It’s Veganuary – will you choose a plant-based diet?

Veganism has been on the steady rise for quite some time now.  The reasons for people choosing to move over to a plant-based diet are numerous and varied, including (among others): animal welfare, health reasons and environmental concerns.

Since it was launched in 2014, Veganuary, which ‘encourages people to go vegan for the month of January as a way to promote and educate about the vegan lifestyle’, has become an increasingly popular endeavour with participation more than doubling each year.

With this rise in interest of meat and dairy-free diets, it was inevitable that supermarkets, restaurants, cafes etc., would get fully on-board with the idea, and the offerings that are now available throughout the whole retail sector for a vegan lifestyle are in abundance.

Here are just some of the options available:

German-based supermarket giant Aldi has a wide range of vegan treats available, including: Smoky Jackfruit Chilli, Jalfrezi Potato Rosti, Butternut Squash & Red Pepper Superfood Burger, Yellow Thai Curry, and these don’t begin to scratch the surface.  Confectionery, which you would usually expect to find gelatin (made from animal body parts) in, is available too, like: vegan jelly worms, mini gums and even Turkish delight!  For a full range of products, visit their website.

Greggs made headlines early last year (2019) when they launched their vegan sausage roll.  There were mixed reviews of the meatless snack, however, it has recently been announced that due to the boost in sales the new product brought in, all Greggs staff are set to receive a £300 bonus – a roaring success for the vegan option. Following on from this, the bakers have now released a vegan friendly steak bake.

Even restaurant chains, usually associated with all things meaty, such as KFC and McDonald’s, have jumped on the vegan ship with KFC releasing its ‘Original Recipe Vegan Burger’ which is described as ‘An Original Recipe QUORN™ fillet, coated in our famous 11 Herbs and Spices, in a sesame bun with fresh lettuce and vegan mayo’, and there have been many good words said about this new addition to the menu.  McDonald’s has, too, launched its own plant-based option with its veggie dippers meal, which includes vegan nuggets.

With many of us becoming more environmentally aware, compassionate about animals and choosing to look after ourselves more, veganism is no passing craze.  Even over the last two years it has become much more viable (and ‘easy’) to live off a plant-based diet with practically all supermarkets, restaurants, cafes and pubs catering for vegans.

Veganuary is a great opportunity to give it a go, so why not?  You don’t have to stick to it, but – you never know – you might like it!

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