Thursday, 10 September 2015

My Vegan Fridge Essentials


I'm nearly coming up for my one year Vegan anniversary, or 'Veganniversary' as I refer to it, and I thought it would be nice to share with you all three of my favourite Vegan fridge essentials which have now become regular items on our shopping list. 

When deciding to go Vegan it does take time to find food alternatives that you really like and thats why I always say to people that going Vegan is a transition. I don't believe it's something you can really achieve over night and I didn't find it as easy as giving up meat when I decided to go veggie. 

I don't know about you but I should imagine that just like me you were bought up in a family where your fridge without doubt contained some basic staple items such as a pint of cows milk, a slab of cheddar cheese, some eggs and a tub of butter or margarine. These are all items that we are bought up to believe are essential to our diets and until last year I would often say things along the lines of 'dairy doesn't hurt anyone' and 'no one dies to produce it so i'm not too fussed about giving it up'. And boy how wrong was I!? 

This blog post isn't about informing you of the horrors of dairy industry and I think, if you're interested, this is perhaps something you need to educate yourselves on by reading up or watching documentaries such as Vegetated on Netflix. But I can't write a post like this without saying that a huge and terrible amount of cruelty is involved within this industry and I was ultimately shocked when I learnt for myself. It made being Vegetarian suddenly seem pointless and personally there was no going back for me. 

During my first few months of being Vegan it was all about experimenting and trying different alternative products until I found my favourites. And here they are:

Alpro Soya Light Milk 
Available in every large supermarket now, Apro Soya Light Milk has quickly become our favourite replacement for cows milk. We originally tried the standard Alpro Soya Milk but found it way too sweet for our liking so we swapped it for this one. Personally for me this is the best milk replacement which has the nearest likening to cows milk. We have also found that this one works the best for us in our cups of tea. There are literally SO many milk alternatives now in the shops which is great to see but it can feel a little overwhelming when originally trying to find one that you like. I'm also a big fan of almond milk and coconut milk but they are not ones that I buy every week. To be honest, even before going Vegan, I have never been massively into milk and have always had the smallest amount. Since going Vegan I think I now tend to drink more teas without milk such a green tea or early grey. I also don't tend to eat cereals or many foods that require milk so I think I could actually survive without it anyway. 

Pure Sunflower Spread
I absolutely love the Pure brand of spreads which also include soya and olive. I have tried them all over the past year and sometimes alternate which ones I buy but ultimately the sunflower spread is my favourite and again offers the best like for like replacement in my opinion. Pure is also now available in all the big chain supermarkets so you really don't have to go far to get it!

Violife Original Cheese Slices
I have to say that since giving up cheese it's really not something that I struggle with. I never crave it anymore or really miss it. I think when you go Vegan and get through those initial weeks without cheese you actually then start to forget about it and in fact I now feel as though my body repels it. On the odd occasion where i've had cheese since, and purely because theres been no veggie choices without it whilst being out, it has really upset my stomach and even thinking about it now almost gives me a tummy ache! Cheese isn't exactly the most healthiest of foods anyway and it's not something you should really eat all the time. All of that being said, I was still curious to try out some Vegan cheeses whilst on my transition and out of all of them I think Violife is my favourite. I more so buy this for my husband than myself as he is more veggie than Vegan and still misses cheese a lot. One packet of Violife will usually last us a month!

As far as eggs go they are not even on my replacement list as they gross me out so much now I can't even believe I ever used to love them or eat them. But if you are looking for an egg replacement then I can recommend trying a scrambled tofu recipe as this really does provide a very like for like alternative. So much so that when my husband made some for me I couldn't really eat it all as it really did remind me of eggs too much. 

Ultimately everything comes down to personal preference and although I recommend these products there's nothing to say that you will like them as much as I do. Going Vegan is a personal journey and  a transition so it really does take time to discover your own favourite foods and alternatives. But if you are thinking about going Vegan and are not sure where to start I would recommend giving these a go to start with. 

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2 comments

  1. I love the Pure Sunflower too, it tastes delicious! Hazelnut and Almond milk are definitely my favourite dairy free milks though, such a helpful post. I might need to try those slices :) xx

    www.thejulyjournal.com

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  2. Alpro products are actually really tasty! I'm in love with Alpro Mild & Creamy! Add some cereal and you have the perfect breakfast.

    xx Izzy | Qthee

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