The Lynn News team took on Veganuary and followed a vegan diet for a month - this is how we found it

Over the last month, three meat eaters from the Lynn News took on the international challenge of ‘Veganuary’, the idea being to spend the entirety of January on a plant-based diet.

This January, 629,000 people signed up to take part in Veganuary via the official website, with 98% of them recommending the completely plant-based diet to a friend.

According to veganuary.com, its mission is to inspire and support people to try being vegan, even if it is just for a month.

Jeremy Ransome, Jenny Beake and Lucy Carter joined their colleague Rebekah Chilvers (a full-time vegan) in changing to a plant-based diet for the 31 days of January.

But, why did we choose to do it in the first place? Did we enjoy the month, or did we miss what we were used to eating? Have we learnt anything from the experience and will we be continuing with veganism in the future?

Lucy Carter

I can’t believe January is already over, l remember anticipating Veganuary towards the end of December thinking that I would probably give up halfway through. But, after making a pact with my work colleagues, I couldn’t bottle it and give up!

After lots of research and chatting with Rebekah about her recommendations, I took myself off to Tesco for my first food shop. I’ve learned that planning meals and snacks to start off with was the best thing to do.

I currently live with my parents after graduating from university and we normally eat the same meals all together, however, a lot of our go-to dishes could easily be made totally plant-based. While my mum made a cottage pie with beef, I fried off some vegan mince and made my own, we did the same sort of thing with spaghetti and meatballs and sausage and mash too.

However, I did experiment with some different dishes as well. I was really intrigued to try tofu, I’d only heard negative things about it prior to trying it. “It’s so bland and has no flavour” is what I heard a lot.

Now, I can confidently say to those people, you’re simply not cooking it right, seasoning is key and frying it until it's proper crispy. It’s become a staple in my diet for the past month.

I can confidently say that I’ve really enjoyed Veganuary, it’s pushed me to get into cooking again. I’ve taken the effort to educate myself in animal cruelty and questioned my own morals and ethics.

I call myself an animal lover, but I feel my attitude towards eating meat beforehand didn’t match that.

Physically, I’ve felt really good too, I don’t feel as bloated, I’ve had more energy and I think cutting out dairy has really benefited me.

What am I doing now January’s over? Honestly, I’m not quite sure. I plan to take February how it comes and not put a label on myself as a vegan, vegetarian or a meat eater.

Jeremy Ransome

I’m not much of an ‘Alpha Male’ but it was definitely bravado that led me into taking part in Veganuary. Lucy said she was thinking of doing it, Jenny was on board and so I jumped in falafel first.

I knew I’d complete the challenge as I’m really not a quitter… but I did envisage a 31-day slog of rice and beans, akin to the I’m A Celebrity TV programme.

And I didn’t get off to the best start as my New Year’s Eve visit to the supermarket lasted three minutes and allowed the mere purchase of some vegetable stock before Tesco closed early for the festivities.

Not daunted, I went out at 10am on New Year’s Day, thinking the supermarkets were following normal Bank Holiday rules. They weren’t. They were all shut.

But, finding some Richmond vegan sausages in the Spar, I had them in a bap for lunch, with beans on toast for dinner.

It was only on January 2 that I did a bit of reading and filled bags full of fruit, veg, roots and vegan products at Aldi and Lidl - which are both well stocked with plant-based goods.

And then the fun began as I quickly realised you can make really tasty meals without the need for any meat or dairy.

My first ‘proper meal’ saw me using tofu to make a curry. It was lovely and my son and wife also tucked in. Spurred on by this, I made a vegan Quorn chilli - and it was every bit as nice as the ones I’ve made in the past using beef mince.

I find the secret is, especially when cooking for just yourself as I often am, to do large batches. Then you’ve got a couple of evening meals and even a cheeky packed lunch for the coming days. Spices are a must for me too.

It’s not really the chicken or beef that make your chilli or curry taste so good - it’s what you cook with it, so fresh chillies, curry powder, herbs, paprika and pepper featured in many of my creations, with Bouillon stock a must too.

I had simple meals too, enjoying the aforementioned beans, corn on the cob and jacket potatoes, with salad and cheese substitutes.

There’s loads of different vegan cheeses and the Quorn ‘ham’ and ‘chicken’ are great too.

My wife did me a few soups which were lovely, and I also made spag bol, cottage pie and tofu stir fry. Aldi meat balls are wonderful with a home-made sauce too.

Coconut and almond milk is delicious with drinks and cereals… and I’ve not missed eggs at all.

I went into this with no real plan, but having read extensively over the month about the harm that (excessive) farming and meat eating is doing to us and the planet, I’ve decided to stick to a vegan diet for good.

Combining the process with Dry January has seen me lose a stone in weight, and I’m putting the lack of processed food (beans apart!) and dairy to how great I feel most of the time.

The lack of meat bought over the last month as meant quite a cash saving too.

I won’t preach to anyone, it would be hypocritical after 50 years as a carnivore, but I like my new diet and I love the new me.

Jenny Beake

When January 1 came round, the day of becoming vegan, I realised perhaps I had metaphorically bitten off more than I could chew.

It was a Sunday and I realised I had not planned for it one bit.

I didn’t even know I couldn't eat honey until the day before which is my on toast breakfast go to, so things were dire.

I was still on my annual leave after Christmas and a lot of the items in the house, the freezer and my tummy, consisted of milk chocolate and party food.

Not being the main cook in the household meant that my ever so patient partner would be transforming our meat eating menu into Veganuary.

So we had to get prepared and read ingredients on the backs of boxes. Luckily, and surprisingly, a lot of things we had were already vegan, including the bread.

Not the honey nut crunchy cornflakes however, they would have to go.

Mainly I just wasn’t properly prepared, but not wanting to just buy into consumerism, I did check lots of the food already in the cupboards before heading out to the Vegan aisle in the local supermarket.

We changed cow's milk to soya or oat, butter to plant based spread, cheese to vegan cheese.

Part of the reason I wanted to get involved with Veganuary was to kick start a healthier diet.

I have high cholesterol but luckily for me, being Vegan, I could still eat salt and have sugar in tea, the very things I should have been giving up.

We swapped chicken roast dinners to vegan sausage rolls with vegetables, sunflower roast potatoes and vegan gravy.

I was disappointed by the vegan chocolate, too thin and melts easily (like most chocolate, admittedly, but I am being picky).

My favourite crisps were vegan apart from the cheese and onion flavour, but ironically the prawn cocktail flavoured packets had obviously never seen an ocean.

I substituted honey with rice syrup, mince with Quorn, chicken with Quorn pieces and tried vegan bakes.

Even though I was being a bit flaky and tried to get out of it by becoming vegan only during office hours and vegetarian at home (really only to assist in my ever so patient partner’s support) I decided to just go for it (or face the wrath of Lucy Carter).

It has been an eye opener in terms of becoming more aware of what I eat and how it affects animals.

That I can survive in this world by eating with more awareness and without an animal being harmed is good enough reason to continue.

I do miss eggs.

And honey, but I understand this is better for the bees.

Really I wasn’t a huge meat eater to begin with, mainly chicken, beef mince and seafood, but I definitely want to continue eating more mindfully and will carry on after Veganuary.

Head of news Rebekah Chilvers has been vegan for just over a year. The team asked her for some advice before starting Veganuary, and why she had become vegan in the first place...

Rebekah Chilvers

The path to becoming plant-based has been quite a long one that has not been without bumps in the road.

For me, it started in around 2014 when I was pescatarian for around a month, but found that I felt quite lethargic a lot of the time, so I went back to eating meat.

That was until I was at Sussex University in Brighton and watched a documentary called McLibel - about two activists who were taken to court by McDonalds in 1997 - and there was a part that showed tiny chicks on a conveyor belt that would later become food.

After that, I vowed that I would stop eating meat, and again, became a pescatarian as my New Year's resolution in 2016.

While at the campus, an activist group also showed people VR footage of the treatment of pigs in a slaughterhouse. That will also stay with me forever.

After a few years, I came to the realisation that the reasons I stopped eating meat in the first place - mostly for the sake of the animals, but also the environment - were the same reasons others became vegetarian and vegan.

I took the leap and started being a vegan as my New Year's resolution in 2022, and I haven't looked back since.

I now look forward to Veganuary - as not only do lots of new products get released, but it's also a time for others to give it a go.

My advice to anyone thinking about trying out a plant-based diet would be firstly, you'll most likely be pleasantly surprised, so get stuck in and give it a go. And more importantly, you'll be saving a lot of animals, and doing something good for the planet and yourself.

You will be able to find vegan substitutes for most of your favourite foods. My go-tos are Cathedral City grated cheese, Oatly oat milk and Richmond meat-free sausages and chicken pieces.

Look at restaurant menus in advance and make sure to keep a good supply of snacks in your home - some vegan chocolates (Lindt, Aldi and independent business The Chocolate Smiths) are better than others.

Get to know food labels - keep an eye out for ingredients that might make something not vegan friendly.

For example, lanolin - grease from sheep's wool - is in some cereals and shellac (not the same as used for nails), secreted by a female lac insect, is sometimes used as a food glaze for sweets or a wax coating.

It's also worth following social media groups and pages for support and advice, like Accidentally Vegan on Instagram, which is full of things you wouldn't necessarily think are plant-based (hello, Oreos!).

Finally, don't think you have to be faultless, if you slip up then it's not a major travesty, and remember that lots of imperfect vegans are better than a small amount of perfect ones.

Our favourite food recommendations/meals

For Rebekah, she gets some of her inspiration for meals from Instagram, where there are a plethora of vegan cooks, as well as from meal kit company Gousto.

This is where she discovered how recipes for a meat-free sausage pasta, smoky chick'n with patatas bravas, and loads of new ways to use tofu.

Jenny said she particularly enjoyed some 'fake bakes' from a Spar shop to go with a Sunday roast and veggie slices from the Gro range at Co-op in a sandwich.

If you like a yoghurt, she also recommends the Alpro plant-based options.

Jeremy and Lucy were both big fans of a simple stir fry using plenty of veggies and a sauce packed with flavour, which can be bulked out with tofu.

Restaurants with good vegan options

If you're looking locally, a highlight for all of us was visiting Resist! Vegan Kitchen in Lynn and trying some of the tasty food on offer there.

The beauty of it is that there are multiple delicious options - kebabs, burgers and more - and all are vegan, so you can't go wrong.

Archers, Arbuckles and Heacham Manor are just some of the other local restaurants that also offer brilliant options.

Jenny also enjoyed Bill’s in Norwich, which she said had an extensive plant-based choice, including the vegan shawarma with garlic flatbread which was "delicious and filling".

Norwich is home to quite a number of plant-based restaurants, including The Tipsy Vegan, Erpingham House and Slice + Dice board game café.For a takeaway, Jeremy had an amazing vegan chicken pie and chips from Henry’s in Long Sutton, and the McDonald’s McPlant is "just as tasty as a quarter pounder".

Meanwhile, the Fiesta Burger in Wetherspoons is "gorgeous", he said.

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