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!
