So ‘go vegan’ is your New Year’s resolution, but you just don’t know how to get going? Well, the beginning is a very good place to start and, as I’m sure Julie Andrews would agree, every great journey in life commences with opening the door to the fridge.
Here’s a handy guide to address those niggling worries at the back of your head and have your fridge fully veganized in no time.
7 Easy Tips for Creating a Vegan Friendly Fridge This New Year
‘What about milk? I need my morning cappuccino, I can’t eat dry Weetos!’
Don’t panic! There are so many great milk alternatives out there for you to try. Cow’s milk has been linked to various diseases so switching to an alternative is a great way to cleanse your body and mind this New Year.
There’s also the small matter of taste! Plant based milk goes great with coffee and makes cereal extra delicious – your only problem here is that there’s too much choice!
Almond, oat, and soya are all popular choices, with 2018 seeing the rise of Barley, Flax, and Pea milks amongst others. Milkadamia (a macadamia nut milk brand) are even making their debut at Walmart in 2018.
‘Cheese on toast is such an easy-peasy tasty lunch, how will I cope without it?’
You don’t have to miss out on cheese on toast, so you can breathe a big sigh of relief. Vegan cheese is a super popular trend that’s even got Kourtney Kardashian on board. In the UK, supermarket giant Tesco has recently launched two new dairy-free cheeses to add to their collection and Sainsbury’s has been embracing new additions from the vegan cheese brand Violife this year (the cheese used at Pizza Hut!). A French vegan cheese company have even managed to mimic camembert! What a time to be alive.
‘I’m a mayo-o-holic, I don’t want to miss out on my favourite condiment.’
Brands like Hampton Creek, Hellmann’s and Vegenaise have got you covered on this one, their mayo is egg free and uses the yellow pea in order to achieve that creamy texture you’ve become so accustomed to. If you’re used to a bit of spice, you could also grab yourself some vegan Flying Goose sriracha mayo from Aldi or Tesco!
‘Sunday mornings won’t be the same without scrambled egg for brekkie.’
Hampton Creek has once again bailed us out by developing a new alternative to scrambled egg that looks and tastes just like the real deal. Made from the mung bean, the new creation is due in U.S. restaurants early 2018! It doesn’t just stop with Hampton Creek though, if you’re looking for a replacement egg product there are plenty for cooking, baking and scrambling. It has recently been predicted that the global market for egg replacements will shortly climb to $1.152 billion. So, it’s pretty safe to say your egg fix will be met and you won’t have to worry about animal welfare in the process.
‘But a sausage sandwich is my go-to hangover fix.’
Shock fact: vegans get hangovers too. And how do they cope with them? Well, if you’re sensible it’s a glass of water, a nap, and some painkillers. But nobody is perfect and sometimes you just need some nosh down you to feel normal again. If meat’s your thing when this feeling hits, then there are so many replacements to try! Field Roast, Tofurky or Linda McCartney are great brands to start with, their veggie sausages will have you right as rain in no time. You could also try the Beyond Burger or a Mock vegan meat curry!
‘Baked potatoes are great comfort food, but they just won’t taste the same without butter’
Is there anything more warming on a wintery January day than a nice hot jackpot to heat up your insides? Nope. This is a tradition you can stick with and you don’t have to have it dry either! Vegan alternatives to butter are so easy to get your mitts on, try Earth Balance or Miyokos Kitchen to get you going. Chuck some vegan mayo and cheese on your jacket potato too for good measure!
‘Salads are boring with no dressing to add.’
Stop trying to get out of eating Salad. It’s very good for you and there are plenty of vegan salad dressings on offer to sample! Daiya and Annie’s dressings are highly recommended to spruce up your bowl of lettuce and all things healthy this new year.
You may not keep to any other new year’s resolutions, but here’s hoping your fridge stays vegan right through until 2019.
