30-Day African Vegan Challenge - Week One

Welcome to a recap of the highlights of Week One of my 30-Day African Vegan Project

african vegan challenge-week one .

So, having stocked up my vegan pantry, I was ready to start the challenge on Day one.

As a bit of background, before this African vegan challenge, my diet was largely plant-based with an approximate split of 80% plant-based and 20% animal-based. But despite this huge tilt towards plant-based eating, I had a nagging suspicion that 30 days as an African vegan would be challenging as I have an un-natural addiction to cheese and a disgraceful weakness for yogurt 🙂

In spite of my suspicions, I was ready to power ahead with the challenge. Day one of my African vegan pledge started on the 17th October 2017. It’s now officially just over a week and here is a recap of the highlights of the last week:

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My African Vegan Food Diary

Breakfast..

Bircher muesli made it on the breakfast menu a few times. Its’ prominence on the breakfast menu helped by the fact that the kids just love muesli and asked for a bowl of muesli almost every other morning. I vegan-ized this by subbing milk and cream for almond milk, and subbing honey for date syrup. Yum!

I’ve had fun with the toppings, of which, the possibilities are endless; pomegranates, flaxseed, chia seeds, coconut flakes, dates, figs… You get the picture? In summary, this is one filling and hearty way to start the day.

Smoothies were another favourite. This Baobab smoothie – my blend-and-go breakfast option.

Dinners..

were surprisingly easy. My love affair with coconut blossomed. I made Veggie Wali wa Nazi (swahili for coconut rice) which everyone (including the meat-eaters at home) enjoyed immensely.

veggie-coconut-rice-wali-wa-nazi

I also made this coconut curry dish, which is similar in so many ways to the previous one. oh so yummy!

east+african-inspired+coconut+curry+rice

And not to mention the various forms of chickpea and avocado salads, with the various permutations of veggies in tow, which I have been feasting on this week.

So far, I feel like I have eaten well this week and enjoyed a balanced diet. I have also certainly learnt a few things about veganism this week, which I will share in my next update. And of course, I have to reserve an update dedicated to my challenges (of which so far, there are a few) and how I am compensating for those.

And now, your turn! Are you vegan? or transitioning? What did you find the hardest? And what meal do you always seem to have on rotation? And even if you are not vegan, have you ever considered the idea? Why did you not follow through?

I’d like to know. Please leave me a comment below or hit me up on Facebook!

P.S. Catch up on why I took the 30 day African vegan challenge here and check out how I got on with week two of the challenge here.