So today was a... difficult day at work :/ Sometimes we just have those days, and it's ok, you just pick yourself up, dust off, and keep on going. And I like the work I do, so I can look forward to having better days ahead. Occasionally, I'll instinctively turn to my good old standby comfort foods to get on the track to happy town, but today I got home and the first thing I went for was a Popsicle Brand ice popsicle. I have a couple in my freezer from recent days, I usually rehydrate with one after riding my bike home from work. Today, however, it occurred to me that I had no idea if these Popsicles were vegan friendly.
Naturally, I looked to the ingredients list for answers. But that was such a jumbled mess of random letters and numbers, I needed help from the internet.
Naturally, I looked to the ingredients list for answers. But that was such a jumbled mess of random letters and numbers, I needed help from the internet.
I found myself searching things like "what is malic acid" and "is high fructose corn syrup vegan?" because the internet knows everything. By now, I have learned a lot about the ingredients of my favorite frozen dessert:
- Is high fructose corn syrup vegan? Yes, but it's terrible for you and the earth
- Is corn syrup vegan? Maybe not? Some corn syrup contains bone char? What?
- Is sugar vegan? Usually, but again, might also have some bone char...
- Orange juice... I'll just assume it's vegan since everything has bones in it now...
- What is malic acid? Malic acid gives some fruits that yummy sour taste, and it is used as a flavor in artificial foods. Vegan.
- What is citric acid? Citric acid is still more sour taste, naturally found in citric fruits.
- What is guar gum (and I see this one a whole lot, so I was really interested)? Guar gum is a thickening agent derived from the endosperm of guar beans. Vegan.
- What is locust bean gum? Despite it's buggy sounding name, locust bean gum is a sweetener derived from carob (the healthy chocolate substitute). Vegan.
- What is annatto? Annatto is a yellowish- orange coloring agent made form the achiote tree, which is a super funky-looking plant!
- Is red dye 40 made of insects? No. Red dye 40 is sometimes also called azo, or Allura Red AC. It was originally derived from coal tar but is now made from petrolleum. So... gross, but vegan.
So, as far as I can tell, the Orange, Cherry, Grape flavored Popsicles are vegan, but contain some suspicious ingredients... I mean, petrolleum?! Anyway, by the time I had researched all this, I had already ate a Tempt bar (creamy bar made from hemp, more on that later), and that was enough dessert for me.
I did easily discover that Full Sail Amber Ale is vegan, thanks to the handy dandy website Barnivore! I was able to look it up lickety split and was sipping my beer just in time to watch some awesome Resident Evil Streaming on Gamers Northwest!
- Breakfast: Traditional rolled oats with applesauce, cinnamon, and brown sugar
- Lunch: Food for life Cluckphrey Chic-a-roos; spinach salad with tomatoes, red onions, bell peppers, carrots, and broccoli, with Asian sesame dressing
- Snack: Tempt vanilla blueberry pom frozen dessert bars (like a yogurt bar), Full Sail Amber beer.
- Dinner: Flat bread sandwich with veggie deli turkey, Daiya havarti cheese, spinach, and tomatoes; ritz crackers and Toby's Tofu spread
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