Almost a quarter of all new UK food products launched last year were vegan. And 14% of all Brits are taking part in Veganuary this year.
Veganism has boomed over the last few years, and more people are ditching meat and dairy for health or environmental reasons.
But the transition isn’t always easy.
There are more vegan substitutes than ever before. From the iconic Greggs vegan sausage roll to new releases from KFC and entirely new menus from Pret and Costa. But there are some things that just can’t be replaced.
A new survey has found that eggs are the hardest thing for vegans to say goodbye to.
Which makes sense. They can be eaten at any time of the day, they’re a great source of protein, and there is a special kind of decadence evoked by splitting open a runny, orange yolk.
The survey, conducted by Chewsy, found that the versatile breakfast food was the toughest thing to give up, followed by chocolate, honey and avocado.
Which is understandable. They are all delicious things.
But with so many alternatives and substitutes available now, surely it’s easier than ever before to go completely plant-based? We asked vegans, new and old, to tell us what they missed the most and how they coped when they made the switch.
‘Three years vegan for me,’ says Davina.
‘At first, I found butter hard. Biscuits were my Achilles heel, but I held on. Thank goodness for Oreos!
The hardest things for vegans to give up
Brits would find the following five items hardest to give up:
1. Eggs
2. Dark Chocolate
3. Honey
4. Avocado
5. Coke
Chewsy survey
‘Milk and eggs are not hard to give up – but hard to avoid. They’re in everything! Now it’s the let’s-avoid-palm-oil game…’
Hayley says smoked salmon was the hardest thing for her to part with; ‘When I turned vegan, I would dream about it,’ she says.
But the smoked salmon alternative from V Bites has been a useful swap for fish-lovers.
‘I thought the hardest thing would be cheese, but it’s eggs for me too,’ says Tabby.
‘I make scrambled tofu using a bit of black salt to give it the egginess and turmeric to turn it yellow. For Spanish “omelette” I use gram flour mixed with water in place of egg and it works a charm.’
Emma is on her third consecutive Veganuary and says it’s the easiest stint so far: ‘Mainly because I’ve learnt how to cook and season properly without relying on the tastemakers I used to – cheese mainly.
‘I still get pangs for chocolate or eggs but it’s doable. Veggie Percy Pigs are a bit of a life-saver.’
Annie says that she doesn’t really miss anything anymore.
‘But it did take me a long time to kick my cheese, sushi and prawn habits,’ she says.
‘I used to love eating out with friends and love it less now. It’s unbelievable that you can still go to London restaurants that don’t have one single plant-based option.’
Annie says ackee – without the saltfish – can be a fantastic egg alternative: ‘good taste, good texture – no cholesterol, no saturated fat and not artificial,’ she explains.
For lots of people, it isn’t just the food products that have been hard to give up. Accessories, cleaning products and beauty products often use non-vegan ingredients too.
‘I’ve been vegan three years because of Veganuary,’ says Helen. ‘The hardest thing I found was cruelty-free and vegan make up.
Top reasons why people go vegan
Those that have participated in Veganuary, or trialled going vegan, gave the following six reasons as to why they did it:
1. To help save the planet (53%)
2. To help save animals (50%)
3. To ‘better’ my diet (32%)
4. To challenge myself (29%)
5. To lose weight (12%)
6. Because friends/family did (6%)
Chewsy survey
‘I used to love Max Factor and L’Oréal mascaras, luckily I’ve finally found decent vegan and cruelty-free ones.’
Another said shoes and handbags were tricky, as there was much less choice when you take out the leather options.
‘I’m a long term vegan (four and a half years now) and I found eggs take the longest to get used to not having,’ says Nat.
‘However, I found it a lot easier once I remembered what happens to baby male chicks; grim, but it helped me.
‘I don’t really miss anything else now – apart from Jaffa Cakes and Maltesers.’
So, it might be tough, and there are things you will miss, but if you can stick to your motivations – why is being vegan important to you – that is the most powerful way to kick your cravings.
MORE: Pret launches 15 new vegan products
MORE: What happens to your skin when you do Veganuary?
MORE: Papa John’s has just launched a butternut squash pizza base for Veganuary
source https://metro.co.uk/2020/01/20/vegans-tell-us-things-hardest-give-went-plant-based-12089347/
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