Veganuary Days 17 & 18

Yesterday I stuffed my face with a large bag of popcorn at the cinema... I shared of course (but that probably doesn't make it any better). So I continue to be incredibly unhealthy but hey, I'm still learning.

Today I decided to do something a little different. I don't bake very often but the fact that I could buy my pastry already made really appealed to me so I made some apple pies and this is how it went.

Despite them not being perfect they actually turned out ok. I smothered one with 'Alpro' cream for the taste test and tomorrow I shall enjoy one with some ice cream.

I used another new product for dinner today, making a vegetable burger (excuse my burger bun falling apart) with some hash browns. I really need to make myself a salad soon.

Veganuary Days 15 & 16

Happy Friday everyone! I hope you've all had a good week and 'Veganuary' is still going well for you. I added something different to my lunch this week... 'Alpro' soya yoghurt's, of which I have a few flavours. The vanilla ones are my favourite.

I had a really random dinner yesterday because I had noodles from 'Lidl' that I was desperate to try and my baby corn was going to go bad if I didn't eat them quick and also the rest of my tofu wieners which I had opened a couple of days ago. Anyone would think I was a student trying to make do with what was left in the cupboards. The noodles are a bargain 18p each and states on the back of the packaging that they are suitable for vegetarians and vegans. They're not bad but a little bland but worked well with the tofu wieners.

Today's dinner consisted of more noodles but Chow Mein style. I used 'Fry's' thick cut chunky strips which I enjoyed with 'Blue Dragon' sauce. Now I could literally explode from eating too much.

Veganuary Days 12, 13 & 14

So I'm still going strong and we are nearly half way through 'Veganuary' now. A few new products sneaked their way into my diet over the past few days so I'm here to share my thoughts on them. I will start with 'Asda's' new tinned veggie bolognese which had vegan ingredients but afterwards I had wondered if the red wine it contained was vegan or not, apart from that I didn't have a problem.

It didn't exactly have the wow factor but it was edible with some 'free from' pasta. I slightly smothered my pasta bolognese with 'Bellissimo' dairy free, hard sprinkling cheese which I had mixed in and then couldn't taste it at all. 

I have been sneakily snacking on 'Party Rings'. I was so excited when they were announced as veggie. I hadn't had these for a long time and now I want to make the most of them.

Yesterday's dinner consisted of the chicken style nuggets that I love, spaghetti and mash made with 'Smash' (available in 99p stores). The spaghetti was gluten free and vegan but to be honest it wasn't great. I have really taken a dislike to gluten free foods, I try to avoid it but I find that a lot of vegan products are also gluten free too.

I wanted something even quicker and easier this evening so a microwave meal was in order. I purchased this vegan meal from 'Waitrose' and it wasn't too bad.

Yesterday I finally managed to pick up my TVK box ('The Vegan Kind') from the delivery office. It's always a nice surprise and I look forward to receiving it every month.

Veganuary Days 10 & 11

Due to a lot of repetitiveness I have decided to combine my 'Veganuary' posts to prevent my readers from getting bored and in all honesty prevent me from getting bored. Next week I will be posting on Wednesday and Friday evening. I won't include breakfast unless it's something I haven't blogged about before.

Most of my weekend consisted of food shopping and standing in supermarket aisles studying ingredients. If a product doesn't contain any animal derived ingredients then why doesn't it clearly state 'vegan' on the packaging... wait a minute, don't be silly! that would make it far too easy. Manufacturers must think we enjoy the challenge.

This morning I treated myself to an extremely unhealthy breakfast of biscuit spread on toast which I don't have very often due to it's high sugar content. However the fact that I had nearly run out would suggest otherwise so I stuck it on my shopping list.

I missed lunch today but yesterday I had a late one. I had what is fast becoming my favourite snack/lunch and that's avocado on toast. I love avocado, it's very versatile and can be used in a lot of things.

Yesterday I made a big batch of pesto pasta (including pine nuts, rocket and cherry tomatoes). I enjoyed it hot when it was cooked and had some cold today with chopped up... yes, wait for it! avocado. Unfortunately the pasta itself wasn't as nice cold which may be due to it being gluten free as well as dairy free because I haven't had that problem with normal pasta when I've made it. I used vegan pesto.

For the remainder of the rest of the day I snacked on crap while slobbing out watching films. I'll be back on Wednesday with my day 12 and 13 post so see you then.

Veganuary Day 9

I'll be keeping this short due to a not so nice migraine which I suffer from occasionally, a stressful day at work is bound to be the trigger this time. I had 'Shredded wheat bitesize' and a cup of tea for breakfast. For lunch I packed a 'Marks & Spencer'  Moroccan style fruity couscous salad, a '9 bar', another bag of apple crisps and a pot of chopped mango.

I wasn't completely feeling dinner this evening. I burnt my sweet potato fries and I wasn't too sure what I thought about the vegan pizza I purchased from 'Holland & Barrett'. Unfortunately I probably won't buy another one.

Veganuary Day 8

I had forgotten to mention my vitamin c supplements in previous posts. As my 'Feroglobin' isn't vegan I have stopped taking it but I continue to take my chewable vitamin c tablets as they are suitable but I would normally take them together. Unfortunately I haven't managed to find anything to replace the 'Feroglobin' during Veganuary as yet.

I had the same old 'Shredded wheat bitesize' for breakfast with tea and hobnobs. and Lunch was very similar to yesterdays, minus the apple but adding some orange. Someone at work bought in two big boxes of 'Crispy Kreme' doughnuts which I would normally be one of the first to dive into but did well to ignore. I hadn't really encountered any challenges until then.

Dinner was another quick and easy dish. I have had the braised tofu (from 'Holland & Barrett) before and think it's ok. I added it to a bed of mixed salad leaves and drizzled balsamic vinegar on it. I'm not entirely sure if I am getting enough nutrition from the meals I'm eating so I might do some more research over the weekend if I get time. I'd like to add more nuts and seeds to my diet either included in a meal or on it's own as a snack.

Veganuary Day 7

I will try and keep this short and sweet because I'm feeling tired... early night for me. The good news is that I have made it through the first week. Congrats to all those who have made it too.

Shredded wheat bitesize for breakfast and dunking hobnobs again. For lunch I had my favourite carrot salad from 'Marks & Spencer', apple crisps, peanut '9 bar' and an apple (yep, didn't think that one through).

For dinner I had hot dogs made with tofu wieners and sweet potato fries. 

I used this mustard for the hot dogs.

Anyway I didn't realise that it's actually quite late so no early night for me after all (that happens quite often). One day when I say I'm having an early night I might actually get one. Good night guys.