Veganuary Finds: My Thoughts

Growing up vegetarian meant a lot of food options – especially at restaurants and fast food places - were limited. Don’t get me wrong, I love vegetables but having them stuffed into every meal on offer at a restaurant can get a bit tiring. I know there’s going to be some cynics out there saying ‘oh you chose to be vegetarian so you can’t complain’ and yeah, it’s my choice but that doesn’t change the fact that ten years ago, options for vegetarians and vegans were next to nothing.

In the past few years especially, it’s been amazing to see more and more chain restaurants and supermarkets get with the times and start to slowly introduce vegetarian and vegan alternatives to some of their food offerings. This month is known as ‘veganuary’ which encourages people to go as vegan as possible during the month of January. I’m personally not vegan, but I am vegetarian and wherever I can, I’ll go for vegan options. I struggle too much with being full vegan, but there’s nothing wrong with that as any changes you can make still make a difference.

To mark Veganuary, there are lots of new vegan offerings at various high street shops and restaurants. Unfortunately, some are just for this month but there are some that are here to stay. For this post, I thought I would share with you guys some of the vegan options I’ve tried this month and what I thought of them.

Vegan Meatless Meatball Marinara – Subway

Subway’s vegetarian patty is so yummy, so I had high hopes that they’d do a good job with their vegan meatballs option. I was both excited and intrigued to try it. As soon as they were released earlier this month, I got one immediately and loved it. I tried it with vegan cheese (which was my first time trying it) and although I wasn’t a fan of the cheese – the actual vegan meatballs were delicious. It was packed full of flavour and next time I ordered it, I tried it with non-vegan cheese as well as jalapenos which was the perfect combination! As far as I’m aware, this is a permanent addition to the subway menu so I would definitely recommend giving it a try if you’re vegetarian/vegan or just looking to cut back on your meat consumption!

Vegan Steak Bake – Greggs

Okay so I definitely had high expectations from Greggs for this new vegan product considering how amazing their vegan sausage rolls are (seriously, I’m drooling just thinking about them). Well, once again, Greggs delivered. Obviously, I’d never had an actual steak bake before, so I had nothing to compare it to, but the vegan alternative to one of Gregg’s most popular offerings was definitely a hit with me. It’s the perfect thing to grab during these colder days and though I know a few people have found them too salty and aren’t a fan of the texture – I would suggest you try it yourself before passing judgement. Along with the vegan sausage rolls, they are also a permanent addition, but you’ll have to be quick to grab yourself one as they sell quite quickly every day.

Original Recipe Vegan Burger – KFC

A fast food restaurant notoriously known for its chicken making a vegan burger that tastes delicious and isn’t just a stuffing of vegetables would be practically unheard of twenty years ago, but KFC have gone and done it. Using a Quorn fillet and their own herbs and spices as well as vegan mayo and lettuce – KFC have created the perfect burger for those end of the week treats or the ‘I’m going to get a vegan burger in the middle of the week because I deserve it’ moods. I was worried it might taste too bland and dry but I already love Quorn products so with the addition of the herbs and spices and the mayo to ensure its not dry – it’s safe to say I’m a huge fan of this vegan burger.

Vegan Meatballs with Vegan Aioli Souvlaki Wrap – The Real Greek

Jade and I are both vegetarians so it makes shared mealtime a lot easier for us and when we go out, we can often share and try each other’s meals. Last week, we paid a visit to The Real Greek in Tower Bridge with some friends as we were really intrigued to try their vegan and vegetarian offerings. We got a Halloumi Souvlaki wrap and the Vegan Meatballs Souvlaki wrap. Souvlaki wraps are flatbread wraps stuffed with chips, homemade tzatziki (not in the vegan one), tomatoes, onions and paprika. Both the halloumi and vegan meatballs options were so tasty and we instantly fell in love. They were bursting with all sorts of flavours and were completely filling so if you’re looking to try some Greek food that offers vegetarian/vegan options then definitely try one of these! They’re £6.50 each and you definitely get your money’s worth! (Pictured below is the halloumi wrap as I forgot to take a photo of the vegan meatballs one...)

 There are so many more new vegetarian and vegan options out there that I’m desperate to try and my one plea with restaurant and grocery shops is – please keep them around for longer than just the month of January! If you have any recommendations, leave them below!