The Toronto Raw/Vegan Festival held its annual event December 3 and 4, providing a bevy of information and displays on raw food and vegan living.  Vendors, speakers and chefs gathered together to promote the vegan and raw food lifestyle, showcasing vegan foods and products. The festival was well organized, and the vendors were generally friendly and informative with some interesting products.  There were several vegan bakers, most with impressive products that were cute and yummy, considering there was little to no gluten or dairy. Live on Chocolate, a vegan baker and chocolatier, had delicious (though expensive) dairy-free cheesecakes and other treats.

Giddy Yoyo chocolate

Giddy Yoyo, a raw chocolate producer, was definitely a big favourite of mine. The people were super friendly and informative, and the different flavours of raw chocolate were delicious. As the chocolate contains no refined sugar, dairy, gluten or soy, and contains only organic, fair trade cacao, it is definitely a smart snacking solution. I especially liked that the chocolate is made with heirloom cacao, bought from Equadorian farmers at a premium rate that exceeds fair trade standards. The various flavours of chocolate bars, including spicy cayenne and cinnamon chocolate, cardamom chocolate and chocolate mint, were all delicious.

Foods made with locally grown kale!

Although I’m not a vegan (or vegetarian, for that matter), I do agree with the sentiment of a healthy diet and eco-friendly living. That being said, this event was worthwhile to check out, if only for curiosity’s sake.