However, Veganuary can be begun at any time. Anyone who registers on the Veganuary website will receive emails with articles, videos and information about a vegan lifestyle for 31 days. We signed up for the first time this year and were pleasantly surprised. Registration is free and, in our opinion, offers valueable information. The daily emails are informative and varied and answer the most frequently asked questions on the subject.

We really enjoyed the 31-day journey and can recommend it to anyone who is interested. After all, a vegan diet can improve your health and help protect animals and the planet. We will therefore go into more detail about these three common reasons to try a vegan diet.

To make Veganuary easier, we recommend our vegan cookbook. More than 100 recipes cover every meal from breakfast and main dishes to snacks and desserts. The recipes give you step-by-step instructions so that everyone (even beginners 😊) can easily prepare plant-based dishes. Grocery shopping is a breeze with the enclosed detailed list.

1. For animal welfare

The FAO estimates that nearly 78 billion animals were killed for meat production in 2020. Many of these animals are kept in deplorable conditions until they are sent to the slaughterhouse.

Avoiding dishes containing animal products sets an example – not only during Veganuary, but also the rest of the year. Every meal makes a difference. Which brings us to the second reason:

2. For the health of the planet

On average, plant-based foods have significantly lower CO₂ emissions than products of animal origin. Over the entire supply chain, this can mean 10-50 times lower CO₂ emissions for plant-based food compared to animal-based food. According to Our World in Data, factors such as transportation distance, processing and packaging play a very minor role for all foods. So if you want to reduce your CO₂ emissions, you should pay more attention to the food itself than to its origin. If you would like to find out more about this topic, we recommend our article How to easily reduce your CO2 footprint.

3. For your own health

Plants are naturally free of cholesterol. Our body is able to produce its own. However, if we ingest cholesterol through food, as is the case with animal products, we can have too much of it. If you are taking cholesterol-lowering medication, you can usually reduce or even stop taking the medication after a few weeks by switching to a whole food plant-based diet – but please only do so with your doctor’s permission.

Another nice side effect of a vegan diet is often weight loss without dieting or exercising more. This is because most plants have a lower calorie density than animal products and contain fiber. This cleanses the intestines and feeds the “good bacteria” in our gut. This makes us feel full and also gives us a good digestion! 😊

However, this is not the case with highly processed plant-based foods such as sugar, refined grains and oil. If you want to do even more for your health, cut out processed foods as well.

Are you highly motivated to take part in Veganuary? Great! Sign up on the Veganuary website or simply challenge yourself for a month. Make sure to look into our cookbook where you’ll find more than 100 healthy, vegan recipes ranging from breakfast to starters, main courses and even desserts!

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Superfood salad

Black beans and lamb’s lettuce should be classified as superfoods.

The pineapple and bean salad bursts with antioxidants, which (among other things) counteract the ageing process in our bodies. Who doesn’t like to hear that? What’s more, this salad contains lots of fiber, which helps to build up and maintain healthy gut flora. The black beans also provide a good portion of protein, the building blocks for muscles, organs and blood.

The phytic acid in black beans appears to be linked to higher bone density and, in tests in laboratory dishes, prevented the growth of all types of human cancer tested to date, while leaving normal cells alone.

Dark green leafy vegetables, such as lamb’s lettuce, are also noteworthy as they have the highest nutritional value per calorie and are associated with the strongest protective effect against common chronic diseases and cardiovascular disease. These diseases can lead to heart attacks, high blood pressure and elevates cholesterol levels.

No more cholesterol-lowering medication

Speaking of elevated cholesterol levels: our body can produce enough cholesterol to meet its requirements. We therefore do not need to ingest cholesterol with our food. Cholesterol is found in animal products whereas plants do not contain any. Therefore, you can eat vegetables, fruit, wholegrain foods, nuts and seeds without having to worry about consuming too much cholesterol.

This is good news for anyone who no longer wants to take cholesterol-lowering medication. With a whole food plant-based diet, cholesterol levels can be reduced to a healthy level within a few weeks.

Anyone who regularly takes medication for chronic diseases such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure or diabetes must bear the following in mind: A whole food plant-based diet usually leads to a reduction in the dose or even complete discontinuation of the medication within a few weeks. These medication adjustments should never be made on your own, but always in consultation with and under the supervision of medical professionals.

Isn’t the power of nutrition impressive?! Side effects of this healthy diet may be increased energy and weight loss, to just to name a couple. You can find even more benefits here.

If you would like more scientific information about nutrition, our cookbook is perfect for you. The first part deals with the results of scientific studies, which are explained simply by Dr. Jeffrey Keller, PhD.

The recipe is calculated for 2 servings and can be prepared in just 10 minutes thanks to the pre-cooked canned beans! If you plan ahead, you can also soak the black beans in water a day in advance and cook them for about 1 hour before eating.

We recommend garnishing the salad with a few nuts of your choice so that all the fat-soluble vitamins can be absorbed. Chopped almonds or macadamia nuts, for example, go particularly well.

• 120 g     lamb’s lettuce or other dark green salad
• 240 g     black beans, cooked (1 can, drained weight)
• 100 g     pineapple, cut into small pieces
• 10          date tomatoes, wash and cut in half
• 10 nuts of your choice (e.g. chopped almonds or macadamia nuts)
• 2 tbsp apple vinegar
• 2 tbsp    Italian herb mixture
• 1 tbsp    oregano
• ½ tsp     dill

Arrange everything nicely and enjoy! As we say in Switzerland: En Guetä!

Fancy more delicious, healthy recipes? Discover our first cookbook and follow us on Instagram, Tiktok and Youtube.

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