I’m writing a book that I hope to be able to share with you within the next few months which is a really simple, accurate and powerful approach to weight loss that will allow you to eat whatever you want.
As I’ve mentioned before in many of my weight loss articles, you can eat whatever you want and still lose weight. You just CAN’T eat everything you want. That’s the key point. The fine print if you will.
I have found throughout my own weight loss journey, that trying to eat healthy ALL the time is exceptionally hard. At least it is for me. And perhaps it is for you too. I have found that eating some vegan junk food helps me feel satisfied both emotionally and physically and also allows me to attain my weight loss goals.
So with that in mind, I want to share with you today some of my favourite and best vegan junk food.
These are my personal favourites and perhaps some of them you might not have tried before and perhaps you’ll find a new favourite. I’d love to hear from you in the comments below with your favourite vegan junk food treats.
Now a quick caveat as we are talking about junk food. I’m an ethical vegan. I do it because I’m against cruelty towards animals. I’m against all forms of cruelty but my diet allows me to practice a living protest against the cruelty against animals specifically.
Having said that, I’m always harping on the healthy aspects of veganism and why we need to practice a healthy vegan diet so that we can win over the most folks into trying out this lifestyle. As such, vitamin B12 is something you MUST be taking.
And eating your greens and making the bulk of your diet consists of unprocessed whole plant foods is a must.
Okay, the caveat out of the way, let’s binge on some junk food vegan style!
My problem is that I love sweets and savoury the same. What does that mean in practical terms? It means, I love chocolate as much as I love french fries.
As far as french fries goes, I’m a huge fan of Wendy’s newer french fries, the ones that they now dust with sea salt. These are absolutely delicious. My new favourites. Though I am also partial to A&W’s – if you’re up in Canada – french fries too.
A small Wendy’s fries has 320 calories which in most diets if you’re careful can be considered a snack. The medium (my favourite size) is 420 calories but at that level we’re really talking a meal. That will likely be a complete lunch.
A&W’s small fries are only 260 calories but their regular (medium) is 410 calories. That’s probably the ballpark for most fast food joints’ medium fries calorie quota.
I also love veggie burgers too. A&W makes a great one, and when you hold the sauce (ranch dressing) and the Swiss cheese you’re only looking at around 350 or so calories.
Up in Canada we also have KFC’s veggie burger which is delicious too. Super high in fat I’m afraid because they deep fry it. You have to ask them to hold the mayo. Even at that, you’re looking at 400 calories. But every calorie a delicious morsel!!
Seems that most of the big franchises in the USA don’t offer veggie options as a rule. That’s a bummer. So let’s look at some of the other junk food options that I love as a vegan.
We can go to Taco Bell. Their fresco bean burrito is delicious. You can also have just the regular ol’ bean burrito without the cheese and sour cream. I like to add guacamole and salsa in place of the dairy. You’re only looking at around 350 calories which isn’t bad at all. And frankly, you could argue that this isn’t all that junky either. For a sweet treat after the yummy and savoury vegan bean burrito, their cinnamon twists hit the spot. And are only around 170 calories which is not too crazy.
You’ll want to go without a pop though and just choose a bottle of water or coffee or tea.
Let’s take a longer and deeper, more loving look at some of my favourite vegan sweet treats. Starting off with some gimmes, I’m a big fan of red Twizzlers. And they only have about 50 or so calories for the longer ones. Eat up!
I’m a pretty simple guy when it comes to chocolate. My favourite is Lindt’s bittersweet dark chocolate bar. Really creamy and smooth, you can’t go wrong with it. Just a row of squares is all I need for the day. Satisfies my sweet tooth like very few dark chocolates can.
Coconut Secret classic coconut bar is delicious too but pretty steep in calories. I mean you’re looking at a calorie bomb of coconut – high calorie, high fat – and chocolate – high calorie and high fat. But so smooth and creamy. Worth a try if you’ve never had one!
Okay, wrapping up the discussion about vegan junk food because I want to go and eat some now, I want to take a look at some sweet vegan treats for when the temperature rises.
I love just about any product that Turtle Mountain puts out there. I’m especially fond of their So Delicious vanilla sandwich minis as well as their So Delicious coconut almond mini bars. Wow, just really tasty good stuff. Of course, you can’t go wrong with any of their pints of vegan ice cream either. In fact, I never met a vegan ice cream I didn’t like!
I’m curious as to your (possible) consumption of KFC’s veggie burger, as they likely fry the thing in the same oil as they fry their chicken.
You’re right that most fast food chains in the US don’t generally offer veggie burger options. Burger King does (did?), but it’s not vegan (at one time I think it was). Even so, you’d have to ask them to cook it in the microwave, or they’d throw it on the grill with the burgers.
Maybe it’s completely different in Canada, but I’d be highly suspect of any big chain “veggie” fast food options. I doubt they’re truly vegan-friendly.
I’m not certain that they fry their veggie burger in the same oil as they’re other burgers and chicken, though you are probably correct about that.
It is one of those things that I don’t eat often for that reason perhaps and for others related to health.
The same could be said for fries though. I imagine most fries are fried in the same oil as fast food joints fry their chicken nuggets or any other animal parts. And the burgers are grilled as you say probably on the same grill as their meat burgers. I have noticed however that most fast food restaurants where you can actually see your food being cooked do “clean” the grill after each use with a wire brush.
This is not ideal nor perfect for many vegans. I am however, not one of those vegans who is particularly rigid about the purity of my veganism in this regard. Everyone will have to make their own choices but I come to my veganism from an ethical standpoint. As such, my goal is the least harm and most good. It is a practical veganism rather than a philosophical veganism.
What do I mean by this? I mean that I am a vegan who believes it is better to encourage companies to create vegan products even if until they know better, they are grilled or fried in the same oil as their non-vegan products. It is my belief and hope that having these options available will encourage greeter acceptance amongst the general population for these products.
My goal is to have more folks going vegan and choosing vegan options. That is where the greatest good for the animals is rather than having folks see veganism as some ascetic purist philosophy that only monks can attain. In that case at the end of the day I believe we are hurting veganism more than helping it and we might as well wear masks and brush the ground ahead of us as we walk like Jain monks do.