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Sunday, September 2, 2012

Labor Day 2012

Labor Day is the end of summer. We all know that means in a few short weeks there will be an abundance of candy, followed by all that food from Thanksgiving, Christmas Parties and then Christmas its self.... What is a person who doesn't eat meat to do when you are around people that do? Well, here are some tips on how to avoid the "BAD" candies and food choices:

Most vegans have to face a lot of non vegan parties this time of year. From our office parties to family dinners, usually we are the only one on the vegan train. I found this especially nerve racking when I was transitioning into veganism. The idea of eating out or family dinner parties would really stress me out. As I learned more tips from fellow vegans, I feel so much better heading into those type of situations now. Here are some tips I have learned a long the way and hope they help you this holiday season!
1. Golden rule: Eat before you leave the house.
2. Make {or buy} a simple vegan dish to share. My go-to dish around the holidays is pomegranate and avocado dip with multi grain chips. My family and friends love it!
3. Check out Barnivore.com and create a signature vegan cocktail.
4. If you taste something that you thought was vegan and realize it isn’t… forgive your self. Learn from it and move on.
5. Dance.
6. When someone asks you if you want non-vegan food just say “No thank you, I’m vegan”. I use not say I was vegan because I didn’t want to create a scene. In my mind the music would cut out, the party would stop and everyone would be staring at me like I was an alien. This actually never happened but I would swear it was a possibility. Now I say “I’m vegan” and it usually starts a dialog about different options that are available. I have been surprised to find vegan option in unexpected places.
7. Focus on spending quality time filled with lots of laughs with friends, family and co-workers!

And as for candy....

Vegan Candy Can
Satisfy Your Cravings

Looking for some vegan candy?
Unfortunately, a good amount of candy is often made with some type of animal ingredients.
The most common ones are gelatin (made from animal bones and tendons), milkfat, eggs, carmine (or Natural Red 4, made from beetles), rennet (enzyme from cow stomachs), pepsin (another stomach enzyme), lard (pig fat), E 904, E 120, 901, 904, 542 (all are from animals), or even just sugar that is processed with charred bone fragments.
The good news is that there are plenty of candies that pass the test and don't have any animal ingredients in them, so whether you need an everyday fix or just want a vegan Halloween, rejoice!
I'm not going to say these are all healthy candies, as many are still made with high fructose corn syrup, but they are officially vegan.
One of my favorite places to find vegan candy is online at Vegan Essentials. Check out this link for all your animal-free options.

Vegan Chocolate Halloween Candy

These are a few vegan chocolate candies that you are individually wrapped, so you could offer them at Halloween:
You don't have to special order all of your candy just to make sure it's vegan. Plenty of the candy that you can find in a grocery store is actually vegan, accidentally. Here's a list of candy without animal products, as approved by PETA:
The Chewy Candies:
  • Airheads taffy
  • Dots
  • Jujubees
  • Jujyfruits
  • Mambas
  • Mike & Ike's
  • Now and Later
  • Skittles (now gelatin-free)
  • Sour Patch Kids
  • Swedish Fish
  • Twizzlers



The Lollipops:
  • Blow Pops
  • Charms lollipops
  • Dum-Dums
  • Ring Pop lollipops

Hard Candies:
  • Brach’s Cinnamon Hard Candy
  • Cry Babies
  • Dem Bones
  • Fireballs
  • Gobstoppers
  • Jolly Ranchers (lollipops and hard candy)
  • Lemonheads
  • Pez
  • Smarties (U.S. Brand)
  • Sweet Tarts


Vegan Gum:
  • Hubba Bubba bubblegum
  • Super Bubble


Old Fashioned Candy:
  • Atkins peanut butter bars
  • Chick-o-Sticks
  • Cracker Jack
  • Goldenberg's Peanut Chews
  • Mary Janes (regular and peanut butter kisses)
  • Zotz

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