Vegans Love Pancakes and Pastries!

This is a fact. I'm sure some vegans will tell you they "don't have a sweet tooth," just like many omnivores will tell you as well. This, however, is a lie and no one can be trusted, because especially vegans love cupcakes and cookies and pancakes and ice cream. I fall into the category of truth-telling vegans in that I can exclaim proudly that not only do I make wonderful pastries, but I love to eat them.

The problem for most vegans, which vegetarians (lower-class citizens) will attest is indeed not a problem, is that most of these things contain dairy and egg products. Some may even contain honey or refined sugar. So, we must substitute ingredients to accommodate, which is a very easy task. My favorites are Soy Milk (to replace regular milk), Earth Balance (to replace butter), Vegan-Safe Cane Sugar and Ener-G brand egg replacer (which is a starch mixture that has a similar chemical reaction in baked goods as real eggs).

There are many grades of "vegan." Some vegans eat honey products, bug products (such as Confectioner's Glaze), and some eat refined sugar, such as Imperial Brand sugar (the biggest brand in Texas), which uses bone char in its processing (quite disgusting). Until a few days ago, my boyfriend and I ate refined sugar, but we have since decided to stop for the sake of veganism.

It's a hard thing to call oneself a pure vegan, as veganism is a conscious effort to have the least impact on animals as possible through consumer choices. I think that as consumers, we can only do our best, and granted, I say often that if you eat honey or bug products and call yourself vegan, you are lazy and are lying. I can now say that I believe the same is true for vegans who buy bags of Imperial Brand sugar, who knowingly consume a product where bones from dead animals were purchased and used by the company to create a product that many vegans consume with or without the knowledge of it.

Lately, my kick has been with Bisquick. Until I met my boyfriend, I did not know that Bisquick was anything more than a pre-made pancake batter that you buy at cheap grocery stores. Now, I know that not only is it vegan, but it can be used to create some of the most wonderful things in the world. Let me list a few: Pancakes, Batter for Deep Frying, Cupcakes, Muffins, Tortillas, Pie Crust, Pizza Crust, Naan, Fresh Bread, Biscuits, Dumplings, Granola Bars, Brownies, Sugar Cookies, and more! This may be going too far, but it's almost safe to say that Bisquick is a great substitute for flour when you don't have any baking soda or baking powder around. Betty Crocker even came out with a new Bisquick recipe book. Something that I've wanted to do for Ramen Noodles since I was a kid: a recipe book for all the possibilities!

Finally, I would just like to say to all vegans, that if you are concerned that you are making a lazy choice to consume animal products for the sake of comfort or enjoyment, even in the smallest form, that it might be a good idea for you to take a step back and have a decision-moment. It's a really powerful thing when you make a choice to stop consuming products that you know have a negative impact on some one or some thing: it's the reason people go vegan in the first place.

Don't buy into anyone telling you that you have to take fish oil for your heath, or bee products for your allergies, and don't buy candies and sprinkles that you know have Confectioner's Glaze. You don't need these things, believe me. And you're making so much better of a choice by not consuming them than it might seem at first.

With that, go bake something vegan and share it with someone!