Healthy(ish!): veganism
We can ALL manage to go ‘veganish’
as veganuary kicks off, the benefits of going plant-based now can’t be ignored. Whether it’s for environmental, health or animal welfare reasons, the number of vegans in the UK has surged by 700% in the last two years, meaning that 7% of the population now follow a plant-based diet. Yet still, for many of us, going vegan is a huge step.
But there’s another option. This year I’m going vegan-ish, which might not go down well with staunch plant-eaters, but Joey O’hare of Allplants, a vegan food delivery service, says: ‘If everyone in the UK ate plant-based two days a week, we would reduce carbon dioxide equivalent of taking 54% of cars off the road. We’d also save enough water to provide 11 years’ worth of showers for every Brit.’ So that’s my plan (another option is going ‘Cheegan’ like a friend of mine – vegan with a bit of Stinking Bishop thrown in!). Like to join me? This is how I plan to start…
Don’t label it
Lily Simpson, owner of delivery service The Detox Kitchen, warns that we shouldn’t label ourselves as ‘going vegan’, which just puts too much pressure on: ‘You need to approach it from a joyful place. Aim to do it two or three days a week, or one meal a day, to start with.’
Plant-pimp your favourite meal
As a great starting point, Lily recommends taking your favourite meal, whether that’s shepherd’s pie, a burger or pasta dish, and remaking it with plant-based food.
Plan ahead
You can’t go plant-based and expect meals to pop out of the cupboard. You need to plan ahead, ensuring you’re getting an even balance of fats, protein and carbohydrate. Try recipes from Deliciously Ella: The Plant-based Cookbook, Meera Sodha’s East and Nigel Slater’s Greenfeast. If you don’t plan, you may become what nutritionists call ‘an unhealthy vegan’, living off white bread and pasta.
Go big on flavour and bite
Sometimes people complain that they lose the ‘chew’ with vegan food, says Lily, so she fills her diet with things like lentils that have a bite. ‘We often miss the complexity of flavour, rather than meat itself,’ says Joey from Allplants, ‘so my top tip is to give vegetables the same attention you would give, say, a piece of chicken. Think about dry-rubs, marinades, charring and roasting.’ Lily also says that dressings are hugely important for adding zing – she whizzes up all the herbs in her fridge to make salsa verde.
Don’t be scared of tofu
‘We use the brand Tofoo,’ says Joey. ‘It’s super firm and a really great vehicle for flavour; try marinating it in ginger and miso, and panfrying it in sesame oil. The biggest question I get is about getting enough protein. For me there have to be lentils, beans and seeds, which I throw onto everything. Focus on what you can eat rather than what you can’t.’ detoxkitchen.co.uk; allplants.com
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