Ah, youth. Those glorious days of outdoor play (remember that?),  wide-eyed innocence and trying new things. Although the word vegan was a rather esoteric idea when The Food Duo were growing up, times have changed… and for the better! This is the first generation where vegans are rearing their kids on plant-based diets. We know a lot of good folks who are raising their babies to appreciate a cruelty-free and compassionate life, while enjoying wonderfully delicious vegan food. Had veganism been more mainstream in our day, we may have had a much different upbringing. 

Today’s little ole 10-for-30 Top 10 list will be a handy to-try lineup if a reliable time machine is invented. Albeit the idea of travel back in time is exciting, it would mean wearing bell bottoms again. Hmmm.  

The Top 10 Vegan Foods We Wish We Had as Kids!

1. Buffalo Cauliflower. One of our all time favorite appetizers, that we sadly missed as kids. Darn! 

2. Earth Balance Cheese Squares. Cheese Nips, move over. There’s a new sheriff in town! We’ve been known to tear through a whole box in one day. 

3. Gardein Seven Grain Crispy Tenders. Had this been around when The Food Duo were little tykes, we would have nagged our mothers to make this a few times a week. 

4. Peanut Butter and Jelly Mochi. Oddly delish. Imagine what our classmate’s faces would be like back in the day! 

5. Go Max Go Anything! Once we tried Go Max Go candies, we didn’t miss any candy bars that we enjoyed as little squirts.Thumbs Up may very well be my favorite candy bar of all time. 

6. Nooch! (SMH) What could have been. Sigh. 

7. Certain Veggies. Although we both loved veggies as kids, we missed out on a few great ones. Especially greens for Carlo and Artichokes for Carm! 

8. Non-dairy Milks. Whether it’s soy, almond,cashew or other, we would have LOVED plant-based milks as kids. Non-dairy milks are probably the best vegan foods to introduce to children. 

9. Soy Curls. Just about the most versatile vegan products out there. We’ve used Soy Curls 1000 ways and we’ll find 1000 more! 

10. Vegan Franks w/ Vegan Mac and Cheese. As kids, we both liked franks. As kids, we both liked mac and cheese. As kids, we would have loved vegan franks w/ vegan mac and cheese. 

There you have it, the vegan goodies that we would have loved as kiddies. Whenever we decide to have munchkins of our own, they’ll benefit from being raised vegan and will never have to create a Top 10 list such as this! 

Missed any of our previous VeganMoFo 2014 posts? You now can catch up!