Permissible indulgence: these 5 plant-based brands make guilt-free snacks

Urban Remedy is an organic food company that delivers ready-to-eat meals and treats. For their dessert section, they make ‘sweets without the bad stuff’. Everything is plant-based, raw and completely free from gluten, grains, dairy and granulated sugar. What options are left if you exclude all those ingredients? Well, plenty! They have classics such as tiramisu, chocolate chip cookies and strawberry shortcake, but also offer more adventurous options such as sunflower squares with sunflower seed butter and cacao butter.

Earvin Lopez grew up in his parents' bakery in Mexico. When he moved to the US and switched to a plant-based diet, he wanted to continue the family tradition and opened a bakery specialising in veganised Latin American pastries: Soy Concha Bakery. People from all over the US come to California for Lopez’ conchas, besos, tres leches, bolillos, puerquitos and mil hojas. His pan dulce, a fluffy brioche-like bun with a crispy topping, has popularised Latin American pastry among the vegan community. He even makes a pink glittery pan dulce named ‘Selena’ after the famous Latin American singer.

‘What we serve is sacred, but what you'll taste is downright sinful’, states the homepage of the plant-based gelato makers at Sacred Serve. They are on a mission to tackle the most dairy and sugar laden indulgence category there is: ice cream. Sacred Serve not only make a plant-based alternative that is just as creamy as regular gelato, they also want their indulgences to be healing. Their chocolate flavour promises powerhouse bliss molecules from raw cacao, hormone balancing maca and antioxidant rich chaga mushrooms. Eating this functional food product should make consumers happy and healthy at the same time. Did you know ice cream is one of the most popular plant-based indulgences?

The individually wrapped loaves from the Soreen Bakery are easy to snack on the go, which makes them a popular option for schoolchildren. Their secret ingredient is malt, which gives the product its unique squidge and adds health benefits such as natural energy, vitamin B and amino acids. The newest line Soreen have released are the Fruit & Veg-Mmms. These loaves in the flavours Berry & Beetroot and Carrot & Orange are packed with fruits and vegetables, and Soreen promote the product as an easy way to squidge more fruit and vegetables into the diets of children.

With You Again, consumers can bake their own plant-based cakes and cookies. The company makes use of the home baking trend and offers do-it-yourself baking mixes that are based on the Ayurvedic principle that food can balance your energy and your life. There are chocolate chip cookies that not only taste great, but also claim to lower stress levels and increase performance. Who can feel guilty about eating cookies when they should help you get through your day? On their website, they even show charts comparing their products to other sugar, carb and fibre content, further reassuring consumers that these cookies are actually good for them.