Surprisingly Vegan.

VP:

It’s hard to believe that for nearly 300 years, the high protein content of the soya bean was only used for fertilization.  It wasn’t until the 1930s that their versatility in cooking was discovered and over the years it has been transformed into a multitude of mealtime opportunities.

The vast majority of which are now in my kitchen. 

Soya bread, margarine, mayonnaise, and even soya chocolate pudding are the most recent additions to my still relatively barren fridge.  I’ve been particularly impressed with the soya milk; a huge improvement on the rice milk I’ve been using until now.  The taste of which I can only liken to sweetened dishwater.

I’ve spent the last few days adding to my catalogue of acceptable foodstuffs.  I’m now finding it much easier to recognise what ingredients I’m looking for (ensuring I avoid) during those painful and rather lengthy trips to the supermarket, and if in doubt, a quick google search along the lines of; “Are Frosties Vegan?”, will usually procure the answer I’m after. 

As a result, I’ve discovered a number of pleasant surprises.  Cheap supermarket biscuits, baked beans, and amazingly, BBQ and beef flavour crips are all surprisingly Vegan and brilliantly, deliciously normal.

But despite these unexpected treats, the real win has been not having the unhealthy option to fall back on.  I’ve now bypassed the takeaway on two occasions knowing that their deep fried goodies were out of bounds.  It’s meant I’m forced to eat healthier, and to be honest, I feel pretty pleased with myself.

I might be missing those glorious takeaway smells, but at least it didn’t take me 300 years to discover the alternatives.