Well, here we are. The end of Veganuary: and what a month it’s been! In some ways, it’s been pretty normal compared to other months. I haven’t gotten stressed and freaked out about being unable to find (or make) something vegan to eat and there has been almost a neverending offer of vegan food on the go.
I have tried one or two new dishes this year but I have been disappointed that I didn’t find the time to visit Vutie Beats or try my hand at making a vegan dessert! Still, just because the month is up doesn’t mean I have to go back to a full on meat/dairy eater.
Here’s how I got on with my final week (and a bit!) of Veganuary 2019.
DAY TWENTY-TWO – TUESDAY
95 calories under budget.
Today I was away with work again, so didn’t plan a lunch. I had a quick bowl of cereal in the office before we had to grab the train to head off to Birmingham. We were only there for a few hours but of course, there were limited vegan choices. We ended up in Weatherpoons where I had the fail-safe sweet potato, chickpea and spinach curry – but it was lush! I’ve had it a few times before but it was so much better than I remember – even if it was almost a 1,000 calories! Luckily, because we were visiting an expo, I managed to walk most of my calories off and still end up in budget. It was a long and tiring day though, so for dinner I just grabbed what was left in the freezer – a falafel burger, chips and vegetables. It was bland but it did the job.
DAY TWENTY-THREE – WEDNESDAY
307 calories under budget.
On Wednesday, I stuck with some old favourites; vegan cereal for breakfast, a homemade falafel wrap for lunch (a new favourite, to be fair) and a pesto and mushroom pizza for dinner. It may have seemed boring, but by now I didn’t feel so guilty about not constantly experimenting with food or cooking things from scratch: I barely even do these things when I’m not vegan so why do I think I’ve got the time to do them when I am?!
DAY TWENTY-FOUR – THURSDAY
205 calories under budget.
Again, today I stuck to favourites. I had cereal again – something I was starting to feel a bit guilty about because I haven’t had a protein packed smoothie in so long – despite the fact that I got a Nutribullet for Christmas! I guess it’s hard to find the motivation to create a cold smoothie in the middle of winter, really. Today I had a super basic lunch of Super noodles which I thought were vegan but may or may not be, as it turns out. I’m still not entirely sure, oops! And for dinner, I had a small portion of my vegan garlic chicken with some left over for tomorrow’s lunch. I did snack a bit this evening too, with Oreos and some onion rings.
DAY TWENTY-FIVE – FRIDAY
115 calories under budget.
On Friday, the struggle was real. I had a free house for the first time in a long time and normally I would treat myself with a takeaway but of course, Just Eat had no vegan options and Deliveroo (which could have been the answer to my prayers with a Pizza Express) doesn’t deliver to me: SOB. Instead, I had avacado on toast for dinner. For lunch, I had a large panini from my work’s pantry (so to be honest that had filled me up for most of the day) and cereal for breakfast.
DAY TWENTY-SIX – SATURDAY
308 calories under budget.
For the first time in ages, I had time to make a proper breakfast due to it being the weekend! On Saturday morning I tried my hand at vegan pancakes, which I hadn’t done in a few years. The first few were a disaster but the rest – though not as yummy looking – actually tasted alright. I paired these with syrup and blueberries, as well as a fruit-packed smoothie. Dinner, however, turned out to be a bit of a disaster as I tried to veganise an easy red thai curry kit. It was okay, but I definitely used the wrong type of substitute meat – the tofu didn’t have half as much flavour as it should have. However, I later added another kit to my shopping list and will try it next time with Quorn ‘chicken’ bites. I also used up the rest of my tofu by trying to make tofu nuggets with breadcrumbs but these were a DISASTER, haha. They went straight in the bin – and definitely, need more practice in future.
DAY TWENTY-SEVEN – SUNDAY
71 calories under budget.
With the end looming, on Sunday I began to use up the last bits left in my freezer or cupboard. Breakfast was cereal and for dinner I had a varied mix of chips, garlic ciabatta, mixed vegetables and spinach bites. It actually all turned out to be really nice though, and so I treated myself to some onion rings (crisps) for supper.
DAY TWENTY-EIGHT – MONDAY & ONWARDS
On Monday, it felt like the end of Veganuary should have already happened, just because it was a Monday. Although for my last four days I stayed vegan, I really slipped in terms of filling in my food diary on Fitbit, probably because everything was just so randomized. One night I had garlic bread, two Linda McCartney sausage rolls and a bread roll! So, unfortunately, I cannot comment these last few days in detail. The important thing is that I did it though!
THE AFTERMATH
After a month of Veganuary, I felt so, so much better in myself. This time around, I’ve really taken the time to be more in tune with my mental health and my body. I’m not going to lie – of course I’ve been weighing myself and checking in to see if I’ve lost weight (a small bit), but I’ve spent more time noticing other things like how clearer my skin is, how thinner my face looks etc. Since going back to eating meat, I have immediately felt sluggish and tired all the time and it almost feels like in the space of not even a week I’ve put on so much weight. My scales don’t agree, but how I look and feel in myself would tell you otherwise.
I have decided to continue to stay vegan in the week and only allow myself meat and/or dairy on a weekend. This will be tough – in fact, I have already failed because I simply haven’t had a chance to do another proper shop and prep for it, but I am determined to jump back on the horse by giving myself a meal plan this weekend. Once more, the thing I’ve struggled with most is lunch (I seemed to swap between cheese and onion sandwiches, a falafel wrap and a panini from work), and this is something I will take time to address this weekend to try and mix it up a bit.
But, overall, I am really proud of myself for completing my challenge once more. In other years, I have wanted to try and stay vegan for various silly reasons like it’s what other people expected of me, it’s a good challenge or because I was worried what other people would think of me. This time, I’m hands down doing it for myself and how it makes me feel: so wish me luck!
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