How to succeed this Veganuary

At the start of January, a lot people like to embrace their 'New Year, New Me' mantras with many opting to diet, hit the gym and cut back on the booze. As each year passes, not everyone manages to suceed with their resolutions, so to help keep us on our toes, the likes of Vegnuary and Dry January has been invented so that we can all make a collective effort to stick to our goal, help our bodies and even save environment during the hardest thirty days of the month.

Veganuary is a 30 Day vegan challenge, where participants are asked to consume only plant based foods and take an ethical standpoint throughout the first month of the year. The animal rights charity's mission is show how easy it can be to go vegan, raise awareness of animal suffering and highlight the impact the dairy and meat industry is having on the environment. 

Three months ago I made the big decision to go completely plant based after almost fifteen years of being vegetarian and I haven't looked back. I didn't expect to it to be as easy as it has been and the results have been incredible - I'm more energised, I've lost almost two stone in weight and for the first time in years my stomach issues seem under control.  Every person is different and not everyone will have these type of results, but veganism is great for those looking to inject additional plant nutrients into their diet and experiment more with healthy eating. Below are just a few of my top tips on how to suceed this Veganuary. 

Look for subsitutes of your favourite dishes 

So, what do vegans eat? Well, pretty much the meat free equivalent of everyone else's dishes. With veganism being so popular, supermarket shelves are now full of juicy meat free alternatives to the nations favourite dishes and there's very little that you can't get a replacement for.  Just becareful with some Linda McCartney and Quorn products as not all of them are vegan, but many are.

Follow social media

Utilise social media by following your favourite vegan brands, Instagrammers and bloggers. The majority of my food inspiration comes from there and there's so many unique ideas that you cannot always find in recipe books. One of my favourite discoveries is ackee and how much is resembles scrambled egg!

Download vegan apps

There's so many apps available on both Android and IOS dedicated to helping make vegans lives a little bit easier. Sometimes it is hard looking for a vegan restaurant in somewhere you don't know and reading labels can be troublesome when you don't know what all the E numbers mean. Happy Cow and Vanilla Bean are both great for recommendations and Is it vegan is a handy app that enables you to scan products to check, as the name suggests, if it is vegan.

Look for Veganuary restaurant offers

Zizzi, Las Inguanas and Bella Italia are just three of many high street chains that are offering deals this Veganuary to those taking part in the challenge so they can see how easy it is to eat out.  Why not book a meal out with some friends to give each other motivation and discover new food?

Get experimental with your food

One of the best things about being vegan is discovering new ways of cooking with the most basic of ingrediants. If you live off the likes of Quorn and chips, you are likely to get bored quite easily. Invest in a good recipe book or browse online and get creative in the kitchen.

Don't be too hard on yourself

Every vegan will have made some mistake in the early stages, don't be too hard on yourself if you do. Each day that you're not consuming meat or dairy is a triumph and can make quite a big impact, if you do slip up, just take it as a lesson learnt and pick yourself back up again - don't admit defeat.

Are you taking part in Veganuary?