Since Halloween is coming up and candy becomes a part of our lives, I thought I would share a list of vegan candies I like. Did you know that sugar cane is sometimes refined by using cow bone char? And even if it is vegan have you ever watched how sugar is made. It’s gross. It doesn’t even look like food through the umpteen stages. So here’s my vegan friendly list starting with my favorite candy:
Chocolate!
1. Hu Dark Chocolate-My mom bought us Hu chocolate for Christmas one year. She said some girls were standing by the candy and collecting it. She thought it must be good. Side note: Sometimes Renaissance Man likes to stand by something in the store and talk about it like it’s the best thing since sliced bread then put it down. Then he loves to watch the person in the aisle go and pick up the item as he walks away.
Anyway, Hu is short for Human. They use unrefined organic coconut sugar which doesn’t cause inflammation. It’s guilt free. There isn’t any palm oil, refined sugar, cane sugar, sugar alcohols, dairy, gluten, emulsifiers, or soy lecithin. It looks like the line is completely vegan.
I personally like the dark chocolate, but the other flavors I like are almond butter with puffed quinoa and dark chocolate, or cashew butter plus raspberry dark chocolate. The chocolate is soft, creamy, and sweet.
2. Cocoa Parlor Strawberry Mermaid 67-It just so happens I like the Mermaid one. The packaging is pretty. The chocolate is crispy and has freeze-dried strawberries, which makes it different than other chocolate bars. Their line too looks completely vegan. I’m proud to say it’s an Orange County, California company where mermaids may pop up.
3. Ocho Dark Chocolate with Peanut Butter-They also have a Coconut bar which is dark chocolate filled with coconut. Ocho’s chocolate is like chocolate you buy from a chocolatier—an old school candy bar. Maybe I should compare them to See’s Candy. The quality is top notch and is organic, fair trade, gluten free, non-GMO, and vegan. I’m proud to say it’s a California company based in Oakland.
4. Cocomels Coconut Milk Caramel Square-You get two small squares that are on the chewy side and not too sugary. As you know I like coconut everything. All of Cocomels candies are awesome. I like their caramels and I just saw they came out with a sugar free one.
5. Justin’s Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Cups-The organic cups are pretty good, but the nut butter is a little dry. I still enjoy the taste of the whole ingredients.
6. Torie and Howard’s Chewie Fruities-These are just like Starburst.
7. Yum Earth Organic Sour Twists Watermelon Lemonade-The flavor is delightful. I don’t consume a lot of candy and non-chocolate candy, but these are tasty and coated with granular sugar. I would say they are like a Twizzler. All of Yum Earth candy is allergy friendly. Check out their Halloween themed candy on their website and in health food stores. Their candy corn does contain eggs.
8. Yum Earth Organic Gummy Bears Pomegranate Pucker-I’m not a gummy bear addict. I just bought these since they seem popular. I tasted them and they were chewy and fruity. I think you’ll approve.
9. Chuao Chocolatier Firecracker-Firecracker is 60% dark chocolate with non-GMO popping candy. It pops in your mouth! Chuao, pronounced chew-wow, is a new company to me out of Carlsbad, California. I don’t know if their sugar is vegan. I found the candy in a health food store. The candy is free of artificial preservatives, artificial colors and flavors, artificial sweeteners, and trans fat. It is gluten free. They craft their chocolate with joy. Their website states, “We believe joy is a positive, grateful energy that connects with people and awakens their curiosity towards a higher vibe. In engineering terms, love is equivalent to potential energy while joy is equivalent to kinetic energy. Joy is an action and an expression.”
10. Amy’s Kitchen Dreamy-This product isn’t pictured, but I love Amy’s everything specially vegan and gluten free. Dreamy is like an old-fashion chocolate bar. I’d like to say Amy’s Kitchen has awesome vegetarian and vegan food. They are more known for their frozen entrees. Definitely, stop at a health food store when you don’t want to make dinner and pick up one of their entrees and a candy bar. You won’t be disappointed.
I hope you’ll try vegan candy or what is in the health food store. You can taste the difference. And you’re employing a small company.
I guess no one is trick or treating. Maybe it’s like those drive by birthdays but instead you throw candy at the car. I’ve never been a big Halloween person. My mom dressed me up as a gypsy last minute a couple times and actually that is my favorite memory of Halloween.
During Halloween, there’s no need for animal sacrifices in your candy. Enjoy!
This post was inspired by The Dihedral blog. They are rock climbers who rated candy based on what they would want to eat at the end of a climb.
Happy Vegan!
Copyright 2020 Melissa Crismon
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