Newbie Vegan

First few weeks vegan went well! Feeling good, lost weight/bloat not sure but I look slimmer around the middle, eating well, not hungry, actually liking the lack of fat and grease from cheese. All in all it's been an easy-ish transition this time and I think it's going to stick.

Here's my finds, lessons and gratuitous food pictures.

I can still have  macaroni and broccoli 'cheese'

I went to a vegan fair on the 31st of October, so I went vegan fully 2 weeks before. I figured I'd be able to find any gaps in what I wanted and fill them at the fair. I was a little disappointed in the food choices there, a lot of bakery stuff so I had some nice cakes but I was looking for some food staples and a lot of it was cosmetics, accessories, and animal charities. Don't get me wrong all really good just not what I was hoping for as a new vegan.

Rice, tofu, spinach and nutritional yeast

However I did speak to some people from Pulsin' and got some vegan protein powders on offer, and some vitamins on offer from the vegan society so I'm set on those fronts for a few months.

Nachos with Tofutti sour 'cream' from Goodness Direct

I also got a box from goodness direct at the end of the first week as I saw them on a facebook group, I must say some of it is available in supermarkets I just didn't check first, but some of it isn't. This was by far the best buy and will definitely be making a repeat appearance.

The best vegan mayo I've had, it seriously tastes the same if not better than regular garlic mayo!

Nutritional yeast is also worth a mention, I add it to things for a cheesy taste and it contains B vitamins.

I also got loads of cheeses and will keep you posted if you're interested on which is best. Tesco smoked and cream cheese spread are also definitely worth a mention, they are very good. I was pleasantly surprised at the smoked cheese, and it melts! I was a happy newbie vegan when I discovered this. Considering they are also the cheapest I've found and Tesco own brand I am actually already declaring this as my favourite before even trying the others, they'll have to be good to beat it.

The Sheeze edam was really not very nice, it tasted like chemicals, so not 100% confident in the others.

Ritz crackers are also vegan, so I can still have crackers and 'cheese' when I settle on my favourite cheese!

This cheese is good for pizza and has a mild flavour like mozzarella, but doesn't really actually melt that well. Also quite expensive, so I may stick to the Tesco stuff as it actually melts.

My first vegan pizza - Sainsburys own brand pizza bases, lots of veg, some Tesco cheese and some Veganic, garlic mayo for crust dipping.

I also found Biscoffi spread, great if you have a sweet tooth and might miss chocolate spread. My word it is good. Do not buy if you are trying to be healthy!

A filling snack to take to work I found was some Alpro vanilla yoghurt with chia seeds in it and some frozen fruit, there were some chia pods on sale in Tesco for 16p each.

Tesco have the best selection of UK supermarkets it seems, our local one has a whole section of vegan cheeses, milks, yogurts. Brand names like Alpro and Violife but also an own brand range which is cheaper, always good to know. The freezer vegetarian section is also large, with vegan options included. The mexican bean burgers, with the smoked cheese on top and some avocado were my first night of being vegan dinner.

Lazy Dinner

We usually shop at Sainsburys and get cash back there so I may just pop into Tesco once every few weeks to top up my freezer stock and check out their range. I hear there are churros and an indian selection in their Christmas range that are both good, I'll test them out and let you know. I may have to test a few churros boxes, you know just to be sure it's good quality.

Vegetable bake with peanut butter tofu

Other than that my main meals have been mostly the same, just with some substitutions for vegan ingredients or taking the cheese out. Looking forward to some more discoveries :)

Check out my instagram and twitter for food pics and vegan finds as I go!