Veganuary Made Simple: Grocery Guide - Alternatives to Meat, Dairy & More

So, you’ve made the big decision to go vegan for Veganuary, woohoo! But, how exactly does this affect your trips to the supermarket? What do you need to swap out for plant-based versions? Can you still buy similar products to what you already know and love? We answer all of this and more in our Veganuary Made Simple Grocery Guide!

The best way to trust a product is 100% suitable for vegans is to spot phrases such as “Suitable for vegans” or “Suitable for vegans and vegetarians”. Better still, the product will bare a trusted Vegan Society logo. However, many food and drinks are also “accidentally vegan”, meaning they were made using no animal or insect ingredients whatsoever, though not intentionally. In this case, to confirm if it’s suitable, you can scan the ingredients yourself to spot anything non-vegan.

Dairy ingredients such as “milk” and “cream” etc should be easy to spot as they will be in bold since they are also allergens, as are “eggs”. Non-bolded ingredients to look out for are “beeswax”, “honey” and “gelatine”, plus anything from the sea and meat.

Finally, there are some sneaky E-numbers to look out for: food additives derived from insects, shellac and bees! 😬 The following are all non-vegan:

You’ll be happy to hear that most breakfast cereals are vegan, yay! Therefore, it’s likely you can continue enjoying your favourite brands trouble free. Honey is something to be aware of, though, as is dairy milk, but, generally speaking, most cereals are primarily made from plant-based carbohydrates such as wheat, oats, and sugars. Keep a beady eye on those tricky E-numbers though!

Milk typically comes from dairy cows, of course, but there are a plethora of delicious plant-based alternative options available to you. Gorgeous nutty milks like almond and cashew, soy milk, and even milk from peas! You might perhaps wish to sample a few different types before settling on a favourite. For cereal, we recommend rice milk which is thin and sweet, and for tea, coffee, and hot chocolate it has to be thick and creamy oat milk. Oh, yes. 😋

We all have our favourite butter whether it’s creamy, salty or low fat. Vegan butter has come a long way in recent years and can replicate everything the dairy versions can. This includes spreading on sandwiches and toast, plopping on baked potatoes, and baking cakes. We have blocks and spreads of plant-based butters and margarines made from all kinds of lovely, natural ingredients such as coconut oil, almonds, cashews, sunflower seeds, and more. Have a taste on a few of your favourite breads and cakes before deciding on a new favourite!

Eggs are often mistakenly considered something there is no satisfying alternative for. Not true! Vegan eggs have come along leaps and bounds in recent years. Whether you want to fry, boil or scramble ‘em, make omelettes or french bread, bake yummy sweet delights such as muffins, scones or brownies, you can find a suitable plant-based egg alternative here at TVKS up to the job, guaranteed!

The big question! Clearly, meaty mains are out, but the good news is that these days there are so many excellent plant-based meat and seafood alternatives like sausages, chicken and salmon that one can barely tell the difference. As veganism grows year after year, so do the number of chefs and food scientists focusing on higher quality - and often “lifelike” - new plant-based products, yas. These scrumptious vegan mains look the same, taste the same, and sometimes even feel the same in your mouth. 👀

Can’t live without bacon? We have several vegan bacon alternatives guaranteed to go down a treat in your morning butty or on your breakfast plate. Is your favourite meal a juicy steak alongside some yummy roast potatoes and veggies? We’ve got you covered there too!

Lucky for us, sides dishes are another example of something that is typically already vegan, such as vegetables. However, perhaps you used goose fat or lard in the past to cook and flavour? Fear not, we have far healthier vegan cooking and frying options like coconut oil, olive oil, and even avocado oil more than up to the job!

Snacks keep us fuelled, fed and happy throughout the day. So, to think we might have to live without them would be a crime! Thankfully, many sweets and biscuits come under our Accidentally Vegan category, which we add to regularly. Plus, for your all-time favourites there are vegan versions of just about everything! Can’t live without a Mars Bar? We got your back, fam. Snickers is your jam? Right here, buddy. Maltesers make your life worth living? We couldn’t agree more!

You might one have thought that the only chocolate that's vegan is of the darker variety. We certainly have some outstanding vegan dark chocolate, but also everything from milk and white to confectionery bars and truffles. Endless Chocolate Heaven is The Vegan Kind’s alternative name, if you didn’t already know. 😉

Images courtesy of Gustavo Fring, Daria Klimova, Polina Tankilevitch, Askar Abayev and Andrea Piacquadio via Pexels