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My boyfriend’s nonvegan brother and sister-in-law came over for his birthday last week, although Jay (the bf) wouldn’t let me acknowledge that it was for his birthday. “They’re just coming over for lunch, and we happen to be having cake for dessert,” he said. OK, whatever. I cried a little inside about not having birthday candles and moved on.

We both revel in treating nonvegans to delicious vegan food. So when Jay’s normally laid-back brother started looking a little breathless and said, “So, there really aren’t any eggs in this cake? It’s so moist,” we both smiled. I said, “No, of course not. You don’t need eggs to make a good cake,” and I grabbed my copy of The Joy of Vegan Baking to show them some recipes (everything in that cookbook is absolutely amazing).

Whenever Jay and I serve vegan food to nonvegans, he always repeats the same line like a mantra: “Nothing you’ve eaten today had any cholesterol!” It’s like we’re on an infomercial, and I try to stifle my laughter. The thing is that for Jay, it’s not really a laughing matter. His father passed away suddenly from a heart attack in his 50s, and Jay’s brother’s cholesterol and triglycerides are dangerously high. He’s not even 40 yet, and he’s on cholesterol-lowering drugs. Jay’s cholesterol, on the other hand, is 123. To put that in perspective, the average meat-eating American’s cholesterol is 210, while the average vegan’s cholesterol is 133.

When my stepfather had a serious heart attack last December, his doctor told him two things: 1) You’re very lucky to be alive (the type of heart attack he had is referred to as a “widow maker”), and 2) A vegan diet is the healthiest. While he hasn’t gone fully vegan, he’s significantly reduced his consumption of animal products and increased the amount of vegetarian foods he eats. When you consider that vegetarians live longer, have a significantly reduced risk of many chronic diseases (including heart disease), and don’t smell when they’re old, going vegan seems like a no-brainer to me—especially if you can still eat delicious cake.

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While I certainly enjoy the full spectrum of cruelty-free products, I appreciate the convenience and value that come from popping into my local 24-hour drugstore at 10 p.m. when I have run out of health and beauty items. Cruelty-free products are now easier to find than ever, and you don’t need to spend a fortune—after all, maybe you are saving up a bit to splurge on some Stella McCartney boots for the fall! These days, you can easily fill up your cart with shampoo, conditioner, body wash, bubble bath, laundry detergent, and lip gloss and still pay less than $10. The following are some of my favorite cruelty-free thrifty finds:

White Rain: Fabulous shampoos, conditioners, body washes, hair sprays, gels, and mousses—all for only $1 each.

Sun Laundry Care: Has a full line of detergents and softeners that typically cost anywhere from $1 to $3.

Mr. Bubble Bubble Bath: After all these years, they still makes the best bubbles no matter what your age is—and it’s very gentle on your skin. Regular-size bottles usually run about $2, and just like when many of us were kids, you can still save up proofs-of-purchase and send away for the cool T-shirt!

Wet n Wild Cosmetics: Luscious lip glosses, eye shadows, liners, and more. Generally priced in the $1 to $3 range. Markwins, the company that owns Wet n Wild, also owns the Black Radiance and Tropez cosmetic lines.

Jane Cosmetics: Lots of deep pigment eye shadows, lip colors, mascaras, and super conveniently designed packages of mineral make-up. Jane products start at around $3.

Palmer’s Skin Care: Rich cocoa butter and olive oil facial moisturizers, soaps, body lotions, and hair products—all affordably priced and starting around $2.

Search for more cruelty-free products here.

Happy budgeting!

Make your own
Chocolate Stout Cupcakes

Got a sweet tooth? Most supermarkets sell Oreos, Goldberg’s peanut chews, Ghirardelli chocolate chips, and other vegan goodies, but if you really want to treat yourself (or a friend), the following companies offer ooey, gooey vegan desserts that will tempt your taste buds.

Vegan Honey: This Brooklyn-based bakery offers delicious coconut cream-filled cupcakes, fruit turnovers, cinnamon buns, cherry “cheese” Danishes, chocolate “dessert cups,” and “Fauxtess” pastries that are reminiscent of popular Hostess products. My dog, Carly, gives the homemade peanut butter doggie treats two paws up too! A portion of Vegan Honey’s sales benefits animal rights and environmental groups.

Pangea: In addition to selling cruelty-free cosmetics, nonleather shoes, animal rights T-shirts, and mock meats and dairy-free cheeses, this vegan superstore has an array of super snacks, including Whitman’s Sampler-esque Belgian chocolates, donuts, fruit tarts, frosted cakes, and more. If you place your order through the PETAMall and designate PETA as your charity of choice, 5 percent of your purchase will be used to help animals.

Allison’s Gourmet Bakery: Alison’s, which supports PETA through the PETA Business Friends program, offers vegan cookies and brownies—in mouthwatering flavors like mint chocolate chip, coconut Key lime, cinnamon snickerdoodle, peanut butter swirl, and classic walnut—as well as heavenly fudge, truffles, caramels, and other chocolate-y creations.

Sticky Fingers: If you’re in Washington, D.C., you can stop by this vegan bakery for “cheese”-cake, carrot cake, chocolate almond cake, strawberry shortcake, and other drool-worthy desserts. But don’t despair if a trip to D.C. is not in your future—you can still enjoy Sticky Fingers’ brownies, blueberry muffins, chocolate chimp bread, Little Devils (chocolate cake with cream filling, coated in a chocolate shell), and more, via mail order.

Chocolate Decadence: If you’ve got a craving for chocolate-covered cherries, pretzels, nuts, raisins, coconut, peanut butter, and other simple yet scrumptious snacks, you can’t go wrong with Chocolate Decadence. Kids and adults alike will love the solid chocolate dinosaurs, classic cars, sea shells, and more.

Harbor Candy Shop: Check out Harbor Candy Shop for its selection of delectable vegan chocolates. Harbor Candy Shop donates 20 percent of the sale of its Vegan Favorite Samplers to PETA. What could be sweeter than that?!

Many other companies offer mail-order vegan goodies, and as a full-fledged chocoholic, I’m eager to try them all. Tell me about your favorites!

Frog Saver Lilly Pad

Those of you who have pools are familiar with the sensation—that feeling of dread tinged with guilt when you find another dead critter in the water. When my parents retired, they bought a house with a pool (it’s a grandkid magnet!), and they mentioned to me that they sometimes found dead mice and salamanders in the morning.

I bought them a Frog Saver Lily Pad to help them give these little ones a chance at survival. Two other lifesaving options are the Froglog “Little Critter Pool Sitter” and the Critter Guard. These items make great housewarming or hospitality gifts for when you visit people with swimming pools. If you have a community pool, see if you can arrange for some of these things to be put out each night.

Swimming in a chilly pool with no means of escape is very stressful for mice, as animal experimenters know very well—the “forced swim test” is a standard (and unconscionable!) means of inducing stress in mice in labs. Another name for the “forced swim test” is the “behavioral despair” test. Could that be any more disturbing? It’s a good thing we have a crack staff of people trying to end this sort of nonsense.