Every start of any new activity can be hard, and when you start your vegan journey, you will have to deal with so many misconceptions, one of them being that only radical changes produce results.

Okay, the process can be hard, but you really don’t have to change your life and habits from the “Monday.” Nothing in nature, or in society, happens violently and lightly.

For starters, start with small steps, nibble almonds instead of some chips, whip out white bread and make your own, especially at night, replace the juices with water.

Use more soy or investigate where the closest vegan restaurant is so you can eat or get inspiration there. It is called the baby step, and from that moment, things will go to get easier.

Now, for so many of use, the hardest part is the start of the day – many of us have used to eat eggs and bacon for breakfast or some sandwich.

Nowadays, it is not uncommon for us to eat so-called fast food instead of a well-balanced meal.

Since sandwiches are a favorite, we must say that the prime here certainly belongs to the peanut butter and jelly sandwich (the saying that there is nothing that marches better then these two is true).

It is just like a “hybrid” between sweet treat and sandwich, it is salty and sweet, and it goes great with some orange juice or milk. It is not a surprise why millions eat it for the first meal of the day.

You can make your own version at home, but some people and many children mind the crust, and the perfect choice would be a peanut butter and jelly sandwich without any crust in a perfect package.

Is there anything like that on the market? It does, it is called Uncrustables, and they have been around for decades.

Can vegans enjoy them is the next question that we want to find the answer?

Uncrustables – the perfect peanut butter jelly sandwich

For so many people around the world, there is no better feeling than eating crust from bread – it is like a cheap snack, especially when the bread that you are having is fresh from the oven.

For others, there is nothing worst like a crust on a sandwich, especially kids! Following this lead, one company made a sandwich that had no crust and had a delicious filling inside. It was enough to rip the package and enjoy your crustless sandwich.

The company that made this sandwich is the Smacker Company – they came up with the filed sandwich without the crust. The question is, are they vegan?

In some cases, they are vegan in others – they are not so always keep an eye on the ingredient list.

Some of them have milk in products in them, so you need to be extra careful if you want to enjoy these treats.

On the market today, you have numerous different tastes; it is mandatory to take a good inspection on the ingredients list to find out are the vegan and what kind.

We shall start with the most popular kind of Uncrustables – with Peanut butter and jelly filling.

Ingredients 

One of the most favorite, most popular, and the one that is synonymous with the sweet sandwich is the one that is made with white bread, and inside there are peanut butter and grape jelly. It is extremely popular, especially in the USA, and it has numerous alternations.

The store-bought version of this sandwich, Smackers Uncrustables includes these elements; it is made out of enriched flour that has in itself wheat flour, niacin (you should know that niacin is another name for the Vitamin B3.

Just like some other B-group vitamins, niacin is essential for metabolizing sugar, fat, and protein, as well as for energy production and cellular respiration. Vitamin B3 affects mental health, detoxifies the body from various harmful chemicals.

It also helps the digestive tract, skin health, nerve cells, blood arteries), malted barley flour, thiamin mononitrate, folic acid, ferrous sulfate (this element belongs to an iron element that is used to improve blood, especially for those who are anemic).

Also, we find water, yeast, sugar, soybean oil, along with the dough conditioners like enzymes such as wheat starch and calcium peroxide (oxidizing agents that act as enhancers in the dough).

The filling is usually made out of peanut butter (in it, there are peanuts, vegetable oils, molasses, monoglycerides, and diglycerides; while in the grape jelly, there is grape juice, citric acid, pectin and preservatives like potassium sorbate. Fatty acid mono and diglycerides are most common in processed foods just like this one the packaged sandwich).

We choose this flavor -peanut butter and jelly because it is the most common kind when you think of Uncrustables, but on the market today, you can find numerous other versions, and for sure, not all of them are vegan. It seems that this one is vegan.

Are Uncrustables Vegan?

As you were able to see after our inspection, they do not have any animal products in them, so it is safe to say that vegans can eat it – one of the most popular flavorings that are accessible to vegans.

Be extra careful because not all Uncrustables are vegan – for example, Chocolate Hazelnut Uncrustables. It falls under the non-vegan category since it has some dairy in it, like in this case, skin milk (for skimmed milk, all the fat is removed, and semi-skimmed milk is subsequently restored).

Chocolate, in this case, may or may not be the problem for vegans since it does not need to have some milk derivates (but it can, it is not excluded).

In Uncrustables, it is very common that the manufacturer uses milk proteins and dry milk powder. The one kind that has Honey in it is also not suitable for vegans.

For the chocolate production, some companies use soy milk and coconut milk – new research has led to the fact that some varieties of plants can produce quality healthy milk.

Are Uncrustables Healthy?

How many of us start our day with a sandwich while an espresso coffee is cold on the table? Surely many of you have recognized yourself at this point. It is certainly one of the fastest ways to prepare for the day ahead.

There is no doubt that Uncrustables are not the healthier choice of food for you, and no one has said that it did. It is junk food, not the worst kind of course, and if you eat it in moderation, it is fine. We all want at times to indulge this store-bought treat that reminds us of our childhood.

Regardless of an emotional effect and the undeniable enjoyment that it provides, and its proven vegan status, we need to look into the health aspect a bit further.

An eating sandwich without crust is as some scientists like to point out stupid. It is because the crust in the bread is the “healthiest” part of it, and it is good for chewing, especially in younger children that are still developing their teeth and jaw. Pediatricians do not recommend cutting the crust out of the sandwiches.

When the bread is baked in an oven at 150 or 180 degrees Fahrenheit, and it begins to get a gentle brown color, then the bread crust contains substances that promote health and, above all, keep us young.

These are melanoidins that are produced during roasting, frying, and resting when carbohydrates and proteins are melted. There is, as you could see, the science behind the crust and why it is good to consume it.

Uncrustables are store-bought and processed food, there is no doubt, and it should not be consumed on a daily basis. We know that it is the easiest option.

However, it is important what foods we have in our body because we need energy that will not harm our health – there are so many tastier and safer suggestions for you! Breakfast sandwiches are often spread with margarine, which further increases the amount of fat that can raise the body’s cholesterol level.

Also, sandwiches are quite a calorie bomb compared to other breakfast options – such as porridge, fruit, or integral toast. Too much bread, with any spread, is never good news.

But if you cannot resist a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, why not making your own – it can be healthy and remaining vegan.

Summary

For so many people around the world, vegan or non-vegan, eating things without the crust that is filled with something delicious is s perfect news – box of these Smacker’s Uncrustables.

And the great news is that all vegans out there can eat it, it is also true that is not the most nutritious breakfast that you can ever eat, but you can make it up with other meals during the day, you can eat some nuts or soy products that have proteins, with some salad on the side and you are good to go.

It is a misconception that a vegan diet is boring and that it means that you can eat only salads all day and that you can never be full. It is not true, and as you could see, peanut butter and jelly “treat,” is just around the corner, without any vegan guilt.

Of course, from another point of view, no one should eat so much processed and store-bought, pre-packaged food, vegans or non-vegans. Occasionally it is fine. It is important to strike a balance between the healthy foods you and your vegan family eat on a daily basis and the so-called “casual food.”

However, it is also important for all of us to learn that eating good food is an important part of life – on occasions, and it is fine to “indulge,” as long as the major part of the week is on the other side of the health scale.

We want to inspire you to experiment with your vegan diet as much as you can, and bring more healthy nutrients into these “creative” variants – peanut butter and jelly on the bread is fine, try to make sure that it is organic without any additions.