2011 in Review: Surprise Sellers
The holidays are by far our busiest time of year. And, as much as we’d like to say that we’ve been doing this for so long that we have everything completely figured out, each year is a little different. As our product lines and people’s tastes change, we’re always a little surprised by which items are our best-sellers each year, especially in the holiday season. 
In the lead-up to the holidays this year we introduced our new line of Artisan Chocolates, as well as re-formulated vegan peanut butter cups, peppermint bark and peppermint creme patties which we had been working on for most of 2011. And, as a bit of an afterthought, we also added a Salted Confections Gift Set to our offerings to showcase our newest salted caramels and salted chocolate brittle. While all of these new products did very well and received rave reviews from excited recipients all over the country, the surprise top seller in the latter part of 2011 was the Salted Confections Gift Set. We’re so glad to discover that there are legions of dessert lovers out there with palates as salty as ours!
Of course, after 15 years in business, not everything is a surprise. 
The other popular sweets over the holidays were vegan toffee, especially the chocolate-covered variety, and hot cocoa, both the classic and peppermint drinking chocolate varieties. Given their classic nature we weren’t at all shocked by their doing so well.
As I and my staff catch our collective breath before unveiling a new chocolate pleasure for Valentine’s Day in just a few short weeks, I’d like to extend my heartfelt thanks for allowing us the privilege of providing your compassionately decadent gifts for the holidays and throughout the year. It is my pleasure to delight and serve you. And I know everyone at AG shares my gratitude for you. Here’s to a fabulous year-ahead!
Making the Most of Winter
The Winter Solstice happened last week, which means that it’s officially cold, dark and winter. I generally dislike winter. Instead of snuggling by the fireplace all day where I’d like to be, I’m usually up and about, interacting with the cold, dark world. But, I’m trying to make the best of the situation and find ways to enjoy these winter month.
Photo by Julia Moran Martz of Snarky Vegan
The “bright” side of being past the Solstice is that at least the days aren’t getting any shorter, and cold weather is a great excuse to eat and drink warm and hearty yummy things both savory and sweet. I make a lot of soup this time of year, and one of the things that we’ve been doing every day at Allison’s through the busy holiday rush has been drinking lots of warm beverages.
Mostly we do fair-trade tea, with vegan cookies to go with it, of course. Lately, to mix things up, we’ve also made some awesome mugs of hot cocoa drinking chocolate and even some organic coffee (although we’re all so “up” already that we opted for the amazingly delicious Decaf Vanilla Nut variety). In my off hours I’m making a point to get some exercise, and spend some time outdoors which is hard at first, but once I’m out and warm, it really lifts my spirits.
How do you stay warm and happy during the winter chill?
Fridays with Friends: Eco-Vegan Gal Whitney Lauritsen
I love the connection that can be made between veganism and eco-conscious living. In fact, the way I see it, it’s hard to have one without the other. Whitney Lauritsen blogs about the many intersections of Eco-Vegan living on her blog Eco-Vegan Gal. I checked in with Whitney during these busy holidays for her views on holiday gift-giving and eco-vegan tips.
Allison’s Gourmet: What inspired you to adopt a vegan diet/lifestyle?
Whitney Lauritsen: I went vegetarian in 2003 because I was inspired by a friend, then tried veganism about 6 months later out of curiosity. Over the years I fell in love with the lifestyle due to how good I felt, emotionally, physically and spiritually. It’s fun discovering new ways to be eco-friendly, healthy and compassionate.
AG: What’s the biggest challenge in running your blog Eco-Vegan Gal?
WL: Finding time! It’s tough balancing my day jobs and personal life with the website, but I make it happen no matter what. When I do have time, creating content and managing the site is a no-brainer because it comes so naturally to me. I would never call my site work – it’s love.
AG: What do you love most about it?
WL: I love all the amazing people I meet online and at events. I learn so much from each individual, even those that come to me for advice teach me something through their questions. I feel connected to the whole world through Facebook, Twitter and YouTube – what a great way to learn about how different people live healthfully and sustainably!
AG: Are there any whole-food staple grocery items you can’t live without? (Favorite fruits, veggies, beans or grains?)
WL: Do kale chips count? 
If not, I’d have to say almonds, quinoa, kale, and broccoli. I love almonds as snacks, quinoa is my favorite “grain”, and kale and broccoli are such nutritious, tasty veggies. I’m really keen on Brussels sprouts – I could go on…
AG: Do you have a favorite seasonal meal idea or recipe you’d like to share?
WL: I’m really into butternut squash right now. I love roasting it, steaming it, stuffing it with other veggies and grains, or mixing it into things like quinoa or brown rice pasta. You really can’t go wrong with it! I love this recipe from The Blissful Chef: Lemon-Kissed Brussels and Butternut Squash.
AG: What’s your favorite eco-friendly tip for the holidays?
WL: Go minimal, buy second hand, and recycle. Choose presents that inspire recipients to eat healthier and live greener. Try not to go overboard just because it’s the holidays – you can be festive without buying a lot of things. One of my favorite eco tips is to rent a live Christmas tree, or buy a potted plant and decorate that instead. Think outside the box, it’s more fun that way! I’ve contributed to some gift guides, like this one from Vegan Cuts.
AG: Which Allison’s Gourmet goodie is your favorite or would you most like to try?
WL: Anything gluten-free and lower in sugar. I’m always looking for a good hot cocoa too, so your peppermint drinking chocolate looks pretty darn tasty!
Although many of our products are gluten-free, for low in sugar items I’d suggest our organic coffee and fair-trade tea selections. Happy Holidays, Whitney!
Healthy Habits for the Holidays
I kept trying to write other posts for this week, but all I want to write about is the coming holidays. We’re getting ready for the winter rush here at Allison’s, so I guess I have Thanksgiving and Christmas on my mind. For me the holidays are both exciting and stressful. I’m looking forward to spending time with my family, and to eating all that delicious food, of course. 
But I’m not so looking forward to putting on those extra pounds that always seem to come with the onset of winter. Every year I try to plan ahead to relieve some of my stress from last-minute holiday shopping. This year I have some ideas for applying that same logic to staying healthy and fit through all those family meals and long, chilly nights.
My first step is going to be establishing healthy eating habits now. I love summer, when I can eat my fill of salads, veggie stir-frys and tomato sandwiches without feeling like I need to watch my portion sizes. But as summer turns to fall I start craving richer, warming food like Cream of Broccoli Soup and Baked Ziti. 
These recipes are so delicious I could eat an entire pot of soup by myself. Since they’re vegan versions, they have larger-than-normal amounts of veggies in them and they’re cholesterol-free because they don’t have the dairy and eggs of traditional recipes. Still, I know that eating an entire casserole dish of pasta, as delicious as it would be, would not actually make me feel very good in the long run. So, this winter I’m going to savor every bite of one serving of my favorite savory dishes and then fill up on greens and whole grains. Leaving room, or course, for vegan cookies or maybe some hot cocoa for dessert. 
Sweets make me happy, and that’s important too.
Exercise is the other important part of feeling good that I need to do for myself. My favorite physical exercise is Nia, a dance-based movement class that gets me moving and sweaty while making me ecstatically happy. But, as life got busier this summer, and my finances got tighter, I’ve let my Nia studio membership run out. I know it’s important for me to get back in some kind of exercise routine this fall, especially as the onset of cold, wet weather makes me want to do nothing but curl up on the couch with a movie or good book. So, whether it’s walking, biking, or going back to Nia, my intention is to stay active this winter, even in the rain.
I hope that by getting used to healthy portions sizes, a good balance of greens, grains and proteins in my diet and regular exercise now, those habits will sustain me through the delicious holidays in happiness and good health. I’ll let you know how it goes.
4 Reasons This Week Made Us Extra Proud to Be Vegan
If you haven’t noticed, we’ve been asking some questions over on Facebook and Twitter. Thanks to all who answer—it’s so great to 
get to know you better! And the verdicts are in—you all definitely love pancakes and French toast pretty much evenly across the board as long as they’re vegan. The same goes for chai and hot chocolate, too. Good choices indeed!
Thanks for the nice shout out from Shae Thompson on Facebook who enjoyed our fudge. Feedback keeps us pressing on to bring you the best products and service!
We were moved to tears by the story that broke last week about the chimps at Chimpanzee Sanctuary NorthWest in Cle Elum, WA, who had spent their entire lives in laboratories and finally got to experience some increased freedom. It’s a reminder of why we do what we do and that there’s no reason to ever give up hope that all animals will someday enjoy happy endings like this one.
Public voting ends today for our first-ever Tee and Tote Design Contest! Thanks to all the contestants and voters! Next phase is the ten designs that received the most votes go to our incredible panel of judges who will select the 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize winners, which we’ll announce next week! Good luck to all the contestants and thanks to everyone for supporting us.
Have a wonderful weekend.
Nourishing the Body & Soul
I love to eat. Amidst the American food culture of fad diets and weight obsession, that can be a hard thing to admit. But the truth is that, for most people, eating is not just a process to nourish the body. 
Good food nourishes us in many ways, giving us pleasure, security, and a sense of well-being as well as the carbohydrates, fats and protein that we need physically. The best and healthiest foods in my mind are those that fulfill all of our needs, from great taste and good nutritional value to a positive and fulfilled feeling in the body.
At Allison’s we focus on all aspects of making great food, from feeding the physical body to nourishing the soul. Our desserts feed the body with good fats like coconut oil in our vegan fudge and confections and sunflower in our vegan bakery items. 
Fats and oils are often maligned in modern cooking, but the truth is that fats are essential building blocks of life. Good fats, like coconut and sunflower, contain no bad cholesterol, nurture and support your body, lubricate your joints and give you long-lasting energy. Coconut oil is especially nutritious, containing essential vitamins and minerals as well as lauric, capric, and caprylic acids which help maintain heart health and metabolism as well as a host of other health benefits. Good fats make our bodies feel good, and they taste good too, which also makes us feel good.
Chocolate, in any form, whether it’s brownies, vegan peanut butter cups, or hot cocoa, is another one of those feel-good foods, and most women can tell you that it’s a great mood-elevator. 
New research is also coming out that dark chocolate, like ours, is actually physically good for you as well. It contains a treasure-trove of antioxidants (on the same scale as blueberries and green tea) which protect your cells and may help to fight cancer and keep you looking and feeling younger. Recent studies have also shown links between dark chocolate consumption and cardiovascular health.
What you put in your body certainly effects your health and how you feel, but what you don’t put in your body can be just as important. At Allison’s we are committed to using only organic ingredients because we know that petro-chemical pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers are not things we should be putting into the earth or consuming ourselves. We’re also adamant about using 100% fair-trade chocolate to insure fair wages and good working and living conditions for the farmers and their families.
Of course even good-for-you foods are only good in moderation. 
Eating too much of anything (except maybe kale) can be detrimental to your health. Luckily, we’ve found that premium quality super-delicious foods, both sweet and savory, are more satisfying and nurturing to body and soul and therefore can be eaten in moderation while still imparting nourishment and satisfaction. Enjoy savoring every bite.
Perfect Combinations
Ever since we changed our cookie and brownie recipes to use oat flour instead of wheat, Allison has been a little bit obsessed with her own cookies. For a long time it was the Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies that were her almost daily habit, but recently, her preference has leaned towards Double Chocolate Chunk. 
Last week I found her enjoying this little snack and we decided that the Double Chocolate Chunk Cookie with a glass of So Delicious Coconut Milk was such a perfect combination we just had to document it! (Allison prefers the Unsweetened flavor, but I usually go for the Original or the Vanilla.)
That little snap shot got me thinking about other perfect dessert combinations and here are some of my favorites (more photos to come, I promise):
• Peppermint Hot Cocoa with a Classic Chocolate Chip Cookie to dip in it.
• Decaf Vanilla Nut organic coffee with So Delicious French Vanilla Coconut Milk Creamer and a Pecan Brownie on the side.
• Soft Peanut Butter Cookies warmed in a toaster oven with chocolate chips melted on top.
• Rooibos Earl Grey fair-trade tea made with 4-5 drops of stevia and a splash of rice milk and… never mind… that drink is so delicious it’s its own perfect combination.
What are your ideal dessert combos? We’d love to hear your ideas and see your photos.
Eco-Friendly Gifts for Grads
It’s spring again, and all over the country students of many academic levels are taking finals, matriculating and making plans for next year. It’s a time of celebration, and it’s especially exciting for me to note that more and more of today’s young people are seeing the benefits of a healthy, green, and compassionate lifestyle. 
As you celebrate the accomplishments of the eco-conscious, animal-loving young people in your life, consider giving them vegan, fair-trade gifts they will love that will also align with their values as responsible global citizens. Get your soon-to-be graduate a hot cocoa sampler to keep him or her going through the final weeks of school, or give cookie of the month clubs to graduates going off to college in the fall to sustain them through late nights and all those college exams. 
Monthly clubs can be ordered now to begin shipping in August, September or any other month you specify.
Gentle on the earth, and kind to animals and people alike, our organic, vegan and fair-trade treats will be enjoyed immensely by students of any age. Conscientious young people are sure to appreciate a deliciously decadent fair-trade gift that they can feel great about enjoying and won’t take up closet space.
Taste Testing: Hot Cocoa
Hot cocoa (aka drinking chocolate) is the perfect antidote to a chilly, damp, snowy winter like we’re having here in Northern California. Last week Allison and I discovered that a batch of Peppermint Drinking Chocolate was being made in the kitchen. We immediately went to investigate and decided that a taste-test was necessary to make sure this particular batch was up to snuff 
. These are the kind of sacrifices we make on a nearly daily basis to ensure that you always receive perfect and completely delicious products. Yeah, Allison tastes pretty much every batch of everything that comes out of the kitchen, just to make sure… It’s a hard job, but somebody’s got to do it!
So anyway, there we were, tasting hot cocoa: Yum! It’s creamy and rich and perfectly minty. The only thing we’re thinking about changing is the preparation directions. Right now our label recommends using 4 ounces of hot water and 4 ounces of non-dairy milk, but we’ve decided that we like our cocoa way better with 8 ounces of milk. It’s richer that way, and the more chocolate-y the better, I say. But what do you think? Do you like your cocoa thin or thick? Sweet or not-so-sweet? Classic or Minty? Hot cocoa or cool chocolate milk? We want to know!
Fun with Snow Days!
We can usually expect a few inches of snow once or twice a year here in our small foothill community in Northern California. It’s just enough to make it feel like winter, but little enough that many people in this area do not have 4-wheel-drive cars. This year, however, it has already snowed three times and last weekend it snowed over a foot! Now I know we’re not the only ones getting hit with more severe winter than usual this year, and if you’re reading this in the Midwest a foot of snow may not seem like a lot, but around here at least it’s enough to shut down the town. 
Most people were out of power and stuck at home all weekend long and school was canceled for most of last week. While being trapped at home can be a drag, especially if you have work deadlines or screaming kids with cabin fever I like to see it as an opportunity.
Snow days can be really fun and delicious, especially if you have some treats on hand. I know for a lot of people, no power means no heat, so curl up under a blanket (or by the fireplace or wood stove if you have one), light some candles for their warm glow, and indulge in a cup of hot cocoa and some scrumptious gourmet cookies. We spent our snowed-in weekend playing Monopoly for the first time in years and going sledding in our back yard. Then we made one of Allison’s amazing Veganize It! recipes: Shepherd’s Pie. Yum! (Stay tuned for photos coming on Monday).
