Get your lolly game on lock

A parent’s guide to small and sealed vegan treats

Explaining to a 4-year-old why we don't joyfully inhale an entire slab of chocolate is hard. Putting away a lolly bag that is anything but finished is a tense manoeuvre. But you know what's a wonderful thing to say? "Oh no, look, it's all gone" while theatrically scrunching an empty wrapper. No negotiating over the rest. I'm all for saving the environment, but sometimes, just occasionally, individual servings are where it's at in my life. I only have so many hills I can die on as a parent and every now and then, a special snack won't be one of them.

There are several situations where a big old shared bag of mixed lollies or a family-size chocolate block isn't appropriate. There are treats in a birthday party loot bag, fun snacks to be popped into a lunchbox, morsels to hand out at Halloween, stocking stuffers at Christmas, goodies for the back of Grandma's pantry, items for the in-case-of-emergency car glovebox, bites to rattle at the bottom of your handbag, or pieces of sugary joy to shower from a pinata. These situations require small, individual portions that are contained, clean and easily customisable for any age, eating stage or allergies. Plus, in a post-2020 world where minimising germ sharing is front of mind, sealed treats that don't require any handling are often appropriate and appreciated as most hygienic. They're shelf stable, they're not sticky and they're convenient. Recently I was caught on the hop, scrambling for sealed sweets, and realised I had a knowledge gap. It prompted me to officially Look Into It.

I consulted New Zealand's own 'A Guide To Vegan' and the Facebook community page 'What Kiwi Vegans Eat' for inspiration. Please note there is a vague question mark over a couple of items, such as Skittles and Oreos; see 'A Guide To Vegan' for all the details.

As I researched, I was reminded why it's worth checking if lollies are vegan. Sweets seem to be one of those sneaky vehicles for animal by-products, so scrutinising the ingredient panel is essential. Helpfully, allergens are often highlighted in a bold typeface so milk and egg are easily spotted. A very common ingredient giving lollies that gummy squish is gelatin, made from boiled and refined bones, skin and all manner of bits from cows and pigs. Red-coloured foods can be pigmented with carmine (also called E120) which is crushed female cochineal insects. Another poor bug to watch for is shellac (sometimes called confectioner’s glaze) used to extend shelf life as a glossy coating, made from the resinous excretions of lac insects. Beeswax is sometimes also used for that shiny coating, especially in lollies trying to go for 'natural' branding, as is honey for a 'refined sugar-free' marketing spin. I've even heard of squid ink in some fancy sweets and ice creams. Hard pass.

It is a bit of a hassle that simply swinging by the corner dairy isn't a guaranteed one-stop shop. Forward planning goes a long way. When shopping, I visit all the main banner supermarkets as well as The Warehouse, Cracker Jack and Bin Inn. Speciality, niche grocers are great, unless like me you live in regional NZ and can only dream of such a local outlet. Online vegan groceries, plus Mighty Ape and iherb, have good offerings. However, unless you're filling the stash by ordering large, I feel like shipping charges can make something small feel very spendy. For this reason, I now try to be organised, order in bulk where I can and keep a stash hidden away for future events.

And so, here she blows. A master list, work in progress. Just me, trying my best to be a Fun [Vegan] Mom. Happy sealed snacking!

Chocolates: Whittakers: Mini Size bars, sold in bags of 12 (specific vegan-friendly flavours are Dark Orange, Almond & Cranberry and Peppermint). Whittakers Dark Sante bars. Whittakers Artisan Collection squares, Chocolate Cocoa Lovers Assortment. Whittakers dark chocolate Peanut Slabs (these are tricky to find though, full disclosure). Nomo chocolate cookie-filled reindeer or bunnies and the Nomo box of caramel-filled, gold-foiled chocolate drops. Sweet William Easter Rabbits. Banjo Carob Bears. Frazer Marianne Peppermint Pralines. Bella dark chocolate foiled hearts.

Lollies & fruity chews: Rowntrees Fruit Pastilles, KBars, Pez Candies (mostly the fruit flavours), Chuppa Chups (again on the plain non-creamed fruit flavours) Heart candies, many lollipops, Skittles boxes, Kiwiland Orchard Fruits boiled sweets, Drumstick Choos, Nice N Natural vegan fruit jellies and GoodnessMe Real Fruity Nuggets.

Biscuits & cookies: Free From mini chocolate cookies, twin packs of Lotus Biscoff biscuits, mini Oreo cookies and Oreo wafer straws.

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