Is Belvita Vegan Friendly? (We Have the Answer!)

Vegans often have a tough time choosing snacks such as crackers and biscuits, as many of these contain dairy. Belvita, the delicious breakfast biscuit that many of us know surely seems vegan on the surface. However, it is a mixed bag when it comes to whether Belvita truly is vegan friendly.

Unfortunately, Belvita is not vegan. This is because Belvita contains glycerin and refined sugar, which contains bone char. The color of refined sugar is indicative of the presence of bone char as cane sugar, is light brown in color. The best vegan alternatives to Belvita include Enjoy Life Breakfast Ovals, Goodie Girl Breakfast Biscuits, and Gullon Sugar-Free Biscuits.

Let’s examine why Belvita isn’t as healthy as you may think. We’ll review the nutritional value of various Belvita products and suggest healthier vegan alternatives. Let’s dig in!

Are Belvita Unhealthy?

Unfortunately, the alarm bells start to go off when you read the ingredient list. Belvita is calorie dense and contains added sugar.

Caloric Value

One of the most important parts about maintaining weight and determining the health factor of foods are avoiding consuming entirely empty calories. Unfortunately, for the amount of calories that you get for 100g of Belvita, there are a lot better options you could take in terms of a healthy snack.

Their caloric value varies per flavor, with the low end being 375 and the higher end being a whopping 455 calories per 100 grams. They also have a significant portion of carbohydrates, with the lowest being 64g per 100g. While carbs aren’t the enemy, it needs to be relatively balanced out with a fair amount of dietary fiber.

Sugar Content

Belvita is not the worst snack cookie when it comes to sugar content. The sugar content per 100g varies between 16 to 27g, which is about your daily intake of refined sugar per day. This is still a bit high for the nutrients that it does supply, and there are plenty of biscuit brands with no added sugar that you could easily replace Belvita with.

Health Benefits of Belvita

Though Belvita contains added sugar, the glycemic index is lower than other processed biscuits and breakfast bars. It has a very low glycemic value at 45, and has added minerals such as:

Calcium: Calcium helps facilitate bone health and heart, muscle, ad nerve growth. Calcium may have benefits such as diabetes protection and helps to fight against high blood pressure.
Magnesium: One of the most abundant materials in the human body, magnesium is a key component to your health. It helps to create energy, create proteins, repairs DNA, assists with muscle movements and nervous system regulation.
Iron: Iron is key for growth and development due to its use of hemoglobin. Hemoglobin assists in the formation of red blood cells that help to carry oxygen to more parts of the body, significantly reducing recovery times from physical exertion.

This makes them significantly more nutritious than your everyday snack biscuit, but there are still better options for breakfast. A little bit of almond butter toast and a banana will give you the same amount of proteins while keeping you fuller for longer.

Why Aren’t Belvita Biscuits Vegan?

Belvita biscuits aren’t vegan because they contain quite a large amount of refined sugar, which contains bone char. Tracing the sources of refined sugar will show you that originally, sugar that just came from the sugarcane is a light brownish color, but the refined sugar that we see today is white.

This is because the main exporters of refined sugar put bones of cattle into the sugar. This was done to assist with the color and general palatability of the refined sugar.

What are Some Alternatives to Refined Sugar?

1. Maple Syrup

Maple syrup is the prefect substitute for refined sugar because of the nutritional value of it versus the nutritional value of refined sugar. Maple syrup has calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, zinc, and copper, giving minerals as well as a sweet taste. It has 57 calories per teaspoon and 14 grams of natural sugar.

2. Yacon Root Syrup

Yacon root comes from the yacon plant of southern America and has a similar consistency and sweet flavor for molasses. This is a perfect option is you are a low-calorie vegan, as it is 13 calories per teaspoon with 3 grams of natural sugar. This is also considered a keto-friendly alternative to refined sugar.

3. Date syrup

Date syrup has a low glycemic level. It contains only one ingredient, dates, and has 60 calories and 13 grams of natural sugar per tablespoon. It is an extremely sweet syrup, meaning that a little bit goes a long way. Additionally, it has a high amount of vitamin D and iron, which gives it an edge over other natural sweeteners.

Belvita Nutrition Information By Product

Crunchy Belvita Cookies

Whole grain blend (rolled oats and rye flakes)
Canola oil
Enriched flour
Sugar
Whole grain wheat flour
Evaporated cane sugar
Malt syrup (from corn and barley)
Invert sugar
Baking soda
Salt
Soy
Artificial additives

For one packet of crunchy Belvita cookies, with 230 calories and 46g per serving.

Soft Bakes Belvita Cookies

Whole grain blend
Enriched bleach flour
Riboflavin
Sugar
Canola oil
Wheat flour
Raisin paste
Glycerin
Natural flavor

For one packet of soft baked Belvita, with a caloric 2 value of 200 per 50g. 50g is the serving size.

Belvita Bites

Whole grain wheat flour
Enriched flour
Reduced iron
Riboflavin
Sugar
Canola oil
Sugar
Whole grain rolled oats
Whole grain rye flour
Natural flavor

With a pack, there are about 230 calories for 46 Belvita bites.

Belvita Sandwiches

Whole grain wheat flour
Enriched flour
Niacin
Riboflavin
Sugar
Whole grain blend

The Belvita sandwiches are 230 calories for 50g of food, with 10g of sugar.

Vegan Alternatives to Belvita

Enjoy Life Foods Soft-Baked Breakfast Ovals

These breakfast treats are 100% dairy and sugar-free, with gluten free whole grains. These are excellent if you have kids with allergies that prevent them from eating Belvita. They are free of 14 common allergens, making them a safe bet for many children. These come in a variety of flavors such as maple fix, chocolate chip banana, berry medley, and apple cinnamon.

Goodie Girl Breakfast Biscuits

Free of artificial flavors, vegan, peanut free, and gluten free, these biscuits check off many boxes! The ingredient and nutrition information are easily available and back up their claims of being low in carbs and glycemic level, making them an excellent replacement for Belvita.

Gullon Sugar-Free Biscuits

An excellent snack to take on the go, these biscuits contain far less carbs per 100g than Belvita. You get more in a package and generally are paying less per 100g, which will save your wallet over time. With an extremely low glycemic level and zero added sugars, it’s a better vegan product overall.

Vegan Snack Alternatives To Breakfast Biscuits

Hippeas

Hippeas are a vegan chickpea snack chip that are calorie and protein dense, with similar nutritional value to the Belvita breakfast biscuits. While having less added sugar, Hippeas are easy to take on the go and have a savory taste that you can enjoy with a clear conscious.

Taali Cinnamon Vanilla Popped Water Lily Seeds

If you’re looking for something to satisfy a sweet tooth, water lily seeds can be mixed with sweet sugar and cinnamon with a taste that is reminiscent of taco bells cinnamon sticks. The nutty flavor of the seeds and the homey flavor of the cinnamon and sugar complement each other perfectly.

Orchard Valley Harvest Snacks

Orchard Valley snacks are nutrition based, vegan snack packets that have a mixture of nuts, fruits, and sweet bits all mixed together. While they do have non-vegan options, their vegan options include the Omega-3 pack, perfectly sized to slip into a bag and take on the go!

Pistachio

Pistachios are the perfect on the go snack that you can take anywhere. These pistachios are healthy fats, and are calorie dense, which helps to give you the energy to carry on throughout the day! These pistachios come in many flavors, all of which are vegan friendly.

Sahale Snacks

Sahale snacks are a wonderful example of a mix of healthy and tasty, with almond glazed honey. It has a lot of protein and healthy fats, as well as being calorie dense so that it actually keeps you full for longer. It has amazing ingredients such as the Madagascar vanilla bean. They also have the added plus of being gluten free!