Meat Free Mince

This meat free mince from Sainsburys is a great vegan option for adding to dishes such as curries. It can be found in the frozen food section and is good to have in the freezer for making family meals. It is tasty and a nice option considering brands like Quorn are yet to make a vegan mince option. It is so versatile as you can flavor it with different herbs and spices each time to create interesting meals.  

The Rise of Non Dairy Milks

I have noticed a welcome change in supermarkets, there are more and more non dairy milks on the shelves each week. Whether people are choosing them because they are vegan, for health reasons or simply because they enjoy the taste the sections in the supermarkets are growing all the time. 

Every time I shop I notice new products, the latest one I've seen is Cashew milk from Alpro which joins it's non-dairy nutty friends hazelnut and almond. Nut milks are one of my favourite as they have a great flavour and add delicious taste to porridge, cereals or baking. Of course people could make these products at home by blending nuts and water but like most items convenience wins out. 

The fact that there are more options shows that more brands are realising the demand for vegan products and are trying to win the market with ever more creative products. I've seen bulk buying options for soya milk, mixed flavours of vegan milks and even chocolate non dairy milk by the litre. It is a world away from the days where your only alternative to cows milk was soya hidden somewhere in the supermarket on a dusty shelf. Non dairy milks now have there own sections which is increasing every day. 

I welcome this change and enjoy trying new products, I only recently tried hazelnut milk and love it which just shows you don't know what you will enjoy until you give it a go. The rising range of non dairy milks also shows how veganism is increasing in popularity all the time. Supermarkets only supply what is popular as they are all about making money, I wonder how long it will be before the non-dairy section is bigger than the dairy isle, maybe they'll get rid of it all together because who needs cows milk when there are so many healthier, delicious options available. 

Platter Food

One way to make an interesting Vegan meal is to combine many different foods and flavours. For this meal I combined some of my favourite foods. The falafel is shop bought by Cauldron foods, these are ready to eat or can be heated up. I had the hot which tasted great. I combined this with scrambled tofu, hummus, grated carrot, home made bread and avocado. Apart from the bread which can be made earlier all this food is easy to prepare and creates a picnic style meal. The tofu takes five minutes to cook and can be combined with any ingredients you have to hand, I mixed red onion, mushrooms and spinach with the tofu to great a nice warm side dish which is healthy and low in calories. Having a range of options is one way to make meals more interesting and the bonus is you get a range of nutrients in the easy to prepare meal. 

Check out my easy brown bread recipe here: http://vegoutveganguide.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/homemade-brown-bread-recipe.html

Vegan Cheese

One of the main reasons many people avoid going vegan is because they love cheese. I know this because it was my reason for many months when I was debating going vegan. Looking back I hate how much cheese I used to cover my food with, I loved it on pasta, pizza and sandwiches and probably ate it every week. It was a staple of my diet so the thought of giving it up seemed impossible. However there came a point when I could no longer ignore the ethical, environmental and health reasons in going vegan and I decided that giving up cheese was a small price to pay for living a cruelty free life. I wasn't looking forward to giving it up but I did it anyway. 

Now after over a year of being vegan I don't miss cheese and my taste has changed to the point where I don't really eat vegan cheese much but it is something I occasionally buy. I am so impressed with the choice of vegan cheese, it is so realistic that anyone thinking they couldn't give up cheese should try the alternatives as you can still have the flavour without supporting the cruel and unhealthy dairy industry. 

The picture above is my pasta meal topped with grated Violife cheese. This is one of the most popular brands of vegan cheese as they have a range of flavours. This cheddar style block has a mild flavour and looks and tastes just like mild cheddar cheese. Try it and see if you notice a difference but I imagine anyone just looking at the picture would be surprised to know it is vegan, it doesn't look any different and can be used in the same ways. I always say that everything has a vegan alternative, the vegan food industry is very creative and is making alternatives to everything so why choose the cruel option when you can have any flavour of food you like without any animal products?

It's also good to remember that your taste does change once you start eating healthier, I am now eating foods I had never tried before as going vegan makes you try new foods. Your taste also changes and things you thought you couldn't live without become the same foods you can't believe you ever ate. Don't be put off because you 'love' something because one day you will look back and wonder why you ever ate it in the first place.  

There are so many amazing vegan options for chocolate. This is another one of my favourite brands. Plamil have a range of non-dairy options to choose from and are available from many health food shops. This is definitely my favourite bar (so far) from this brand as it is mint flavoured which is a personal favourite of mine. The chocolate is dark and decadent and the mint flavour is delicious. I have always been a fan of mint chocolate so this is perfect. You also only need a small amount of it as it is so rich so this bar is perfect to share or eat over a few days. That's the great thing about vegan chocolate you eat less as it is so rich in flavour so it lasts longer and is healthier than eating lots of milk chocolate which doesn't have the same high quality and intense flavour. I recommend this brand as they have a wide range of products. Check out the range here: https://www.plamilfoods.co.uk/chocolate

Adding flavour to a cake

One way to add flavour to a cake without having to use flavourings is to add a none dairy milk which already has flavour in it. This rice milk from Rice Dream is vanilla flavour meaning it can be used to add moisture and blend a cake mixture while also adding flavour. 

What's great about this brand is the milk is also organic so it makes the cake healthy right? I like using non-dairy milks in cakes as I find them a great alternative to eggs for blending a cake mixture. I do this by adding small amounts of the milk to the batter of dairy-free butter, sugar and flour until it has reached a nice consistency and then cooking it. This method makes a really moist cake. Trying different milks is a great way to experiment with your baking. I liked using this brand, it didn't give the cake a strong flavour but it added a subtle sweetness which was delicious and not over powering. 

There are so many ways to make baked goods vegan, it is all about attempting new options and realising that you really don't need dairy or eggs to make a delicious cake. 

Alpen Light Jaffa Cake- Accidentally Vegan

Going vegan is the best thing I've done but I do admit to missing Jaffa Cakes. They used to be one of my favourite biscuits. I'm looking forward to the day someone makes a vegan version of these biscuits as I'm sure it can't be long before someone decided to do it! Until them I have found a nice alternative to stop those Jaffa cake cravings. These bars by Alpen are chocolate and orange flavour and they are accidentally vegan. 

They come in packs of five and are only 70 calories each making them a great option for a snack. These would make great additions to lunch boxes or make a handy on the go option. I loved the chocolate and orange flavour, they are really sweet and actually do taste like Jaffa cakes. The only thing is as they are low in calories they are not exactly filling but you can't have everything. I also like the orange packaging and they are often on offer in supermarkets so look out for some deals. There are so many accidentally vegan options out there it is amazing when you get great brands like this which turn out to be dairy free.