Not Doing This For My Health: 10 Junk Food Items That Happen to be Vegan

Categories: Lists

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Veganism has been lauded by health experts, Oprah, and animal rights activists alike as a healthy lifestyle choice. Bringing up veganism, for some, conjures images of endless salads and raw tofu -- but sometimes, health be damned, you want to fill your body with trash while still staying inside the strict guidelines you've put forward for yourself. If you're not into veganism for environmental ethics or for your health (or you're just not in a place to care) you don't need to go to your local co-op to get your plant-based* snack on.

To vegans, plain potato chips are the french fries of the corner store: the thing you get when you're out with your friends because there is nothing else and you're hungry. Mix it up a little. Here's a list of slightly-more-interesting options for junk food that just happens to be vegan -- stuff that omnivores eat all the time. Plus a couple of old commercials, because they're fun.

10. Oreos
Soymilk's favorite cookie! Perhaps the junk food most commonly touted as as I-can't-believe-it's-vegan, the creamy centers of the ubiquitous sandwich cookies -- surprise! -- do not actually contain cream. This goes for Double Stuf, holiday color editions, and basically every variation besides Cakesters -- and who wants a Cakester, anyway?



9. Cookie Crisp
Vegan cereal isn't all about the granola. If you're not in the mood for a well-balanced breakfast -- or a well-balanced snack to eat straight out of the box -- these tiny, crispy cookies masquerading as cereal are a safe bet. See also: Cinnamon Toast Crunch.


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8. 7-Eleven fruit pies
The "animal and/or vegetable shortening" listed on Hostess snack pies got you down? Unlike their lardy counterparts, the 7-Eleven brand of apple and cherry pies are completely devoid of animal products. They're pretty tasty, too; the above picture is an actual sign a vegan friend of mine made and stuck on her head she wanted 7-Eleven pie so bad.


7. ABC Bakers Thin Mints
Since Girl Scout-contracted Little Brownie Bakers uses whey in their mints, Seattle is mostly SOL on the vegan thin mint front. But thanks to the Internet and some clever rule-breaking, it's more than possible to order the animal-free ABC Bakers version. They're a slightly different shape, but all the same delicious.



6. Unfrosted Pop Tarts
Some sneaky gelatin in that signature stiff, translucent icing prevents the frosted varieties from making this list, but blueberry, cinnamon sugar, and strawberry unfrosted pop-tarts are just fine. If you must have frosting on your pop-tarts, take note that many store-bought varieties of frosting are also vegan.

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