we are nearly half way through 'Veganuary' now. A few new products sneaked their way into my diet over the past few days so I'm here to share my thoughts on them. I will start with 'Asda's' new tinned veggie bolognese which had vegan ingredients but afterwards I had wondered if the red wine it contained was vegan or not, apart from that I didn't have a problem.

It didn't exactly have the wow factor but it was edible with some 'free from' pasta. I slightly smothered my pasta bolognese with 'Bellissimo' dairy free, hard sprinkling cheese which I had mixed in and then couldn't taste it at all. 

I have been sneakily snacking on 'Party Rings'. I was so excited when they were announced as veggie. I hadn't had these for a long time and now I want to make the most of them.

Yesterday's dinner consisted of the chicken style nuggets that I love, spaghetti and mash made with 'Smash' (available in 99p stores). The spaghetti was gluten free and vegan but to be honest it wasn't great. I have really taken a dislike to gluten free foods, I try to avoid it but I find that a lot of vegan products are also gluten free too.

I wanted something even quicker and easier this evening so a microwave meal was in order. I purchased this vegan meal from 'Waitrose' and it wasn't too bad.

Yesterday I finally managed to pick up my TVK box ('The Vegan Kind') from the delivery office. It's always a nice surprise and I look forward to receiving it every month.

Veganuary Days 10 & 11

Due to a lot of repetitiveness I have decided to combine my 'Veganuary' posts to prevent my readers from getting bored and in all honesty prevent me from getting bored. Next week I will be posting on Wednesday and Friday evening. I won't include breakfast unless it's something I haven't blogged about before.

Most of my weekend consisted of food shopping and standing in supermarket aisles studying ingredients. If a product doesn't contain any animal derived ingredients then why doesn't it clearly state 'vegan' on the packaging... wait a minute, don't be silly! that would make it far too easy. Manufacturers must think we enjoy the challenge.

This morning I treated myself to an extremely unhealthy breakfast of biscuit spread on toast which I don't have very often due to it's high sugar content. However the fact that I had nearly run out would suggest otherwise so I stuck it on my shopping list.

I missed lunch today but yesterday I had a late one. I had what is fast becoming my favourite snack/lunch and that's avocado on toast. I love avocado, it's very versatile and can be used in a lot of things.

Yesterday I made a big batch of pesto pasta (including pine nuts, rocket and cherry tomatoes). I enjoyed it hot when it was cooked and had some cold today with chopped up... yes, wait for it! avocado. Unfortunately the pasta itself wasn't as nice cold which may be due to it being gluten free as well as dairy free because I haven't had that problem with normal pasta when I've made it. I used vegan pesto.

For the remainder of the rest of the day I snacked on crap while slobbing out watching films. I'll be back on Wednesday with my day 12 and 13 post so see you then.

Veganuary Day 9

I'll be keeping this short due to a not so nice migraine which I suffer from occasionally, a stressful day at work is bound to be the trigger this time. I had 'Shredded wheat bitesize' and a cup of tea for breakfast. For lunch I packed a 'Marks & Spencer'  Moroccan style fruity couscous salad, a '9 bar', another bag of apple crisps and a pot of chopped mango.

I wasn't completely feeling dinner this evening. I burnt my sweet potato fries and I wasn't too sure what I thought about the vegan pizza I purchased from 'Holland & Barrett'. Unfortunately I probably won't buy another one.

Veganuary Day 8

I had forgotten to mention my vitamin c supplements in previous posts. As my 'Feroglobin' isn't vegan I have stopped taking it but I continue to take my chewable vitamin c tablets as they are suitable but I would normally take them together. Unfortunately I haven't managed to find anything to replace the 'Feroglobin' during Veganuary as yet.

I had the same old 'Shredded wheat bitesize' for breakfast with tea and hobnobs. and Lunch was very similar to yesterdays, minus the apple but adding some orange. Someone at work bought in two big boxes of 'Crispy Kreme' doughnuts which I would normally be one of the first to dive into but did well to ignore. I hadn't really encountered any challenges until then.

Dinner was another quick and easy dish. I have had the braised tofu (from 'Holland & Barrett) before and think it's ok. I added it to a bed of mixed salad leaves and drizzled balsamic vinegar on it. I'm not entirely sure if I am getting enough nutrition from the meals I'm eating so I might do some more research over the weekend if I get time. I'd like to add more nuts and seeds to my diet either included in a meal or on it's own as a snack.

Veganuary Day 7

I will try and keep this short and sweet because I'm feeling tired... early night for me. The good news is that I have made it through the first week. Congrats to all those who have made it too.

Shredded wheat bitesize for breakfast and dunking hobnobs again. For lunch I had my favourite carrot salad from 'Marks & Spencer', apple crisps, peanut '9 bar' and an apple (yep, didn't think that one through).

For dinner I had hot dogs made with tofu wieners and sweet potato fries. 

I used this mustard for the hot dogs.

Anyway I didn't realise that it's actually quite late so no early night for me after all (that happens quite often). One day when I say I'm having an early night I might actually get one. Good night guys.

Veganuary Day 6

It's day 6 and so far so good. Veganuary is proving to be a great experience not only with finding new and interesting products that I haven't tried before but I've come to realise that it's not actually been as hard as I thought it would be... obviously I have a little way to go yet so it's probably best to ask me when it's ended. However there has been some degree of difficulty when finding products. This is often due to labelling. Some ingredients lists are pretty straight forward and easy to understand but I must admit, the items that I'm not sure about get put back on the shelf.

The day (as usual) started with a bowl of Shredded wheat bitesize. I also had a few 'Hobnobs' with my cup of tea because I was feeling a bit greedy. Lunch consisted of a 'Marks & Spencer' giant cous cous salad, salt and vinegar 'Ten Acre' crisps, a peanut '9 bar' (my favourite snack bar) and an apple.

As my mouth and one side of my face was left numb after a harrowing dentist appointment it was a while before I could manage any food and when I did, I didn't want anything hard to chew. I was glad that I had picked up a can of soup from planet organic the other day (I think I've seen them in Asda too). 

This hearty, French country vegetable soup by Amy's kitchen was a life saver. Very tasty and packed with beans and a mix of other vegetables. I really enjoyed it considering that I had tried 'Amy's kitchen' products before and not liked them. I'll definitely be buying more soup in other flavours.

Veganuary Day 5

It's Monday and I'm not looking forward to my first full week back at work since Christmas. I started the day with a bowl of 'Shredded Wheat' bitesize and a cup of tea. When I went shopping yesterday I picked up a pot of houmous which I haven't had in a while and thought it would make a nice change to my lunch. I chopped up some carrot sticks and added some celery. The packet of dried apple crisps replaced ordinary crisps which I don't normally like eating a lot of, surprisingly on the back of the packet under allergens it says 'may contain milk' but I wasn't too bothered with that as I think they just add it as a precaution. I have noticed this on a lot of vegan products.

I got home after 7pm so I wanted to prepare something quick and easy so salad was a no brainer. I used mixed salad leaves and some Olive tofu chopped into cubes with a sprinkle of mixed seeds and a drizzle of olive oil. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would.

I hope I'm not boring you too much with these posts, I don't want to start sounding too samey. Please feel free to comment about any of the products I have used and I also welcome any recommendations.

Veganuary Day 4

Another late start to the day due to a bad nights sleep so my meals consisted of breakfast and dinner. I often skip lunch when I'm out shopping and I don't feel hungry. This morning I had a bowl of 'Oat so Simple' porridge and my usual (can't start the day without) a cup of tea.

Dinner was simple but a little more creative. I only needed three ingredients but it was tasty and filling, I call it mock duck hoisin noodles. Some vegans and vegetarians don't like eating anything that represents meat but it doesn't bother me because as I see it meat doesn't even represent meat anyway... it's all processed crap.

The mock duck is from 'Holland & Barrett' and can be eaten hot in stir Fry's or cold in salads, personally I think it's probably better hot. Blue dragon are pretty good with their vegan sauces and their whole wheat noodles are vegan too.

For a little treat after dinner with my cup of tea I had a caramel rice square which I bought in Asda today.

Veganuary Day 3

This morning I woke up late (as I often do at the weekend) and poured myself a healthy bowl of muesli by 'Dorset Cereals' accompanied by a cup of tea.

As I woke up late I didn't really have time to fit lunch in so I just opted for a piece of fruit to keep me going until dinner time. I had planned to go shopping to get some ingredients for a more healthier dinner but I took a look at the weather and decided to make do with what I already had even if it wasn't quite as healthy. Tomorrow however is meant to be nice so I can stop being lazy and get out of the house. The weather doesn't normally bother me but for some reason it did today.

After wading through the cupboards for a good 15 minutes I finally came up with something to do for dinner. Classic jacket potato with beans and cheese (I used another slice of 'Violife' for that). I didn't have any big spuds (shock horror) so I used a couple of small ones. I threw in some 'Fry's' chicken style nuggets for good measure (another first) and loved them.

As I've mentioned before, I'm not the most creative cook, most things seems to turn out looking or tasting hideous if it's not a microwave meal so apologies for my next photo which looks like a pile of slop on the plate but surprisingly tasted quite nice as jacket spuds go.