Vegans love treats too

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There is a popular myth that vegans have a very bland diet.

That is about as accurate as electoral polls – most vegans I know devour junk food and treats even more greedily than their omnivore friends.

Of course, there’s different types of vegan treats – there’s natural treats, accidently vegan treats and, of course, treats specifically marketed at vegans.

Natural-wise, you can just tear up some kale, stick it on a well-oiled (and I don’t mean drunk) tray season it with salt and pepper and roast it – and you have kale crisps – and very good they are too. Of course, you can eat fruit, roast other thinly sliced veg as crisps and munch on nuts. I spent last Sunday morning in my friend’s garden eating raw beans straight from the pod – and very nice they are too.

But, these are all very healthy options, and, sometimes, the point of treats is to be less than healthy. Although, vegan treats are, in general, more healthy than non-vegan treats. But some things like Oreos and Space Raiders are marked under the banner of “surprisingly vegan” – in other words, they just happen to be vegan. An added advantage with Space Raiders is that they are still only £1 for a packet of 10. The pickled onion variety is still vegan and still utterly divine – it’s not as though you’re eating real alien faces.

It also has to be said that quite often meat varieties of crisps are vegan, but salt and vinegar are sometimes not – it is always worth checking.

If you want post crisps that are vegan and sound a bit healthier crisp-wise, then Eat Real (http://eatreal.co.uk/) have some great offerings and they’re widely available.

Their Hummus chips are a personal favourite, as are the Lentil Chilli and Lemon Chips.

This weekend, I tried the Quinoa and Kale Jalapeno and Cheddar Puffs. The Quinoa Puffs have more crunch than other types of puff crisps, and these pack quite a punch. The kale taste certainly cuts through, but the jalapeno hits you with a nice heat that certainly leaves a memorable taste in your mouth. The various ranges all contain a range of flavours and they are well worth checking out.

As it’s summer, I have to mention the 4 U Free From Chocolate and Vanilla Cones from Morrisons. There are quite a few varieties of vegan ice cream out there now, but these are the first chocolate Cornetto-style ones I’ve tried – and I’m impressed. The chocolate hit is lovely and it complements the vanilla very well, but, they aren’t as luscious as the Tesco Strawberry and Vanilla Cones – the Tesco cones actually retain their crunch, something the 4 U cones lack – the Tesco ones have a bit of chocolate at the bottom of the cone too – a bit of chocolate at the bottom of the cone goes a long way in my view.

I am also a huge fan of the devilishly moorish Lazy Day range of goodies (http://www.lazydayfoods.com/) Their Millionaire’s Shortbread is utterly divine, as is their Belgian Chocolate Rocky Road. The chocolate on the latter is divinely rich and the marshmallows yummily sweet – eating it is a truly orgasmic experience. The Ginger Tiffin is another favourite – the hit of stem ginger will not disappoint any ginger lovers. The only problem with this taste of luxury is that a box is disappears very quickly – a pack can vanish before you’ve got through a whole episode of Dr Who.

I’ve mentioned the Tesco Fondant Truffles before – and they still stand up as a cheaper version of the Choices chocolates, but I must mention Panda Liquorice. I am a huge liquorice fan, and Panda’s Blueberry Liquorice is soft, sticky and very addictive – the perfect vegan sweet.

So there you have a brief overview of vegan treats – and I didn’t even mention Vego bars once…