Eight days ago today, I decided that I wanted to have a more vegan diet, at least for a couple of weeks to see if I could stick with it and if there were any positive effects with regards to how I feel, my weight and my eczema. I looked on Youtube for recipe ideas and dairy substitutes and surprisingly I came across a lot of recipes that looked so delicious and interesting. One set of recipes was from Isa Chandra Moskowitz who has wrote quite a few vegan recipe books, I bought her Isa Does It cookbook from amazon for my kindle app and I'm so glad I did. I think if I didn't have that book, I would have felt quite lost in the world of vegan food but her book has so many amazing recipes and while it does contain american terms and measurements, it is easy to follow and I've created four/five of her recipes this week - all of which I have loved and so have my friends and family who aren't vegan or vegetarians.
Here are some of the recipes and meals I've had this week, all of which are completely vegan: pesto penne, mushroom stroganoff, banoffee ice cream, mac 'n' cheese and vegan 'clam' chowder/soup. As well as snacks such as spiced apple bites, creamy dill barley, cheese sandwiches and rosemary potato wedges.
All of the recipes are so good and one of the sauces that is used a lot in her recipes is 'cashew cream' which tastes amazing and it is SO easy to make - it has become a healthy cream alternative that everyone (even family/freinds who aren't even vegetarian/vegans) have really liked.
Yes, there are some recipes and meals that need slightly more 'specialised' ingredients such as cashews (lots of cashews) and other nuts as well as vegan 'cheese' and non-dairy milk but in the UK those items are easy to find - I've found them in Tesco and Morrisons. The Violife cheese is amazing, the one I have looks, smells and tastes exactly like regular edam cheese! Their smoked cheese is also great and tastes similar to Austrian smoked cheese but I do not like their 'cheese' spread. Just a note, Quorn is NOT vegan as it contains egg white which was a bit of a shock for me and limited my protein alternatives.
Before I started this week of vegan cooking, my parents were concerned - thinking that I would have an even more restricted diet however after the first couple of days they both said that my diet is more varied and healthy than it was before and they have even loved the meals I've made (my vegan pesto when down very well yesterday with my dad saying that if it was on a restaurant menu he would order it but he is my dad so he's kind of biased).
Overall, I have loved the vegan recipes I've made this week and even though I love cheese/cream and dairy - I will be sticking with a vegan diet on the whole, although there will be times when I want a dominos pizza or chocolate which aren't vegan but it is vegetarian and I will have it so I'm not going to be 100% strict vegan, 100% of the time. I would highly recommend the vegan cookbook Isa Does It as without it I would not have found this week of vegan cooking as nearly as enjoyable!
Stay tuned as I will have vegan recipes on my blog soon!
If you have any vegan recipe ideas or product recommendations, please leave them in the comments below!
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