Vegan Halloween Tips and Tricks

Here are my go-to vegan-friendly Halloween candies and snacks and some tips on how to navigate this holiday with kids.

Vegan Halloween Options

Plant Based Products We Love:

• Vegan Sugar Candy - I love YumEarth candy because they are free from dyes and nearly all of their treats are vegan (just skip the gummy bears). They have snack pack sizes, perfect for Halloween, for their Giggles (like Skittles), Gummy Fruit, Chewys (like Starburst), and Choco Yums (like M&Ms). This is our go-to.

• Vegan Chocolate Treats -My favorite chocolate treat is Little Secrets Dark Chocolate Crispy Wafers. The brand is not all vegan but this product is and in general, dark chocolate options are much more likely to be vegan (versus milk chocolate) so always check dark chocolate labels first. I also love the vegan products from Cocomel and Unreal like the Coconut Bars, and am excited to try some new-to-me ones this year like the Peanut Cups. Unfortunately their snickers-dupe has whey (milk). My go-to Peanut Butter Cup has been from Justin’s - again, just go for the dark chocolate options and skip the milk and white chocolate variations.

• Food Treats - Any packaged snack food can be used for Halloween. Some of our favorites are Bearsnacks Fruit Rolls (I saw they introduced a sour option!), Trader Joes Fruit Leathers and Fruit Dots, SkinnyPop mini popcorn, veggie straws (they have fun Halloween shapes too!), apple sauce squeezies, Oreos and Nature’s Bakery fig bars. I am excited to try some new Made Good products too.

Plant Based Tips and Tricks:

Vegan Halloween Options

• Switch Witch - The idea of the switch witch is that the witch switches the non-vegan treats for the vegan ones. You can literally dress up as a witch and have a different bag that you carry with your approved treats and when your kid trick-or-treats, you can swap with whatever they get. Keep a separate spot for those and donate them later. OR, you can have your kid collect candy for the night and leave their bag or basket out for the switch witch to switch overnight.

• Keep approved candy on hand - All month long, I have YumEarth treats in my bag. When my son receives a non-vegan treat at an event or from a friend, I check it out and if it’s not something I’m comfortable with (we also skip dyes) then I simply offer him something else.

• Trunk or Treats - With friends, you can prepare ahead of time and either ask everyone to go plant-based for the event and share with them your favorite brands, or you can pre-make your kid’s bags and give them to your friends ahead of time.

• Look for Teal Pumpkins - The teal pumpkin project is an effort to provide kids with food allergies a safe alternative. Since milk and egg are top 9 food allergens, teal pumpkin treats are more likely to also be vegan. However, you do still have to look for things like gelatin (in many gummy bears and gummy candy) and confectioner’s glaze (in many coatings or shell candy like M&Ms) as those are not vegan.

• Talk to Your Neighbors - If you have a close knit neighborhood, you can talk with your neighbors ahead of time and even give them something ahead of time to hand out when your kiddo comes by.

Avoid Tricky Ingredients:

• Carmine (often listed as cochineal extract or Natural Red 4) is made from insects.

• Gelatin is made from animal bones.

• Whey and casein are milk protein.

• Natural flavors - A catch-all for anything else the company wants to add. Unless the product explicitly states that it's vegan, we have no way of knowing if the natural flavors are vegan.

Name Brand Accidentally Plant-Based Products: I really don’t love most common candy because of their ingredients, but here is a short list of some name brand items that are accidentally plant-based. Remember to always check the label and ingredients can change (and this is why I prefer brands that are 100% vegan). This comes from Peta.

• Swedish Fish, Airheads, Smarties, Sour Patch Kids, Blow Pops, Dots, DumDums, most skittles (not blue), twizzlers (Note that most red, orange, and purple candy have red dye 40 which I avoid 99.9% of the time because of the health risks.)

Thank you to my friends and family who are always so kind to me and my son by offering vegan options at holidays. It never goes unnoticed. We feel so loved.

Enjoy the holiday, plant-based friends!

Tracy

Egg-Free, Dye-Free Easter Ideas

We love to celebrate holidays with crafts and treats but it can definitely be tricky to navigate ways to do so that are good for us and good for the planet. Egg-based and dye-based activities and foods are so prevalent this time of year so I put together a list of ways to celebrate avoiding eggs and dyes.

Wooden Easter Eggs

• Faux Egg Crafts - Simple swap - fake eggs. Use wooden craft eggs like these or cardboard-based eggs like these and decorate with markers or paint for the most eco-friendly option. Add some washi tape to get the striped look or spring themed stickers for added decoration with just minimal waste. (I don’t love to support the plastic variation but it is a cruelty-free option and available in most main stream stores.)

• Paint Rocks Instead - If you want to go even more eco-conscious, gather oval-shaped rocks to decorate instead!

• Use What You Already Have - Nearly anything can be cut egg-shaped and nearly anything can be used to decorate so get out the construction paper, felt, etc. and make your own eggs. There are even printable Easter and spring themed coloring book pages you can download.

• DIY Dye - Try making your own plant-based dye using food items such as red cabbage, coffee grounds, turmeric, beets and onion skins. Boil in water and some vinegar to make your diy dyes.

• Vegan Baking - Most baked goods can easily be made vegan with swaps like plant based milk, vegan butter, flax eggs, apple sauce, vegan chocolate chips from Enjoy Life, vegan marshmallows from Dandies etc. or look to amazing creators like Chocolate Covered Katie.

• Vegan Store-Bought Baked Goods - We love Abe’s mini vegan muffins and are excited to try out their vegan coffee cake and carrot cake. All of their treats would be the perfect addition to a vegan brunch.

• Vegan Candy - We love YumEarth candy because they are free from dyes and nearly all of their candies are vegan (just skip the gummy bears and candy corn in the fall). They even have vegan jelly beans! (You may know that I photograph for this brand and my sister works for the company, but this link is not sponsored in any way. I just really like their candy.)

• Vegan Chocolate - Even if a brand is not all vegan, check out any dark chocolate products because they are much more likely to be naturally vegan. I recently had the Little Secrets Dark Chocolate Crispy Wafers and man, they are so good. (They may contain cross-contaminated milk so please be mindful if you have a severe allergy.) They don’t carry a vegan label but reading the ingredients, I think we are good to go. I’ve also seen a ton of oat-milk based milk chocolate bars lately.

However you celebrate the spring, I hope you have a wonderful one!

From my family to yours,

Tracy

Low-Waste, Low-Cost, Vegan "Fiver" Birthday Party for Kids!

I love hosting and celebrating but I also find the traditional style kids’ birthday party to be overwhelming. Here are a few ideas to keep things low-waste, low-cost, low-key, and of course, vegan.

Birthday Cake Baking

• Throw a Fiver! - I threw a “fiver” party with the theme “$5 for me, $5 in need.” Instead of presents, I asked our guests to gift my son $5 for him and $5 for us to donate to a charity that he choses. I love this theme for so many reasons. It saves us from being inundated by dozens of toys. It allows my son to chose one perfect gift that he really cherishes. It puts the emphasis on time with friends. It’s lower waste. It emphasizes giving as well as receiving. It avoids potentially getting items that are not vegan. It introduces the concept of money.

• Presence as a Present - I always encourage guests that their presence is the best gift. Spending time together is more important than any physical gift. Whether it be at the birthday party or another day, time together is what we cherish the most.

• Reusable Items - Be it the table cloth, plates, utensils, napkins or kitchen towels, consider bringing it all. It’s easier than it seems. Pack a reusable bag with all of your gear and throw it all in the wash when you get home. Easy peasy, no waste. If it feels like a big haul, start with just one or two items at this event and see how it goes.

• Backyard, local park or playground - We are lucky to have a local airport that has a nice park nearby with picnic tables where you can watch the planes. It was free and such a hit. Locally, look for parks, playgrounds, beaches, lakes, gazebos for party locations.

• DIY Piñata - This one was a huge hit. I used a cardboard box I already had, decorated it with streamers from past party leftovers and filled it with YumEarth Candy because it’s vegan and dye-free. This is not no-waste, but it is a much better alternative to purchasing new.

• Already Own - What do you already own that could be fun at a party? A parachute? A scavenger hunt game? Chalk? A roll of craft paper and paint or markers? Kids love these things. With a fun set up or theme, they can just become the “birthday edition”.

• Buy Nothing Groups - If you’re in search of something new, consider looking on a buy nothing group first, or even a yard sale group. If you can’t get it free, you may be able to get it cheaper and if it’s already been purchased by someone else, that’s one less item being mass produced because you bought it second hand.

• Vegan Chocolate Cake - Every year, my son requests the most delicious chocolate cake recipe by Nora Cooks.

• Birthday Balloons - If you do purchase or are gifted balloons, post them up on your local Buy Nothing Group the next day and see if someone local can reuse them! The helium in mylar balloons especially will last a long time!

The perfect site for a low-cost, low-waste birthday party picnic!

I'm on TikTok @plantbasedbaby.us - Follow me!

Are you on TikTok? It’s totally new to me but I’ve been having some fun making these quick one minute videos! Today I posted my favorite spices, all vegan of course. Yesterday I posted how to make homemade cashew milk and a crowd pleasing vegan lunch. Let me know what you think! Download the app and follow me at @plantbasedbaby.us!

And if you’re not already, give me a follow on Instagram too on the same handle @plantbasedbaby.us. Here’s my latest feed below so you can take a look at the type of posts I make. Enjoy!

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Lots of love, all! Stay safe!

DIY Toddler Floor Bed Night Stand (from Anika’s DIY Life)

We love Sherry Dusky Rinker Books

Let me tell you, this little night stand is super easy to make and perfect next to floor beds and/or for small spaces. The best part about making your own furniture is that you can customize pieces to your space. For this nightstand, the most important thing is knowing the height of your bed frame and mattress so you can match that height with your nightstand and overall how much space you have and want to take up. The one I made is super slim and low profile, but if you have a bigger space, scale up to have it fit the space. If you have questions on how to do that, comment below or DM me on Instagram.

I based my nightstand on the tutorial by Anika’s DIY Life Blog: DIY kids bedside table with book storage and did what I said above, tweaked it for my space. (My son has this Zinus mattress which is 12” high. It is currently on the floor but I do plan to make a thin frame for it at some point to let the mattress breathe a little. I don’t anticipate this lifting it more than an inch or two off the ground.)

I’ll let you head over to Anika’s DIY post for a detailed list of materials and instructions for the original nightstand. For my measurements, see below. I challenged myself to only buy one piece of wood, so I chose a 1 x 6 (which actually measures to approximately .5 x 5.5). I had Home Depot make the cuts for me because this was pre-quarantine. The top piece is 15” long and the sides, bottom and back are all 11” long. I like to keep things simple. I decided not to include a bar across the front but if you want one, it would just need to be the same length as the back piece. I also did not add the little shelf as the height of mine just felt so small already. I do think it would be cute for toddler trinkets though. If I were to make another, I’d probably add that in.

The size I went with fits a few things really nicely - a tissue box, a wipes container, a board book forward facing, a few small board books with the spines facing outward. I posted some photos so you can see the scale. It will not fit a tall paper page book well.

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Tools

• Drill - I like Dewalt brand and definitely go corded versus cordless. They’re typically more powerful and how annoying is it to have to wait for a battery to charge, or have the battery or charger go missing?

• Drill bits

• Screwdriver bit set

• Measuring Tape

• A pencil - Your kid’s colored pencils would work just fine.

• Sander - Either an electric sander or piece of sand paper or sand paper block work fine.

• Optional - wood filler or putty to fill the screw holes

• Optional - Tack cloth to clean up the saw dust. You can alternatively use a rag.

• Optional - Clamps if you’re fancy or a perfectionist with alignment. I am neither.

• If your wood pieces are not pre-cut, you’ll also need a miter saw or hand saw.

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Materials

• Wood - 1 x 6” - one piece cut at 15” and four pieces cut at 11” - Remember, if you are cutting yourself, the cutting process takes off some length so measure each cut.

• Screws - 1” wood screws are ideal but 3/4” or 1.25” should work as well. The wood is 1/2” thick so this size or smaller would not work.

• Paint or Stain - I used some leftover white paint. I also think this could look really nice with the top piece stained in a dark walnut and the bottom painted in a white chalk paint, or vice versa. I’ve been loving that combo lately. I like this white chalk paint and this wood stain.

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Steps

• If your pieces are not pre-cut, you’ll need to cut them to your desired lengths.

• Lay out your design. Starting with the side pieces, measure and mark one inch up from the bottom of the two side pieces. Attach your bottom piece into the side pieces by pre drilling pilot holes through the side pieces and into the bottom piece. The pilot holes are paramount. The wood would likely split if you just drill the screws in directly without pilot holes. You now should have a U shape with the sides and bottom pieces.

• Lay your top piece across the top so that it is center and again pre drill pilot holes through the top piece and into the side pieces and then secure with screws. I stopped drilling a touch before the end of the screws so that inserting the back piece would have a little wiggle room.

• Insert your back piece, and once again pre drill pilot holes from the sides into the back piece and then secure with screws. Go back and drill in your top piece screws the rest of the way once the back piece is in. Voila.

• Sand, especially around the corners. Wipe off saw dust.

• Optional - Fill in your screw holes with wood putty and let dry.

• Optional - Paint or stain and set to dry.

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Books you see here

• Little Blue Truck and Little Blue Truck Leads the Way by Alice Schertle and Jill Mc Elmurry - Favorites of ours since forever it feels, these books are about being kind and helping out. The original has a ton of animals and animal sounds and Leads the Way is all vehicles based in a city.

• Little Tug by Stephen Savage - A very simple, sweet story about having a purpose. This was a gift and we have cherished it.

• Look Inside Things That Go and Look Inside Building Sites by Rob Lloyd Jones - These are lift the flap books with a ton of literal insight. They’re not so much stories but my vehicle obsessed son loves them.

• Goodnight Goodnight, Construction Site by Sherri Duskey Rinker. I am a huge fan of all of her books. My son’s current favorite is Three Cheers for Kid McGear. They are all so well written and have those internal rhymes that are just so fun to read and are also quite clever. They are all about collaboration and all feature trucks so win-win over here. We often end bedtime by saying “Construction site, all tucked in tight; The day is done; turn off the light. Great work today. Now, shh, goodnight.”

Do you all want to see what books Mateo and I have been into lately? His classics? I can follow up with a post about those in the future if you’d be interested. Let me know in the comments below or over on Instagram.

Also here, wipes (my favorite are actually Huggies Natural Care), tissues, a wavy plant and of course, Superwings toys.

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Have you made your own furniture before? Did you like to DIY or do you prefer to buy? Comment below if you make this DIY!

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A note on affiliate links - This post contains affiliate links. The amazon items linked above are the same price to you, but a small portion gets kicked back to me if you purchase through these links.

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For inspiration from our day to day life, follow us over on instagram @plantbasedbaby.us. Here’s a preview below of what you can expect.

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