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VEGANUARY CHALLENGE

Have you considered going vegan but haven’t found the right moment to do so? If yes, then this Challenge is for you! Veganuary is for everyone wanting to try out a vegan lifestyle. The good thing about joining this Challenge is that you won’t have to do it by yourself. There’s going to be thousands of people that will sign up for this Challenge to go vegan for the month of January (over 100’000 people already signed up) at Veganuary.com. And because Veganuary is such a big opportunity for new people to try out a vegan lifestyle, I couldn’t resist to make my own “Veganuary Challenge” on here.

What’s the Challenge About?

This Challenge is going to be for everyone considering a plant based & vegan lifestyle. Or maybe you already are vegan and just need some more tips or recipes to keep going. Wherever you are on this journey, you’re welcome! I’ll be sharing with you free recipes on my Instagram page and on here and if you feel for more inspiration than you can always get my eBook, where I have over 60 of my favorite vegan recipes + talk about my personal vegan & health journey. Oh and I also have multiple videos on my Youtube channel which will hopefully inspire you to go vegan as well.

The Right Mindset

I think one of the most important things when you’re trying out something new is your mindset. Are you just doing it because everyone else is doing it? Or are you doing it because you actually want to, wether it’s for your health, the environment or for the animals. I’ve seen a lot of people going vegan and then a couple of months later or even years sometimes they go back to eating meat. And most of the times that’s because they went vegan for the wrong reasons or with wrong expectations. For example, I don’t like when people ask me if I can or can not eat something, because it’s not that I can’t, it’s that I won’t. And I won’t because it’s bad for my health, an animal died for it, and the environment is suffering because of it. Reminding myself of these 3 things, helped me a lot in the beginning to understand why I don’t eat animal products. If you’re new to veganism, I highly suggest watching these 5 documentaries on Netflix (Cowspiracy, What The Health, Forks Over Knives, Earthlings and Okja). They’re life changing and I promise that it will make the transition to going vegan a lot easier!

Preparation

I believe the most common mistake that people make when going vegan is not being prepared in the kitchen. Make sure that you ALWAYS have vegan food in your kitchen. The worst thing that can happen to you and it will happen if you’re not prepared, is that you end up starving because there is nothing to eat in your home and you end up eating non vegan foods. If you live by yourself then this might be a littler easier because you can simply stop buying animal products and like that won’t have the temptation to eat these kinda foods at home. But if you live with other people who still eat animal products, then definitely make sure that you have enough vegan options. I personally like to always stock up on foods like dates, apples, bananas, plant based milks, nut butters, oats, frozen fruits, coconut water, carrots, cucumbers, hummus, avocado, and just fruits in general. These kind of foods I usually have as snacks between my meals and they help me go through the day without having to starve in between my meals.

Find Recipes

The first thing I did when I went vegan, is looked up simple & healthy recipes on the internet. Some of my favorite platforms to search for recipes were Instagram, Pinterest, Youtube or Google Search. You’ll be amazed by how many vegan recipes already exist and in my opinion are so much easier to recreate because you don’t have to cook anything that could cause you harm if you undercook it like meat or eggs. I suggest that you look for recipes that you think you will like, for example curries, chilies, burger patties or different kind of pasta recipes. Then try them out and whatever you like the most, make it a staple dish in your diet. And just like that you have a vegan dish that you can make for yourself on a weekly basis. Keep trying different recipes out until you think you’ll have enough meals to choose from.

How To Participate

To participate in this Challenge, all you gotta do is:

  1. Try eating vegan food for the entire month of January. It’s about trying to incorporate more plant based foods, so don’t worry if your diet is not perfect yet. 
  2. Take Pictures of your snacks & meals and send them to me so I can share them on my Instagram stories! 
  3. Have fun! Do this Challenge with a friend or a family member to make it even more fun! Also, feel free to reach out to me if you need help or some motivation. 🙂

Can’t wait to see all your yummy food pictures! Happy New Year and Veganuary! 

Love, Val x