familiar vegetarian and vegan snacks

meatless_monday_logo_250x134Earth Day and Meatless Monday– a perfect pairing!

Vegetarian and vegan snacks are everywhere— and everyone loves them.  We often don’t even think of them as vegetarian, so snacks can easily be vegan without making anyone uncomfortable.

salty snacks

Most salty snacks are vegan, unless they have added flavors like cheese, sour cream or ranch.  Milk and whey show up in a surprising number of seasoning blends for chips– even when you wouldn’t expect it (some black pepper and salt potato chips, for example).  And you can’t be sure about “natural flavors” unless you check with the company and ask if the ingredients are veg.

  • potato chips
  • tortilla chips and salsa or guacamole
  • popcorn
  • french fries
  • crackers and hummus or tapenade
  • veggies
  • pretzels
  • gorp (good ol’ raisins and peanuts) and other trail mixes

sweet snacks

There are lots of sweets that are vegetarian; for vegan snacks, avoid typical candy bars and freshly-baked cookies.  Dark chocolate and ginger snaps are good bets at any store.

  • dark chocolate
  • ginger snaps
  • fresh fruit
  • dried fruit
  • Swedish fish candy

This list proves that veg food isn’t always health food.  Use your own judgement about how often and how much to indulge in the less-than-healthy snacks.

When you need a little snack to help you through your earth day clean-up, hike or festival– choose an earth friendly veg snack.  They’re everywhere!

 

author:  Susan Ask