Going Vegan Starter Tips

19 Feb 2022

Here is our list of tips for getting started on a vegan diet, for Veganuary or otherwise.

11 Tips for Going Vegan

1. Empty the pantry

If there are any animal products in the house that will spoil and you can still stomach them, polish those off first!

2. Start Strong

Start as you mean to go on, and supplement! A lot of products are fortified, and you are not going to run into trouble with B12 in a month, but start doing everything as if this change in lifestyle is for life, because you may very well want to make it so.

3. Eat More!

Eat more! If you are eating whole foods, plant-based, you may need to eat more food to get the same calories as you are cutting out a lot of processed animal products and fats at the moment.

4. Track your Food

Track your food in an app like Cronometer that tracks calories and macronutrients. It will show you when you can eat more (yay for seconds and dessert) and also the breakdown of what you are eating, which will give you confidence that you are getting everything you need from plants. We got a REAL kick out of learning how much protein bread and broccoli contain! You don’t have to do this the whole month, just for a bit to gain confidence.

5. Milk… Shake!

As much as the bulk of what we eat is whole foods, we rely on store-bought plant milks and yoghurts. These are all fortified, and a top tip is to give the plant milks a good shake each time before you use them to allow all the added vitamins not to all end up in the bottom of the carton.

6. Travel Prepared

Have some bars on hand while you are on the go and still figuring things out. We like the Eat Natural Vegan and the Deliciously Ella ones. Ella’s may actually be too delicious and tempting.

7. Pizza Night!

Pizza night! We make one night a week our pizza night. There are some great vegan pizzas out there - and some from the biggest names that deliver. However, we have a pizza recipe inspired by a wonderful restaurant that had to shut unfortunately. It’s a no-cheese recipe, and, honestly, we couldn’t believe how good it was.

8. Recipe Books

Buy some recipe books or follow some online chefs. like Speedy Bosh!

9. Focus on Choice

Focus on all the new things you can try rather than what you can’t have. Pro tip: coconut milk in hot chocolate is like a liquid Bounty Bar! We also use soy, hazelnut, and oat milks to mix it up.

10. Coconuts

Speaking of coconuts, go easy on coconut cream and coconut-based yoghurts as coconut oil and palm oil are the only plant foods very high in saturated fats. We do have this in treats from time to time

11. Tin's Easier

Stick with tinned pulses and beans. If you are not in the habit of prepping the dried stuff, just make things easier on yourself while you get new habits and recipes into circulation. You can switch things up later. And save the chickpea water (aquafaba) for the best chocolate mouse!

12. Short Cuts!

There is nothing wrong with lazy garlic, dried or crushed garlic and spices or herbs. Days are long and life is short. These shortcuts can save on time and waste.

13. "Where do you get your protein?"

Specifically, most adults need around 0.75g of protein per kilo of body weight per day. For women in perimenopause and after menopause, the recommendation is higher: you probably want to up this to 1.0 to 1.2, but it is absolutely achievable. Most people who ask this question also don’t know that 100g of lean chicken breast only contains 31g of protein. That means that LESS than a third of the chicken flesh is actually protein! There is:

• 15g of protein in a cup of chickpeas, which is about 200g (the same amount of protein in about 85g of salmon, but the chickpeas will only cost you about 40p).
• 7-8g of protein in 2 slices of wholemeal bread
• 10g of protein in 50g of cashew nuts
• 5g of protein in the cup of brown rice you may be having with your dinner anyway.
• 5g of protein in 150g serving of soy yoghurt.

You’re already well ahead of 100g of meat, and you’re only getting started! If you’re worried, buy a plant-based protein powder. You can even add it to your oats in the morning.

Recipes

Easy Indian Curry

Adapted from: The Happy Pear

Serves 2-3. Serve with brown basmati rice or rice of your choice.

Ingredients

• 3 cloves of garlic (or two teaspoons lazy garlic)
• 1 tsp ground ginger or ½ thumb sized piece fresh ginger
• 5/bunch spring onions with the greens
• 1 x 400g tin of chickpeas
• 1 x 400g tin of cooked lentils
• 1 mug/5-6 pieces of frozen spinach
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes 400g
• 300ml veg stock
• Juice of 1 lime (or tbsp of lemon or lime juice)
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 10 cherry tomatoes
• 2 tsp medium curry powder
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 2 tbsp tamari/soy
• ½ tsp black pepper
• Pinch of salt to season

Optional
• ½ bunch fresh coriander

Instructions

1. Drain the chickpeas and lentils.
2. Finely chop the garlic and ginger, chop the spring onions, and halve the cherry tomatoes.
3. Heat a large nonstick pan on high heat.
4. Add the dry spices to the heated pan and cook for 20 seconds.
5. Add the chopped spinach, spring onions, and garlic to the pan, reduce the heat to medium and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. Add the cherry tomatoes to the pan and a pinch of salt,
7. Add the drained lentils, chickpeas, tin of chopped tomatoes, and 300ml of stock and stir well.
8. Add the tamari/ soy sauce, maple syrup, and lime juice.
9. Bring to a boil then lower heat to a simmer while you prepare the rice.
10. Finely chop the coriander leaves and stalks and add to the curry before serving.
11. Serve with rice and or pittas, and some fresh coriander and chilli flakes if you like more heat.

Moroccan Tagine

Adapted from: The Happy Pear

Serves 3-4. Serve with Quinoa or Whole Wheat Couscous. The easiest thing to make it with is whole-wheat couscous because NO MATTER the instructions on the packet, you only have to put equal parts couscous and boiling water in a pot with a lid and leave it for 20 minutes before fluffing it with a fork.

Ingredients

• 1 aubergine
• 4 gloves fresh garlic (or two teaspoons of garlic flakes/crushed garlic)
• 1 onion (preferably red as it’s sweeter and has more nutrients due to the colour but you’ll survive with a white onion)
• 1 red pepper
• 1 yellow or orange pepper
• 2 carrots
• 5 tablespoons light soy sauce mixed with 7 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper (I turn my grinder 8 to 12 times and call it a day)
• 2 teaspoons ground Cumin
• 1 tsp Smoke Paprika
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• Pinch of Cayenne pepper
• Juice of 1/2 lemon (I keep on of those bottle of concentrate in the fridge - lasts ages and I just use a squirt or two)
• 8 dried pitted dates
• 1 tin of chickpeas
• 2 tins chopped tomatoes
• Quinoa or couscous to serve with

Optional
• Fresh coriander
• Almond flakes to sprinkle on top
• Whole Wheat pita bread

Instructions

I grab two cups or mugs. In the first cup, I prepare the water and soy sauce mix.

In the second, I measure out the salt, pepper, and all spices, BARRING 1 teaspoon of paprika. It saves a lot of faffing later. If you make a mistake and add the paprika, don’t worry - I doubt it makes any difference adding it later.

1. Drain the chickpeas.
2. Prep the veg.
3. Chop the aubergine into small bite-size pieces.
4. Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic.
5. Finely slice the carrots.
6. Deseed and chop the peppers.
7. Put the aubergine, garlic, onion and 1 teaspoon of paprika (if it’s not in the cup mentioned above already) into a large pot and cook on medium for about 10 minutes until the aubergines are softened. You need to stir regularly and it could take more or less time, but I keep the lid on in between stirs to keep the moisture. If you need more moisture, add a few more tablespoons of water.
8. When the aubergines are softened, add the peppers and carrots to the pan along with with cup of spices, salt, and pepper. Stir everything well for 3-minutes. No more than five and if it’s drying out add a spoon or two of water.
9. Add the 2 tins of chopped tomatoes and the drained chickpeas to the pot and mix very well.
10. While you bring that to the boil, finely chop the dates and add that to the pot with the lemon juice.
11. Once boiling, reduce the heat and cook for a further 20 minutes or until the carrots are cooked through. Make sure to check and stir often as you get used to this recipe on your hob.

Prep the couscous or rice anytime but since the Tagine is piping hot at the end, I usually take it off the heat while I’m preparing my couscous or quinoa. By the time that’s done the Tagine is a good temperature to eat.

Spaghetti ‘Volognese’

Serves 2-3.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil (any oil will do)
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced or minced
• 1 or 2 red onions, diced (white will do)
• 300-400g of mushrooms, finely sliced/diced
• 400ml vegetable stock
• ½ tsp dried basil
• 1 carrot, grated
• 2-3 tbsp Tamari or Soy Sauce
• 1-2 tbsp balsamic vinegar (or ½ cup red wine)
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes
• 80-100g dry soya mince
• 4 tbsp Mrs Balls Chutney
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Fresh basil (handful, torn)
• Spaghetti or pasta of your choice.

Instructions

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add garlic and onion, and cook, stirring frequently, until onions are caramelised or translucent, about 2-5 minutes.
2. Add the mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes. Add a tablespoon of stock instead of adding more oil if it gets too dry (and a lid to the pot too to allow the mushrooms to steam).
3. Add dried basil, vegetable stock, carrot, tamari, balsamic vinegar, and tinned tomatoes. Combine thoroughly.
4. Add dry soya mince and chutney. Mix well.
5. Simmer gently while cooking the pasta (about 12 minutes for wholewheat spaghetti).
6. Serve with fresh basil.

Spiced Bean Burritos

Adapted from: The Happy Pear

Serves 2-4

Since this is one of my top 4 go to recipes, I have changed it quite a bit and sometimes do a vegan poke bowl version with plenty of roasted, pointed peppers, mexican rice, avocado, and an optional dollop of vegan cream cheese or cashew cheese.

Ingredients

• 4-6 tortillas (wholewheat preferable)
• 2 x 400g tin of black beans
• 5/bunch spring onions
• 1 red onion
• 10-15 cherry tomatoes
• Pinch of chilli flakes (or fresh chilli if you like it hot!)
• 1 avocado
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp smoked paprika
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground black pepper
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 2 tbsp tamari
• Pinch salt
• Juice of 1 lemon or lime

Optional
• small bunch fresh coriander
• ½ quantity recipe of mexican rice (or full and have some for lunch the next day with plain warmed up Kidney or Black beans.

Instructions

1. Peel and slice the red onion in thin strips. Thinly slice the spring onions.
2. Drain and rinse the black beans. Quarter the cherry tomatoes and finely chop the coriander (if you are using it). Peel and slice the avocado into thin slices.
3. Heat a non-stick pan on high heat, once hot add the sliced onions, spring onions, and chilli and fry for 2 mins stirring continuously. Add the spices, tamari, lime juice, salt and fry for 30 seconds. Next add the drained beans and quartered cherry tomatoes and cook for 2 mins mashing and stirring.
4. Prepare the tortillas in a pan or microwave depending on the instructions. In a hot pan, leave a tortilla to heat up for 10 seconds. Spoon on a generous serving of the cashew cheese across the full tortilla (or any vegan cream cheese), as well as a good portion of the fried bean mixture (and mexican rice if you are including it), top with sliced avocado, some coriander, and a sprinkle of chilli (if it’s to your taste) and roll the burrito.

Mexican Rice

Adapted from: Damn Delicious

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil (any oil will do)
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced or minced
• 1 onion, diced (red or white)
• 1 1/2 cups brown basmati rice
• 1 (8-ounce) can passata/tomato sauce
• 1 1/2 cups vegetable stock
• 1 cup frozen or tinned corn
• 1/2 cup diced carrots (I often leave out)
• 1/2 cup frozen or canned peas
• 1/4 teaspoon chili powder or pinch of dried chilli flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon cumin
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• Fresh coriander (handful, chopped)

Instructions

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add garlic and onion, and cook, stirring frequently, until onions are translucent, about 2-5 minutes. I add a tablespoon of stock instead of oil if the onions dry out or start to catch. Add rice and stir for 2 minutes.
2. Stir in passata/tomato sauce and vegetable stock, and bring to a simmer, about 2 minutes.
3. Stir in all the vegetables and spices.
4. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat and simmer until rice is cooked through, about 15-20 minutes.
5. Serve coriander on the side if not to everyone’s taste or mix in coriander and serve immediately.

Cashew Cheese

Adapted from: The Happy Pear

Ingredients

• 200 g cashews soaked
• 150 ml oat milk
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• ½ tsp salt

Instructions

1. In a bowl add the cashew nuts and pour over boiled water and leave to soak for 5 mins.
2. Drain and rinse the cashew nuts and add to a blender along with the rest of the ingredients for the cashew cheese and blend till nice and super smooth.
3. Keep any remaining cashew cheese to use for other sandwiches. It will last 5 days in the fridge.

Easy, Nut-free Cheese Sauce

Adapted from: Loving it Vegan (you may want to go straight to the source as I really simplified it)

Serves 4-5

Serve with pasta/ravioli or use as a sauce in a lasagna. Even on a veggie burger.

Ingredients

• 6 Tbsp Olive Oil (any oil will work)
• 5 Tbsp All Purpose Flour
• 4 cups Soy Milk (960ml)
• ½ cup Nutritional Yeast (30g)
• ½ tsp Salt
• ¼ tsp Ground Black Pepper

Optional
• 1 Tbsp Dijon Mustard
• 1 tsp Onion Powder
• 1 tsp Garlic Powder
• Grated Vegan Cheese

Instructions

1. Add the oil to a pot on the stove and turn the heat to medium high.
2. When the oil begins to heat up, add the flour, stirring briskly all the time.
3. Fry the flour in the oil for a bit, stirring vigorously, and then add in all the soy milk at once. Stir vigorously. Alternate with a hand whisk and a wooden spoon while it heats up to prevent any lumps from forming.
4. Continue to stir until the sauce begins to thicken.
5. You will usually reach the right thickness a few minutes after the sauce has reached boiling point.
6. When it has reached the desired thickness remove from the heat (bear in mind that it will continue to thicken as it cools).
7. Stir in nutritional yeast, salt and ground black pepper.
8. Taste test and see how you like it. Depending on what you want to use the cheese sauce for, you may prefer it plain or you may want to intensify the flavours.
   • If you want to intensify the flavours, add the mustard.
   • If you would like to tweak it further, add the onion powder and garlic powder and stir in.
9. Add some grated vegan cheese to the sauce as well if you like.

‘Gorgonzola’ ‘Cheese’ Sauce

Adapted from: Stem & Glory

You will need a blender or a stick blender for this recipe.

A now-closed British restaurant Stem and Glory, produced a phenomenal cookbook. We link to their cookbook above for the original recipe, as it is not available as a free resource anywhere online. We highly recommend their cookbook, but for this recipe, the ingredient amounts in the book did not reproduce the delicious sauce we enjoyed in the restaurant. For that reason alone, we feel comfortable sharing our adapted recipe here without a free online reference, which we also tweaked with dried herbs and spices instead of fresh for a quick go-to sauce for vegan-friendly gnocchi and ravioli.

Top Tip: This sauce freezes well. If you want to freeze all or half, freeze BEFORE heating and adding any additional water.

Ingredients

• 1 regular sized pack of silken tofu
• ¼ tsp Dijon mustard (adjust to your taste, we use even less)
• 2 ½ tsp White Miso Paste
• 1 tsp Garlic Powder
• ½ to 1 tsp Salt
• ¼ tsp Ground Black Pepper
• 2 Tbsp Nutrional Yeast (Nooch)
• 50-100ml water

Instructions

1. Open the silken tofu and drain excess water.
2. Add all the ingredients into the blender (or into a glass jug if using a stick blender) and blend until smooth (about a minute)
3. Transfer the mixture to a pan or saucepan (a spatula can come in handy here) and heat gently on low heat. Do not boil.
4. You will lose some moisture as the sauce heats up, so you can add some or all of the water to create a creamy sauce.