Is that a cake donut or a yeast? Fat grams? I hate to take the fun out of it but if I can actually have a healthy version of a guilty pleasure I’ll go for it.

I doubt they’re healthy, but I bought a dozen a few weeks ago and can vouch for their deliciousity.

By the way, you can get fresh homemade vegan donuts – no holes, and no special flavors other than glazed and sugar-coated, but they are totally fantastic – at Madeleine Bistro, the all-vegan restaurant in Tarzana. Donuts there, served warm at your table, are just $2 each which I believe makes them cheaper than Dee’s Nuts. The catch: Madeleine only sells them on weekends.

I actually hope they are as unhealthy as it gets because that’s when it starts getting delicious. We must not forget that everyone out there making and selling vegan food is in a business and they have to make money to keep doing it. I’ve found there’s a cycle with vegan cooking & baking in major cities, often because of a misjudge of the customer base, and it goes something like this:

1) There are no vegan places because business people think there is no market for vegan food.

2) Business people realize there is a market for vegan food, but in efforts to increase their market they also try to cater to people looking for heath food.

3) Business people realize that people who want vegan food and people who want health food are not the same group and trying to cater to both is actually limiting their market and pick one to focus on which makes them more profitable.

We’re somewhere between 2 and 3 in LA right now. The thing is non-vegans will eat vegan food if it tastes good enough. The places I referenced in the above post have a huge non-vegan customer base because their food is amazingly delicious. Also, people who are out searching for health food often aren’t vegans either and will opt for something they think is organic or free-range because they are more familiar with it. I can’t tell you how many non-vegans I’ve taken to Real Food Daily who have ordered the most bland and boring thing off the menu (the basic) simply because that was the thing they were familiar with. In all cases they left with a bad idea of what vegan food can be and chances are didn’t go back again later.

Point being, if Dee’s is focusing on taste over health then chances are they will be in business longer and will help make room for more people to open restaurants and bakeries making even more awesome stuff. If they focus on making things that are healthy first, they won’t do exceptionally well and the next business person to come along will see their returns and think that’s too risky of a space to jump into.

Keep an eye on Bizmark of the Beast as well:

http://www.myspace.com/getdownbakelove

I think she’s shut down her wholesale business while she finds a new kitchen, but will hopefully be up and running again at some point (and could probably be talked into custom orders like wedding cakes if you were really convincing).

You can also get Dee’s donuts at Swingers! They don’t seem to sell out there as instantly as they do at Intelligensia.

Folks, these aren’t meant to be health food donuts… they’re just incredibly delicious donuts that happen to also be vegan. By default that makes them slightly healthier than non-vegan donuts, but not by much. Eat ‘em up, they’re amazing!

I’m in…slightly healthier works if its tasty too.

thanks for the link! i am telling you those donuts are the best ever and DO NOT taste healthy! :D

Dee’s Nuts…..really? That’s hillarious!!!!!!

I can just hear it now….sooo that’s one order of Dee’s Nuts with Fromunda.