Veganuary: How to take part and the best Veganuary snacks and recipes to try

If you’ve never heard of Veganuary before, it’s an annual event that takes place for the month of January each year and encourages us to follow a fully plant-based diet for the entire duration of January.

Since launching over a decade ago by a couple in York, England, Veganuary has massively grown in support, with over 500,000 sign ups for Veganuary 2023. This year, it’s set to be more.

Whether you’ve been tempted to cut animal products out for your health or the environmental benefits, it’s a great time to challenge yourself to go vegan. And with so many amazing vegan alternatives and vegan meal ideas that have hit the supermarkets recently, it’s never been easier to go vegan.

Reasons to take part in Veganuary

The environment

The production of animal products (particularly meat) takes a huge toll on our environments resources from the breeding, raising and slaughtering to the waste and pollution that comes as a result.

One study found that a vegan diets resulted in 75% less climate-heating emissions, water pollution and land use than diets in which more than 100g of meat a day was eaten. Vegan diets also cut the destruction of wildlife by 66% and water use by 54%, the study found. You may also want to take Veganuary a step further by only wearing or purchasing vegan clothing.

Health and wellness

Some studies have found that vegan diets tend to contain less saturated fat and cholesterol and more dietary fiber. Vegans tend to have lower blood pressure, reducing their risk of heart disease.

However, eliminating all animal products from the diet can increase the risk of certain nutritional deficiencies including vitamins B-12 and D, calcium, and long-chain n-3 (omega-3) fatty acids so supplements might be something you want to consider.

Affordability

Contrary to popular belief, following a vegan diet is actually the most affordable diet you can follow. One study found that it can reduce your food costs by up to a third which is welcome news in a cost of living crisis when the cost of our weekly food shop has risen so much in recent years.

Animal welfare

Over a billion farm animals are reared every year in the UK, as well as many millions of fish, so by reducing the demand, fewer farm animals will be bred for their meat and by-products.

How to take part in Veganuary

By signing up to take part in Veganuary, you'll be sent plenty of recipes, a cookbook, meal plans and more to keep you motivated and inspired throughout January. You may even find yourself wanting to continue your vegan diet beyond Veganuary.

Veganuary recipes

We've rounded up a few recipes for you to try out this Veganuary to get you started.

Creamy coconut curry

Not only is this creamy coconut curry from Jessica in the Kitchen is fully plant based, it’s also gluten free too! We love that it can all be made in one pot to save on too much washing up and it also makes a speedy meal as it can be whipped together in 45 minutes. It can be prepped in advance as the leftovers last for days and we love how much plant powered protein it contains.

Vegan parsnip soup

If you’re new to vegan cooking, soup is often one of the easiest places to start, especially if you’re looking for nutritious vegan lunch ideas. This vegan parsnip soup from Lazy Cat Kitchen is an ideal winter warmer recipe and it’s filled with plenty of veggies to give you some goodness as well as a sprinkle of crunch on top for added texture.

Vegan pancakes

Who doesn’t love a fluffy stack of pancakes in the morning, drizzled with some sweet syrup! For this vegan pancake recipe from Rainbow Plant Life, you’ll need to forget your usual eggs, flour and milk batter in exchange for a plant-based batter using a plant-based milk alternative, baking powder, vegan sour cream, vegan butter, flour as well as some extra touches to add to the flavour and texture of the vegan pancakes.

Chilli con carne

A hearty chilli con carne is a family meal staple that can be made just as deliciously when free from meat. This vegan chilli con carne recipe from The Veg Space uses a vegan mince alternative as well as lentils and kidney beans for a boost of protein as well as a vegan beef favoured stock to give a meatier flavour. Once you’ve mastered the chilli, it can be used in fajitas, on jacket potatoes or in tacos too!

Tomato pasta

While most tomato based pasta dishes are already vegan, you may be wondering how you can achieve that creamy consistency without cream or cheese, but this creamy tomato vegan pasta recipe from Delish uses cashews to make a plant based creamy alternative for your pasta. You can even grate some cashews over the pasta as a topping.

Veganuary snacks

Lorna White is a Senior Digital Writer at Yours.co.uk. She was previously a writer at Yours Magazine writing features and news stories before joining the digital team. Lorna loves the great British countryside and likes to spend her spare time out and about in her home of Nottinghamshire walking her dog, Pippin.