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Love it or hate it, it’s almost here again and, although it can be a bit of a tough time if you’re the only vegan in an unsympathetic family, it doesn’t mean going without. Nor, if you’re worried about it, does it mean causing too much disruption.
If you have space in the kitchen, and the inclination, there are an infinite number of possibilities for your main course on Christmas Day. Nut roast has become the ‘traditional’ vegetarian option, and there are hundreds of different recipes of varying complexity. Some can be very quick and easy, as long as you have a food processor to chop up the nuts. But nut roast isn’t compulsory and you’ll find countless other recipe ideas online.
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If you can’t be bothered with cooking and enjoy convenience foods that imitate meat, you could always purchase a VBites Celebration Roast (RRP £5.89). It’s a ‘turkey-style’ roast that comes with a gravy mix and four vegan sausages wrapped in meat-free bacon. You just bung it in the oven for approximately 40 minutes and would probably serve two.
All the vegetables and accompaniments can easily be made vegan with a little thought – gravy, stuffing, etc – and the vegetables shouldn’t be a problem, provided the spuds are roasted in vegetable oil.
This year’s supermarket Christmas pudding choice isn’t too bad. The plainly titled Sainsbury’s Christmas Pudding is vegan, as are Asda’s Smartprice and Chosen by You puddings. Lidl’s version also appears to be suitable, apart from a question mark over the tiny quantity of sherry.
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We also found mince pies suitable for vegans in Lidl, Morrison’s, Waitrose (Essential range) and Asda (Smartprice and Chosen by You). If you want to bake your own, most mincemeat is now 100% animal-free. Just check the ingredients.
Christmas cakes are more of a problem. You’ll either have to make your own (loads of recipes on the internet) or buy one from a specialist mail order company such as 1066 Cake Stand who are offering a collection service for pre-ordered cakes at our Christmas Fayre on 7th December.
Happy Christmas everybody!
