Vegan sweets

[amcclain]

I've been a vegetarian for two years. My plan is to be make the complete switch on New Years, but I'm really worried that I'll continue to eat sweets that contain dairy and egg. I'm trying really hard to teach myself not to. Does anyone have any suggestions?

[Andy_T]

What works for me, is always to have fresh, ripe fruit available as a snack!
A banana or pear makes a great snack and is very healthy.

Once you consider the health benefits of eating an all-vegan, whole-foods, low-fat diet (e.g. check out www.thechinastudy.com ), you'll know that it is important!

Best regards,
Andy

[Tish]

Hi amcclain,
well done for planning to make the switch- I think you'll do just fine. I don't really eat any sweets but when I became vegan I was petrified of not being able to get chocolate. If you like chocolate you can buy dairy free (i.e. containing soya milk) chocolate in health food stores. Fry's chocolate creams (all flavours) and raspberry ruffle bars are vegan too. Most dark chocolate is vegan too and supermarkets' own 'mint thins' (like after eight mints) but they will have a disclaimer for allergy sufferers- usually 'this product may contain traces of milk'. I asked the Vegan society about this and they said it was still vegan as the product doesn't contain milk as an ingredient but is made in the same factory/production line so there is a slight risk of cross contamination. I would definitely eat this but some vegans don't.

There are also websites where you can buy sweets:
http://www.veganstore.co.uk/mm5/merc...egory_Code=500
http://www.alternativestores.com/eth...ts/cat_73.html
http://www.sweetstall.com/acatalog/Vegan_Sweets.html
http://www.veggiestuff.com/acatalog/...an_sweets.html
http://www.ethicalsuperstore.com/cat...eets/vegan.htm

It works out a wee bit dearer online but even looking at the websites will give you an idea of what is vegan and what isn't so you could then go to the shops and buy them. It looks as though starburst are vegan and quite a few of the haribo range too. Health food shops usually stock a range of sweets and are usually good with advice. I'm in the UK so don't know if this information is any good for where you are.

Good luck with it and don't worry if you make mistakes at first- you soon get used to reading ingredients and learning what's vegan and what's not.

[harpy]

Hello

There are loads of unhealthy vegan sweets too, if you don't want to stick to the strait and narrow the whole time. If you mean "sweets" as in "puddings" you can't always get them in restaurants, but they are quite readily available in shops: for example there is a frozen vegan cheesecake on sale in health food shops here (ironically enough!), and supermarkets usually have some vegan biscuits and cakes in the "free from" section (for people with allergies). Or if you make your own you can steer a course between "healthy" and "indulgent".

Sweets as in chocolate and boiled sweets etc are no problem either though I don't know what's on sale where you are.

[kikifromscotland]

Hi amcclain,

At Halloween I made a blog post about vegan sweets and more recently I made one about chocolate and advent calendars (all based on what's available in the uk) have a look if you like but ignore my most recent post which is me ranting about my exams:

http://www.squeakycleanveganbean.blogspot.com/

[kikifromscotland]

Ps but tish has already given some very good links too- I recently discovered raspberry ruffle bars- they're awesome!! Which reminds me I haven't opened my moo free advent calendar yet today- yum!!

[amcclain]

Thanks everyone! I'm usually good when I'm home. It's harder when I'm at school and someone brings in sweets. Today I was really proud of myself though my teacher brought in doughnuts for finals, and I didn't eat one. Which made me feel a lot better.

[harpy]

Good for you, amcclain!

I think a lot of us find it helpful to have some vegan treats of some kind around for eventualities of this kind as that makes it easier to resist temptation! It's nice to have enough to offer round although if it's a whole class that might not be practicable

[TXvegan]

Good for you to not eat them! My company had desserts out the other day and I stuck with the hot apple cider.

[Lynn]

Raspberry ruffle bars! I used to love these! I had no idea they were vegan. I must get some asap!

I recently treated myself to a box of chocolates from the Animal Aid shop. I'm saving them for christmas as they were quite expensive, but they look and smell delicious! Can't wait to try them

[Tish]

You have very strong willpower not to eat the chocolates sooner Lynn!

Yes, the raspberry ruffles are lovely. Poundland are doing packs of (? 5 or 6 of) them for... erm....a pound!!lol

[SugarPlumFairy]

Yes !!!!!!!!! In a word. LARABARS ! They are really delicous and are made only from fruit and nuts. Highly recommend, however if you have diabetes, may be a danger, as dried fruit is quite a concentrated source of sugar.

[amcclain]

oh LaraBars I've seen those but I haven't tried them. Well yesterday was my first official day as a vegan, and my mom made a non vegan cake that day. I haven't touched it or even thought of it.