The festive season is over – but that doesn’t mean you can’t find new culinary challenges to whet your appetite for some amazing dishes! Jump straight from some delicious indulgent cooking to explore Veganuary for yourself this year…
But, if you’ve never done Veganuary, or aren’t really swotted up on vegan cooking, fear not! The team at Circulon have created a spotlight guide to make sure your kitchen is all set to make some amazing Veganuary meals for everyone to enjoy.
What is Veganuary?
But, for starters, let’s have a look at what Veganuary actually is?
Veganuary as a phenomenon began back in 2014, when married couple, and passionate vegans, Jane Land and Matthew Glover, were looking for a way to inspire people to at least try a vegan diet. Within a short amount of time, they had an idea, a brand, and even a catchy name – a portmanteau of ‘vegan’ and ‘January’ partly inspired by the popularity of ‘Movember’.
From there, Veganuary has grown in popularity, with approximately 1.8 million people officially taking part via the official Veganuary campaign channels – however it’s thought that this figure is closer to 25 million with many people taking part without officially registering.
A note on veganism and Veganuary
Vegan meals are a core staple of Veganuary. To meet this diet and lifestyle, participants commit to abstaining from consuming animal products, or animal-derived products. This includes meat, fish, eggs, and dairy – and can extend to include honey, avocados, and other goods that rely on unnatural-migratory influences of bees.
Many people during Veganuary also make lifestyle changes to try and eliminate animal-derived goods from their routines – like those from cosmetics or clothing.
Top kitchenware for vegan cooking
In order to make the best possible Veganuary meals, you need to make sure your kitchen set up is primed and ready with the right tools. Below, we’ve picked out some of the key items you need for your home kitchen…
Knives
Knives are the obvious starting point when it comes to prepping your kitchen. But, you might be surprised to know that, if you want to supercharge your Veganuary meals, you really only need three staple knives in your collection.
These three, often considered the backbone of a good kitchen, are a chef’s knife, a paring knife, and a bread knife. And why? Well…
- Chef’s knife: as part of your Veganuary cooking, you need to be ready to chop a whole new range of proteins – and plenty of delicious veggies. A high-quality chef’s knife, like our 8" Chef Knife, is versatile enough to handle pretty much anything you throw at it, from thick squashes to tomatoes and salad ingredients. With evenly placed holes and ridges, you’ll be slicing and dicing like a pro without worrying about food release.
- Paring knife: for everything your chef’s knife can’t handle (which isn’t much), our 3.5” Paring Knife will see you through. Designed with a small blade to peel, slice, and de-seed vegetables, making Veganuary meals will be a cinch with a trusty paring knife. And, ours is even made with high-quality Japanese steel for effortless performance and precision.
- Bread knife: bread knives do what they say on the tin. Our 8” Bread Knife is the perfect tool for slicing through breads to make delicious vegan sandwiches, croutons for soup, and so much more. The serrated blade means it’s easier to get purchase on soft breads and cakes without squashing them, and this knife is easy to control with the textured handle.
Interested in investigating how to optimise your knife collection? Read our guide to What Are the Different Types of Kitchen Knives?
Pots and pans
Taking part in Veganuary is a great chance to experiment – and you need the right hardware to do this right. There is a small collection of kitchen pots and pans you should definitely invest in to boost your vegan cooking…
- Woks: stir-frys are a classic vegan cooking staple – they’re beginner-friendly, quick to make, and absolutely delicious. Using a wok, like our family sized 36cm Infinite Non-Stick Wok & Stainless Steel Lid or our 30cm Style Non-Stick Induction Wok With Lid, helps you get the perfect cook for crunchy veggies and soft noodles.
- Frying Pans: it’s hard to go wrong with a frying pan. This Veganuary, treat yourself to delicious breakfasts like banana pancakes (made with no eggs, and a dairy alternative milk), or whip up some scrambled tofu with turmeric for your plant-based full English, made easier with a Twin Pack like the Premier Professional Non-Stick Frying Pan 20cm & 28cm Set.
- Casserole dishes: vegan cooking with a casserole dish opens you up to a whole new world of options. Curries, bean casseroles, stews, and loads of one-pot wonders are easy to cook up this way. For maximum ease, choose one of our 2.8L Total Non-Stick Shallow Casserole & Lids – designed for quick heating and with next generation non-stick, this is the perfect dish to make your Veganuary meal prep easy-peasy, lemon-squeezy.
- Stockpots: considering the weather in January in the UK, and therefore for Veganuary, soups should be a staple of your Veganuary cooking. The right stockpot can help you batch-cook delicious soups so you can have a warming, plant-based lunch whenever you need it.
Baking dishes
From roasting root veggies as the base of a soup, to baking seitan, make sure you have plenty of baking trays and dishes in your kitchen this Veganuary.
Don’t just focus on savory either! There are loads of amazing plant-based sweet recipes for you to try, including cookies and brownies to satisfy your sweet tooth, or fruit loaves and homemade granola for a delicious, vegan snack on the go.
At Circulon, we love the Momentum Roast & Bake 3-Piece Set. Including a square cake tin, a rectangular cake tin, and a rectangular oven tray, this is the perfect beginner set to kit out your kitchen in time for Veganuary. This set is even freezer and dishwasher safe for easy cleaning and storing your leftovers!
Struggling for Veganuary meal ideas?
Whether you’re trying Veganuary for the first time, or regularly take part in this challenge, coming up with Veganuary meal ideas can be tricky. Fortunately, vegan cooking has become incredibly popular over the last several years – meaning that there’s plenty of resources and useful tips you can use for inspiration and guidance.
So, once you’ve got your kitchen set up for maximum efficiency, it’s time to dive into the challenges and excitements of vegan cooking. And, for the ultimate Veganuary experience, simply follow our handy tricks and tips below…
Discover new recipes
If you’ve never taken part in Veganuary before, you should definitely use this as an opportunity to discover new and exciting recipes to really put you through your culinary paces. In fact, we’ve linked some of our favourites below to get you started.
- Harira Soup Recipe.
- Jewelled Cous Cous Recipe.
- Green Stir Fry Recipe.
- African Peanut Stew Recipe.
- Mixed Vegetable Paella Recipe.
Circulon top tip: you don’t have to be a masterchef to get involved with Veganuary. Even novice home cooks can have an amazing time whipping up some simple, but delicious, and nutritious Veganuary meals.
Find substitutions
When it comes to Veganuary meal prep, you don’t have to find something new every day – even some of your favourite meals can easily be made vegan or plant-based with some simple ingredient substitutions. Some of the most common include:
- Lentils: using lentils in place of mince will give you a similar texture, and is perfect for everything from bolognese, to chili, to cottage pie!
- Tofu: tofu is a fantastic source of protein, and can be used in place of meat or fish in a variety of dishes. Whilst it may not taste like much on its own, tofu is a known flavour sponge – so make sure you use plenty of herbs and spices during your cooking.
Circulon top tip: tofu doesn’t need to be savory. Silken tofu is an excellent replacement for eggs in brownies, or use it instead of cream to make a delicious mousse.
- Aquafaba: one of the best-known vegan cooking substitutes, aquafaba is made after cooking legumes like chickpeas in water. Used in place of egg whites, this can be used to make everything from meringue to mayonnaise.
- Milk alternatives: for an easy, like-for-like switch, use oat, soy, or almond milk in your Veganuary meals. While the texture can differ slightly, these milk alternatives will deliver excellent results – and even bring more nuance into the flavour of your cooking.
- Meat substitutes: plenty of protein-rich meat substitutes have some on the market that offer a similar texture and mouthfeel – like tempeh for chicken, or seitan for beef. These are easy substitutions you could use to enrich your Veganuary meal plans.
Explore new cuisines
Cooking challenges and trying new diets like Veganuary can open you up to exploring different cuisines – and there are plenty that have some amazing vegan or plant-based dishes you can try…
- Ethiopian cuisine: there are loads of vegan friendly dishes in this cuisine. Find recipes for Misir Wot (a red lentil stew) or Fasolia (a dish of stewed green beans) with Injera bread to try dishes from this country.
- South Indian cuisine: many South Indian dishes are vegetarian or vegan, like Idli (rice cakes commonly eaten at breakfast) or Dosa (a thin, savoury crepe).
- Japanese cuisine: popular dishes like Tempura, Sushi, and Ramen can be made using plant-based ingredients for delicious Veganuary meals. You could also try Nattō, made from fermented soy beans, for an extra umami flavour.
- Egyptian cuisine: from the carb-rich Koshary (an Egyptian street food made with rice, pasta, and lentils) to Falafal (a deep-fried ball made from ground chickpeas and/or beans), there is plenty to explore on your vegan cooking odyssey.
Have the ultimate Veganuary experience with Circulon
However you decide to take part in Veganuary, make sure you have the best experience possible when you kit your kitchen out with some amazing Cookware and Bakeware from Circulon.
And, if you’re looking for more culinary advice and inspiration, look no further than the Circulon blog…
Top Tips for a Successful, Tasty Veganuary | The Ultimate Kitchenware Gift Guide | What You Need to Know When Buying Kitchen Knives
