2018… Goals…Veganuary… Happy New Year!
Happy New Year to you all! 🙂 I wish you a wonderful evening of celebrations, followed by an amazing 2018.
YOU… yes YOU reading this! YOU have the ability to change your life and make it the best you can! YOU have the ideas, the dreams, the aspirations to be whatever you want to be and 2018 can be your year! 😀 Make a plan (resolutions are okay but a plan is better)! Write it down, once, twice, three times. Make it realistic and achievable – but don’t let that put you off aiming high! 😛
A new job? Career change? Eat healthier? Run a marathon? Go out more? Get involved with volunteering? Raise money for charity? Be the mayor? Set up a new club? Study for a degree? Learn a new language? Visit old school friends? Learn to Salsa? Regularly meet with good friends or family members? De-clutter your wardrobe? Revamp your living area? Grow your own vegetables? Make a date night? Use your credit cards less? Keep your desk tidy? Write more comments on others blogs (hint-hint)! See the Wonders of the World? Propose to the one you love? Be a millionaire – just checking you were still with me! 😛 The last one might be realistic for some but probably not the majority! Okay, lets say increase your income! Any of these are achievable – you just need to think about it carefully and make a plan, work towards it in small steps with a time frame which suits you. For example do some research online and read as much as you can from authentic sources. Get help from others if possible as this can make it easier and offer more motivation. Set time aside each day, or each week and stick to it – make it an appointment in your diary and don’t break it unless an emergency arises! Divide your chosen aim (or aims) into reasonable stages and you can get there if you really want to! 😀
Which brings me on to Veganuary! What is Veganuary? Well, it’s an opportunity for people to try a Vegan diet for the month of January, with support, guidance and encouragement.
Did you know that the singer songwriter Ellie Goulding is vegan?
Yes, actor Woody Harrelson is vegan too!
Why would you want to go Vegan for a month (or longer)? Well, there are numerous benefits to reducing your consumption of animals and animal-by-products which include :
- Less suffering for animals- both physically and emotionally
- Reducing your cholesterol levels
- Lowering your risk of heart disease
- Help reducing greenhouse gas emissions
- Saving water (cows drink a lot of water! and their food needs water too)!
There are more and more plant based options available now as consumers are demanding alternatives to traditional dairy and meat products. It is quite simple to make a few basic changes, even if you can’t bear the thought of no meat, cheese or chocolate for a month! Try a plant based milk – I would recommend a carton coconut milk or almond milk, but that’s my personal preference. Butter or margarine is easily swapped with sunflower spread or soya or coconut based spreads. That’s breakfast sorted then! 😀 Regular cereal or Granola with plant based milk, or toast with sunflower spread and jam. Easy! Fancy a fry up? Have hash browns, tomatoes, mushrooms and make these delicious sausages. If you’re a pancake lover, then just switch the milk and use mashed banana instead of the eggs! Easy and so tasty! 😀
Lunch you can still have sandwiches or soup, just opt for vegan options such as lentil soup or houmous and salad sandwiches.
Dinner, have regular (egg free) pasta with a tomato based sauce, a vegetable curry, or be adventurous and try something different like tofu?
In the comments below I will try to answer any questions you have, give ideas and suggestions and be as helpful as possible to any of you trying to do Veganuary… One of my good friends will be doing Veganuary in 2018 for the first time – check out her blog post here to see how she’s preparing!
What are you going to do in 2018? I have lots of plans and I will share some of them with you all very soon! 🙂
If you’re a regular reader or follower, you’ll know I hardly ever post on a Sunday! This was a special post for all my lovely followers, friends, commenters and likers (is that a word?)! If you’ve managed to read all the way to here, then once again I wish you a wonderful New Years Eve and an amazing 2018!
[…] Anyway, how is your January going? Have you given up meat, dairy and eggs for #Veganuary? Maybe you’ve given up alcohol for dry January? Are you sad that all the jolliness and festivities are over for another year and now at a loose end trying to fill your days? Have you made new years resolutions to get fitter and subsequently joined a gym or taken up a new sport? It’s a known fact that January is the month that everyone starts with good intentions and by less than halfway through the month, enthusiasm wanes and people give up! There is apparently a ‘ditch New Years resolutions day’ but we so don’t want to go there! So, my message to you is keep going! […]