Being vegan is expensive #1

1. Starter

Carrot cream soup

• 4 potatoes (1 kg costs 0,99 €)
• 3 carrots (1 kg costs 0,89€)
• 1 onion (1 kg costs 0,69€)
• 2 cups of baby spinach leaves (organic 200gr at 2,80€)
• salt
• Water
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil (0,75 lt at 3,99€)

Total ingredients cost: 2,15 €

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2. Main Course

Lentil Bolognese

• 2 carrots (1 kg costs 0,89€)
• 125gr dry red lentils (500gr costs 1,19€)
• 1 onion (1 kg costs 0,69€)
• 1 Vegetable Stock (Knorr 8x at 1,99€)
• 1 can of plum tomatoes (Lidl at 0,39€)
• Fine salt
• pepper
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil (0,75 lt at 3,99€)
• 450 gr pasta Penne (Tesco at 0,49€)
• water

Total ingredients cost: 1,90 euros

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3. Dessert

Chocolate brownie

• 2 cups of flour (2kg at 1,29€)
• 2 cups of brown sugar (500gr at 1,49€)
• 1 cup of sunflower oil (1lt at 1,59€)
• 3/4 of cocoa powder (250gr at 3,39€)
• 1 teaspoon of baking powder
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• water
• 1-2 teaspoons of vanilla extract (25ml at 3,19€)

Total ingredients cost: 3,40 euros

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Complete 3 course dinner for 4 people

=Estimate Total Dinner cost 7,45 euros=

Recipe #95 Potato and white cabbage

Ingredients

- 4 medium potatoes

- 3 carrots

- 1/2 head of white cabbage

- 1 courgette 

- 2 small onions

- 1/4 cup of olive oil

- 3 teaspoons of sea salt

Prepare all the vegetables: peel and chops the potatoes, carrots, courgette, onions and take the stem out of the cabbage and shred it roughly with a knife.

Add the salt and olive oil. Pour 1 litre and 250 ml -500ml water over everything (just enough to cover all the vegetables)

Method to cook:
1. Regular saucepan: Cook for 25-35 minutes. Pure everything till it's smooth.

or

2. To prepare this in a Thermomix Food processor: set time to 35minutes, Speed 1 at 100oC. At the end: Pure at speed 4 or 5 for 50 seconds. 

Recipe #93 Green Cabbage Soup and cauliflower

Ingredients

• 1 big potato
• 400 gr diced butternut squash
• 250 gr -350 gr steamed green cabbaged shreds
• 2 medium onions
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 small courgette
• 1/4 of a cauliflower head
• 1,200 lt water
• 3 teaspoons of sea salt
• 1/2 cup olive oil

Shredded the cabbage and steamed it for 35 minutes the night before; alternatively you can cook it for 20min in boiling salt water.

Cut the vegetables into chunks: courgette, onions, butternut squash, cauliflower.

Place everything in a saucepan with one garlic clove, olive oil and salt. Pour between 1-1,5 litres of water to get all the vegetables covered.
Method to cook:
1. Regular saucepan: Cook for 25-35 minutes. Pure around 75% so you still have some chunks floating in the liquid.
2. To make this in the Thermomix Food processor: set time to 35minutes, Speed 1 at 100oC. At the end: Pure at speed 4 or 5 for 50 seconds.

Recipe #91 Vegan Nutella Spread

Ingredients

• 1 cup of hazelnuts
• 1/4 cup of maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon of melted coconut oil (optional)
• 3 tablespoons of cocoa
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla 
• 5-7 tablespoons of Hazelnut milk (or soy or almond milk)

Roast the hazelnuts in the oven at 250oC for 15-20 minutes. 

Take them out and rub them in a towel to take most of the skin off.

Place them in a food processor and pure the hazelnuts. Add the remaining ingredients and blend till its smooth. 

If using coconut oil transfer as soon as possible to your jar or plastic box and let it harden in the container.

Veganuary wrap up

After 34 days vegan I can definitely see health benefits from a vegan diet (and life style)

• lost almost 2 kg with no effort (a little over 3 pounds); i still eat chocolate and desserts when i feel like it but of course most of the desserts at restaurants have dairy. I like Alpro chocolate desserts and snack on a lot of almonds and unsalted cashews both for the taste and the protein.
• my skin is brighter - I feel so clean inside out
• my nails are stronger !
• I sleep better
• I've replaced my breakfast toast or croissant for a breakfast smoothie (this was the biggest change in my eating habits). I make a smoothie to go usually with fresh fruit and vegetables and either tea, water or soy milk and add some superfruits like chia seeds. They keep me fed for the morning and are quick and easy to prepare at home, nothing processed and especially no animal products !
• Weaning yourself off cheese is a habit ! Cheese is addictive... and you can live without it. To be honest the first 10-15 days were bad because you are used to grab for cheese. But now I've found that Vegan cheeses are booming at the supermarket which is a great sign. I prepare all of the dishes i used to make but use vegan cheese.
• Right now we are in the process of transitioning all our home cleaning products and my make up for vegan products. Also, not that difficult once you know where to get them. I've found vegan body moisturizer, shower gel, deodorant, toilet cleaner, fabric softener ... !

I know my diet has much more variety then it used to have, for e.g. 1 year ago. I am addicted to greens and need to have some everyday. I am not taking any food supplements and i am curious to make some blood tests in some weeks to check out my cholesterol.

Bye bye Veganuary, Hello Vegan Life. 

Veganuary Day #31 - The End

Started the last Veganuary Day with a good old Irish Breakfast... vegan of course !

Snacked on a big plate of fruit in the afternoon.

And dinner was Bean Stew with rice.

Recipe #89 Slow cooked Bean Stew

Ingredients 

• 1 + 1/2 cups mixed beans (here I used 1 cup Adzuki beans and 1/2 cup white beans)
• 1 canned tomatoes
• 1 chopped onion
• 2 medium carrots
• cayenne pepper, black pepper, sea salt and dry parsley
• 1 vegetable stock cube
• 3 cups of water
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 5 leaves of green cabbage

Wash the beans and rinse (no need to soak).

In a food processor slice the carrots, chop the onion and garlic cloves and pure the tomatoes.

Throw everything into a slow cooker and season with 2 teaspoons of cayenne pepper, 1 teaspoon of black pepper, 2 teaspoons sea salt, 2 teaspoons dry parsley and add the olive oil and vegetable cube.

Cut the cabbage into small strips.

Cook on High for 6h. Check if the beans are soft and season if salt is missing.

Veganuary Day #30

Breakfast

Citrus Mean green juice

Lunch

Tomato soup

Greens with onion potatoes and Avocado mash

Snack time

Two Apples

Nakd Berry Cheeky

Dinner

Tempeh with orange sauce and basmati rice 

Recipe #88 Citrus Juice

Makes 2 juices of 300ml, around 170 calories each juice.

• Water 300ml
• 3 peeled kiwis
• 3 oranges
• 1 lemon
• 10 leaves of mint
• 6 ice cubes

Juice the lemon and the orange, Place the juice and the rest of the ingredients in a powerful blender or juicer. Blend.

Veganuary Day #29

BREAKFAST

Smoothie 

Soy Milk, spinach, cucumber, strawberries, pineapple, beetroot and oats

LUNCH

Tomato soup with orzo

Falafel with boiled rice and salad

SNACK TIME

1/2 Nakd Bar
2 Apples
Green Tea

DINNER

Baguette with Mayola and ketchup and Fry's Chicken Strips with cayenne pepper

Recipe #87 Sweet potato and Broccoli Soup

Shopping list 

• 75gr broccoli 
• 2 medium carrots (175gr)
• 1 medium onion
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 medium potatoes (350 gr)
• 2 teaspoons of salt (or less)
• 1 sweet potato (200gr)
• 3-4 cups of baby spinach leaves

 

Method

Chop the vegetables (except the spinach) and place everything into a pan. 

Cover with 1 litre of water (or a bit more if needed to cover all the vegetables). 

Add the salt and the olive oil and let cook for around 30-40 min. 

Pure everything and add the uncooked spinach leaves. Cover the pan and let the spinach cook in the hot soup for 5-10 minutes.

Makes 4-6 portions > depending on the portion size.

Veganuary Day #28

Breakfast

Brown toast bread with avocado paste (cashews, nutritional yeast and lemon), spinach and violife cheese shaves.

Mate and Lemon Tea

Lunch

Barley and vegetable broth soup

Main: Noodles and carrots and zucchini

Snack time

Banana and Rose Tea

Dinner

Mixed nuts (cashew, almonds and hazelnuts)

Half baguette with vegan butter

Sweet Potato and Broccoli soup

Veganuary Day #7

Chocolate brownie with green tea and spinach, strawberry, kiwi and banana smoothie topped with chia seeds

Lunch time: lentil soup, baguette with violife cheese and Quinoa, rocket salad and spinach salad.

Teatime: espresso and another brownie (!! Yes I know :p)

Dinner: S U S H I

With shiitake mushrooms

Smoked tofu rolls with rice

Veganuary Day #6

Breakfast:

Green Tea and poppy seeds bread with smoked violife cheese

Lunch: pasta with pesto, fry's nuggets, green salad with avocado

Tomato Tuscan soup as a starter

Kiwi and espresso for snack

Dinner: lentil soup with bread

Veganuary Day #5

First day back to work (and back to work canteen !)

Late for work so no breakfast :( just plain black coffee

Lunch time: barley broth soup and red lentil bolognaise with dairy free violife cheese

Snack: 2 pears and cashew nuts

Dinner: noodles with vegetables 

Veganuary Day #4

Breakfast: 1/2 baguette with sunflower spread and meatless ham and alpro chocolate milk. It's my favourite alpro flavour right now !

Lunch time: 

Fry's Chicken meatless nuggets 

Spinach, courgette, avocado and tomato salad with pine nuts

Veganuary Day #3

Breakfast disaster burned pancakes with maple syrup

Lunch: stir fry vegetables with rice and teriyaki sauce

Soup ( butternut squash) and bread with violife cheese.

Munched on vegan tortilla chips and nuts 

Veganuary Day #2

Yesterday was day 150 since I stopped eating meat and milk. I haven't bought eggs and have avoided anything with eggs in it. I try to order vegan dishes when we are out for dinner for sometimes there's butter or cream in it which is annoying, and some restaurants don't have anything vegan on their menu. But now I'm taking part in the Veganuary so this will be my first month completely vegan; although I mostly am already for the exception of cheese. At home we have been cooking only vegan, and baking too !
And this is why I tried the Vegan Mac n Cheese yesterday and it was delicious.

This morning I had Chocolate Alpro Milk and alpro yogurt with pumpkin seeds.

At lunch I had Mac n Cheese (again ! So delicious...) this time with violife cheddar. 

and for dinner I made the butternut squash soup with spinach leaves.

Happy days ! In between we snacked on peanuts and Violife Cheese.

2015 Veganuary day #1

Scrambled tofu with spinach and mushrooms + toast with sunflower butter and violife coconut cheese

I took the Veganuary Pledge

Veganuary’s founders, Matthew and Jane, came up with the idea for Veganuary in 2013.

They knew that month-long pledges were not unusual, but felt that it could be done differently, and perhaps more successfully, by focusing on the month of January… a time for resolutions and new beginnings. Matthew and Jane are passionate and committed vegans who truly want to make a difference.
Following the success of 2014, veganuary.com has been rebuilt for 2015 and beyond.

It contains everything that Veganuary participants said they wanted most; a Product Directory, an Eating Out guide, and extensive information about Animals, the Environment and Health. You’ll also find case studies of vegans from all walks of life in the Vegan People section; chefs, athletes, celebrities, politicians… the list goes on. Veganuary is a global campaign and this website will grow to be available in more and more languages, with information specific to particular countries and different regions.

Check this out at www.veganuary.com/