It Has Never Been Easier To Take Part In Veganuary

Like Movember and Dry January, Veganuary aims to encourage people to try something new for a month in order to raise awareness for a good cause.

The key to Veganuary is in the name. A person commits to eating as a vegan for the month of January. This means not eating meat, fish or any animal by-products, such as dairy foods or eggs.

Instead, their diet will be mostly based on fruit, vegetables, plants, nuts, seeds and whole grains.

Times are changing. A few years ago, veganism was seen as something of a joke.

But veganism has definitely increased by a significant amount in recent years, alongside the rising interest in clean eating. In fact, last year we named veganism as one of the top food trends of 2016.

Apart from old stalwarts like Cornucopia and The Happy Pear, a load of vegan and vegan-friendly restaurants have been popping up. Staples on Grattan Street has a large vegan menu, as does Alchemy Juice Co, Brother Hubbard, freshii, KC Peaches, Industry, Govinda’s and Umi Falafel.

Here’s our list of the top 11 vegan lunch options in the city, and the six best eateries for a good vegan feed.

There are also certain types of food which are vegan-friendly, such as Vietnamese food and the rise of build-your-own salad bars like Chopped, Cocu and Blazing Salads.

Dublin even opened its first vegan butchers in 2016, and McGuinness’ Traditional Takeaway was not so traditional, being one of the first chippers to offer a full vegan menu.

The increasing interest seems to have less to do with a firm commitment to the cause than with a love to try new things. The vegan dishes on offer around Dublin are using some of the most exciting new ingredients. Others decide to go on a vegan diet to lose weight and eat healthier.

However, the aim behind the Veganuary campaign is to reduce the amount of animal suffering, and to help the environment by showing people it’s not as hard as they expect to stop eating animal products. But if you are going vegan full-time, it’s recommended you do research to make sure you’re getting all of the vitamins and nutrients you need in your diet.

The charity Veganuary was launched in 2014, and has since established regional websites in eight different countries, including the UK, US, Australia and Germany.

It’s still not too late to sign up if your interested, or to just try out a vegan diet for yourself. 

Alternatively, here’s a list of reasons why Veganuary sucks.

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