There's been a lot of talk about being Vegan lately, yes? Well, making your vegan transition and experience as wonderful, fun, and fulfilled as possible is my personal mission. After all, I can't boast about how awesome it is being vegan and then leave you hanging. I want to make it as easy and lovely as possibly--which it absolutely is with an open mind and heart, and the right attitude of course. ;)
Many people think that being vegan means you have to sacrifice flavour and that you have to give up favourite goodies and foods. I'm here to tell you that while, yes, you will have to give up foods that contain animal products (duh! That's why you're going vegan ;)), there are so many amazing replacements and alternatives that there really isn't need to worry about sacrifice… or whine about not getting to eat a certain thing.
The other thing that I am aware of is that it is not always easy to find those yummy alternatives--especially if you live in a small town in the middle of nowhere that is not at all alternative. I am fortunate to live in a very earthy and alternative community where there are at least a ton of vegetarians and therefor options. That being said, there are still things that I cannot get here because it is a small town and simply can't cater to everyone.
So what do you do when you want goodies but can't get them locally? You turn to places like...
Excuse me for a moment here while I first jump up and down and spin in excited circles shouting "omg, omg, I love love love VeganEssentials!!!"
I kid you not, you can find just about anything on this site! The customer service is also superb, friendly, and quick to reply to questions--which, to me, is important when shopping online. They carry over 1200 vegan items in stock, with a wide variety of products from snacks and candy bars, tons of food items and supplements, to clothing, beauty products, shoes, and so much more. Seriously, just about anything you may be looking for. And, obviously, everything is vegan, so you don't have to look through all the labels (yayy!). The company is also vegan owned and operated, and make sure nothing they sell is tested on animals or contains any animal ingredients.
I recently put in my first purchase from them (don't ask me why it has taken me this long! ;p) and I am thrilled! I'd been seriously craving vegan white chocolate--it used to be a favourite and I haven't had any since I went vegan--and wanted to explore other vegan candy goodies so it seemed obvious to turn to this wonderful website. I have a pretty big sweet tooth and, again, being in a small town not everything is readily available here--such as vegan white chocolate and candy bars. When my order arrived I do believe I squealed a bit and did my happy dance. I also admit that my goodies were gone within the week (oops!). I guess that's what happens when you don't eat delicious candy for a while and then are suddenly surrounded with amazing goodies. ;)
This time around was a chocolate delight to be sure, for two reasons: 1. me crazing various chocolates. And 2. because I wanted to share a variety of yummy chocolate brands with all of you so I could recommend more. ;)
Let me tell you this; it was amazing to have white chocolate again! I tried two different brands: Plamil and Organic Nectars (which is also raw). Plamil was delicious and much like real white chocolate, or at least what I remember it tasting like… either way I was extremely satisfied and recommend it! ;) Organic Nectars was also delicious, a little less traditional but the fact it's raw makes me instantly love it--and it did taste wonderfully delightful. I tried another raw brand, "Righteously Raw" which was a raw Acai flavoured dark chocolate bar and I do believe was one of my favourites of them all. It had an amazing bubbly texture, rich flavour, and you could taste the raw goodness. This was also my first experience tasting raw chocolate bars and I must say I was delightfully surprised (not that I had any doubts that they would be amazing) and am excited to try more in the near future.
Other yummy treats in my order were two chocolate candy bars; "Buccaneer" bar by Go Max Foods, and the "Dark Angell" bar. Both were amazing and similar to non-vegan candy bars I used to have when I was younger (and not vegan). Definitely a recommended treat and a satisfying alternative to non-vegan candy bars! I also had miniature almond butter and peanut butter bites by Sjaaks which are a wonderful alternative to reese's peanut butter cups and such treats--small treats packed with flavour!
The bottom line that I can share with you is this: there are so many alternative treats that are equally (if not more) amazing than non-vegan versions that you really don't have to feel left out being vegan. You can still save animal lives, not put horrible animal ingredients in your body, and still get to eat amazing food.
If you haven't yet, please do check out VeganEssentials for all of your vegan needs and cravings! You are sure to discover something new and exciting to leave your tummy singing with happiness--and animals will be thankful for your ethical decisions.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I've drooled all over my computer writing this post and realize that I have devoured all my treats and need to go order some more. ;)
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I'm drooling quite badly now... yum!
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