We've all been there.
Sore head, grumbly stomach and perhaps a bit of spew in the toilet. Yep, we're talking hangovers. Conventional hangover wisdom would encourage you to grab a bacon sandwich or order something from your local pizza place. However, as with all conventional wisdom, this advice isn't one-size-fits-all and for us vegans, a meat-filled fry-up isn't going to help our bodies get to the point where they can semi-function for the rest of the day.
So what's a vegan to do?
It took me a while to get around this issue, and it was one of my final hurdles in completing the full vegan transition. Today I'm going to share some of what I've learnt along the way and what I like to munch on when I've had one too many the night before.
Meat-Free Chicken and Mushroom Pasties
Picture this: me on New Years Day with a stinking hangover standing on Queen Street on the way home from an after-party with a sombre look on my face as I realised Holland & Barrett was shut and me staring at its door wasn't going to change that. The struggle that day was real as I realised my favourite hangover food, the Vbites Mushroom & Chicken pasties, wouldn't be joining me for my hungover Kardashians binge in bed.
Orange Juice
From the first day I ever knew what a hangover felt like (which was obviously from legal drinking age onwards *looks shifty*), it was orange juice I began reaching for. A big gush of vitamins in one go and enough flavour to perk me up. A saviour in my pre-vegan days, and still a saviour now.
Sainsbury's tomato and basil soup
Stay with me here. I would have never imagined I'd want soup to cure a hangover, as I don't even like soup all that much. It was on the aforementioned New Year's Day that I instead headed into the open Sainsbury's and had the sudden craving to buy one of their soup pots. It makes sense when you think about it though: sharp flavour, healthy and will go down easier than solid food.
Some fruit
Apples, tangerines, healthy stuff. Get it down ya.
My special vegan sandwich
Depending on whether or not I happen to have bread, vegan bacon, avocado and tattie scones in my kitchen, I'll sometimes throw them together in a mega-hangover sandwich.
My special vegan sandwich
Depending on whether or not I happen to have bread, vegan bacon, avocado and tattie scones in my kitchen, I'll sometimes throw them together in a mega-hangover sandwich.
A vegan fry-up
Still on my (rather long) list of blog posts to write is what I include in my vegan fry-up. The short version of that blog post is: fake bacon, hash browns, baked beans, toast (with Marmite), veggie sausages and, if I've pre-prepared them, my own home-made fruit puddings. A vegan version of a hangover classic. If you're not intolerant to soya like me you can even make some tofu scramble to mimic scrambled eggs.
Do you have any other vegan foods you swear by when you have a hangover? Let me know in the comments.
P.S. Some posts you might also be interested in: Being vegan at the bar and Tropical Coconut Smoothie Cocktail.