Being vegan for a month can be quite scary for some people – myself included. But I gave it a go in order to challenge myself, try new recipes, and be a better role model for my nutrition coaching clients. Read all the reasons in this post and my final verdict in this one.
All in all, I was really happy with most of the more than 30 recipes that I tried. It surprised me how versatile vegan cooking can be. I haven’t touched a single pack of tofu or soy-meat replacements during that time!
Here are my 7 personal favorites from the 30 recipes. Since my month of purely vegan cooking, these dishes have become fixed staples in my dinner routine.
Speedy lentil bolognese
Super quick vegan pasta sauce with lots of flavors. Very filling because of the lentils, especially if you also use whole-wheat pasta.
Recipe by James Whyte on www.healthylivingjames.co.uk
Baked banana oats
Easy to prepare in bigger batches (hint: breakfast meal-prep) and tastes like the deep-fried baked banana you get in Chinese restaurants.
Recipe from Sophie Godwin on www.bbcgoodfood.com
Peanut butter & BBQ jackfruit pizza
The PB gives the BBQ sauce a rich and thick consistency. Green jackfruit is an awesome meat replacement with a texture like pulled chicken, you can get it in Asian supermarkets or maybe even the vegan section of your supermarket. It’s becoming more and more common.
My goal was to try 30 new vegan recipes as quickly as possible- but this one was so good, I made it two times.
Recipe by Murielle Banackissa on www.muriellebanackissa.com
10-minute chickpea and spinach curry
All the flavors you love in a good Indian chicken curry – but then without the chicken. It reminded me a lot of my favorite Indian restaurant and you can literally whip it up in 10 minutes. Cooking the rice as a side takes more time…
I have made this recipe countless times by now! Instead of rice, I often choose coarse wholewheat bulgur. The texture of the bulgur resembles browned minced meat a lot, which gives this dish an extra texture component.
To add even more nutrition, use a mix of kale and spinach!
Recipe by James Whyte on www.healthylivingjames.co.uk
Low-carb zucchini lasagne with cashew cheese pesto
Super easy to make with only 8 ingredients. I used vegan cheese, but I assume it’s even better with proper mozzarella. The pesto is absolutely delicious and would also go with any other pasta dish.
Recipe on www.cleaneatingmag.com
Cauliflower hot wings – with Korean fried chicken sauce
This one will help to take your fried chicken cravings away! (at least that’s what it did for me). Use smaller cauliflower florets for more surface area and less cauliflower taste. Do you like spicy wings? Add my Korean fried chicken sauce on top.
Recipe from Sina on www.veganheaven.org
I’ll have my own recipe published soon, as I like my coating even crunchier and use cornflakes for this.
Three-bean paella with peas
This is not a real paella. This is rice with things
People from Valencia
Don’t listen to the haters. Super filling and tastes like a paella with real chorizo in it because of the smoked paprika powder and roasted peppers. I missed a ‘fishy element’ in it. Some long-term vegans recommended adding some finely shredded nori-sheets for that.
Recipe Vegan Life Magazine on www.veganlifemag.com
If you want to read a firsthand review on how the recipes turned out (and see some real-life result photos), check out my Instagram page. I wrote about every single one of them.
More in-depth articles about how to be vegan coming up
In the upcoming weeks, I will release a few more posts that go into more detail of specific aspects of a plant-based diet.
- How it improved me as a cook
- How you can deal with food cravings
- How to get enough protein for those gains in the gym
- And which vegan products I tried and can highly recommend (and which ones sucked…)
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In case you wonder why I chose to give veganism a try in the first place, read here why.
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