A plant-based diet is hailed as a healthier alternative to eating meat, but it turns out that rather than being colourful and fresh, some vegan food can be rather beige.
The Ugly Vegan Instagram account, which boasts more than 50,000 followers, encourages people around the world to share their most unappealing plant-based dishes, to prove that there’s more to veganism than salad.
Instagram user Lucie, from London, is the brains behind the account, and started the page originally to ‘poke fun’ at the ‘incredibly narrow representation’ of a plant-based diet.
Dishes featured include, pasta, noodles, bread, baked beans, Pom Bears, garlic bread, Linda McCartney sausages, vegan nuggets, potato waffles, dairy-free cheese, fake bacon and spaghetti hoops.
The account also shows that vegans don’t have to be subject to Buddha bowls and salad while eating at restaurants with users posting pictures of carb-heavy dishes at restaurants such as as Simplicity Burger and Arancini Brothers, both in East London.
Instagram user @bethpenningtonx shared her feast of potato smiley faces, garlic bread and other vegan treats
User blobfishies_art posted a masterpiece of pasta with two lots vegan cheese and a section of vegan nuggets
User @leannep_ shared an image of vegan bacon and cheese sandwiched in between two potatoes
Sharing a picture eating a vegan burger to celebrate 50,000 followers, Lucie recently wrote: ‘Veganism used to be seen as a ‘diet’ for yoga moms, hippies and weirdos: it was unhealthy, it was labelled extreme, expensive and tasteless but oh HOW FAR WE HAVE COME.
‘I never expected veganism to explode like this and i certainly didn’t expect Ugly Vegan to either. Veganism has enabled us to make such positive impacts on our planet & minds.’
She went on to say that veganism gave her a ‘positive relationship’ with food and insisted that her lifestyle choice is ‘not a diet’.
‘I’ve tried my best to use Ugly Vegan for the power of good and appreciate you guys letting me spread my words.
Creator Lucie, from London. celebrates her account getting 50k followers at Simplicity Burger in East london
Lucie shared a picture of the vegan brunch she at at Arancini Brothers in East London
Instagram user @pompey_plant_powered shared onion rings with potato croquettes dipped in curry sauce
Instagram user plantbased_h_ shared their take on a classic Katsu curry using vegan nuggets
Instagram user noporkiepies shared this dubious looking instant noodle sandwich
User @blobfishies_art struck again after posting a picture of baked beans swimming in a pool of instant noodles surrounded by Pom Bear crisps
‘I’ve told you a hundred times that I believe that at the very heart of veganism is KINDNESS – and that comes in so many beautiful shapes and sizes. We’re out here putting kindness on our plates, and hell, we are NOT on a diet.
‘I’m so thankful to veganism for giving me a positive relationship with food, i’m thankful for all the lessons I’m learning about kindness, I’m thankful for this magical planet we live on.
‘I’m thankful for the incredible people I’ve met through the vegan community & f*** I am thankful for every piece of food that hasn’t had to suffer for my taste buds.’
Lucie even has her own shop selling merchandise, including a tote bag emblazoned with things vegans frequently hear, such as ‘Are you vegan because it’s trendy?’ and ‘It’s the circle of life’.
Instagram user anothergirlsgold shared this creation made from potatoe waffles, mushrooms, vegan sausages, baked beans and rosemary
User vicsta_the_vegan shared her vegan pigs in blankets swimming in a pool of spaghetti hoops with some granary bread
User keziah_rose shared a pictured of her Naked noodle cup paired with two vegan sausages