Be it meat-free Mondays or the desire to start 2022 off with a diet overhaul, easily adapt and embrace Vegan offerings this year with thanks to Holly White & Frontier Foods.
Ireland ranks as the 10th most popular country globally for veganism, a statistic that’s a far cry from the traditional pint of milk, meat and two veg dietary staples we’re famous for. In fact, Dublin has been crowned the world’s most vegan-friendly city by Trip Advisor, with 1 in 5 restaurants, cafes and take-aways offering vegan-friendly options.
When it comes to plant-based home-cooking, it’s easy to whip up tasty meat and dairy-free meals. Gone are the days of relying on tofu and beans for protein – there’s now a huge amount of vegan substitutes on the market that taste increasingly like the real thing. Homegrown produce brand Frontier Foods know a thing or two about bringing the perfect Vegan ingredients to market, and how easy is it to make the swap in your day to day – even if you’re not moving fully over to the vegan way of life.
The Frontier Foods Coconut Oil (RRP – 500ml: €6.75/250ml: €4.29) is an ideal substitute for Butter when used in cooking and baking, while their Coconut Milk (RRP – €2.29) is a great alternative for traditional Milk & Cream in recipes. The brand’s Tahini (RRP €3.49) is a great multi-use vegan staple, perfect as a dip for veggies, a delicious spread on toast, a delectable flavour booster and thickener in soup and the staple ingredient in Hummus, to which you can easily add the brands Roasted Red Peppers (RRP €2.59) to for an added oomph.
Making vegan swaps in your day to day is quite simple, but can also appear daunting. Cookbook author, Frontier Foods Ambassador and longtime Vegan Holly White shares her tips for easily transitioning to a new way of life;
“While I am not a fan of dramatic changes or doing things just because they are trendy, there’s no doubt Veganism is a big thing. Lots of people are committing to eating without any animal products and having gone through it all myself, I’ve a lot of experience with the challenges you will face.
Personally, I cut out meat and chicken overnight but stayed eating very small amounts of dairy and fish, mainly in social situations, for about 6 months. That worked for me and the idea of going cold turkey vegan is pretty dramatic”
When talking about socialising and eating out when sticking to a vegan diet, Holly says, “Food is a social way to come together and the company and atmosphere takes precedence for me. My stance on eating has always been control what I can, go with the flow otherwise, and I try to never make anyone feel awkward.
Don’t ruin a dinner party or sit with an empty plate making everyone feel awkward. Eat well before and try what you like and don’t draw too much attention to yourself. I always offer to bring a dish that I know I can eat and honestly it makes me really happy when I see others enjoying it too!”
The Frontier Foods range of products are available in stockists nationwide, including Tesco, Dunnes Stores, Super Valu, Fresh Stores & Eurospar. For more information visit www.frontierfoods.ie
