Give Veganuary 2021 Your Best Shot With Tips on Transitioning to a Plant-Based Diet

You can't eat anything that comes from an animal on a vegan diet, but that leaves plenty of plant-based options.

What you can eat:

• Vegetables: all veggies are fair game.
• Fruit: all fruits are available to you.
• Grains: bread, pasta, rice, quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat, etc.
• Legumes: chickpeas, lentils, beans, peanuts, peas, soy, etc.
• Nuts: almonds, brazils, cashews, pistachios, walnuts, etc.
• Seeds: chia, pumpkin, sesame, sunflower, etc.
• Oils: olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil, etc.
• Meat substitutes: Quorn, tofu, tempeh, etc.

What you can't eat:

• Meat
• Fish
• Dairy: butter, cheese, cow's milk, ice cream, yoghurt, etc.
• Eggs
• Sauces and broths made using bones, etc.
• Honey
• Foods containing gelatine: jelly, sweets, marshmallows etc.

There are lots of vegan alternatives to your favourites, like vegan ice cream, vegan sweets, and so on, that use vegan replacements for ingredients like cow's milk and gelatine. Swot up on how to become an expert label speed reader to give you confidence when choosing what to put in your shopping basket.

There are certain ingredients that obviously come from animals and are easy to identify and avoid. But there are also lots of foods that it's easy to forget contain animal products. Keep these common pitfalls in mind when going vegan:

• Cakes and biscuits: these typically contain butter and/or eggs.
• Sweets: lots use gelatine (which is made from pigs) as a setting agent.
• Honey: bees make honey, so to fully avoid any food to do with animals, you need to drop honey, too.
• Leather and fur: although not something you'd eat, if you want to fully embrace the vegan approach to life, you also won't wear or buy anything made from fur and leather, from shoes and jackets to key rings and bags.

Lots of UK chain restaurants, cafes, and coffee shops have a good range of vegan options. These include:

Italian:

• Ask Italian
• Basilico
• Bella Italia
• Carluccio's
• Domino's Pizza
• Papa John's
• Pizza Express
• Pizza Hut
• Prezzo
• Strada
• Zizzi

Coffee shops, cafes, fast food, and pubs:

• All Bar One
• Burger King
• Caffe Nero
• Costa
• Greggs
• Harvester
• KFC
• McDonald's
• Pret a Manger
• Slug & Lettuce
• Starbucks
• Subway
• Yates's

World Food

• Byron Burger
• Cafe Rouge
• Chiquito
• Frankie & Bennys
• Giraffe
• Handmade Burger Co.
• Itsu
• Las Iguanas
• Nando's
• TGI Fridays
• The Real Greek
• Wagamama
• Wasabi Sushi & Bento
• Yo! Sushi

If you prefer to cook at home, keep reading for some great vegan recipes to get you started.

This filling chili is packed with beans, dark beer, tomatoes, chipotle peppers, and quinoa.

Get the recipe: vegan chili

Chickpeas are a vegan staple, and they're full of flavour when made into a curry. This one's gluten-free, too.

Get the recipe: creamy vegan chickpea curry

You can still make risotto when you're vegan — it involves using almond milk and nutritional yeast for creaminess and flavour.

Get the recipe: creamy vegan risotto with asparagus and quinoa

Tacos topped with black beans, peppers, avocado sauce, and tasty butternut squash are gluten-free as well as vegan.

Get the recipe: vegan chipotle-roasted butternut squash tacos

There are so many options for vegan burrito bowls. These include cauliflower walnut taco meat, blistered pepper strips, rice, and black beans, with a range of toppings, from lime to hot sauce.

Get the recipe: easy vegan burrito bowls

Garam masala almonds bring a punch of texture to this hearty, gluten-free soup.

Get the recipe: vegan one-pot curried lentil soup

This gnocchi takes just 10 minutes, and has an appealing crispy texture.

Get the recipe: vegan cauliflower gnocchi with kale-cashew pesto

Another handy chickpea recipe, they're spiced with coriander and ginger and then the dish finished is with fresh spinach.

Get the recipe: crockpot spiced chickpea stew

Cabbage, mushrooms, and soy sauce combine in this easy, vegan takeaway alternative.

Get the recipe: vegan one-pot ginger-scallion ramen noodles

Lentils, mushrooms, walnuts, and vegetables makes this meat-free dish hearty and rich.

Get the recipe: vegan bolognese