The options of food items you can eat can be quite limited when you follow a vegan diet. Every now and then you want to stuff your mouth with chocolate spread and other sweet or salty treats, but you’ve got to look out for any animal byproduct they might contain. One of these treats that you might be craving is Nutella, as it is the favorite chocolate spread of many and the question ‘is Nutella vegan’ might be running through your mind. You are going to get the answer to that question here.
What is Veganism?
You may have heard the term vegan being thrown around a lot nowadays and maybe you have even wondered what it is and how is it different from vegetarianism. While vegetarians refrain from eating any kind of flesh, be it animal, birds, or fish, vegans completely avoid any product that may contain animal products.
The core philosophy that drives the vegan is to refrain from being the reason for any kind of animal cruelty. Animals are used today for many different purposes, for meat, for milk, for eggs, for clothing, and many other purposes. Many of these animals often spend their entire lives in harsh and inhumane conditions and ultimately are slaughtered for various purposes. Vegans try and bring down the need for this inhumane animal slaughter by giving up their part in the consumption process of animals.
Vegans do not eat any products that may be derived from an animal in one way or another. This means, not only do they not consume any kind of meat, but they also avoid eating any milk, any milk by-product like cheese or yogurt, honey, and anything that may contain these products. Products like some kinds of beer, food that may be fried in butter; gummy candies, etc. are also excluded from a vegan diet.
Veganism is more of a lifestyle than just a certain kind of diet. But many people become vegan as a way of eating food that is plant-based or by some perception, healthy. Some also become vegan due to health conditions like heart disease, blood pressure, etc. where eating plant-based food may help them live a healthier lifestyle. And make sure to target all the vegan nutritionists near me so that your body can stay healthy along with the earth.
Is Nutella Vegan
Nutella has been a part of many homes as everyone’s favorite chocolate spread ever since it came to market first in 1964. The chocolaty hazelnutty taste of this spread is so popular that in 2017 people freaked out when they found out that the recipe of Nutella has been changed. Being such a popular product, it won’t be surprising that you may be one of the many people who love Nutella.
But unfortunately, if you are vegan, or are thinking about becoming a vegan full time, you may have to give up eating Nutella. One of the ingredients that make up the iconic taste of Nutella is skim milk powder, which is obtained from a cow.
Where can You get Vegan Nutella
Just because you can’t eat commercially made Nutella doesn’t mean you can’t eat it at all. You can make a pretty decent chocolate and hazelnut spread of your own very easily. The main ingredients you’ll need are hazelnut and chocolate.
First of all, you need to roast the hazelnuts in any kind of natural oil. You may buy pre-roasted hazelnuts, but make sure that they aren’t roasted in any animal fat and are unsalted. The best way to make sure you get a completely vegan product is to buy raw hazelnuts and roasting them yourself.
After roasting, blend the roasted hazelnuts in a blender until it reaches a point where the content inside your blender looks like a paste. Add your favorite vegan chocolate pieces to the blender with the hazelnut paste and run the blender a couple more times. Once the mixture becomes as smooth as you’d like it to be, stop the blender, put the spread in a jar, and enjoy it however you want. You can eat it with toast, put it on crapes, or just eat it straight out of the jar like the rest of us.
If you can’t find any vegan chocolate at your grocery store, you can easily replace it with cocoa powder and coconut oil. There’s another vegan hack right there, if you can’t find vegan chocolate but wanna eat some, make your own with cocoa powder and coconut oil. There are recipes online that will teach you how to make vegan chocolate. You can use this chocolate in other vegan desserts too, like in a cake or cookies.
According to your preference, you can customize this recipe and make something that you’ll like even better. You can add sea salt or a little bit of sugar according to your taste, or add more ingredients like maple syrup and vanilla. You can even decide if the chocolate spread will be chunky or smooth as silk. That’s the best thing about making your own spread.
Because Nutella is so popular, and because of the number of people who want to become vegan for one reason or another, many companies have come out with their version of chocolate-hazelnut spreads that are completely vegan. You can try some of these chocolate spreads if you are too lazy to make your own spread, we are sure you will love at least one of these brands, probably not as much as you love Nutella, but something is better than nothing.
Conclusion
Caring about the earth is a great thing, which is why more and more people are trying new ways to play their part in the green revolution. Veganism is one of those ways, and it is a great initiative that unfortunately limits our food choices considerably. If you are vegan, try to keep a balanced diet, because it is quite easy to miss a couple of key nutrients our body needs when we have to follow so many restrictions in deciding what to eat. Make sure to target all the nutrient groups so that your body can stay healthy along with the earth.