I eat a primarily vegan diet. However, with the exception of meat, I do eat other animal products in moderation. There are some foods I absolutely will not eat though, mostly because I don’t think they should be classified as food. High fructose corn syrup, for example. I don’t want that stuff in my body, period. Same goes for the aluminum in most baking soda, the cellulose (aka wood pulp) common in many processed foods, etc. etc. Because of this, making most of my food from scratch becomes really important. Plus, my younger brother is lactose intolerant and has a number of food allergies. So, this Christmas I’ve whipped up an array of vegan goodies from scratch. So far I’ve made:
These peppermint patties from How it all Vegan, which are bang on. I got an organic, pure peppermint extract (no propelyne glycol here!) so the peppermint flavour is a lot more natural, which I like. My patties might not be as beautiful as Sarah and Tanya’s but they taste much like a traditional York patty. Yum!
I found organic candy canes at Essence of Life Organics (my fave!) and made vegan white chocolate from scratch to replicate a personal childhood favourite: candy cane bark. This was my first time making white chocolate and I think it has more of a distinct cocoa butter taste than what you usually get an the store, but I really like it.
My mom was down last weekend and I sent her back with a few of my butterscotch cashew cookies for my brother. The next day she sent me an e-mail that said: “Heath is in love with those cookies. He keeps opening the jar just to smell them.” I told you they’re good! I figured I’d better make some more for Christmas.
Peanut butter fudge babies are so quick to whip up and they’re such a decadent treat. I think fudge babies alone make it worthwhile to have a food processor.
I’ve also promised to whip up a batch of Twix or Treat Fingers from OhSheGlows. I made this when Angela first posted them and they are fantastic.
With the exception of the cookies, these treats are all incredibly sugar-laden. They’re not the kind of thing I’d eat a lot of year-round, but I’m a firm believer in indulging over the holidays. And one bite proves that eating vegan doesn’t mean making sacrifices to taste.
What are your favourite holiday treats? Do you have plans to make anything special?
xoxo
S.
Photos taken with Instagram for iPhone.
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Im drooling…I need to start baking again. Send me some recipes!
There are 4 recipes linked in this post! What do you want to make?
Enjoyed reading your article, Sarah…I was unaware that there was aluminum in baking soda, until I read your post tonight…did some checking on google, and it seems there is aluminum-free baking soda…will have to look for that in the future, and for that information alone, I thank you! (the rest of the post was great too)..
Hey Randy! I’m glad you found my post helpful. I’ve found the Bob’s Red Mill aluminum-free baking soda to be fairly easy to find. Most healthfood stores and some major grocery stores, like Loblaws, will carry it. Thanks for stopping by.