Your monthly guide to in-season, vegan eating. Easy, cheap and delicious, these recipes tick all of the boxes! In Season Vegan: January.

In Season Vegan: January

It’s January! Yes, it’s still freezing, but there’s something about January that gets me fired up and wanting to get outside as much as possible. The sun is returning and the mornings already feel so much brighter!

Getting outside more means more fuel is needed, while the post-Christmas bloat needs to go. Excess is minimal this month.

Why you should be eating the seasons.

When food isn’t in season, it has to be forced in energy guzzling hothouses or shipped in from overseas. This isn’t only bad for our planet: the fruit and veg taste best when they are at their natural peak. It is widely believed that fruit and veg that is in season retains more of its nutritional value as it hasn’t spent weeks being transported across the globe. My Riverford veg box makes this so much easier for me. I get seasonal, organic, mostly British grown produce on my doorstep every Thursday. We love it so much!

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In short: it tastes better, it’s better for our planet, it’s better for our bodies… and guess what? It’s often better for our wallets too.

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What’s in season in January?

Here is my pick of this season’s vegan ingredients. I use Eat the Seasons for all my seasonal lists (non-vegan website).

Vegetables.

Beetroot, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, celeriac, celery, horseradish, kale, leeks, parsnips, potatoes, shallots, swede, and turnips.

Fruit.

Apples, clementines, kiwi fruit, lemons, oranges, passionfruit, pears, pineapple, pomegranate, rhubarb, satsumas and tangerines.

Other.

Almonds, brazil nuts, and walnuts.

The best vegan recipes that are in season in January.

These are my top picks this month: a few of them I’ve already tried. The rest are on my list to make this month. Each recipe is warming, comforting and perfect to see you through winter and beyond.

• These baked beetroot falafels from Lazy Cat Kitchen look like the perfect batch cooking recipe for me. Beetroot has something of a love/hate relationship in our house – I love it, the kids hate it and Ian’s on the fence. There are definitely ways this recipe could be made easier (something for me to tinker with no doubt).
• I love the look of these vegan rhubarb and ginger muffins by Aimee of Wallflower Kitchen. It looks like just the right flavour combo – sweet and warming, ideal for lunchboxes and having friends over.

• We didn’t get a chance to make this garlic alfredo pasta with brussels sprouts from Minimalist Baker last month, but we’ve planned a date night for later in the month and it will be perfect for that.
• This vegan version of Cauliflower Cheese featured last month and it should still be on your rotation this month. It’s about as close to non-vegan cauliflower cheese as you can get, and a great looking centrepiece. You can always chop it into florets like your mum did if you prefer.

• My easy vegan veg curry is on the menu as always! Last month cauliflower curry went down a storm. Yummy! Cauliflower biryani has been calling me for a few weeks now. I have to make it! As soon as I do, I’ll put the recipe here.

Are you eating the seasons? What’s on your meal plan this month? Let me know in the comments!