# Easter basket for a vegan- need suggestions! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 10, 2003, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easter-basket-for-a-vegan-need-suggestions/167848 "2003-04-10T18:52:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Fairy\_Princess\_Kitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df705f/32.png) [@Fairy\_Princess\_Kitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fairy_Princess_Kitty)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easter-basket-for-a-vegan-need-suggestions/167848/21 "2003-04-11T05:16:54Z")
[http://www.veganessentials.com/](http://www.veganessentials.com/) link to easter ideas right on the front page Kitty ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_News_Baboon)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easter-basket-for-a-vegan-need-suggestions/167848/22 "2003-04-11T06:52:24Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by DeVena \* > \*\*ummm Peeps are made of Marshmallow which has gelatin in it and gelatin comes from cows. No good if she’s Vegan. \*\* Actually, they are made from pork. [peeps info](http://www.marshmallowpeeps.com/about/ingredients.html) I think the idea of non food stuff is a good one. Another neat idea is to make one of those eggs that are pure sugar and have a cute little scene in them. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_Doris](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@Sir\_Doris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_Doris)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easter-basket-for-a-vegan-need-suggestions/167848/23 "2003-04-11T11:14:20Z")
What a lovely idea, I’m sure your’re stepson’s girlfriend will appreciate the effort you are putting into this gift. You can download a pdf from [this site](http://www.vivausa.org/veganbasics/) which lists vegan foodstuffs including chocolate and cookies. Hopefully some of the brands will be easy to get hold of. Also, there are are many, many vegan recipes out there if you wanted to bake something. ---
**Author:** ![katie1341](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/91b2a8/32.png) [@katie1341](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/katie1341)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easter-basket-for-a-vegan-need-suggestions/167848/24 "2003-04-11T14:07:14Z")
**Duke, Kitty, and Doris,** these are great sites- thanks. Great suggestions- I guess I was a little too stuck on edibles, I like the idea of hair jewelry and socks, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easter-basket-for-a-vegan-need-suggestions/167848/25 "2003-04-11T14:24:52Z")
You can put the little trinkets into those plastic eggs that fit together. Maybe there’s a little vegan mini-cookbook somewhere that you could give her. ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easter-basket-for-a-vegan-need-suggestions/167848/26 "2003-04-11T21:33:27Z")
Vegan chocolate makes sense; I wonder if there’s a vegetable based gelatin that could be used to make marshmallows? Is there even a vegetable gelatin in existence? ---
**Author:** ![Elza\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Elza\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elza_B)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easter-basket-for-a-vegan-need-suggestions/167848/27 "2003-04-11T22:04:51Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by photopat \* > \*\*Vegan chocolate makes sense; I wonder if there’s a vegetable based gelatin that could be used to make marshmallows? Is there even a vegetable gelatin in existence? \*\* Actually, I’m pretty sure there is - I’ve never used it, but I’ve had vegan friends discussing it. Katie, that’s a really sweet idea. There’s a candy called Tropical Source - they make absolutely _divine_ candy bars - all vegan. If she’s a coffee drinker, there’s an espresso chocolate bar that I would sell my firstborn for, there’s one with raspberries, and one with bananas. I won’t let myself buy more than one at a time because I could eat them nonstop. Also, if she likes cookies, there are several different kinds of vegan cookies out there - I’m not sure where you live, but if you’re in the Northeast, there’s something called a Boston Cookie that’s yummy. If you check the health food store, they’ll have some sort of vegan cookies. Also, I like the idea of non-food items. I would love getting pencils or pens or a small box of stationery or something like that. It really is the thought that counts. Ava ---
**Author:** ![LifeOnWry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/96bed5/32.png) [@LifeOnWry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LifeOnWry)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easter-basket-for-a-vegan-need-suggestions/167848/28 "2003-04-11T22:19:04Z")
I think agar-agar is vegan gelatin…lemme check on that. Yup, here’s a URL: [http://www.vegsource.com/joanne/qa/qagelatin.htm](http://www.vegsource.com/joanne/qa/qagelatin.htm) The site also has other vegan recipes. Good luck! ---
**Author:** ![burundi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3ec8ea/32.png) [@burundi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burundi)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easter-basket-for-a-vegan-need-suggestions/167848/29 "2003-04-11T22:21:50Z")
Stuffed dates are delicious and vegan, if you want a little something sweet. I also really like the idea of pretty glycerin soaps. ---
**Author:** ![BurnMeUp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/91b2a8/32.png) [@BurnMeUp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BurnMeUp)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easter-basket-for-a-vegan-need-suggestions/167848/30 "2003-04-11T23:15:00Z")
I think the fruit idea might be great,… maybe some GCs to natural food stores or… um… if you have one nearby some of them have some of theose food substitute cocolate bits or something, natural cookies and the like. ---
**Author:** ![Dogface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easter-basket-for-a-vegan-need-suggestions/167848/31 "2003-04-11T23:27:10Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by photopat \* > \*\*Vegan chocolate makes sense; I wonder if there’s a vegetable based gelatin that could be used to make marshmallows? Is there even a vegetable gelatin in existence? \*\* Contrary to what has been posted here, there is no such thing as “vegetable” or “vegan” gelatin. By definition, gelatin is made of collagen. Collagen is always, without exception, an animal protein. However, there are gelling materials that can be used in similar situations. The two most useful are pectin (used in jelly) and agar (_Agar agar_ is actually the name of the species that agar is derived from). Agar is much more popular in Asia than in the West. It has a couple of traits that need to be remembered: Unlike gelatin and pectin, it does not become soft at body temperature. Agar does not melt until the boiling point of water is reached. Agar also has much greater physical strength than do gelatin or pectin. Another gelling material is konjac or “yam flour”, which has great strength and does not melt at all at body temperature. This has _ **KILLED** _ some children. They are given agar-based candies by adults who are not aware that konjac does not behave like gelatin. The children then suffocate on the candy. ([http://www.safetyalerts.com/recall/f/02/f0000238.htm](http://www.safetyalerts.com/recall/f/02/f0000238.htm)) I do not know if agar has been shown to pose the same threat. ---
**Author:** ![Dogface](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@Dogface](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogface)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2003, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easter-basket-for-a-vegan-need-suggestions/167848/32 "2003-04-11T23:29:19Z")
I meant “konjac-based candies” not “agar-based candies”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/easter-basket-for-a-vegan-need-suggestions/167848.md?page=1)