* This post may contain affiliate links. Please know that all opinions are my own & that I would never recommend something that I don’t believe in. *
What is Veganuary? Basically, Veganuary is a pledge to try a vegan/plant-based lifestyle for the entire month of January (and hopefully beyond). Every year since 2014 the Veganuary website signs hundreds of thousands of people to try a vegan pledge.
“Our vision is simple; we want a vegan world.
A world without animal farms and slaughterhouses. A world where food production does not decimate forests, pollute rivers and oceans, exacerbate climate change and drive wild animal populations to extinction.
Our mission is to inspire and support people to try vegan, drive corporate change, and create a global mass movement championing compassionate food choices with the aim of ending animal farming, protecting the planet, and improving human health.”
Where do I Sign up for Veganuary?
Sign-up right here on the official Veganuary website. Once you sign up you will be given simple meal plans, recipes, and some tips & tricks to make this easy for you.
You can also read my previous article on 10 Easy Tips to Going Vegan in 2022.
I would recommend joining the Veganuary Facebook group. This will allow you to ask real time questions & to engage with people just like you; people who are also at the beginning of this beautiful vegan journey.
If you would like even more Veganuary Meal Plan ideas, simply subscribe with your email & get access to my very own-curated Meal Plan! The more recipes you have on deck at this point, the better.
Why try Veganuary?
In my 21 years of veganism I have found that the reasons people go vegan in the beginning are always varying. Some people have health concerns they want to get under control, some people want to have a smaller ecological footprint & help the environment as best they can, but in the end, I always find the biggest connection, is becoming more and more aware of how horribly mistreated animals on this planet are.
So for whatever reason your curiosity has brought you here, you are on the right path and keep going. Keep asking questions & keep getting out of your comfort zones. I promise you, there’s nothing weird or strange about being vegan & it has never been easier to do so.
There is this super cool tool online (a few versions actually) where you can see your impact on the environment & animal lives. I’ll check it every few years or so just to see how much my vegan lifestyle has helped. Basically you put in the months and/or years you’ve been vegan for and it calculates it for you.
Let’s say you did Veganuary for the whole month & you wanted to see your impact, it would look something like this…
It’s pretty amazing to save 30 animals in just one month. I’ve been vegan for over 21 years so my animal save count is something like 7,665! That’s incredible right? And remember, it is never too late in your life to start, a common saying in the vegan community is,
“I wish I had gone vegan sooner”.
What are the Health Benefits?
Considering that there are so many health benefits with a vegan diet, especially ones that follow a whole foods plant based diet, it’s no wonder more and more people are taking the pledge. Finally doctors, scientists, & health care professionals are acknowledging the true benefits to eating a whole-foods-plant-based diet.
Some known benefits are,
- Increased Heart Health
- Lower Cancer Risk
- Lower Risk of Type 2 Diabetes
- Better Type 1 Diabetes management
- Weight Loss (mainly for Whole Foods diet)
What Nutrients should I keep an eye on?
It is very easy to be unhealthy on any diet and that holds true for vegans as well. If you mainly eat vegan junk food or processed foods, that will definitely have an effect on your health. Just like if you ate that way on any diet, you would also expect to not be in the best health.
So, if you’re looking to increase your health with this lifestyle switch, I recommend getting your blood work done beforehand if you can & about a month or two after the switch. This way you’ll know exactly what nutrients you might need supplementation for.
Unfortunately, there can be a lot of stigmas with supplements like, “It can’t be a healthy diet if I have to take supplements”. The thing is, nearly all North American diets are nutrient deprived and that is why nearly all people should be taking some supplements daily. Always make sure you’re taking a vegan version or finding a way to incorporate/find it with/in your foods.
Some Nutrients to keep an eye on,
- b12 (supplements, nutritional yeast, fortified cereals)
- Vitamin D (D3 pills, fortified foods)
- Omegas (walnuts, flax seeds, seaweeds, supplement)
- Iodine (tinctures & fortified foods)
- Iron (dark leafy greens, beans, & supplements)
Tools to make the transition easier –
When I’m travelling, even if I’m only in a nearby city, I will use the Yelp app to help find local vegan joints I can try out. Yelp is my number 1 go-to vegan restaurant finder. It has helped me so many times when I’ve been alone in new territories, traveling for work, etc.
Another great app/tool is the Go Nutss vegan translator. This tool will help you turn everything vegan. They have amazing vegan cheat sheets, baking & protein calculators and more. Basically you can search for a nonvegan food & they’ll find you the vegan alternative.
As mentioned in my A Vegan’s Guide to Supporting Local this Holiday Season article, A Billion Veg is another great tool to help guide you through all things vegan. They have articles, local search engines to find vegan foods near you, and a great community to share and learn from.
I mentioned earlier in this post that I wrote an entire article on Easy New Year’s Resolutions to go Vegan in ’22 which has many useful tips, tools, & suggestions to try to help you through this transition. Be sure to check it out.
If you would like to receive a sample Vegan Meal Plan then please join the mailing list right here. You will be sent an easy & tasty vegan meal plan to help bulk up your vegan recipes & meal ideas.
Veganuary Meal Plan
Bonus Veganuary Tips:
- Remember that accidents & mistakes happen. Don’t beat yourself up if you find out later that something wasn’t vegan. Don’t start over. Don’t spiral into a bigger crash. Just know that that happens all of the time! Unfortunately we do not live in a vegan world yet and it’s going to be very easy to mess up from time to time, especially in the beginning. JUST PUSH THROUGH!
- Checkout my partnership with A. Vogel supplements. They’re offering a 20% discount using my code ABLOGABOUTSTUFF20. Most of their supplements are entirely vegan with the exception of a few that contain hunny. I’d also love to mention that I will be donating ALL of my commissions earned this year to an animal sanctuary!
- Follow me on socials! On IG I post day to day life stuff showcasing how effortless a vegan lifestyle can truly be @ablogaboutstuff_. On Twitter I share a lot of animal rights petitions for others to sign & to help get equality for all sentient creatures moving @ABlogAboutStuff. I share all of my blog posts on my Pinterest account along with a ton of other useful vegan content from a bunch of other creators/vegans @ablogaboutstuff. I also have a FB page with a lovely little growing community where you can ask all sorts of vegan questions A Blog About Stuff FB.
Don’t be shy either, you can always reach out to me with any questions about veganism. I truly love encouraging and helping people ease into this new lifestyle. Send me an email keirst@ablogaboutstuff.com
Happy New Year!
Veganuary sounds like an interesting idea! It would be a great introduction for someone like me 🙂 Thanks for the information!
My pleasure! You’re going to love it!
I love this idea. I think I’ll be looking into Veganuary.
Yay! Love to hear that
Awesome! Can’t wait to share this with my husband as we are trying to go more vegan
That is awesome. So happy for you guys, reach out any time if you need any tips
Thank you for sharing so many helpful resources. A fully plant based diet and thwarting animal cruelty in the process is a win win!!
Right?!
What a great idea and perfect way to get people started on a vegan lifestyle
Having all of the support really makes it so much easier.
So well written and so informative blog post! I have to idea about this Veganuary event. Our 15 years old son is vegetarian since he is 10 years old. I bet he would love this challenge.
Oh that’s so wonderful to hear! He would totally love it
Oh! I get dizzy and weak if not eating red meat. I tried supplenting iron, calcium and vitamins goup b but it doesn’t help:(
Hmm… Thanks for this comment Larissa. I’m not a doctor so I won’t be giving any medical advice but I do know that so many women in particular suffer from low iron. They say Women ages 19 to 50 need about 18 mg a day. I also know many women who have had issues with low iron successfully transition to a vegan lifestyle.
Some foods I would recommend to those suffering with low iron:
– Fortified breakfast cereals, both hot and cold
– Blackstrap molasses
– Green leafy vegetables
– Dried beans, such as black and kidney beans, and lentils
– Whole grains
– Enriched rice or pasta
– Pumpkin seeds
– Prune juice
– Dried fruit, especially raisins
Also, with the advancements in alternative meats like Beyond Meat, you can find a ton of iron in them as well.
I hope you can give it a try not only for the animals but also for your own health as red meat is considered a carcinogen and can lead to colon cancer & breast cancer in women.
The health benefits are clear!
This is an interesting idea. I had never heard of it before.
I have been thinking about going Vegan for a while. These tips are very helpful in getting started. Thanks for sharing.
That’s so wonderful! I hope you can sign up for Veganuary and give it a try
This year was my first year doing Veganuary and I loved it! Even though we’ve been vegan for 2 years, I wanted to try it. And I love that calculator. We use it to show our kids how much of an impact we’re making with this decision. 🙂 I totally recommend the Facebook group. It’s awesome!
Aw I bet the kids think that calculator is so cool and helps nourish their compassion.
They think it’s pretty cool. 🙂 Thanks for the reminder to sign up again for Veganuary. In 2021 I think they broke records for how many signed up. Here’s hoping 2022 is the same!
It just keeps getting bigger & bigger
Yea and the recipes they shared last year were great! I need some new WFPB recipes!
TBH, I need more WFPB in my life too. Been slacking and eating too much of the junk food vegan items lately
Veganuary is a great introduction to a lifestyle that can become permanent! Excellent info.
I know, it’s such a simple step with so much support for curious new vegans.
I have good friends that are vegan, and they’ve explained how they use supplements to balance some of their nutritional needs. They love their lifestyle and wouldn’t have it any other way.
That’s wonderful. When I 1st went vegan 20 years ago I knew no other vegans, it’s really great to see/hear more and more people making the change.
Interesting! Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for the information.
This might be something I could even convince my family to participate in!
That would be amazing! It definitely makes it easier when the whole family is on board.
I respect people’s decision to go vegan, however, it is not for me.
That’s too bad 🙁
I had never heard of Veganuary. What a great way to promote being vegan!
Right? It’s such a fun campaign, over 400,000 people signed up this year!
That is awesome they have a Facebook group to get support.
Totally, definitely makes it easier when you have people to reach out to.
I didn’t know about Veganuary…we did meatless Mondays for awhile but then went off track. Can’t wait to check out these resources and see what we can do!
That’s awesome. Every little bit helps <3
I have never heard of Veganuary! I don’t think I could make such a drastic switch in my diet all at once though. We try to eat plant based meals several times a week, and that’s probably as close as I will get.
That’s great that you’re already incorporating. Veganuary is a really fun way to participate for sure.
Plant based diet sounds so healthy. I’m being totally honest when I say I don’t think I could do it completely.
You’d be surprised, veganism has come a loooooong way, especially since when I first became vegan.
As an extremely conscientious producer of food, we grow and raise all that we consume, I feel I am meeting most of what the vegan pledge consists of , except we consume meat products that we raise ourselves. You’ve definitely provided a lot of information for those looking to become vegan, however.
I love that you’re impact is definitely so much less than most traditional consumers/eaters.
This is an interesting post. I have never considered going vegan, but you have really made me rething some things. Thanks.
I love that! If you ever have any questions please reach out, keirst@ablogaboutstuff.com
I love it – veganuary – We have lived a vegetarian sometimes vegan lifestyle for many years – I always love the way I feel when I eliminate meat.
That’s awesome Sandi! My husband actually said the same thing when he first went vegan nearly 8 years ago.
What a great idea to promote a vegan lifestyle. I think this will help people to get on board.
It really does, over 400,000 people signed up this year.
I keep toying with the idea of joining Veganuary, but hesitate because I know that I don’t want something else that I intend on starting that I will fail at… old habits die hard!
haha you know what, it’s not about perfection, it’s about progress 😀
I’ve always wanted to know more of the health aspects of becoming vegan
Very Interesting. I’ve always wanted to know more of the health aspects of becoming vegan
Oh man, checkout some of the documentaries listed. It’s seriously endless. Obviously veganism doesn’t make you invincible but it helps prevent so many diseases.
WOW! I had not heard of this before! I think it’s a great idea! I love eating plant-based diet and this could be a way to get my family involved!
It is a really great thing to do together. My neighbours actually started their whole family on it this year.
I have been slowly trying to get away from eating beef and poultry. I definitely agree that no matter how you eat we all need to supplement our diets. Great post!
Oh that’s wonderful to hear! and yes, with our soils being less nutrient rich and so many nutrients that don’t actually absorb properly from their source, it’s important to keep on supplements for all.
While we have cut out red meat, we are far from vegan. Veganuary seems like a huge leap for us: maybe we can start with vegan 3 times per week?
Totally! The goal is to obviously have a cruelty free world but we all have to start somewhere.