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As we welcome in 2025, many of us may be considering making New Year’s resolutions. Perhaps that’s buying a gym membership or promising to attend all of your lectures this term (good luck with that!). Something that might be on our minds this year is going green - taking action to live a more sustainable lifestyle, and one way this can be done is by rethinking your diet.
The month of January has become ‘Veganuary’ to promote the benefits of a plant-based diet, both for the planet and people’s health. To help you get involved, whether as a committed vegan or to try something new, the university’s Vegetarian and Vegan Society (Vegsoc) has put together a list of recommended cookbooks for all tastes, showing that dinner doesn’t need meat to be delicious!
· The Happy Pear (David and Stephen Flynn) – a great introduction to vegan cooking with a wide range of recipes.
· Vegan in 7 (Rita Serano) – offers a selection of simple meals using only 7 ingredients (or less!)
· Linda McCartney’s Family Kitchen – a pioneer of the plant-based movement, this book pays tribute to Linda and her life as an activist and artist, with a compilation of comforting meals.
· Anything You Can Cook, I Can Cook Vegan (Richard Makin)– try this book if you think being vegan means you have to compromise on classic dishes and desserts.
· BOSH! (Cookbook Series) – providing plenty of meat-free recipes.
· Vegan Chinese Food (Yang Liu) – offering exactly that!
· Vegetarian India (Madhur Jaffrey) - provides a mouth-watering variety of Indian dishes
· No-Oil Vegetarian Cooking (Sanjeev Kapoor) has plenty more Indian recipes for you.
Still unsure?
If you’re not quite sure what all the fuss is about, check out Ed Winter’s book This is Vegan Propaganda, where he breaks down the issues associated with meat and animal products. The non-profit Sea Shepherd works to protect marine life by taking direct actions on the seas, and their official cookbook Cookin’ Up a Storm takes inspiration from the vegan meals served to the crew as they work on the charity’s flagship. The vegan diet is further promoted by Michael Greger through both his books and cookbooks as he points out the health benefits of plant-based meals.
Still not convinced? Why not try vegan cooking for yourself! The Community Library has Vegan Chinese Food, Vegan in 7, and Anything You Can Cook, I Can Cook Vegan available to be borrowed - simply head over to the Guild space on Streatham campus and find all the inspiration you need to get cooking!
Online recipes
If you can't make it to Devonshire House, we've found some extra recipe collections for you!
BBC Food Recipes
Vegan Recipe Club
Veganuary Recipes
BBC Good Food Recipes
Student Beans Recipes
Matilda Jenkins – Student Community Librarian