Important: This is the 4th last article of 2024! I’ll be taking the last half of December and first half of January off from posting. I’ll be back January 20th, 2025 with the first article of the new year!
Chocolate bark is one of the best snacks you can reach for and this Prana chocolate bark is no exception!
This bark is incredible. It’s the perfect ratio of chocolate to hazelnuts and rice, isn’t too thick and comes in a convenient resealable pouch, just in case you have enough self control to leave some of this delicious snack for later.
As the name suggests, they use a faux milk chocolate instead of dark chocolate, which is great for not getting that drying-out-your-mouth feeling that dark chocolate tends to give.
This bark actually reminds me of those rice chocolate bunnies they used to sell for Easter. I don’t know how region specific that product is, but if you know what I’m talking about, and enjoyed those bunnies, you’ll definitely enjoy this bark!
I also found this chocolate bark at Shopper’s Drug Mart, so it’s definitely not even one of those specialty vegan-grocer-only snacks, either. Speaking of where to find it, it’s also got a competitive price ($5.79) and wasn’t even tucked into some dark back corner of the shop with other vegan-only products. I found it right there on the shelf next to the Reeces!
There is one bad thing about this product, and it’s a complaint you’ve heard from me before: there is not enough bark in the bag! I don’t know if I got a dud, but the bag I got was less than half full of bark. The rest was air, or that not-air stuff they seal in to help keep products fresh.
This is how much bark was in the bag as soon as I opened it
It was sad, because I love this product, and the bag isn’t even that big to begin with!
So while I recommend going out to try this product for yourself, be aware you’ll probably want to buy them in two’s.
I’m so glad that Lindt now has a few vegan chocolate options!
At the moment, I believe they only have this Salted Caramel bar and a Hazelnut bar, but it’s still a win for vegans. Lindt is one of the biggest mainstream chocolate companies and it’s amazing to see them adding vegan options to their product line!
Salted Caramel is one of my absolute favourite flavours of chocolate, so I was over-the-moon when I was gifted this bar for 2023’s Christmas. This bar is nothing short of delicious, with just the right amount of salted caramel pieces in every square. If you let a piece melt on your tongue until the chocolate’s gone, the salt is in big enough pieces to crunch. And if you do that too many times in a row, you’ll risk cutting up the roof of your mouth and/or tongue. (Yes, I’m speaking from experience)
The chocolate is oat based and doesn’t taste too dark. By that I mean it doesn’t have that dry-out-your-mouth thing that I’ve come across in other dark chocolate. You know the feeling that you immediately need a drink of water after eating a piece? You don’t get that feeling at all – even if you wait and eat the salt bits last.
Another great thing about this bar is that it’s full sized! Yes, unlike many other vegan offerings by non-vegan companies, Lindt is doing it right with the vegan bars being the same size and width as their other bars! (100g)
Even though I was gifted this bar, it didn’t stop me from comparing the price for this article for you guys. According to the Lindt website, this vegan salted caramel bar is $6.79, whereas their non-vegan similar sized bars range between $4.79 and $5.49. (I couldn’t find a non-vegan salted caramel bar, specifically) So while the vegan one is still more money, it’s actually a pretty comparable price!
I definitely recommend you try this bar out for yourself, if you’re able to find it. From what I’ve seen, some major grocery stores carry it – like Loblaws and Metro – but it’s also unfortunately often sold out. If you do manage to get your hands on it though, I doubt you’ll be disappointed!
Go Max Go’s chocolates are closer to replicas of those famous big box, non-vegan bars. Mars, Snickers, Twix, etc. While Go Max Go doesn’t have too much variety – they only sell 9 different products – the ones that they do sell are great.
If you were around in 2018, you would know I’ve already done a Go Max Go review, so you may be confused.
That first review I did was only for 4 of their products, and I thought it was finally time to finish the line.
Truthfully, I’d been putting off trying their other chocolates, because, well… I’m not great at trying new things, especially if it’s something I don’t think I’ll like. But after receiving a free box of goodies after e-mailing their customer service, I knew the time had come to bite the bullet (pun intended) and finish the review.
While some of these new ones I liked about as much as I expected, there were also a few I was pleasantly surprised by!
Mahalo
This bar was a coconut flaked mash topped with whole almonds and wrapped in chocolate. Based on the description, I didn’t think I was going to like this one, but it was actually pretty good!
It had a nice light flavour, and though the entire inside was coconut flakes, strangely didn’t have an overly strong coconut flavour. The almonds were good, they tasted just as you’d expect an almond would. I don’t think they were roasted or anything, just a plain raw almond.
The chocolate coating wasn’t too thick, which was great because it didn’t overpower the rest of the flavours. This bar also wasn’t overtly sweet like the Twilight or Jokerz bar. While this bar isn’t my favourite out of the entire line (I’m partial to the Twilight, Jokerz and Cleo’s), it was pretty good! I’d definitely get it again if I wanted a nice, light chocolate.
A word of caution though: because of the flakes, this bar can get pretty messy, so if you choose to try it, make sure you have a napkin nearby!
Thumbs Up
This one I wouldn’t exactly call a ‘bar’ – it’s tube-shaped and consists of crunchy peanut butter wrapped in rice milk chocolate.
Even though the wrapper said it was crunchy, I was definitely not prepared for how crunchy it was! It was very hard to bite through – like the same amount of force it takes to bite through a raw carrot hard – and unfortunately, the flavour didn’t make up for that fact.
I’m not sure what type of peanut butter is used, but the middle of this thing did not taste like peanut butter to me. It tasted closer to a toffee or salted caramel or something than peanut butter. It was just sort of… crunchy sugar in chocolate.
This was one of the ones I thought I’d like, since I already enjoy their Cleo’s (which are peanut butter cups) I figured how bad could it be?
Turns out, worse than I was expecting.
I think using softer peanut butter would be better. Unless some people like working out their jaw when eating chocolate?
Major
This bar is one I knew I wasn’t going to like after reading the wrapper. The Major has “crisp, English toffee in a chocolatey coating”. While I don’t think it helped I tried this one right after the Thumbs Up, I wasn’t surprised that I didn’t like this one.
The toffee in this tasted exactly the same as the peanut butter in the Thumbs Up, and while the chocolate was good, it couldn’t save it.
Luckily, this bar was pretty thin – thinner than the Twilight, Jokerz and Mahalo – so it wasn’t so bad having to finish it.
2*Fer
Don’t let the name fool you, there’s only one bar in the wrapper. The name refers to the fact that this bar is a cookie topped with caramel in a chocolatey coating.
Because what’s better than just a straight up chocolate bar? A chocolate bar with a cookie in it!
This bar was also thinner than their other products, but I think if it was thicker, this bar wouldn’t work.
The cookie is semi-crunchy – not nearly as crunchy as the toffee or peanut butter from the last two products – and though it’s pretty plain tasting, it works well with the rest of the bar!
The caramel tastes the same as the one they use in the Twilight bar, not overly sweet, but stretchy and just the right amount of stick-to-your-teeth, and the chocolate tastes the same as well.
This one, I had my non-vegan friend try, and they said to them, this bar tasted like a dark chocolate version of Twix. I can’t deny nor confirm that as the last time I had a Twix I was still in grade school (dairy allergy), so take from that what you will.
All in all, I liked this bar and would definitely recommend you try it. However, like the Mahalo, make sure you have a napkin handy. The cookie on this puppy isn’t overly crunchy, but it’s still crumbly!
Snap!
The last of the Go Max Go chocolates I tried, the Snap! bar is a crisped rice in rice-milk chocolate bar. This bar surprisingly had a ‘light’ taste to it, and the rice was crispy, but not in a bad way.
It tasted like what I remember the Rice Krispies cereal tasting like, though I haven’t had that in over 8 years, so again, take from that what you will.
It also reminded me of these chocolate rabbits my mom used to get during Easter. I don’t know the brand, but I believe they were just called rice chocolate bunnies.
The rice in this bar is hard to explain, but I’m going to try. When you bit the rice, it would crunch, but then it would basically dissipate in your mouth, so it only took 1 bite to chew it.
The chocolate in this bar was definitely darker than the other ones in this list, but I think if they had used their not-dark chocolate it wouldn’t have worked as well as it does.
Because of the light, magically disappearing rice in this bar, it’s easy to eat it quickly. So if you want to savour the flavour, I’d recommend you consciously attempt to eat it slow, or just do yourself a favour and buy two of them.
I hope you enjoyed the second half of the Go Max Go chocolates review, and decide to try some this coming Valentine’s Day! (Or Halloween)
Have you tried any of the Go Max Go Food’s chocolates? Let me know your favourites below in the comments!
With cheap, plastic decorations, bulk boxes of individually wrapped candies and chocolates in plastic, and even the costumes, Halloween (or, any holiday, really) definitely doesn’t spring to mind when you think of ‘zero waste’, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still have one!
Yes, it’s totally possible (and not all that much more work) to have a zero waste Halloween!
With just a little tweaking, you can have the zero waste Halloween that your wallet (and planet!) will thank you for having.
Tip #1: Make Your Own Treats!
I figured I would start with the hardest tip, and then work our way down. The most environmentally friendly and most zero waste way to still have a kick-ass Halloween is definitely to make your own treats.
Obviously, you can’t pass these out at the door (well, you could, but I don’t think parents would let them eat homemade stranger candy), but if you’re having a grown-up party, or even just your own house party with your kids, this is an awesome tip!
Not only will you get to binge on healthier treats (since you’re buying all the ingredients you need, you’ll know exactly what’s going into them), but I’m sure your kids would love to help bake/create the treats with you. It’s a fun way to spend the day, and you get a reward for all your hard work at the end!
Another bonus of making homemade treats? You can literally make whatever you want! Not that into chocolate? Don’t make it! Really craving a rice crispy square? Get yourself some marshmallows (if searching for vegan ones, I recommend Dandies), and rice cereal and go at it. Want to try homemade chocolate? Go get yourself some cocoa butter and Silk (milk) and go nuts! Rather not eat typical ‘candy’? No problem! Get your bakers hat on, and whip up some cookies, brownies, or whatever other treat your heart desires. And, to make them festive, you could decorate them with the Halloween theme in mind!
The only limitation to the treats you create is your imagination!
If you want to make actual ‘candy’ at home (i.e. lollipops, hard candies like Jolly Ranchers, etc.) you’ll maybe not want to let the kids help with those. Those items require boiling sugar and that stuff gets super hot/a tad dangerous to work with, if you don’t know what you’re doing.
If you want to give some of your homemade treats away (I only recommend doing this to people you know/who trust you enough to actually eat what you hand-make, that way your good intentions don’t end up in the garbage), you can get some jars/containers and decorate them simply before giving them away. Similar to thedry mixes some people give at Christmas. Do them up a little pretty, and people are sure to love them!
Tip #2: Don’t Buy a Single-Use Costume
My mom was always really big into Halloween, so maybe this was just my family, but some of my best Halloween memories consist of mix and matching clothes I already had to make my costume. Sure, we had to go buy Halloween make-up (weren’t gonna waste ‘the good stuff’) and maybe a wig, but the majority of our costumes growing up were homemade.
If you don’t want to wear your everyday clothes, check out past year costumes you already have, to see how you can give them a new life as something else, or, go hit up a thrift store (like Value Village), that may have some more specific Halloween-themed pieces. The trick here is to go through what you already have, see what your missing, and then either go get a few choice pieces to complete the look that can be re-used in the future, or change what your costume is, so you can use pieces you already have.
You could also keep a few things from your Capsule Wardrobe purge to keep specifically to wear for Halloween. This way, you won’t care if you have to say, roll it around in the dirt to get the specific look, (we actually did this one year) or cut some holes into it.
Or, you could just forgo the costumes if you’re not going out/not that into it. You could have a house party in your pj’s watching scary movies with family and friends, instead.
Tip #3: Buy In Actual Bulk!
If you don’t want to make your own treats, or you don’t have the skills to make one treat in particular that you just absolutely need to make Halloween special to you, try to get it at an actual bulk store!
Here in Canada, we have this place called Bulk Barn, and every year around Halloween, they have a few dedicated bins to Halloween treats. Foil-wrapped chocolates, hard candies, gummy worms with a bat decoration stuck to the bin, etc. Basically they slap a ghost or spider-web on some of their regular offerings and call it a day.
But this is still better than buying those boxes of big-name treats, because you can fill your own container* with the exact amount of treats you’ll need. So yes, this option still gives you waste (depending on what treats you’re buying), but it’s still better than getting a bunch of those giant cardboard boxes (that can’t be recycled! The dyes used to make those silly pictures sometimes prevent the cardboard from being recyclable), filled to the brim with plastic wrappers.
I recommend you go out and buy store-bought treats last, because it will create some more waste than the other options here, but if you absolutely feel you need to, then do it. Zero waste isn’t about denying yourself things you like, or feeling like you have to ‘give up’ things you enjoy, it’s about helping the planet and minimizing your environmental impact.
It’s also impossible to be ‘true’ zero waste in today’s society, so don’t worry too much about trying to be perfect. Everyone creates waste – the trick you need to remember is to create as least as you can, as often as you can. If you create a little bit more than usual once a year, there’s no Zero Waste Police who are gonna show up and fine you, or revoke your zero waste card.
So relax, and have fun!
*Bulk Barn has temporarily suspended it’s BYO policy due to COVID safety practices. Call/check your local bulk store to see if/when the policy will change back
That’s right! Three years, baby! This is my third year in a row going to the Vegandale Festival in Toronto and I am still pumped about it! I don’t think the novelty will ever wear off of getting to go to a place where I can try whatever I want, and not have to ask about ingredients, or read the label before putting it in my mouth. (Save for cinnamon)
I was recently talking to one of my friends, and they made a joke about since this is my third year going, I could ‘take a break’ from going next year. Uhmm… what?
That’s when it hit me: other people can walk into any place and order whatever they want, without looking at the ingredients list, or worrying about what’s in a product. They can walk in, order what looks good and leave. So, it makes sense that people with that ability don’t even really think about how exciting that can be. They have no idea, that’s their ‘normal’, so they don’t understand the hype.
How boring are other people’s lives? They can just… do stuff without thinking about it? That’s such a foreign concept to me! But I definitely wouldn’t have it any other way. I love getting to be excited about things others aren’t. It’s like I’m a child discovering how awesome the world is all over again. Who wouldn’t want that?
But enough about me – time to get to what you came here for: the food!
This year, I was fortunate enough to get to try 20 things (instead of last years’ 17). There’s always over a hundred vendors, and while I feel like I get a pretty good mix of things, I’d love to eventually get to try half of them.
As always, these reviews will be written in the order that I tried the food. (And not in terms of what I liked best)
Okay, let’s get started!
These Wingz – Half N Half Wings with Mac N Cheese
First up, is These Wingz wings and mac n cheese. I got the special, 6 wings (half BBQ, half buffalo) with the mac n cheese. The wings were massive. Not just in size, but they were thick. As. Fuck. It’s hard to tell in the picture, but they were definitely the thickest thing I got at the festival. They were also the most expensive ($16).
The wings were good, they tasted kinda seitan-y, though I’m not sure if that’s what they were made out of. They had a good, chewy texture, but the breading on them (and their size) made them hard to bite through. And, trying to rip pieces off with the small plastic fork I got (no knives were available) didn’t work that well, either. I’m pretty sure I accidentally flung sauce in my hair from trying to rip a piece off.
The mac n cheese wasn’t that good. The noodles were over-cooked, and just tasted like the wing sauce. It didn’t taste like there was any cheese on them at all.
Parka Food Co. – Broccoli Burger Mac
I know, I know, a little ridiculous I got another mac n cheese after literally just buying one, but I was intrigued by the name: Broccoli Burger Mac.
This one was way better than the first. For starters, this one actually tasted cheesy, and it had battered broccoli pieces on top. Gave the mac n cheese a good crunchy aspect. The cheese sauce actually kinda tasted like pasta salad to me – it had that subtle vinegar after-taste that pasta salad gets. This was a great dish to try for $11. I’m still not entirely sure what an aioli is, but the pink one that was drizzled on top of this dish was good. The sign said it was just their Parka Aioli, so I’m not entirely sure what’s in it (or why it’s pink), but it was good.
The only thing I didn’t like about this dish, is that the top of it was dowsed in parsley. There was way too much sprinkled on top of the broccoli and mac n cheese. The entire top was almost completely green!
Peas and Thank-You – Chick’N Parm
A chick’n parm. I’ve never in my life had a chicken parm. I’ve seen them in movies/heard about them – it’s a chicken cutlet with tomato sauce and parm – but I was really hyped when I saw this on the menu at Peas and Thank-You. It was only $10, so I figured why not? And boy am I glad I did. This was probably the best thing I tried at the festival in terms of the actual ‘meal’ things. Although, it didn’t have actual parm on it. It had some kind of sauce (I’m assuming [hoping] it was cheese sauce) but I thought the ‘parm’ on the sandwich would’ve been… y’know, actual parm flakes. The sauce actually tasted closer to Veganaise then cheese, but maybe that’s just what parm tastes like?
The chick’n patty itself was great – though it was a little too hard to bite through. I think maybe it was fried too long? But once you got passed the initial bite, it had a great flavour and wasn’t as hard to chew and get down. And the bun? Oh, man! I think it was a ciabatta bun? I don’t know, but I loved the bun. They didn’t do anything special to it – I believe it was just toasted – but it added such a great depth to the sandwich. They do pop-ups at different events, and I really, really hope that they come back next year! (Or do another pop-up in Toronto)
Not Your Mother – Rocky Road Ice Cream
This was the favourite dessert I tried, hands down. Rocky Road ice cream? Do you guys know about Rocky Road ice-cream? It’s chocolate ice cream with brownie pieces and marshmallows. Marshmallows!
I cannot believe I’ve never tried Rocky Road ice cream before. It’s my new favourite ice cream flavour. Even though it was hot and I had to drink most of it, it was still my favourite dessert. I don’t know what it is, but there’s just something about chocolate and marshmallows that holds a very special place in my heart.
When will vegan Rocky Road ice cream be available for purchase in pints from a store?
Seriously, if you make vegan ice-cream, get on it. Please.
Globally Local – Hot Buffalo Chick’Un Burger
Ah, Globally Local. They’ve been my favourite thing the past two years, and I feel a little bad about giving that title away, but my reason for giving the title away is two-fold:
This burger is pretty much the same thing I tried last year, just with buffalo sauce coating the patty.
The chicken parm was way more exciting and tasted better.
Don’t get mad, Globally, I still love you guys and cannot wait until you open your location here next month! But, I do wish that you had added something else on the festival menu to try.
The fries were great, too. Thick cut and fried fries I think are my weakness. These ones, and A&W fries are the best fries I’ve ever had. (… So far.)
Main Vegan Deli – Lobstar Roll
Main Vegan Deli… what can I say? They were at the festival both previous years, and the first year I went I actually got to try a sample of their cashew cheese. I was hoping I’d get to do that again this year (or that I’d maybe actually get a ball/block to take home), but alas, they changed their menu.
This year, they had a ‘lobstar’ roll and a no-kobe sammy. Now, I’ve never really been that much of a fan of seafood. Before going vegan, I’d never eat it. It was gross to me. So, naturally, since going vegan, I haven’t tried any seafood faux products. Why would I if I didn’t like the real thing, right?
So, keeping that in mind, I didn’t really like this. It was mushrooms and their ‘seafood sauce’, so I figured it shouldn’t be too bad. I like mushrooms, after all – I don’t know what it was, it wasn’t exactly bad, but this was definitely not my favourite thing. I think it might’ve been the texture that the mushrooms were. They were slightly rubber-y, but also slightly slimy. Not chewy rubber-y, just… rubber-y.
I got my (non vegan) mom to eat it, (I couldn’t finish it!) and she said it ‘tasted like the kind of lobster you get from a can’. Take from that what you will.
I was actually really disappointed that I didn’t like this – I had loved their cashew cheese, and was hoping they might’ve been like Globally Local, in that I would just like everything.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m definitely not writing them off. Next year, if they bring their cashew cheese, or have some other type of sandwich (that’s not seafood) I’ll try it.
Bring it on!
Meltwich – Poutine
I love poutine! This one was a little lack-luster though. The fries were pretty basic, seemed like they were just regular frozen french fries, and the cheese shreds didn’t melt! At all. I took the picture, mixed it up, and then nothing. They tasted good, but they didn’t melt. I don’t know what happened, but that definitely made the dish not as good as it could have been.
That said, the gravy more for made up for the lack of melted cheese. It was a nice, rich, brown gravy and oh man, if they were just selling jars of that, I definitely would’ve bought one.
All in all, this poutine wasn’t anything spectacular (it was called the Classic Poutine) but regular poutine is still good poutine in my book. It doesn’t need to have chick’n or bacon bits or anything fancy for it to be good.
Vegtago – Nacho Cheese
This was the first free sample I got at the festival. This cheese, while it’s great that it’s dairy-free, soy-free and nut-free, it tasted a little too sweet to me. If you gave this to me, and asked me to guess what it was, I would not guess ‘nacho cheese’. It tastes closer to pureed vegetable.
I’m not entirely sure if it’s made out of carrots, (the picture on the sign was a carrot), but it reminds me of my failed attempt at making cheese out of carrots and potatoes.
That’s not to say that it taste bad – I would definitely eat it in a different setting – but for something that’s supposed to be a nacho cheese, it misses the mark.
Magnum – Classic Bar
This was the second free sample I got at the festival, and I have to say I was not disappointed. When I went, the lady at the counter said they were ‘down to Classics’. I was just excited I was getting a full sized ice-cream bar for free!
At this point in the festival, I was starting to feel a bit sick, so I do regret to say that I didn’t finish the whole bar. It’s the only thing from the festival I didn’t finish that I wasn’t able to take home.
With that said, it was pretty good. I don’t quite know how to describe it, but the chocolate coating on the outside of the bar had an odd ‘heavy’ feel to it. As soon as I bit it, that’s what I felt. I don’t know if that’s the right word for it, but it’s happened with other chocolate before, and that’s the only way I know to describe it. After that initial heavy/weighty feel, it was pretty sticky, too. Like, dry-out-your-mouth sticky. Similar to when you eat a spoon of peanut butter and immediately feel like you need to drink some water.
I don’t know if that’s just something that happens depending on the cocoa content or whatever, but it’s definitely something I don’t like in my chocolate. It shouldn’t make you thirsty.
The ice-cream was good, too. It was just basic vanilla ice-cream. Nothing too fancy, as this was the Classic Bar, but it was still good.
I’d definitely buy this if I wanted an ice-cream bar, but don’t go in with too high expectations. It’s pretty basic, and don’t forget to drink water with it.
Papabubble – Cherry Candy
First, I’d like to point out: these are hard candies. They only had a few squishy ones (that I didn’t try) on display, and this wasn’t it. I thought that it was a squishy candy, so I tossed it in my mouth and got a rude awakening when I chomped down on it.
That’s my bad, I will admit. Other than that surprise, the candy was pretty good! It had a very good cherry flavour, and while it did stick to my teeth a bit, what candy doesn’t?
I also tried one called ‘lychee’ which is a type of tropical fruit. That one was good too, it did taste fruity, but I definitely liked the cherry one better.
I had actually been debating about buying a whole pack of their candy, but since they’re in Toronto, I decided I could always do a more in-depth analysis of their offerings later.
I don’t think they beat out Squish candy, since Squishs’ candy is well, squishy, but they are definitely a close second.
Julie’s Joyful Kitchen- Chocolate Caramel Almond Bar
This is my second year reviewing Julie’, and I have to say, I’m a little disappointed. Last year, I got their chocolate cookie, which was good – pretty hard to mess up a cookie – this year, they were offering other types of cookies, or, this chocolate almond bar. I thought I’d be a bit adventurous and go for the bar. I’ve seen similar bars before but have always stayed away from trying them.
I should’ve done that this time, too.
For starters, I couldn’t even pick the thing up. The bottom layer crumbled into a million pieces the second I tried to. So I had to eat it with one finger swiping through the middle ‘caramel’ part. And to be honest, the caramel wasn’t very good. It just kinda tasted like almond butter, there wasn’t very much ‘caramel’ flavour in it. The chocolate on the top was good – it is chocolate, after all – but it was the same kind of dry-out-your-mouth as the Magnum bar.
This definitely didn’t make my favourites list, not by a long shot. If they come back again next year, I’d definitely want to try something else, but if that doesn’t go well, I’m afraid I’m gonna have to write them off. Which sucks, because they ladies running the booth were very sweet.
But yeah, I’m thinking that maybe Julie’s just isn’t for me.
Sweet Nutritionista – Beet Brownie
For a dessert that’s made out of beets this was pretty good. I absolutely hate beets, so believe me when I tell say you could not taste the beets in this brownie at all. You could’ve told me it wasn’t made out of beets and I’d believe you.
This was a wee bit dense though. Maybe if they had cut them a bit thinner it would’ve been more enjoyable. It was a biiit too much to bite off and chew at one time.
I would definitely love to try something else they have to offer at the next festival, or if I’m ever in Oakville, I’d definitely stop by.
Yves – Sweet Potato Meatball
I’m not gonna lie, this tastes very sweet potato-y. I unfortunately don’t like sweet potatoes, so I didn’t like it. It had a hint of a weird spice I don’t like, that reminded me a bit of cumin. (Although I’m not 100% on if cumin is actually in them)
If you like falafel, you’ll definitely like these.
They had nuggets available as a free sample to try as well, but I unfortunately was 5 seconds too late, as the lady in front of me had snagged the last nugget.
Fortunately though, they were also giving out coupons, and I was lucky enough to get one of those, instead.
Glory Hole Doughnuts – Cookies N Crème Doughnut
Glory Hole was back with a way better doughnut than last years’!
Maybe it’s because it wasn’t as hot, so it didn’t immediately melt into a goopy mess all over my hand, but I definitely enjoyed this one better than the peanut butter and chocolate I got last year.
While it still had the classic ‘this is a doughnut!’ sweetness, it was also very light. The icing I think was just regular vanilla, and the cookie bits were pretty similar in taste to Oreo cookies (no matter what the sign said).
The only thing I didn’t like is when I bit down, the entire doughnut flattened and didn’t bounce back. It was like I let all the air out of the tire.
That happened to the one I got last year as well, so I’m not sure if it’s just a doughnut thing, or if I’m somehow not biting them correctly but yeah. If they could find a way to make them not do that, that would be great.
And since these guys are in Toronto as well, I’m looking forward to trying more of their offerings.
BZZSFREE – Apple Honey
Honey is definitely one of the things I miss the most since going vegan. I used to absolutely love it – not only for it’s taste, but also because it’s a great natural alternative to conventional medicine – so as soon as I saw this vegan honey company listed, I knew I just had to try it!
I was a little unsure of which flavour to get, as the sign said they had apple, pineapple and PMP (guava and something else I don’t remember). I just wanted to taste something that was closest to the real deal.
After speaking to the lady (who is beyond nice!) for a bit, she told me that the apple flavour is the closest to the real thing, so I decided to try that one. And boy am I glad I did!
It tasted so close to what I remember honey tasting like, I was blown away! It didn’t taste like apples at all! It was just as sweet, and even had the same sticky consistency!
I regret not buying a whole jar, but the lady said they were available to purchase online, and that they deliver to Toronto, so I’m definitely going to get my hands on some!
If you didn’t get a chance to check them out, or was a bit hesitant because of the flavours listed, you definitely need to try their apple flavour! I promise you won’t be disappointed.
I’m so glad they decided to come to the festival this year, and hope they come back!
Crazy D’s – Prebiotic Rockin’ Rolla Cherry Cola
This was my least favourite thing from the entire festival. It tasted absolutely nothing like cherries. The ingredients say that there was actual cherry juice in it, but I couldn’t taste it at all.
This drink was spicy. It tasted like when you run out of bouillon cubes, so you try to make your own. So you get some water and throw ten different spices in it and then try it. That’s what it tasted like.
This drink was an absolute no-go in my book. Which sucks because I was really looking forward to trying a cherry flavoured drink.
Their sign said it was supposed to have a bunch of health benefits and promote good digestion and stuff – I hate that they proved the old saying true. (Everything that’s good for you tastes bad)
I couldn’t even finish it, I had to dump it out when I got home. I felt bad for wasting it, but I couldn’t drink it. It was that bad. And tasted nothing like cherries!
Their other options were Ginga Kick and a citrus something. I went with cherry because I thought it’d be their best tasting one. Boy was I wrong!
If you like spicy drinks, you may like this, but if you want something that tastes like cherries? This isn’t it.
Tropic Love – Maple Luv Mini Pancakes
Pancakes, whether big or small, there’s just something enjoyable about them.
These were light and fluffy, and so cute! They came ten per order, and were perfect with the right amount of maple syrup drizzled on top.
They weren’t really special, except that they were tiny. But I mean, a pancake is a pancake. I would’ve been really surprised if I didn’t like them.
WVRST – Soft Pretzel
I have a soft spot for soft pretzels. I only tried them this year, actually. My first ever was from Through Being Cool (which unfortunately no longer exists!) and I instantly loved them!
They’re a bit salty to eat on their own (you’re apparently supposed to dip them in mustard? No thanks!), but have an amazing doughy consistency. It’s like eating just the thick crust from a pizza. I love soft, doughy breads, and these pretzels are no exception.
These guys also make sausages, (and are also in Toronto!) but I would recommend going there for the pretzels alone.
I’ll probably get around to trying their sausages, but the pretzels are an absolute must.
GTS – Watermelon Kombucha
This was better tasting than the cherry cola, but still not my thing. I’ve tried kombucha before, and I didn’t really like it. I think it’s the carbonation I don’t like. Same reason I don’t enjoy pop – the carbonation isn’t a good time for me.
The flavour was good, though I don’t know I would call it watermelon. It had that fresh, fruity taste like a watermelon does, but it didn’t exactly scream ‘watermelon’ flavour.
I would definitely get it over an actual pop, like Coke. But my first go-to would still probably be just water.
Sausage Party – The Big Mock
This not-dog was pretty good. They said it was a ‘hand crafted vegan sausage’, so I’m not entirely sure if it’s seitan, or something else, but it tasted similar to the flax dog I had gotten the first year. Very wheat-y. It was good, except I forgot to tell them no mustard, and they put a bunch of onions on it.
Why is that a thing people do? Smother the dog in a million cubes of onions? Onions are not that good of a topping, I’m sorry. I’d rather it of just been straight lettuce with the sesame seeds and cheese.
I was a little disappointed that weren’t nearly as many dessert vendors as there were last year. I would’ve liked to get a cupcake or some other desserts.
On the vendors list on the Vegandale website, Kelly’s Bakeshop was listed, but the site map I got that had the list of the vendors, they weren’t anywhere. I don’t know if they were going to come, and had to fall out, or what, but I was disappointed that I didn’t get to try their Salted Caramel Pretzel cupcake again.
Also, I thought I saw Bald Baker, but he wasn’t a vendor. He was pushing a stroller around, but looked a lot like him. I didn’t have the courage to go up to him and ask, so if you’re reading this: sorry for starring!
I’m so happy I got to go again, and I’m hoping I get to try even more foods next year!
With Valentine’s Day being tomorrow, I thought what better food review then a chocolate bar?
Whether you’re celebrating V-Day with a special someone, hanging with your friends, or flying solo, there’s no reason why you can’t indulge yourself with one of the best vegan chocolate bars I’ve tried.
One of the best/surprising things about this bar is that it’s made with rice milk. Why is that surprising? Well, usually, when something is made with rice milk, it has a certain taste about it, where you can tell it was made with rice milk. This bar, however, doesn’t have that taste much at all. Especially if you’re eating it by itself (instead of binging on a bunch of different vegan chocolates) you can hardly tell it has the ‘rice milk’ taste. It just tastes like… well, chocolate.
Another great thing about this bar is that it’s not bitter at all. Maybe it’s just me, but before discovering vegan chocolate, pretty much the only chocolate I could eat was the Lindt Excellence chocolates, and let me tell you, those are super dark chocolates. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it’s hard to enjoy more then one or two squares when something is that bitter.
Feeling like you need to chug water after eating chocolate is never a good thing. I’m just not a fan of extremely bitter chocolate. I’d prefer to leave that to my once-in-a-blue-moon coffee.
This bar also comes in a half decent size. I don’t know if you saw my Go Max Go Foods review, but let me tell you, as much as I love their Twilight bar, it’s so small! I know it’s the size of a regular non-vegan Mars/Snickers, etc. bar, but it’s so good, why can’t it be bigger? Maybe they do it on purpose so you buy more, or maybe they just don’t think someone would eat a bigger bar? (They’re wrong, I would totally eat a giant Twilight bar)
This bar is a half decent size, it’s about the size of the Lidnt Excellence bars. I also like that this bar is wider then it is thick – since this is their classic, there’s nothing fancy like caramel or nougat – it doesn’t need to be thick. As much as I love chocolate, biting into a solid thick piece of chocolate isn’t all that fun.
Since it’s the classic bar, I feel like there isn’t all that much I can review for it, other then it tastes pretty good, and doesn’t have any bells or whistles (like the aforementioned caramel or nougat), so if you’re someone who likes chocolate but not all that other stuff, this would be a good place to start. iChoc does make other bars with some ‘extra’ stuff in them (like their Choco Cookie bar has bits of cookie), but I’ll be reviewing those later.
The last thing about this bar I want to say is that it’s somewhat easier to find then the Go Max Go Foods bars. For Go Max, I had to go to a specifically vegan grocery store (like Good Rebel), but for the iChoc bars, I’ve seen them at Healthy Planet, and Foodland. It seems that stores that have a bigger vegan selection might have them (although I haven’t specifically checked Loblaws or Metro). That’s another bonus, I like being able to do my shopping all in one place, and unfortunately all the specialty vegan stores in Toronto are on the opposite side of the city I live in, so it’s a treat to find the vegan things I need in a non-vegan grocer (that’s not 50min away).
I’m not entirely sure if there’s Foodlands or Healthy Planets outside of Canada, but I would say, if you’re looking for the iChoc bars your best bet would be to go to either a specialty vegan store, or the grocer closest to you that has the biggest selection of vegan foods. And I think you could order them online, too.
One thing I’ve learned since beginning this series is that there are a lot of websites that don’t list the ingredients in their products, and a lot of companies who aren’t willing to give out this information – even when you let them know you’re writing an article. (Apposed to trying to steal their recipe)
Many sites don’t even list allergens, which, I didn’t even know was allowed.
Anyway, that’s why on this Surprising Vegan list, there are companies listed that make labelled vegan chocolate.
I was also surprised to learn about just how many companies are making vegan friendly chocolate! I didn’t think I was going to discover so many!
Starting in the bottom left corner going counter-clockwise:
Endangered Species Panther
Endangered Species Grizzly
Endangered Species Elephant
Endangered Species Owl
Endangered Species Chimp
Endangered Species Tiger
Endangered Species Tamarin
Endangered Species Bat
Endangered Species Puffin
Endangered Species Rainforest
Endangered Species Wolf
Endangered Species Turtle
Endangered Species Penguin
Endangered Species Ram
Pure Lovin’Denman Island Cocomilk Cherry Cashew
Pure Lovin’ OrganicFair Coco-Milk
Pure Lovin’ Roasted Nut Medley
Pure Lovin’ Almond and Wild Blueberry
Pure Lovin’ 71% Dark
Alter Eco Seal Salt
Alter Eco Salted Almonds
Alter Eco Quinoa Crunch
Alter Eco Crisp Mint
Alter Eco Blackout
Alter Eco Super Blackout
Lindt Excellence 70%
Lindt Excellence 85%
Lindt Excellence 90%
Lindt Excellence 99%
iChoc Classic
iChoc White Vanilla
iChoc White Nougat
iChoc Choco Cookie
iChoc Super Nut
iChoc Almond Orange
Pure Lovin’ Zazubean Sassy Pomegranate and Hazelnut
Pure Lovin’ Zimt Coconut Crisp Bar (Raw)
Pure Lovin’ Zimt Nib’d Bar – (Raw)
Pure Lovin’ OrganicFair Midnight
I was so pleased to learn how many vegan chocolates there are out there. Endangered Species makes a whole vegan-friendly line, and each purchase goes toward helping endangered species of animals (hence the name), Pure Lovin’ is a completely (Canadian!) vegan company, making much more then just bars (they also have vegan chocolate cremes, and chocolate solid dinosaurs!),and Alter Eco also has an entire vegan line of chocolate.
I discovered two other completely vegan chocolate companies: Pascha and Giddy Yo-Yo.
And, Guylian chocolates has some vegan chocolates as well.
I didn’t include Pascha and Giddy Yo-Yo in the list above because they’re 100% vegan companies, and these Surprising Vegan lists are supposed to be foods found from non-vegan retailers. I also didn’t include Guylian because their products aren’t available in Canada/US.
There you have it, my list of Surprising Vegan chocolates. If you have any surprising vegan chocolates I missed, or have an idea for another Surprising Vegan food list I can do, feel free to leave it in a comment below!
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With Halloween right around the corner, I thought that it would be a perfect time to review one of the best vegan chocolate companies around – Go Max Go Foods. Also, since it’s nearly Halloween, I thought I would do a special review: the chocolate products I’ve tried of theirs in one review. This way, you can have some chocolate along with your candy.
Let’s get on to the first one:
Twilight Bar
Said to be the closest vegan chocolate bar to a Mars, this bar has nougat and caramel and is my favourite of the bunch! It is so rich, soft and chocolatey it’s seriously drool worthy. The caramel stretches when you bite into it like the cheese in pizza commercials, and that might just be the best thing about this bar.
Oh wait, no – the best thing about it is that the wrapper is purple. And purple’s the magic colour, which is probably why this chocolate bar tastes so good.
Cleo’s White Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
Dude, it’s a white chocolate peanut butter cup. What else do you need?
Only problem? Only two in a pack.
Cleo’s Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup
Like the white chocolate ones, except dark chocolate. Same texture, size and ratio of chocolate to peanut butter goodness.
Buccaneer
This one is still good, but it’s too nougaty for my liking. Biting it is like biting into a brick of nougat. And then, the chewing. There’s so. Much. Chewing.
Who knew a brick of nougat would be so dense?
All these chocolates are great vegan alternatives, but the one downside is that they don’t sell them in those giant boxes that the mixes of Mars, Coffee Crisp, Kit-Kats, etc. Come in. I’m sure I’m not the only vegan who would be down for buying a box of these chocolate bars in ‘fun size’, or hell, full size. (Then you don’t have to eat 20.)
They have a few other products I’ve yet to try, (check them out here), but these guys should be your go-to for all your Halloween-y chocolate-y needs.
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Hot chocolate – it’s a prime winter staple. Who doesn’t have fond memories of spooning too much powdered chocolate into a cup with not enough water? Sure, it wasn’t the most perfect drink you ever concocted, but hey – at least your parents’ let you make it yourself, right? That alone made it taste ten times better, ‘Look what I made! Look what I made!’
You’ve probably gotten better at it over the years, but maybe you’ve found that the same mixes you had as a kid really aren’t all that exciting. These days with people catching Pokemon ‘IRL’ and talking to robots, well… powdered chocolate doesn’t quite cut it like it used to.
Luckily for us hot chocolate has come a long way since then, and one of the greatest improvements that’s been made? Adding shit to the powder. Plain old hot chocolate is good, but caramel hot chocolate? That’s great.
I don’t know what it is, but since going vegan, I’ve discovered countless cool products that I otherwise wouldn’t be able to (or have ever tasted) before. One such thing, would be one of the first times I went to Starbucks and got a Caramel Soy Latte. That was beyond good. (I’ll be doing another post about cool Starbucks Canada offerings [yes they can be different than the US] later)
Turns out, I really like caramel flavoured stuff – who knew? So last year as the weather began getting colder, and I was just discovering the wonderful world of faux foods that wouldn’t kill me (or that I never tried because growing up I wasn’t allowed) I knew that I just had to try the Castle Kitchen Caramel Hot Chocolate. And boy was I sure glad I did! It’s so… indescribably amazing!
Maybe it seemed better than it is because I had spent years before that just using cocoa powder (the baking kind) and hot water, or maybe it was the excitement of trying a new product – rationalize my excitement however you need to, but I’m telling you this? You won’t go wrong if you buy a can of this stuff.
It comes in a pretty big can too, and only needing one spoonful for each cup, it lasts a while. I didn’t drink it everyday (I wanted to preserve it so I could have it as long as I could) but even if I did, I’m sure it’d still last a while. I bought it in early December (it’s somewhere on my Instagram), and I still had it at New Years. Even just peeling the foil back and smelling it… I’ll admit, I was salivating a bit. If they had a perfume out there that smells like that (or a body wash!) I would definitely be first in line to buy it. (The closest one I could think of would be the I Love… Cosmetics Yummy Caramel, but I’ve yet to get my hands on it). But, that’s a whole other post.
This stuff is definitely, hands-down my favourite hot chocolate I’ve ever had. And, with the addition of mini Dandies on top? It’s like a cup right out of a winter fairy tale. Now, the can says to add 3Tbsp. to 6oz. of water, but let me tell you – I use 1 Tbsp and just fill up a regular-sized mug and it tastes great. Not watery at all, and, there is even some leftover powder at the bottom of the cup. So the fact it wants you to add 3 Tbsps? Crazy. The only thing you’ll achieve by doing that is running out of this delicious stuff sooner than you want. Trust me, you can get buy with great-tasting hot chocolate on 1 Tbsp.
This powder man… what more can I say to convince you? It’s chocolate with caramel – what more of an explanation do you need?
Don’t just take my word for it though – go out and get yourself a can so you can be your own judge. I’ve already got mine. With this by my side, I’m definitely ready to take on the cold. Also, it’s an amazing drink to come back to after all the shopping, cooking and parties. It’s the perfect cup to unwind while you tear off your party clothes in favour of pj’s and curl up on the couch to Netflix the night away.
This is how much bark was in the bag as soon as I opened it
