The Ordinary Vegan - Mr Vox's Vegan Challenge Update

It's been over a month now since Mr Vox started his Go Vegan Challenge and he is back as a guest blogger today to let us all know how he got on and whether he has taken the decision to stay vegan for life...

Vegan Challenge Conclusion by Mr. Vox

I am now at the end of the Vegan Challenge, which has been interesting and challenging.

I have enjoyed my time doing this challenge as it has made me look more into my food and what I'm eating, I have had to substitute or alter what I would normally eat with a vegan option or omit it altogether.

I managed to get hold of some Veganic Pizza Cheese not long after the first blog post and that was the cheese that didn't work for me when I used it but I thought I would give it another try and do something different with it. So I made Quesadillias with the cheese in a griddle pan and they turned out great! The cheese melted similar to cow's cheese and tasted fine with some flavour.

I started using vanilla flavoured soy milk in my tea and coffee and it made them have a subtle hint in the drink, which was very nice and it also allowed me to cut down on my sugar. I still have a couple of different milks at home to try so I am looking forward to trying them when I get the chance. I am also going to (when I need to) buy milks from different sources, like oat, and see what works with what where milk is needed. I also tried this yummy Alpro Soya Chocolate Pudding.

In conclusion this was an eye opening experience to what I'm putting in and on my body and I'm feeling better for it even though I am still getting used to the dairy substitutes, but that was the same when I became vegetarian and I don't really remember how meat was at all so I think it will pass in time. Oh and I'm staying Vegan :)

Mr Vox

Here are some of the foods I've eaten during the challenge:

Big Vegan Love,

VVx

The Ordinary Vegan - Mr Vox's Vegan Challenge Update

Those of you who regularly read my blog will know that my hubby, Mr Vox, has taken the November Vegan Month Challenge to try being fully vegan for one month. He is just over half way through his challenge and has written a guest post for us today to let you know how he is getting on! Over to Mr Vox...

VVx

My Vegan Challenge - Halfway Through

When November came I was already 80% vegan as my wife (Vegan Vox) is vegan and most of the food I ate was already vegan. This happened when I went vegetarian, I was only eating meat when I went out to eat and ate veggie when at home and the same has happened from vegetarian to vegan.

Over the past 11 months, since my wife went vegan, I have tried a lot of different vegan foods, mainly trying substitutes, I haven't really liked many of them so far, I can tolerate it if it's there but not necessarily choose to have it, so I haven't been eating much 'cheese' if any and I'm still toying with milk and what kind works where.

So lets move onto milk. I have found two chocolate milks I really like, coconut and almond. I am struggling with milk for cereal, for me plain soy, even the sweetened one, isn't cutting it. For my tea and coffee the soy milk is okay, but I think I need something a bit tastier and I've heard that almond milk is great for tea and coffee.

Cheese, cheese, cheese! It's all about finding great cheese, this is what I have struggled with the most. Mainly I've tried Vegusto cheeses and some are okay and some not, the Piquant is my favourite as that is the one I can tolerate as a cheese to put in a sandwich etc. I sort of like the 'Melty Moo' that they do but it's not very melty, it seems to have a kind of skin when it's heated but it is soft inside so spreading might help. The Tofutti herb cream cheese is very nice to spread on crackers etc. I have missed my pizzas and toasted sandwiches/paninis a lot since the start of the Vegan Challenge, I know there is a pizza cheese around and I think we tried it once but it didn't work so I am not sure if we were doing anything wrong!

Toiletries... I have been more aware of now as a lot are not suitable for vegans and contain milk, honey etc, so checking ingredients on toiletries as well as food is more important to me as a vegan as many items are vegan but don't state that they are.

I feel I am more open to trying new ingredients and foods as I was still quite afraid of trying new types of food even as a vegetarian as it was easy to just have things without meat, so I stuck to cheese and tomato pizzas, veggie burgers that are made with cheese and quick food like cheese on toast were always go to foods for a quick fix.

I have enjoyed trying new foods so far this month during the challenge and I am excited about trying more alternatives out over the rest of the month. Please let me know in the comments below your suggestions for good milk and cheese alternatives. I will be trying Vegg out in the next two weeks too. If you are on the challenge too, please let me know how you are finding it in the comments also. I will be back at the end of the month and let you know how the challenge has progressed. 

Here are some of the foods I have eaten this month so far...

Big Vegan Love,

Mr Vox