Well yes we remember the time when you used to have to try to order online (when that was a little bit dodgy!) or simply go without a vegan Easter Egg. However now the abundance of our little dairy free treats is growing and growing!

There are even more milk free Easter Eggs available as dairy allergies increase as well as the amount of us following a plant based diet… and feel free to drop us a line with your favs too if we have missed them.

These are some of the best we have found for a cruelty free, dairy free Easter….

So firstly our friends at Plamil – the original vegan pioneers as well as being super ethical:

Plamil, the first certified producer of organic and vegan chocolate is launching a new Easter range, featuring three organic vegan Easter eggs, two bow tie bunny bars and a chocolate bunny bar.

The white chocolate is the best dairy free white chocolate we have found and the milk alternative is made with rice powder giving it a creamy taste without the dairy. 

As with all of the Plamil range, the new products are made using only the finest ethical ingredients in Plamil’s dairy and lactose free factory.  These include no sugar chocolate and organic chocolate with all the dairy taste coming from rice milk. The white chocolate also features Madagascan vanilla.

The range includes:

125g  Organic Finest Dark Hollow Egg with Share Bag1 – £4.29

125g  Organic  Milk Choc (Alt)2 Hollow Egg with share bag – £4.29

125g  Organic  White Choc (Alt)  Hollow Egg with bunny bar – £4.29

65g    Plamil No Added Sugar Bow-Tie Bunny – £3.25

65g    So free Organic Bow-Tie Bunny – £3.25

25g    Organic So free Bunny bar – £1.35

The new range is available from Ocado (excluding the 25g bunny bar) as well as in all leading independent health stores and on-line at:

www.plamilfoods.co.uk

Next a new vegan kid on the block – Buttermilk….. we like this chocolate although would have liked some little treats inside! (We are just big kids here at VV TV!)

Buttermilk has unveiled new ‘free from’ Easter eggs for 2019 in Choc Honeycomb and Choc Orange flavours.

With strong demand for the confectioner’s original collection of Easter eggs, Buttermilk has now developed two new ‘free from’ flavours that are free from dairy, gluten and wheat and are suitable for vegans. They are not free from tasting delicious though!

The Buttermilk Choc Honeycomb Easter egg is made from alternative milk chocolate with honeycomb pieces and decorated with a white chocolate alternative – and the Buttermilk Choc Orange is made with an alternative milk chocolate flavoured with orange oil and decorated with an orange and white chocolate alternative.

Each is 185g and with an RRP of £5.99 available exclusively at Sainsbury’s.

www.buttermilk.co.uk

Divine Chocolates is again ethical and Fairtrade – we loved the range and in particular their Pink Himalayan salt egg…. YUM!   

NEW Smooth Dark with Pink Himalayan Salt. The dark chocolate has a truly bold taste that’s offset by the delightfully sharp pink Himalayan salt throughout.

NEW Deliciously Dark Smooth Hazelnut. Smooth by name, smooth by nature; this Divine Chocolate Easter egg is a dark choc lover’s dream. Made with high-quality dark chocolate and a cluster of crunchy hazelnuts, each bite is as bold and delicious as the last.

NEW Divine Dark Chocolate Flights of Flavours Easter Eggs. (RRP: £8) With a tasty selection that includes raspberry, smooth hazelnut and more, there’s something here for any dark chocolate lover.

www.divinechocolate.com/uk

A special mention for our friends at Rhythm 108 – their Mini Easter Truffle Eggs gives consumers a chocolatey treat they can enjoy while feeling the benefits of Rhythm 108’s all-natural and organic ingredients. Notable organic ingredients include: raw cane sugar, cocoa butter, sunflower oil, agave fibre, and hazelnuts.

We have seen MOO Free grow and grow over the past 10 years – and the company was started as the founders son had a bad dairy allergy. The company has gone on from a few bars to have an extensive range of creamy dairy free vegan chocolates and a massive selection of vegan Easter Eggs!

We have also been checking out various supermarket own brand Easter Eggs  -some are good value and many look suspiciously like the others! We do prefer in cardboard but many are in plastic… come on guys! The plastic isn’t going to protect the egg that much – as we found out when one in plastic was smashed into little pieces!

And although we haven’t yet tried any Yumbles Easter Eggs we found their history of the Easter Egg fascinating…. 

Tell us more Yumbles….

“Whilst Easter eggs, and chocolate, have both become synonymous with this celebratory time of year between Winter and Spring, the origin of the Easter egg goes back thousands of years. In many cultures, exchanging Easter eggs has long been a custom, as a symbol of rebirth. The consumer journey however, started only a few hundred years ago….”

1600s

Eggs were hardboiled and then painted using charcoal and vegetable dyes to become colourful and decorative, before being handed out to children as celebratory gifts.

1700s

Egg shaped toys for children were manufactured and sold for the first time. They were initially made from a form of cardboard, before being covered in plush satin. Inside the toy would be filled with sweets, chocolates and sometimes miniature toys.

1800s

In 1873 J.S Fry & Sons of England (Yes Fry’s which is VEGAN!) introduced the first ever chocolate egg within the UK. The Bristol based company used a patented technique to grind cocoa beans using a steam engine, and as a result, the first egg shaped chocolate for Easter was created.

1900s

The first filled egg was introduced by none other than the Cadbury brothers in 1923, resulting in a whole new and previously untapped offering within the Easter market. This started a real demand for filled eggs, and in Cadbury’s crème egg as we now know it wasn’t introduced to the market until 1963.

2000’s

The rise in alternative Easter gifts begins to emerge, with everything from unusual Easter Eggs, non-egg-shaped gifts to those free from sugar, gluten and dairy, and those suitable for vegans.

So dairy free and vegan does not mean missing out at all this year!

Spread the word!