Friday with Friends: Allyson Kramer of Manifest Vegan
Welcome to another installment of Friday with Friends. In this installment we’re super excited to introduce to you Allyson Kramer of the fabulous vegan and gluten-free blog Manifest Vegan. Hi Allyson!
Allison’s Gourmet: How did going gluten-free in 2009 change your vegan diet?
Allyson Kramer: It revolutionized my vegan diet! Before going gluten free my crutches were all-purpose flour and seitan. Obviously those foods are toxic to folks like me with celiac disease, so I had to find alternatives to make my favorite meals and desserts just as tasty as I always knew them to be. I was pretty sad about it at first since I loved baking and was only familiar with glutinous flour. But now that I understand how other types of flours work–and how healthy they are for you–I really love being gluten free. Sometimes I wonder if there were a miracle cure for gluten intolerance, how much I would even rely on wheat flour (or [gasp] even use it) anymore. 
The flavors and combinations of the types of other flours available, like sorghum, buckwheat, chickpea, teff and masa–to name a few–have really broadened my culinary horizons!
AG: Share some of your favorite wheat-free finds.
AK: Besan, sorghum flour, Soy Curls and Tinkyada pasta are my favorite finds since I first went gluten free. I use besan and sorghum on a regular basis, and Soy Curls and Tinkyada are fun little splurges.
AG: Mother’s Day is coming up – what cooking secrets or tips did you learn from your mother?
AK: I have to credit my mother’s massive recipe box for helping to teach me everything I know about cooking. She was in school full-time when I was growing up, but she left me with the recipes that spelled out years of her cooking expertise. I began tapping into these recipes when I was just eight years old. It’s hard to believe that my tiny little self was climbing up on the counters to reach the spices and flours in the cabinets, but it’s true. She was also home most weekends and would cook all day long as I stood on the sidelines, absolutely engrossed with each ingredient she prepared, the herbs and spices she tossed in, and every technique she used. Her shared information, along with my obsession with collecting cookbooks, added up and I too became a pretty darn good cook. Today we make the exact same dishes very differently, but her enthusiasm for simple and delicious food will always shine through in my recipe developing.
AG: For Spring, which foods, meals, scents, and spices epitomize the season and inspire you in the kitchen?
AK: The first foods that come to mind for me are kale, morels, fiddleheads, asparagus and ramps. An ultimate spring meal for me would include all of these foods in one delicious dish.
Also this season I have been really into using lavender, vanilla, and sage.
And, I am anxiously awaiting all my tiny basil sprouts to grow into colossal plants–so pesto is also on my mind.
AG: What’s been your favorite part of blogging, thus far? What are your future goals with your blog?
AK: My favorite part of blogging has been the connections I’ve made with people from all over the world. I’ve been inspired, humbled, delighted, and amazed at the incredible amount of energy and passion people commit to blogging. I have met some of my dearest friends over the past two years and I couldn’t imagine not having had these experiences; I plan to keep blogging as long as I can. It’s the highlight of my week and it’s become a huge part of my life!
AG: In addition to blogging, how else do you spend your time?
AK: I love to run. I try to run every day. I also love to read; non-fiction of any kind can captivate me for hours. I have a husband and two kids and we enjoy hiking and grocery shopping (okay, it’s just me enjoying the food shopping, but I drag them along and they never complain). I also love to make art—my preferred mediums being drawing and painting. I’m currently finishing up my first cookbook, which is really an extension of my blogging since it involves recipe development, food styling and photography. And just recently, my pals Jessy and Kittee and I launched an entirely vegan and gluten free info hub for GF vegans who need help deciding what’s good to eat: http://xgfx.org/
AG: Which Allison’s Gourmet product would you most like to be eating right now?
AK: I could polish off an entire gift box of the chocolate covered caramels right now, no problem!
AG: If you could collaborate on a recipe with Allison, what would it be?
AK: I would love to collaborate with Allison to recreate the Nestlé Alpine White Bar. I don’t know how many folks remember this candy bar, but it was one of my very favorites back in the day. It was discontinued years ago, but essentially it was a thin bar of white chocolate with teeny tiny almond bits strewn throughout. Surely, if anyone, Allison can make that happen, right? Pretty please…?
We’ll see what we can do about that, Allyson. 
Thanks for your wonderful inspiration and insights!
New: Special Caramel Flavors for Mother’s Day!
Allison’s mind is often in a whirl of fun ideas for new products and more. Several months ago, when she first told me her idea to use Lavender and Rose flavors in our caramels for Mother’s Day, I’ll admit I was a little skeptical. After the first test batch, I got to do one of my favorite tasks of my job description – taste-testing – and I was an instant convert! Eating these caramels is like eating the rich yet delicate scent of lavender and rose flowers (covered in caramel, of course!). The floral accents are well-rounded and dynamic, without overpowering the caramel’s perfection. To tell you the truth, they’re absolute heaven.
Allison created two glorious flavors in honor of moms in all forms:
Salted Lavender Caramels - Combining organic lavender with our already to-live-for Salted Vanilla Caramels creates these sweet, luxuriously chewy and brightly lavender flavored delights. Enjoy them sitting in your garden with the sun on your face listening to the bees buzzing in the flowers. 
Chocolate Rose Caramels - Most of us know that chocolate and roses are natural complements. Allison built on this classic pairing by adding just the right touch of Bulgarian rose to our oh-so-elegant Chocolate Caramels, creating a confection that is both flowers and chocolates in one ideal gift.
Mother’s Day is quickly coming up – in just under two weeks – and there are probably a bazillion moms out there who will be clamoring for these unbelievably delicious and unique caramels as soon as word gets out. So, get ahead of the game and surprise all the super-women in your life with life-changing caramels (and maybe breakfast in bed, too)! You can place your order today and request a delayed delivery date (in the order process) for timely arrival.
For more Mother’s Day gift ideas, check out our special Mother’s Day page.
Mother’s Day is Just Around the Corner!
Well, it’s almost May, which means that hopefully it will actually start feeling like a spring around here and we might even get some flowers blooming for Mother’s Day, which is in (gasp) just two weeks! Yep, that’s right, Easter came late this year, so while many of us will be celebrating bunnies and eggs this weekend, 
Mother’s Day is on May 8th which is already fast approaching.
Since there’s such a short window to order your Mother’s Day gifts this year, we’re making is easy with an exquisite collection of Mother’s Day gift ideas for moms of all tastes. 
Whether it’s tea and cookies or a gourmet coffee gift basket, every mom is sure to love our superbly delicious and compassionate treats.
Although Mother’s Day completely sneaked up on me this year, Allison has been hard at work for the past few weeks developing two exciting new products just for moms. They’re in the final testing stages and will be unveiled on Monday… so come on back and check them out!
What Mothering Means to Me
My journey to Motherhood has been by far the most enriching, stretching, humbling experience thus far. I often joke that I was the “Perfect Mother” before my daughter was born because I knew it all. Now that I have unwittingly invited my guru to live with me 24/7, I realize how little I do know and it’s so much easier to let go of judgments I once had. Each child is different and requires subtly different types of parenting. Before I had my daughter, I thought all children needed exactly the same thing. Yes, there are similar basic needs, but there is no simple formula to perfect mothering. Oh how well Olivia has taught me that!
For me, Mothering is a Spiritual endeavor like no other. I continuously have to set aside my own needs to tend to the needs of Olivia. The important part is remembering to return to my needs and tend to them. This is where my self-healing practices come in.
- I begin my day by nourishing my body with vibrant, vegan, organic, whole foods, and fresh veggie juices. When I have the nourishment I need, all things come more easily.
- Although I have fought it at times throughout my life, I am mindful of my need for regular exercise. I studied yoga for many years and throughout my pregnancy, yet Mothering has taught me that I need a more vigorous outlet. Now that I’ve found Nia, I get the release I need and it’s much more fun to literally ‘Dance through Life’ and get my exercise at the same time.
- Before I became vegan in 1997, there were extra 10-15 pounds that didn’t seem to want to leave my body, so I used to put forth a lot of effort to find fat-free treats. Through self-inquiry and exploration, I discovered that eating consciously is a necessity. One of the ways I do this is to remove distractions and focus while I’m eating, especially goodies. Additionally, choosing only the highest quality sweets allows me to be more deeply satisfied with less quantity, so even though it may be more expensive and higher in fat, I am ultimately saving money and calories by choosing premium foods. Now that we are transitioning our brownies to be wheat-free, Tessa (my assistant extraordinaire!) jokes that it’s “Brownie o’clock.”
- Doing work I am passionate about inspires me to strive toward my greatness. Sharing that joy is one of the best parts of my life and knowing that I’m doing so without harming other beings makes it even better. This is a wonderful side-effect of being vegan.
- Living in a rural area and being surrounded by Nature feeds my soul. Whenever I need a moment to regroup or get grounded, I need only look out my window or step out my door to be renewed.
- Nurturing friendships with a few close people helps me to know that even when I feel like an insane mother, I’m actually doing ok.
Embracing my role as a Mother has been a most awesome process and certainly the biggest endeavor I have ever embarked on. To temper my feelings of overwhelm at the vastness of it all, I try to remember that at the base of parenting, one of the primary gifts I can share with my daughter is how to accept and cope when things don’t go her way in the world. If she has that tool, she’ll be far better off than most adults I know!
Here’s to Mothering and the fullness of it all. How lucky we are to have the choice to live our lives consciously, compassionately, and with deep love toward our little ones and all beings.
Looking for Vegan Mother’s Day Gifts? Try These…
All the moms I know do a lot of nurturing every day, even when their children aren’t children any more. So it’s always a great pleasure for me to take one day every year to honor them (although is often seems like one day isn’t nearly enough).
Allison is one of the amazing mamas in my life, and, in honor of other mamas everywhere, she’s made sure that we’re offering a scrumptious selection of vegan Mother’s Day gift ideas. Does the mom you love want to sit down in a quiet space with a box of chocolates or an aromatic assortment of teas and tisanes (herbal teas)? For a more personal gift, you might select a special assortment of all her favorite cookie flavors and/or confections; add gift wrap and our hand-written gift card for an extra sweet touch. Our gift sets and gift baskets offer even more decadent and elegant Mother’s Day gift ideas. Go ahead, give her a treat, she deserves it!
Place your order before Monday, May 3rd for delivery in time for Mother’s Day, May 9th.
