What am I eating right now? So Delicious Chocolate Peanut Butter ice cream with a Tropical Source chocolate chip garnishing.

Why the devil am I eating such unhealthy food? Well, that’s a fair question. See, the thing is, I’ve been up to 4am every night and my mind and body are starting to crumble under the stress, so I figured, why not enjoy some ice cream! I should be able to get some rest later on in the week, but for now I need to grit my teeth and bear it.

That said, I wanted to share with you all some of the snacks that I pick up when I just feel like letting go and replacing real food with junk. You may remember the chocolate chips from my favorite cookie recipe, but I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned that ice cream before. So Delicious (and it’s fancier counterpart, Purely Decadent Soy Delicious) is made by Turtle Mountain to strict vegan standards and is also registered organic by the USDA.

I prefer the Chocolate Peanut Butter flavor for the ice cream with it’s the only thing I’m eating (yep, dinner tonight was ice cream), but if I’m bringing ice cream to a dinner or hosting a social event, I will usually get the richer chocolate version. This stuff is rather good, and I’ve had it (especially the fancier stuff in the pint tubs) with many non-vegan friends and they all enjoy it. There are tons of flavors to try, and if you’re getting Soy Delicious, I would recommend Peanut Butter Zig-Zag (have you noticed a pattern?).

Anywho, if you’ve never tried it, don’t be scared! Vegan ice cream can be great and So Delicious leaves nothing to be desired (though I have had vegan ice creams that are not quite up to par). So, go out to your grocery store and pick some up. If they don’t have it leave them a note to tell them to buy it and head to a Whole Foods, local co-op, or other more hippy-friendly store and get some!

Well, that’s my quick aside, it’s back to work for me! Perhaps tomorrow night I’ll pick up some bananas instead of ice cream to keep me company through the long night.

What do you eat when you’ve got to be up and can’t fight the hunger pangs?

We all know that one of the most difficult things for vegans into fitness or on the go is something quick, tasty, and energy packed that we can eat on the run.

In my case, I’m a runner and a cyclist. I’ve always lived by the theory of eating something small and quick after a good work out to help the body begin the recovery process early. However, it can be hard to find something pre-packaged that can do this for a vegan. Rather than have you make it for yourself (I know I don’t have the time), I’ll do a quick review of the available products on the market.

Clif Bars: I love Clif Bars, not only are they vegan, but they’re mainstream. This means they can be picked up almost anywhere and bought in bulk to save money. There’s a bit sugary, but most of the time I just don’t really mind. I recommend them to anyone who hasn’t had them to see if they fit your taste.

Luna: Those among you in the know will know that Luna bars are made by Clif, and specifically for women. I’m not a woman, but I still like to eat them. They’re a bit lighter and less sugary than their Clif counterparts, and serve as a tasty post-work out pick-me-up. I would recommend these to anyone, regardless of gender, *wink*.

LaraBar: To be honest, I don’t really like LaraBars. Don’t ask me why, because it’s hard to put my finger on, but it just always seemed like I was eating them because I felt like I had to be rather than because I wanted to. Nevertheless, I know many vegans and non-vegans who like them, so don’t discount just because of me.

Betty Lou’s Organic Vegan: Again, hate to be a downer, but I had one of these in the airport once before flying back from school and while it wasn’t bad, it wasn’t delicious either. Given no other options, I’d eat it, but that said, I’d pick a banana over one any day.

That pretty much sums up my experience. I’m sure there are more bars than this out there, but they’re not easily available enough for me to have tried or try in the near future.

If you’ve got anything to add, please leave a comment! Thanks!

This debate has gone on for quite a while, but it’s something that I find is relatively alien to newer vegans. As for me, I was introduced to the knowledge that sugar wasn’t vegan by my first friend in college. I was eating my standard snack food, bananas with peanut butter, when she grabbed my Skippy jar and announced that it had sugar in it.

“So what?” I responded. Of course I knew it was junky, unnatural peanut butter. What I didn’t know was that sugar was sometimes processed with bone char, and animal by-product. After she told me that, I felt like my very young vegan world had been spun on its head. Suddenly I become one of “those people” who compulsively read labels and held my breath waiting for sugar to pop up under the ingredients list of everything I liked to eat.

These days, when people ask my what’s most difficult about veganism, I usually respond that the uncertainty about sugar makes it difficult to eat some of the most innocuous foods.

So, that said. What is it about sugar that’s not vegan? As I’ve already mentioned, it is the troublesome nature of the bone char whitening process that makes certain sugars non-vegan. Sugar itself has no problems, whether its from sugar cane or beets (a large percentage of sugar comes from beets).

More after the jump!
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