Best known for her low-cost recipes that cost pennies per portion, Jack Monroe has embraced veganism and hopes to tempt meat-eaters into a healthier, cheaper lifestyle
I first adopted a more plant-based diet in January 2016, and like most of my adventures, I didn’t do it by halves. I went vegan for Veganuary, and loved the new life and colour that my cookery took on. I encouraged my household to follow suit, and they attempted it with enthusiasm and an open mind.
But as a food writer working primarily with families on very low incomes and food bank users, my work and lifestyle can never be described as ‘completely’ vegan. I no longer use the label to describe myself, because it doesn’t quite fit, like a shirt two sizes too small. Instead, I create mostly vegan recipes that are simple, affordable, and accessible – hoping to encourage more people to consume fewer animal products through temptation and seduction, rather than guilt and self-loathing.
My theory is, if all of us adopted a few more plant-based meals into our diets on a weekly basis, not only would our food bills go down, but so would our environmental impact, and the demand for animal products would naturally decrease. Many of my readers now describe themselves as ‘mostly vegan’, due in part to a surfeit of readily available, non-threatening, easy meal ideas.
There may be a few unfamiliar ingredients, but don’t let that put you off. The herbs and spices used here are slightly more extensive than my previous tomes, but not excessively so.
And as with all of my recipes, if you want to un-veganize them, feel free, I’m not going to sulk about it. This book is here as a guide to show you how to make incredible vegan food with very little effort – but if you want to switch one kind of milk out for another, or cheese, or whatever, use them as a base to play with. I write guidelines, not prescriptions.
From Vegan(ish) by Jack Monroe, published by Pan Macmillan, £16.99
