In recent times we witness an overwhelming amount of people turning to plant-based diets. Part of this results from the fact that many research studies confirmed the link between developing cancer and heart disease and consuming products of animal nature as well as some dairy products that are loaded in hormones.
If you haven’t known, this lifestyle excludes all sorts of dairy and animal products. You may be left wondering what do these people eat and how do they manage to get all the essential nutrients from eating only plant-sourced food?
If you are a little bit more curious about this lifestyle with just a little bit of research you can find thousands of recipes and healthy meal plans on YouTube or on some food websites posted by people who want to promote this lifestyle as healthy and doable. But cooking without eggs, milk and other essential animal products seems a bit challenging.
What do Vegans Eat for Sweets?
We all crave sweets from time to time, some of us can’t go a day without consuming something sweet. But does it have to be something loaded with sugar and marked under the label “unhealthy”?
The truth is we don’t have to feel guilty anymore because there are so many other alternatives available that can substitute certain dairy and animal products and result in making delicious and healthy vegan sweets. If you are serious about going vegan, you may be interested to learn which they are before you decide to implement them in your diet. In this article, I’ve included five essential plant-based ingredients that are often found in vegan desserts and make just as healthy and delicious sweets.
What are Vegan Desserts Made of?
If you did a little research yourself, you’ve probably realised that cooking vegan desserts isn’t only possible but also very exciting. There are tons of flavourful and delicious vegan treats that you can make using certain ingredients, from all sorts of healthy puddings, creamy pies, and healthy energy bars.
Vegan Whipped cream
If you are looking for a vegan, dairy-free alternative for making the perfect toppings for your muffins, pudding, and other sweets, you should consider using a whipped cream. But not just any – more and more brands are offering a variety of dairy-free options thanks to the raised consumer demand. For instance, you can buy a healthy vegan whipped cream available in an array of delicious flavours such as coconut, soy, rice, etc. These creams have just as thick consistency as the dairy alternatives and some of them may even be slightly denser, for instance, the coconut whipped cream.
This healthy alternative is made from deliciously creamy coconut that whips up into a perfect topping in mere minutes. You can add a hint of sugar and vanilla and make it a perfect topping for pies, hot cocoa, vegan ice creams, and summery cocktails. Vegan whipped creams are light, dairy and gluten-free, and have a delicate taste which makes them ideal for filling and decorating beautiful toppings for diverse types of vegan sweets including cakes, and meringues.
Plant-Based Milk
So many people, especially women, suffer from a variety of hormone-related issues. Most of these troubles arise from the fact that we consume so many dairy products and most of the time we aren’t even aware that they are the reason behind our issues. Thankfully we live in a time and age where information is available to everyone with a click of the mouse.
If you did a little research yourself you can see that full-fat milk products naturally contain larger amounts of various hormones, including oestrogen and progesterone. These hormones can cause fluctuations in your body that can result in serious mood swings and various appetite changes, including sugar cravings, bloating, etc.
For this reason, many people are looking for healthy alternatives same as with the healthy vegan whipped cream. With the growing demand for plant-sourced products, so many varieties of plant-based milk emerged on the market. You can find, almond-flavoured, coconut, rice milk, oat milk, soy milk, sesame milk, and so many other variants.
Vegan desserts have never tasted healthier with using each one of these products. If you don’t fancy making sweets that take lots of time to prepare, you can simply make your breakfast porridge using any kind of these plant-based milk. Simple as it sounds, you can also add chopped banana, cinnamon, or a spoon of brown sugar and enjoy a tasteful and delicious breakfast in just a matter of minutes.
Vegan Butter
Aside from the tasty vegan whipped cream, and plant-based milk options, now you can find many varieties of vegan-friendly butter on the market including almond butter, cashew butter, etc. To make almond butter is very simple as it only requires three ingredients. You just need a certain amount of unsalted roasted almonds, salt, and a little bit of coconut oil to make a smooth and creamy homemade butter. To make desserts, vegan people come up with a myriad of combinations.
For instance, you can use almond butter, vanilla extract, and chocolate chips to make perfectly chewy almond butter cookies or use it to make a healthy and fluffy banana bread recipe. Besides tasting amazing, almond butter is known to have many health benefits given the fact that is high in monounsaturated fats. These fats help to lower the bad cholesterol and raise the good (HDL) cholesterol. Also, many studies confirmed that using almond butter instead of regular dairy butter can help improve your health in many other ways, including lowering your risk of developing certain heart diseases.
Dried Fruits
Although you can use them in a variety of ways to make different vegan sweets, they make a perfectly fine treat to eat on their own. Also, you can eat dried fruits when some fresh fruits aren’t available. For instance, dry prunes are a great snack when fresh plums aren’t available. Or you can blend it together with other ingredients and make your favourite shake in the morning. It’s quite obvious by now that there is an extensive list of recipes that you can make using only vegan ingredients to satisfy your sweet cravings. But we are not yet done as we have another ingredient to add to the list.
If you are looking for a healthy alternative, dried fruit is considered the best natural sweetener that can substitute sugar for good. These fruits are great vegan snacks as they are naturally sweet and provide a great source of fibre. They are also loaded with antioxidants, and numerous vitamins and minerals essential for your overall health. Besides the health aspect, they make a great addition when preparing various vegan sweets. You can include various types of dried fruits including raisins, dried cranberries, and make a vegan gluten-free cake and top it off with a delicious and healthy vegan whipped cream. You can also choose to add different types of nuts as well to make it more crunchy and healthier.
Maple Syrup
If you haven’t tried maple syrup till now, it’s time to give it a go. This type of syrup is completely organic, made from maple tree sap that’s been boiled down to reduce the water content and preserve the sugars. It’s loaded with antioxidants and a number of other nutrients such as riboflavin, zinc, magnesium, calcium, and potassium. The fact that it is so healthy and naturally sweet makes it a perfect option for adding it to various vegan desserts.
If you thought till now that only Nutella pancakes are the best, you probably haven’t tried making them with maple syrup as they taste heavenly. Maple syrup has an intensely sweet taste with a slightly woody flavour that comes from the heating and processing of the sap from the maple tree. You can also include this ingredient in your overnight oatmeal and enjoy a sweet and nutritious start of the day. When added in certain baked goodies, it gives off a rich, brown sugar-like flavour and a moist texture that taste amazing.