World Vegan Day
Every year on the 1st November, World Vegan Day is celebrated globally. It is a national day which aims to celebrate the benefits to a vegan lifestyle and plant-based diet. You don’t have to be vegan to take part in celebrations, but any contribution helps towards the overall goal of raising awareness. Discover the history of World Vegan Day and some healthy recipes you can try at home with our guide.
What is World Vegan Day?
World Vegan Day is a national day which aims to celebrate all things vegan. Started by the Vegan Society, this celebration takes place on the 1st November every year. It coincides with vegan month, which is the whole of November, so you can really embrace the vegan lifestyle before the festive period begins. To work alongside vegan month, Veganuary was created to encourage people to ditch the meat as part of their New Year’s resolutions. A total of over 500,000 people took the pledge in January 2021, but it is thought more people took part without signing up.
The purpose of World Vegan Day is to recognise how far the movement has come since starting in 1994 by Louise Wallis, the then Chair of The Vegan Society in the UK. It was founded as a way to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Vegan Society, but the lifestyle of not eating animal products was around long before this time.
Becoming vegan is made easier with Mindful Chef, as we have a whole range of vegan recipes for you to try and a convenient vegan recipe box, which can get delivered straight to your door! Try them for yourself now!
5 Ways to Celebrate World Vegan Day 2021
- Try a vegan diet
- Cook vegan recipes
- Take part in festivals and exhibitions for World Vegan Day
- Learn the benefits of a vegan lifestyle
- Sign up to World Vegan Day campaigns to show your support
Celebrating World Vegan Day can be easy. We have 5 ways you can show your support, even if your preferences are not for this lifestyle. Once trying combinations of vegan dishes, you can see for yourself how easy and accessible they are for everyday. Many find that trying easy vegan recipes and incorporating them into their meals a couple of times a week, can save on time and be beneficial to their health.
Cook from our Selection of Vegan Recipes
For your World Vegan Day celebrations, try a selection of our healthy plant-based recipes to get the party started! We have showcased three of our favourite dishes which are quick and easy to make. You can discover vegan cuisines from all over the world, starting with our healthy european recipes, healthy italian recipes, and healthy mexican recipes.
Black Bean Burger with Sweet Potato Fries
Ready in 30 minutes, our black bean burger with sweet potato fries has all the elements of this classic dish without the meat. Paprika adds the flavour, buckwheat flour brings body-boosting minerals and the smashed avocado lends a decadent creaminess to the dish. Our vegan recipe has been approved by the British Heart Foundation dietitians, which help to support heart and circulatory health.
Nutritional Information
- Calories: 605
- Protein: 17g
- Carbs: 75g
- Fat: 27g
Ingredients for a World Vegan Day Bean Burger & Sweet Potato Fries
- 1 avocado
- 240g black beans (drained)
- 2 tbsp buckwheat flour
- ½ tsp red chilli flakes
- 1 handful of fresh coriander
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 lime (use half)
- 1 red onion
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 300g sweet potato
- 2 large tomatoes
Cooking Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200C / fan 180C / gas mark 6. Peel the potato and cut into fries. Combine in a bowl with half the paprika, 1/2 tbsp oil, sea salt and pinch of black pepper. Transfer to a baking tray and bake for 20-25 mins, until golden, turning halfway.
- Thinly slice half the onion. Finely dice the remaining onion. Heat a frying pan with 1 tsp oil on a medium heat. Add the sliced onion. Cook for 2-3 mins, until softened, then transfer to a bowl. Keep warm.
- Keeping the frying pan on the heat, add the diced onion and cook for 2 mins. Drain the beans, rinse, then add to the pan with the chilli, cumin and remaining paprika. Cook for 3 mins, adding 4 tbsp water during the last minute, then transfer to a bowl. Mash well, then stir in the flour. Let it rest for a few mins, until cool enough to handle.
- Shape the mix into 2 burgers. Clean the frying pan and reheat with 1 tbsp oil on a medium heat. Cook the burgers for 3-4 mins on each side, until golden.
- Meanwhile, make the guacamole. Peel the avocado and destone. Spoon the flesh into a bowl and mash with the back of a fork. Dice the tomatoes and roughly chop the coriander; add to the bowl with the juice from the half lime, sea salt and black pepper. Mix.
- Serve the burgers topped with the fried onions, alongside the fries and guacamole.
Veggie Spaghetti Bolognese
A family favourite meal, with a vegan twist, is our veggie spaghetti bolognese. Think earthy lentils, sun dried tomatoes, courgettes and tenderstem broccoli in the sauce. To serve, we plate the dish with gluten free, nutty red lentil spaghetti which you can use to lap up all the flavours.
Nutritional Information
- Calories: 477
- Protein: 27g
- Carbs: 63g
- Fat: 12g
Ingredients for a World Vegan Day Spaghetti Bolognese
- 3 tsp dried basil
- 2 x carrot
- 150g courgette
- 4 garlic clove
- 240g lentils in water (drained)
- 1 handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 400g passata
- 250g Profusion Organic red lentil spaghetti
- 80g sundried tomatoes
- 300g tenderstem broccoli
- 240g baby plum tomatoes
- 2 tbsp tomato puree
Cooking Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 220C / fan 200C / gas mark 7. Peel the carrots and finely dice. Finely dice the courgette. Finely chop or crush the garlic. Roughly chop the parsley.
- Heat a large saucepan with 4 tsp oil on a medium heat. Add the carrots, courgette, garlic, basil and half the parsley. Cook for 3-4 mins, until softening.
- Meanwhile, halve the fresh tomatoes. Roughly chop the sundried tomatoes. Add both to the saucepan with the tomato puree. Cook for 1 min, then add the passata; rinse out the cartons with 100ml water and add to the pan. Drain the lentils, rinse and add to the saucepan. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Simmer the bolognese for 10-15 mins, until the sauce thickens. Boil a kettle.
- Half-fill a large saucepan with lightly salted boiling water. Add the spaghetti and boil for 15 mins, then drain.
- Trim the broccoli and place on a baking tray. Drizzle with 2 tsp oil and season with a pinch of salt. Mix then roast for 10 mins, until cooked and charring at the edges.
- Serve the spaghetti topped with the bolognese, and the broccoli on the side. Sprinkle with the remaining parsley; season with black pepper.
Creamy Veggie Moussaka with Green Beans
Creamy béchamel; gooey, slow cooked aubergine; hearty tomato sauce – your next World Vegan Day dish is our creamy veggie moussaka with green beans. It incorporates all the traditional moussaka features and flavours, minus the meat. Our twist on a classic sees the healthy recipe served with fresh, fibre-rich green beans.
Nutritional Information
- Calories: 467
- Protein: 21g
- Carbs: 41g
- Fat: 22g
Ingredients for a World Vegan Day Moussaka with Green Beans
- 2 aubergine
- 3 tsp dried basil
- 150g courgette
- 3 garlic clove
- 300g green beans
- 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1 red onion
- 400g passata
- 1 red pepper
- 1 vegetable stock cube(Celery)
- 160g coconut yoghurt
- 160g green lentils
Cooking Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 220C / fan 200C / gas mark 7. Boil a kettle. Place the lentils in a saucepan and cover with 600ml boiling water. Cook for 25 mins, adding more water if needed. Dissolve the stock cube in a jug with 200ml boiling water.
- Thinly slice the aubergines and place on a lined tray. Drizzle with 2 tbsp oil, then season with sea salt and black pepper. Roast for 20 mins, until soft, turning halfway through.
- Meanwhile, finely dice the onion. Finely chop or grate the garlic. Cut the pepper and courgette into 1cm dice. Heat a large frying pan with 1 tbsp oil on a medium heat. Add the onion and pepper and cook for 5 mins, then add the garlic and courgette and cook for a further minute before adding the basil, passata and stock. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 mins, then add the lentils and simmer for a further 5 mins.
- Meanwhile, make the béchamel; in a small bowl mix the yoghurt and nutritional yeast with sea salt, black pepper and 2 tbsp cold water. Transfer the lentil mix to an ovenproof dish and arrange the aubergines on top. Spread the béchamel over the aubergines and bake for 10 mins, until golden (alternatively, place under a grill for 5 mins).
- Reboil the kettle. Trim the beans, place in a saucepan and cover with lightly salted boiling water. Boil for 4 mins, then drain. Season with sea salt and black pepper.
- Serve the lentil moussaka with the beans.
Once you’ve celebrated World Vegan Day, continue your plant-based journey with the help of Mindful Chef. You can discover more than 1,000 healthy, delicious recipes that are available to choose from for each day of the week. To make eating vegan easier, we have a selection of plant based recipes to choose from. Swapping to a vegan diet is easy and you don’t have to sacrifice on flavours!
To start off World Vegan Day with success, choose our healthy recipe boxes which provide an easy to follow recipe card with fresh, responsibly sourced ingredients. Simply choose your dishes, pick a delivery date and we take care of the rest! The recipe boxes get delivered straight to your door and can be the convenient way to try a vegan diet with no food waste!
Source: MindfulChef.com
