Day Twenty (and the past week) of The Great Vegan Challenge

I must apologise for the silence on my behalf for a whole week. You'll be pleased to know this isn't because I've given up. I've been extremely busy with Ellie Makes and my degree work.

To summarise the last week. I haven't stuck to my original plans to eat every three hours starting at 9am. I've been so busy I've done lots of snacking on humous, crisps, and whatever else I can grab on the go.

My favourite breakfast, beans, mushrooms, and a soy latte!

I have however, fallen in love with a couple more dishes. One of which being the tofu stir fry. It was so good I had to have it twice last week. 

I also made a delicious soya meatball surprise. I love these soya meatballs from Sainsbury's they've probably been my favourite meat substitute so far. I used a bolognaise sauce - I would usually use tinned tomatoes and add garlic and herbs to taste but I was short of time. I added chopped onions and spinach, served on garlic bread with a side salad. Perfect if you're on the go, and because of all the strong flavours you don't miss the cheese at all (or at least I didn't).

The third favourite dish of the week was a simple jacket potato with buttery (soya butter) mushrooms and onions. So easy, but so good. I hated mushrooms before this challenge but I've realised the more vegetables I eat, the more variety of dishes I can eat. 

Would you believe a mere four years ago the only vegetables I would eat was broccoli and cauliflower and that was only on a Sunday! It's a wonder I was thinner then than I am now! All my friends have been very impressed by the fact I've been able to do this challenge with such ease. Back when we were at school together I ate chicken and cous cous, supernoodles, and not much else! Even I am proud of myself for going this long with not one egg (although I may have had a couple of slices of cake in the last three weeks, but if I didn't allow myself a little I would have given up and taken the lot), no meat, and no cheese.

I also mentioned in my last post the article I read by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall . I've decided after these 30 days I'm going to continue this way of life by not eating meat, cheese, or eggs throughout the week. I may continue for a further three weeks because I feel great for losing weight and eating healthy, and I don't want to gain any before Christmas! But it's definitely changed my feelings towards vegetables and veganism. 

He says in the article to "Just ask yourself if you, or anyone you know, might be in danger of eating too many vegetables. " The answer is no. There's no harm in eating more vegetables. You don't have to become vegan to help your health and the environment. Just try it, open you're mind to more vegetables. It's achievable on any budget too. In approx three minutes you can google seasonal vegetables. Pop down to Lidl or Aldi and pick up two or three vegetables. When you get home google some recipes and you're guaranteed to find at least one that is easily achievable and that tickles your fancy. Or, what I tend to do when the funds have all but disappeared, have a rummage in the kitchen for any kind of key ingredients and google (or www.pinterest.com) recipes. I don't believe anyone can't cook when there's so much advice on the internet.

A couple of years ago I began Meat Free Mondays. Theres' a start. It won't harm you. In fact, you might thank me for it. Have a look at my first blog post and hopefully you can see how far I've come. I used to be just like you and laugh in the face of veganism. But after forcing myself to eat more vegetables I feel fantastic and don't ever want to go back to eating meat and cheese and very little veg in every meal.