The 10 Day Low Commitment Vegan Challenge

If you’re interested in dipping your toe into vegan waters, but are reluctant to fully commit, consider the 10 Day Vegan Challenge. Don’t be scared – we’re not asking you to go fully vegan, just to open your mind to plant based options and experiment with new recipes that come from the earth.

1. Try a milk alternative

Beyond soya, how about almond, coconut, rice, oat, hemp or quinoa? There is a dairy-free milk for every taste.

2. Try overnight oats with juice

Have you tried porridge without milk? We’re not talking gruel-style water and oats, but fruit juices, smoothies, or even a vegan yoghurt can be used as an alternative to milk, and works without heating if you leave them over night.

3. Make a smoothie

Experiment with different flavour combinations. Try mint, ginger or cayenne pepper to add a twist, or add nuts, oats or avocado for thickness. Use frozen fruit such as berries or banana to get the chill without watering it down.

4. Bake without eggs

Substitute butter for oil (try olive or coconut) and for eggs, try mashed banana or chia seeds – when added to water, they create an egg white-like consistency. Sweet potato and avocado can also be used.

5. Make a nut butter

You don’t need dairy for creamy goodness. Making nut butter is as simple as chucking nuts into a food processor. This method works for most nuts, but peanuts, almonds and cashews produce the silkiest butter. Spread onto bread or dollop onto your breakfast for some added richness.

6. Make vegetable crisps

Kale is super trendy right now, and is very easy to chuck in the oven and bake for a satisfying crunch (you just need to remove the stalks). Likewise, parsnip, beetroot and carrots can also be made into delicious crisps. Flavour to your taste with spices or vinegar.

7. Try a food you’ve never eaten before

Have you tried yuca yuca, dandelion leaves, okinawan purple sweet potato, mizuna, kohlrabi, horned melon, rambutan, akebi, ackee, or salak? You have some tasting (and googling) to do!

8. Go to a vegan restaurant

There are plenty of vegan restaurants, and chances are the chefs will be experts in the field and know how to get as much flavour as possible out of plant-based foods. Their menus might even inspire you to cook up a plant-based storm at home!

9. Make a hearty salad

Salads are’t just about bland leaves and anaemic tomatoes. Nuts, seeds and legumes are great for bulking out salads with protein, and grains such as quinoa, rice or couscous will fill you with carbs. Fruit is a great way to jazz up salads too. Pomegranate seeds, mangoes, watermelon, figs, or grated apple all add delicious accents of flavour.

10. Experiment with vegan cream

Did you know you can make cream from the liquid that comes from the chickpea can? Called aquafaba, it may just look like murky water, but it’s actually the water the legumes were cooked in. Rich in protein and carbohydrates, when you whip it up, it becomes light and fluffy – and looks a lot like egg whites. You can also whip up coconut cream, tofu, or cashews.