I present to you your new home for inspiration. The Fussy Vegan in Galway Instagram account run by Claire O’Connor is a great mix of all things vegan. When you’re looking for a new food place to try, you hope the food will delight your taste buds and remain nutritious at the same time. The page is definitely worth exploring.
Tell me a little bit about yourself
I became a vegetarian when I was 14. My grandad had a farm growing up, so I’ve always loved animals.
About seven years ago I was introduced to the horrors of the dairy and the egg industry. So, from that minute on, I became vegan as well.
What is your Instagram account about?
To be honest, at the minute it’s really just somewhere for me to photo dump. It’s mainly vegan takeaways, vegan recipes and vegan products I’m trying to review. So, I suppose it’s really been set up just to let people know how easy it is to become vegan. I mean, when I first tried eight years ago, it was very, very hard.
There was nowhere at all that was vegan. It was all vegetarian and quite a few people got mixed up between veganism and gluten-free. There are quite a few products on the market now compared to others.
What vegan places have you visited that are worth checking out?
I have to say my favourite restaurant will have to be Greens & Co. on Henry Street. It’s absolutely fantastic. It’s just it’s 100% vegan. So, there’s no risk of cross-contamination or wondering or “is that real cheese?” The staff are fantastic, and they’re also accommodating.
What would be your go-to meal?
I have to say I love their vegan fry. They make a lovely scrambled egg made from Whole Foods. Delicious. They make their own handmade sausages from scratch too!
The Gourmet Offensive on Mary Street is fantastic too!
When you’re comparing prices, would you say that trying to go vegan is more expensive?
It is, I think everything. If you go for the meat alternatives, a few of those are quite expensive. My partner is just a vegetarian. He’s always saying how he can’t understand how a whole chicken can be around five euros, but then vegan chicken dippers can be way more expensive. But I mean, you’ve seeds, nuts, pulses, grains. They’ve never been cheap.
Do any of your followers reach out to you for any advice?
Yeah, I’ve had a few people, actually. In December, a lady reached out to me from America to say that her son was coming over to do a term in Galway and he was vegan. I put together a little scrapbook of easy recipes for him. So that was nice. We’re still in touch and I have quite a few people from around the country saying “We’re coming up the weekend, where should we go? Where should we eat? “it’s nice for people to reach out.
And if you were to give one piece of advice to somebody who is new to veganism, what would it be?
I think the main thing is not to be hard on yourself. People expect it to happen overnight, and they expect to become perfect vegans. It’s not like that. You have to take it at your own pace.
I mean, if you’re used to having meat every day, it’s very hard to go from that to being vegan. You may suffer headaches and you might not feel the best. Take it at your own pace, and if you do have a slip-up, don’t be harder on yourself. Just take it at your own pace and I’m always around if you want to ask for any advice or any information or anything.