In this article I will provide you with a list of several common foods that you may be surprised to find out are not vegan. I will then tell you which ingredients you should look out for when shopping for vegan foods.
My first experience with vegan cooking occurred when I was making dinner for several friends, one of whom was vegan. I decided to make my favorite sweet potato casserole for her to go along with the many dishes that contained meat. Much to my dismay my vegan friend pointed out that the marshmallow topping was not vegan. Marshmallows contain gelatin. Gelatin is made from animal bones. I later discovered that you can purchase vegan marshmallows at stores like Whole Foods.
While many vegans are well aware that marshmallows are not vegan, novice vegans may be surprised to find that there are many other seemingly animal-free foods that do in fact contain animal products. Here is a list of several surprising non vegan foods.
Five Surprisingly Non-Vegan Foods
Worcestershire Sauce – I use this seasoning sauce all the time and was completely surprised to find that it contains anchovies. Worcestershire sauce is non vegan.
Morningstar Farm Sausage Style Crumbles – Novice vegans or those who are cooking for vegans need to remember that a product can be “meat free” but still not vegan. These sausage crumbles by Morningstar Farm contain both skim milk and egg whites. These crumbles are definitely not vegan.
Stove Top Stuffing Mix – Unfortunately there is not a single vegan variety of Stove Top stuffing. Even the cornbread and mushroom and onion flavors contain chicken fat.
Soy Joy Bars – One would think that these bars made of soy would be vegan, but that is certainly not the case. Soy Joy bars contain butter, eggs, whole milk and even cheese. These health food bars are definitely not a vegan food.
Veggie Cheese and Soy Cheese – Veggie cheese most often contains casein which is a dairy product. If you are looking for vegan cheese make sure that the product label states that the cheese is vegan. Words like “soy” or “vegetarian” simply do not cut it for the vegan. One brand to try is “Teese Vegan Cheese”.
Ingredients to watch out for when shopping vegan
If you are determined to shop vegan, one of the first things you should do is to look at the nutrition panel on the food product. If the product lists cholesterol level at more than 0% than the product contains some type of animal product and is non vegan. Ingredients that the vegan shopper should watch out for include the following: casein, ghee, albumen, cochineal, oleic acid, rennin, calcium stearate, gelatin, glycerides, stearic acid, lecithin and pepsin.
Other surprisingly non-vegan foods
Some other non-vegan foods that may surprise you are Hostess Twinkies; Guinness Beer – which I have read contains isinglass in the brewing process, which is a form of gelatin made from fish bladders; and margarita mix as some mixes contain dry milk powder.
A vegan diet can be a very healthy diet and with more people choosing a vegan lifestyle true vegan products are becoming increasingly more available.
