5 super simple plant based swaps

Hello everyone, I hope you've had a great weekend. It's been a weekend of lots of eating for me with a food workshop on Saturday, Father's Day dinner on Sunday and my husband's birthday yesterday.

It's been a lovely time with family but I'm looking forward to some healthy eating for the rest of the week now all the celebrations are over!

Today I thought I'd share some super simple plant based swaps for anyone who feels overwhelmed by the thought of switching to a plant based diet. There's so much to think about initially but it's all about the small steps that lead to the bigger goals you want to see, whether that's for your health, the environment or the animals.

I'm going to keep it easy in this post and stick to my top 5 swaps that you can pick up in most supermarkets.

1. Milk...

With so many non dairy options in the supermarkets now, you will be absolutely spoiled for choice. It's a matter of personal preference as to whether you choose oat milk, coconut milk, almond milk, hemp milk, hazelnut, cashew or rice milk. I'd recommend trying a few to see which you enjoy the taste of. My personal favourites are Oatly barista for my coffee and Oatly regular or coconut milk in my breakfast, porridge and smoothies.

2. Honey....

This is another easy swap to make because there are a plethora of sweetening options that don't come from animals.

You could choose from maple syrup, agave, coconut sugar, date syrup and there's probably more. My favourites are date syrup and maple syrup and I always have some coconut sugar in the house encase we have guests who'd like sugar in their tea/coffee.

3. Butter...

If I'm honest this one is a little less easy if you like the taste of butter on your toast. I've never liked margerine and most plant based spreads are just that. I've always found margerine to be far too processed and I don't like the taste.

I do still have butter if I'm out and there are no options or on the rare occasion I just fancy some toast with butter. Sometimes I feel like there's a fine line between highly processed margerine & spreads that are probably not very good for you and a little bit of butter now and then.

Butter alternatives, which I do really enjoy on my toast, are nut butters (there are so many to choose from), tahini or smashed avocado is also delicious. These are what I choose 99% of the time.

In terms of baking and cooking I use coconut oil. I also like olive oil or avocado oil on my salads and in dressings.

4. Yoghurt...

This is another straight forward swap as you can always get non dairy yoghurts in the supermarket.

My personal favourite is Coyo coconut yoghurt, which is super creamy and delicious. It is quite expensive but if you don't want to pay more for your yoghurt, you can also find soya yoghurt at a much cheaper price.

5. Eggs...

Personally I still eat eggs now and then with my breakfast or as a lazy and quick dinner but I substitute egg in my baking for chai seeds, ground flaxseed or mashed banana. It's definitely a game of trial and error to get the right consistency and texture but I find that these options alongside a little gluten free baking powder work really well, especially in things like brownies, banana bread, and chocolate cake.

Have you got any favourite plant based swaps or would you like to try some?