I don’t know about you, but I find it hard to shop for food at the store.  Now, I know, fruits, veggies and beans are not difficult vegan fare to find, but what about other products?  Processed products like pasta, or cheese or cereals?  I had posted this 9 clean cereals list from Eating Well Magazine was curious how many on it were actually vegan…besides looking on the back of the box and trying to desipher what each ingredient was, I found the amazing Accidentally Vegan Food List on PETA.org!

9 Clean Cereals

Now I don’t know about you but if a list comes out from PETA then you know it has been vetted and can trust what is on it as true.  I honestly couldn’t believe how many products were really vegan-especially the Pillsbury Crescent Rolls (Original)!  Or Entenmann’s Single Serve Cherry Snack Pies.  What? A baked good vegan?  Or how about Nabisco Original Graham Crackers or Jello-O Instant Pudding (Vanilla). Now these two I really didn’t need to know-Ritz Regular Crackers and Nabisco Saltine Crackers.  Smucker’s Marshmallow Icecream Topping on top of a mocha banana ice cream? Mmmm.   Now this one surprised me because I would have thought milk flakes would have gone in it: Washington Instant Mashed Potatoes.

I had to share a few of the I-couldn’t-believe’s but the list is amazingly long!  It is separated into eight lists: Breakfast (Dry), Beverages, Snacks, Condiments, Baked Goods, Refrigerated and Frozen Foods, Baking and Staples.  I really think everyone needs to review the list and find things that work for you.  Processed is not good obviously, but we all have things that we buy that we may not know that there is a comparative product that is vegan.  Especially vegetarians who are wanting to go vegan and are product-nervous.  I especially loved the Baked Goods list because it had a long list of breads-that is a must when in carb mode!

On the other side of the spectrum, there are products you think are vegan but really aren’t…soy dogs anyone? Or soy cheese; I am sorry but I buy soy cheese with the understanding I am not buying dairy products-I mean if I was going to spend that much money on soy cheese and it has dairy or casein in it I would just buy Tillamook Cheddar instead!

Or how about certain lollipops…I thought it was just sugar!  And speaking of sugar; white sugar manufacturers process it using bone char-be sure to check labels or brands online because brown sugar and confectioner’s sugar are both done this way too (look for unrefined instead) or buy Sucanat and turbinado sugar which according to PETA do not use the bone char process.  Here is another that is surprising:  Beer and Wine…really?  Now I don’t drink, but I work where they have after-5 parties with alcohol.  I kind of want to tell them that beer and wine are made with fish bladders!

This is the last one I will touch on but is the most surprising over all for me…nuts! Again, WHAT?!?!  I read on many sites: some brands of dry-roasted nuts use a gelatin-based coating to get the salt and flavorings to stick. (For instance, Planters peanuts and sunflower seeds).  Yuck, yuck, yuck!  I mean, how much more can you ruin the perfect vegan snack?  Sheesh.

So there is some info for you-you may have known this but to me, you cannot be told to much or relearn anything too often.  I hope this info helps you in your shopping excursions!  It sure is helping mine!