One Year Vegan Update #Veganuary

The start of the new year marks the start of Veganuary and, for me, the one year milestone of being vegan. As it is the month for Veganuary and all things vegan, I will be publishing more posts about my vegan favourites, recipes and vegan beauty products throughout the month so stay tuned. I thought I'd give you a little context before we begin with my thoughts on being vegan for a year. I have been vegetarian for around 15 years and I have been on/off vegan for the past three years but at the start of 2019 I decided to become fully vegan and I'm SO happy that I did!

No more eczema

There are many changes, both positive and negative, about a vegan diet and lifestyle but one of the main changes I've personally noticed is how much dairy affected my eczema. As I've mentioned, I have been on/off vegan for years but never for more than a month; however I wish I'd made the change so much sooner because since mid-febuary I haven't had any eczema at all on my face and only the smallest amount on one tiny section of my hand which is incredible.

If you personally have eczema, then you know how utterly upsetting and painful it can be especially if you have to keep going back to the doctors and having endless flare-ups. There's no 'cure' for eczema so I had resigned myself to a life of eczema management using steroid creams and anti-histamines (neither of which helped that much overall) so the lack of eczema for the entire year has been almost unbelievable.

For the first time in over ten years, I haven't had to use a single eczema product, I haven't had to go to the doctors regarding my eczema and I haven't had any eczema on my face...it's incredible and something I genuinely never thought would happen. I'm so grateful that I've found the trigger for my eczema and now I can avoid it so I don't have to have eczema at all anymore. It's such a relief, especially after having horrendous eczema on my face and eyes for so many years.

Vegan Food Favourites

2019 was the year of vegan food releases, from Marks and Spencer, Tesco, Sainsburys, Greggs and many more. Before 2019 I had trouble just finding vegetarian food, never mind vegan options but I'm so glad to have many more choice now. Whether you're vegan for health/moral reasons, if you are trying to reduce meat consumption or if you're just interested in trying new food, I think we can all appreciate the delicious new vegan options in major supermarkets, online and in restaurants.

Some of my favourites of the year have to include the Ben and Jerrys ice cream (chocolate fudge brownie), Pizza Hut vegan pizza, Greggs vegan sausage roll and the Marks and Spencers Plant Kitchen range and especially the Thai Green Curry and No Chic'n Nuggets. A more recent favourite from the range are their no duck spring roll which is incredibly delicious. Also I have to mention the incredible Beyond Meat burger which is the best burger I've ever had!

Tips

Lastly for today's post, I wanted to mention a few tips that might be helpful for those who are trying out veganuary for the first time. If you are vegan or vegetarian and you have any tips or advice then leave it in the comment below.

• I have been eating a vegetarian diet since I was a child and I think the process of becoming vegan was much easier for that reason so my first tip is to switch gradually. Starting by reducing meat and dairy consumption, switching to vegan meals throughout the week or switch to a vegetarian diet first. 
• Make small changes! Your switch doesn't have to be instantaneous or dramatic, just make small adjusts over time such as adding in meat and dairy free alternatives to your diet. Instead of using cows milk, use almond, for example. 
• It doesn't have to be all or nothing, you can just cut out eggs and fish or dairy and pork. You don't have to be fully vegan, it isn't a competition. Making ethical and environmentally friendly choices consistently is something we should all think about and strive to achieve but it doesn't have to happen instantly or in its entirety.

For more vegan recipes that promote good eye health, check out the Essilor blog!

Do you have any tips? Are you vegetarian or vegan? If not, why not? Are you trying veganuary?