Veganuary 2021
Do you remember, not so long ago, when being vegan was considered ‘niche’?
Well, that was before the number of vegans in the UK exploded to the current figure of around 2.2 million.
That may only represent a small percentage of the population, but in reality, it’s massive.
Credit for this has to go to Veganuary, the month-long event in January where people embrace a plant-based diet.
In 2019, 250,000 people signed up to Veganuary and in 2020 this rose to a record number of 400,000, so you can only assume this will go well over the half a million mark in 2021.
What is even more interesting is that 72% of people surveyed in 2020 said they planned to continue with a vegan diet once January ends. The main reasons for this decision included their increased knowledge about veganism, finding out that a vegan diet was easier than expected, as well as improved health.
But just as encouraging is that regardless whether people observe Veganuary or not, millions of us are now, at one time or another likely to eat a vegan meal regularly, particularly young people.
It’s not as surprising as you may think, given the wealth of great vegan food now available. It’s the biggest growing aisle in supermarkets and you only need to look at a restaurant menu or fast-food restaurant these days to know this is no longer niche, but something that is here to stay.
Who could forget Veganuary 2020 when KFC gave us the vegan fillet burger, Greggs introduced us to the vegan steak bake, following the massive success of their vegan sausage roll and Burger King unveiled the Rebel Whopper which tasted just like the real thing.
As well as supermarkets, pubs, restaurants, and fast-food outlets, we now have amazing vegan recipes to follow so we can create amazing vegan food in the comfort of our own home.
Understandably, we’re a big fan of dips at Zorba, so inspired by the wonderful MOB Kitchen, we had a go at making their Vegan Roast Garlic Aioli.
We challenged our very own Jacques Tasker to make the dip and this is what he thought of the end result:
Jacques’ verdict
This was my first time ever attempting to make a vegan dip but the process was quick & easy with very few & simple steps to follow.
I must admit, I prefer a non-vegan garlic aioli, however, as a vegan alternative my family and I were very impressed!
We particularly enjoyed it with carrot & cucumber sticks as a light nibble before dinner and it they hit the spot!
I would definitely recommend making this to anyone attempting Veganuary.
