Can vegans eat cake? Yes, they sure can, providing the cake does not contain milk, butter, eggs, honey or any other animal-derived ingredients. The vegan cake is a great dish for fussy eaters and vegans alike. If one has the occasional bite of this delicious dessert, then they will be taking in less saturated fat than if they had two slices! But are vegan cakes healthy:? Are they healthier than ‘regular’ cakes?
Is a vegan cake healthy?
Alas, no. While a vegan diet can be very healthy from some perspectives, it also has the potential to be just as unhealthy as any other diet. The key is always having balance in your life and not eating too much of anything, especially desserts, or you risk becoming unbalanced.
Many people think that vegan cakes are the perfect wholesome alternative to traditional cakes, but we’ve learned from experience that they can still be just as decadent. It’s still possible for a dish or cake made without any animal products in them to contain high amounts of sugar if not prepared properly.
In today’s world, people are looking for snacks that will satisfy their cravings and be a healthier alternative to the norm. You’re in need of something sweet or salty but not heavy on your stomach and you might turn to vegan or plant-based snacks as a healthier alternative. However, with all these healthy alternatives now available, it can sometimes become confusing as to what is truly good for us.
Yes French fries may have fewer calories than potato chips, and yes crisps might contain fewer preservatives than other brands- however, this does not mean they should be considered “healthy”! Just because one food has more positive aspects doesn’t make it better overall or even healthy at all.
The same is true for ‘health’ foods. There are many cereal bars or similar bars labelled with words like ‘nature’, ‘natural’ or even ‘healthy’ in the stores, but when you look into the ingredients you will see they are actually stuffed full of sugar and unhealthy ingredients and they really aren’t healthy at all. It’s just a marketing ploy.
What about raw vegan cakes?
There are many different types of vegans, and one such type is a raw vegan. Raw-vegan cakes have no relation to a traditional cake and may be healthier than other varieties if they’re not made with any hidden ingredients that would make them more like a regular cake. For instance, there are some versions of vegan cheesecake which can contain as much sugar as conventional alternatives because the makers intend for it to taste just like our favourite dessert and supplement the fat for sugar to deliver the ‘taste bomb’.
There are definitely better ingredients when it comes to making raw chocolates, raw cakes and raw desserts, but again, don’t be fooled by the word ‘raw’ as sometimes it simply means it hasn’t been cooked, yet still contains ingredients that are high sugar and not good for us. A healthier raw vegan cake will contain fruits, veggies and nuts and limited amounts of sugar or even better – no added sugar at all, only 100% raw fruits, veggies, nuts and seeds.
Do vegan cakes contain fewer calories than their non-vegan alternative?
This is for those who love vegan cakes but are looking to keep their diet in check. Like non-vegan recipes, the cake will use calorific ingredients that don’t help with your daily calorie intake. You can get a consensus among nutritionists about how there is little difference between dairy and vegan milk alternatives–equal amounts of them have just 2 calories different from each other. If you search low-calorie desserts or cakes on Google most of the recipes report based on ridiculously small portions which leads people into eating five or six servings instead and thus multiplying the calorie content by this much at the same time!
It’s not all about calories however and a vegan cake will contain less saturated fat (and none from animal products) which is a good thing for your health, the animals and the environment. Just don’t make eating vegan cakes too regular – a little every now and then just as you would have with conventional cakes.
Watch out for the sugar content in vegan cakes
At the end of the day, it will be the sugar which has been added to the cake mix or sugar in the form of carbohydrate in the flour that will deliver the calories to either a vegan or non-vegan cake. Like the Epicureans in ancient Greece believed, and to paraphrase, a little bit of what you fancy will do you good but a vegan or a traditional cake should never be seen as healthy.
For more articles about vegan cakes check out the blog at https://www.angesdesucre.com/ who kindly shared this article with Healthy Vix today and have these articles about vegan cakes for further reading:
Some really useful information here
I’ve just started to get interested in vegan cakes so this information is useful, thanks.
Very interesting, I’ve recently went vegetarian, want to try being vegan and this is an interesting insight
Makes me want cake!
I always get asked if vegan food is healthier but its just like everything else – there is sugar and fat like other cake. I think just to remember all cakes and treats should be enjoyed in moderation!
Great article, thank you. I really like vegan desserts of all kinds, and find it’s very easy to eat too much of them! Moderation is key.