Are You a Junk Food Vegan?

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49 Comments

  1. 4 pics one word says:

    I’m not a vegan, but I’m definitely a junk food vegan. I love anything and everything that’s unhealthy and delicious at the same time!

  2. Ray Brown says:

    Just want to comment to the thick dimwit that thought Need / insects are not animals. All insects are animal’s. The alternative is that it’s a plant, or purhaps a fungi. Err no. It’s not a rock either. It’s an animal just like any cat dog or mouse. May look a bit odd. But it’s an animal. I don’t eat honey either too sweet and not very healthy.

  3. Michele Williamson says:

    Just when I was getting ready to make an adjustment. I’m glad I came across this. Great info! thank you for sharing!!

  4. jacqueline aisbitt says:

    thank you so much for posting, i have been on a journey to become vegan and i would have made big mistakes !!

  5. Thank you for this article! I was recently trying to connect with more vegans via FB and it seems like every group I join is just full of vegan junk food and so many faux meats with questionable ingredients…. which works for some people, but not for me! I’ll definitely take a look at some of your recipes!

  6. Vegan of 6 months here. I’m going to try the herbed cauliflower carrot falafels tonight! Though I’ll use garbanzo flour instead of almond flour. Thanks for the inspiration!

  7. “Oreos aren’t vegan because they contain palm oil”

    Vegan- contains nothing made from animals or animal products or that comes from an animal or animal product.

    Palm oil – made from a fruit from Africa.

    ………..?

    1. Yes, but if you read up on palm oil, that whole industry is having a devastating effect on the orangoutangs. So if the production of this ingredient (that is in pretty much in everything) has an impact on a species of animal and taking their home away from them, wouldn’t you consider that a problem as an ethical vegan?

  8. What an awesome blog, very educational, thank you!

  9. Maybe I’m in the minority, but your alternatives seem highly processed as well.

  10. I think post is great but do you really think this is for families of small children with parents having full-time work? We’re a vegan family but to make everything from scratch would mean spending all of my non-working time cooking. The already-made meals are often free of preservatives/strange additives but contains a fair bit of oil and salt. But that just have to do for now. We eat a lot of veggies apart from our “junk food”.

    1. Emily,

      My family just started eating vegan AND extremely low fat AND no sugar or breads/rice/standard pasta, and although I’m the only one that cooks and I HATE cooking; I’m actually finding it easier than what I used to make!!
      The the other night in 20min I used frozen Lima beans, frozen green beans, a can of garbanzo beans, a portobello mushroom and a can of crushed tomatoes to make an absolutely stellar meal!!
      It was super fast, super tasty and my 7yo was excited as heck and she grew up on chicken fingers and Mac n’ cheese.
      You can do it!!! ๐Ÿ™‚

  11. Michelle Galvan says:

    All of these are highly processed. Lean towards whole foods ….just because it says “vegan” doesn’t mean it’s good for you ????

  12. Great read! I definitely can relate with you the choices you make for your lifestyle; plus when shopping as well. I will say with any and everything its all about the transition which evokes change for the betterment of you and the world. I sometimes find myself getting annoyed at junk food vegan eaters but I have to catch myself and say, “Teresa, you were there also!” And that’s the one thing that I have to remember every time. It’s that letting go of the ego of what others are doing. But as you stated in the beginning of your article its great that people are making the transition to the diet but when your new to it, oh boy the hurdles and the tossing back that comes along with it. This lifestyle is a spiritual awakening because you are learning yourself and trusting what your body wants and doesn’t want. “The Journey!” So just want to say thanks again for the read and stay on your journey Love One! Peace and Blessings!

  13. The substitutes you recommend look delicious. But I don’t always have the time to make things from scratch, and I have no problem consuming moderate amounts of processed foods. Sure, whole foods are better for you. But weight, cholesterol numbers, blood pressure, etc . are total non-issues in our family (we’re all very healthy from that standpoint). I make my own bread, but I have zero problem putting vegan spread on it. We aren’t health food vegans, but we aren’t eating animals, and that’s good enough for me.

  14. Troll alert! Yikes, no need for playground-bully mode.
    To Masha: Great ideas for replacing overly-processed vegan foods with more natural, whole foods alternatives. I’ve been eating vegan for a few months now and am finding that when vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, nuts, and seeds are thoughtfully prepared, they are delicious and completely satisfying, and there’s no need to process and manipulate them into meat and dairy substitutes. They stand beautifully on their own.

  15. Maya, Bees are not animals. They are insects, dummy. Go take a 9th grade science class. You and Dylann are two of a kind. Idiots must run in flocks.

    1. Stop acting like a rude, childish bully, you jerk.
      Btw, honey ISN’T vegan. You are free to “do you”, but COMMON SENSE dictates that honey ISN’T vegan because you are TAKING something from another living thing that you have no right to take anything from. Get a clue.

  16. Hey, Dylann, were you sleeping in biology? Thought so. Bees are insects, dummy. Big difference between an animal and an insect. Go back to 9th grade and learn it. Oh, and honey bees, do not eat honey. They produce it. They eat nectar and pollen. Queen bees eat a byproduct called royal jelly. And larvae are fed what is a mix of partly digested nectar and pollen to form a gooey high protein food known as beebread. Another science lesson for idiots. Bees are not exploited to skim the honey unless you are talking a factory situation. Honey bee hives, when too much honey accumulates in them become honey bound. Any beekeeper will tell you, that the honey must be periodically extracted so this doesn’t happen. This can kill the bees. So, actually, dummy, its not exploitation, it is helping the bees. Again, go take a 9th grade science class.

  17. Hi Rob –
    Sometimes I think discussions about this can get incredibly heated, and I think each to his own, but the devastation a lot of palm oil causes to rainforests and the animals who live there make a lot of vegans want to choose to go without – I think I have read somewhere that earth balance use sustainable palm oil – not grown in the rainforests, some people find it easier to avoid palm oil all together as it can be hard to check where it is from with each product.
    And I personally was confused about honey for some time – I think local honey is ok, but massed produced honey take too much food from the bees – after all they make it for themselves to eat.
    Just to make it easier for myself I avoid all honey – luckily I love maple syrup – and pure maple syrup contains more vitamins and minerals as well as less sugar than honey! But tastes more decadent – so no harm done.
    You gotta do you ๐Ÿ™‚

  18. Honey is an animal product and thus not vegan.

  19. Honey comes from bees… Last time I checked, bees are animals, no? You have to exploit them to take their honey, disadvantaging them and leaving them worse off. Honey isn’t vegan. Palm oil is problematic because of the way it is produced. It’s technically vegan, but many vegans are pragmatic and careful thinkers and can see the clear link between palm oil production and the deaths of endangered species. Not a great thing.

  20. OK, fine. But as a vegan I never found palm oil to be a huge issue. You must hate honey too, huh? I am fine with most of what you say here. But we will have to agree to disagree on Palm Oil. Yes, I love and I mean LOVE my Earth Balance on toasted Ezekiel Bread in the morning. And I use honey (raw) in my peppermint tea at night before bed. Palm oil comes from a plant, and therefore it is vegan. Honey comes from bees, it is natural, and therefore it is vegan. Want to challenge me this? I dare you.

  21. First off, THANK YOU for posting this – I’ve been such a junk food vegan lately lol. Glad to know I’m not alone ๐Ÿ™‚
    Second, I’m working on a post for my blog about why a vegan diet is easier in college than we think, and I linked readers to this post because I found it so helpful! Please let me know if you’d like it to be removed, but here is the link to read: http://www.hungryhaley.com/advice/2015/11/19/vegan-in-college-why-its-the-best-choice
    I look forward to hearing back from you! Thanks again for this awesome post ๐Ÿ™‚

    1. Hi Hayley,

      Thanks for connecting and for sharing our post! Good luck with your blog ๐Ÿ™‚ Happy for you to share it.

      Thanks,
      M & M

  22. I totally agree! There are so much weird food out there, even labeled as vegan which contains some weird sh*t. This is a great post to help new vegans make better choices.

    And I’m so grateful and humbled that you linked to my pasta dough recipe. Thanks a bunch and keep up the good work!

    1. I know right?!? I honestly just don’t get it. Gluten-free foods are just as bad!

      Glad you liked it and thanks for creating such an awesome recipe for us to share ๐Ÿ™‚ x

  23. The Two Zen says:

    Nice post! Thanks for the inspiration, especially the alternative for Oreo ๐Ÿ™‚

  24. Fantastic post! Thanks for the inspiration M&M.

  25. Thanks for stopping by Will. Glad you found the post useful! It’s definitely worth putting in a little more time for something that’s much better for you ๐Ÿ™‚

  26. What a fantastic post!!
    We initially consumed a lot of processed alternatives, not so much these days as we have become more confident in our plant based cooking.
    I just luuurrrve your recommendations for whole food alternatives! Yum!!
    Thank you M&M!!

  27. Not an idea, but a question. What’s a good vegan recipe to substitute for whipped cream? Thanks.

    1. Whip up some coconut cream and confectioners sugar.Delicious!