Sweet Treats Await!

When I first decided to go vegan, I thought I had one of two options when it came to desserts: cheat or do without.

There's no shortage of dessert and sweet drink options, even on
a vegan diet.  The Christmas holidays were made even sweeter
with a vegan chocolate chip cookie and Mexican hot chocolate.

A good tennis friend introduced me to the term "cheagan'.  He would call himself such whenever he wanted to eat something that was merely vegetarian - a food that is meat-free, but still contains at least one animal product, such as dairy or eggs.  He seemed to be happy and healthy, so for a number of years, I adopted the term for myself.  It freed me up to enjoy non-vegan desserts, mainly.  

Especially when visiting my in-law family in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.  The desserts that come out of their kitchen are endless and delicious, so they're hard to resist.  Plus, as the saying goes, "when in Rome (or Mexico)..."  But oh boy, I saw just how much butter and milk goes into a simple pan dulce (sweet bread) or galleta (cookie) recipe.  So finally, a couple of years ago, I knew I had to drop the "cheagan" justification and go strictly vegan.  It's a decision I made for myself, and no one else, and I have never regretted it. 

But that doesn't mean I don't love sweets.  And I found out that I don't have do without.  I soon realized that...

Sweet Treats Await!

I'm so glad I found this sweet vegan corner of
Old Town, behind Casa de Reyes. There's another
location on Morena Blvd.

There's lots of places around where I live (the North Park community of San Diego, California) to find vegan desserts (email me or comment below for ideas).  But I've also found them online and in grocery stores where my sisters live (Los Angeles, Columbus, Ohio and Syracuse, New York).  In fact, every grocery store or corner market has Oreos or Teddy Grahams, and those are vegan and do just fine in a pinch.  

But one of my all-time favorites is Nibble Chocolate in Old Town, San Diego (they have a second location on Morena Blvd).  The place is a sensory feast.  The store is simple, yet visually stimulating.  One room is filled colorful boxes, filled with chocolates from around the world, including Brazil, Dominican Republic, Madagascar and Peru.  You can indulge in free samples of pretty much anything, which makes it all the more difficult to decide what to indulge in. The other side has a small display case filled with homemade cookies and other treats, plus an espresso maker.  They have the usual espresso drinks, plus my favorite, vegan Mexican hot chocolate.  It all smells and tastes so good, and yup, you guessed it, it's all vegan!

So we can add one more choice to our list: cheat, do without...or...indulge!  Because...

Sweet Vegan Treats Await!