Confessions of a Vegan Chocoholic

Okay, so by about day 3 of my Vegan Adventure, I was about to snap.

I need Chocolate!!

My roomi and I have had this beautiful wonderful thing called a “Chocolate Cupboard” stocked for the full 5 years we have lived together. It is something of a chocolate commune, containing a decadent collection of chocolates from every holiday: there are Purdy’s hearts and Easter eggs with coloured foil wrap, candy-cane striped Hersey’s kisses and even Reese’s Pieces from Hallowe’en. In addition, this scandolous cupboard contains butterscotch treats, hot cocoa packages, chocolate syrup, and a miscellany of Lindts and other Swiss chocolates, at any given time.

I can (and have) thanked my roommate for her Swiss-Austrian background, largely, for the existence of this marvellous cupboard. However, since I embarked on my Vegan Adventure, the thought of this cupboard changes the whole chemical make-up of my body: my mouth waters, then my body starts to quiver, then I start to seize up. Everytime, I must snap myself out of it!

So what is a Vegan Chocoholic to do?

Lucky for me dark chocolate is my most favouritest type. In the past, I would happily inhale any chocolate offered, but dark always did the trick best.

Yesterday after lunch, I had another bout of chocolate fever with a very high temperature. So I checked out some of my favourite darks at the local grocery, the ones with 70 % cocoa or more. The only ingredients I wasn’t sure about but which they all seemed to contain were cocoa butter and cocoa mass. So later, I did some research online, and was ecstatic to find that both cocoa mass and cocoa butter are vegan!! Woo hoo!!

Here are some of my favourite chocolates that just so happen to be vegan-friendly!:
- Endangered Species Dark Chocolate - Kudos to these guys for making wicked chocolate and for looking out for our furry/feathery friends
- Green and Blacks Organic Chocolate - dark chocolate
- Maya Gold
- Lindt Excellence Dark Chocolate Bars
- Ritter Sport - dark chocolate flavours

But there is also an extensive shopping list of vegan "milk" chocolates, if that's your bag, as well as chocolate beverages, chocolate treats, and other chocolate things. Check out this link for that huge list.

Chocolate in its purest form comes from the pod of a cocoa tree. So really, chocolate is just another benevolent bean, delicately hand-crafted by our magnificent Mother Nature.