NEW: Vanilla-Kissed Strawberry Bark for Valentine’s Day
It’s hard to believe, but Valentine’s Day is in just three short weeks, and we’ve already received a lot of orders! Don’t leave this important holiday’s gifts until the last minute. With our delayed delivery date option, it’s never too early to order our unique valentine gifts for everyone you love.
Despite the winter season keeping us extraordinarily busy in November and December, we’ve been scheming for months to come up with something new and exciting to offer for this sweetest of holidays. We love creating festive and swoon-inducing vegan chocolates for Valentine’s Day and this year, along with our new line of Artisan Truffles and Caramels, we’re also very excited to introduce you to our latest creation: Vanilla-Kissed Strawberry Bark. As gorgeous and delicious as it sounds, this smooth and creamy vanilla-strawberry bark will have you dreaming of strawberry fields.
Don’t wait to order your own unique valentine gifts for all the most important and chocolate-loving people you hold dear. Other February favorites include cherry chocolate organic brownies, double chocolate chunk organic cookies, and our elegant Chocolate Lover’s Gift Set. Order now!
2012 New Year’s Gifts
I hope everyone had a warm and happy holiday weekend. I know I feasted on some really wonderful savory dishes, and indulged in multiple desserts including organic cookies, peppermint creme patties, and some vegan toffee topping on coconut ice cream! 
Despite all that decadence, I always feel a bit of a let-down after big holidays; getting up the next morning and it’s just business as usual again. Lucky for us, however, just when we think the holidays are over, there’s another one on the horizon!
New Year’s 2012 this weekend, gives us a little wiggle room in the holiday gifts department. Did you forget someone on your list, or maybe just didn’t get around to those last few presents? Ring in the New Year with decadent compassionate sweets! Whether it’s a corporate holiday gift for your boss or a sweet treat for your significant other, help those important people in your life start the New Year right!
New Year’s resolutions are always full of eating better, getting fit and staying healthy. You can help with all those things and give your colleagues and loved ones decadent treats they can feel good about enjoying. 
Although sending sweets may not seem like the best way to help someone achieve their fitness goals, my experience has been that I gain greater enjoyment from and eat less of high-quality, pure and exquisitely delicious desserts, than I would from cheaper or “healthy” tasting alternatives. Those imitations spur me to eat more, trying in vain to attain the satisfaction I’m craving. Encourage conscious and compassionate indulgence with a personal or corporate food gift that will nourish the mind, body and taste buds while encouraging less devouring and more savoring.
A Little Goes A Long Way
20 years ago, before I began my journey toward healthful, compassionate eating, I ate low-quality food because it was what I had grown up eating and I didn’t know any better. I was unhealthy, 15 pounds overweight and suffered from acne. In 1989, I discovered healthy foods and started experimenting in my own kitchen. Later, I studied at The School of Natural Cookery in Boulder, CO and continued growing my skills throughout the years. What I learned is that good-tasting, nutritious, premium-quality food is worth so much more than the few extra dollars one might pay for it. Take the astounding differences between store-bought tomatoes and home-grown ones, for example, or Wonder Bread compared with a whole-grain artisan loaf.
Inferior-quality food makes for inferior health in the way my body looks and feels as well as my mood, and a less satisfying eating experience. If you haven’t yet experimented with it, maybe it’s time to try. It’s no secret that I love food and I don’t eschew fat, salt or sweet, yet I’m healthier today than ever in my life and I attribute that achievement to my healthy lifestyle and eating habits. For me, an enjoyable and delectable meal is as important as the nutrition found in it.
When I opened my vegan bakery in 1997, I knew from the beginning that I would serve only the kinds of foods I would want to eat myself: real food made from whole, organic ingredients that anyone can easily pronounce and find in her own kitchen. Doing so allows the body and palate to feel satiated with much less. Contrast that with eating fat-free cookies, which attempt to trick the taste buds and brain into thinking they’re getting what they want. But, instead of eating one fat-free cookie, many people end up consuming an entire box in the hopes of achieving the enjoyment they would normally gain from one full-fat cookie.
You see, pure, whole foods like our organic cookies and vegan brownies are satisfying after just a small amount. This saves money, health, and your waistline. Choose top-quality foods and discover for yourself: a little goes a long way.
Giving from the Heart (and Oven)
Today is my fiancé’s birthday, and searching for the right gift for him started me thinking about gifts in general. 
Mostly I dread shopping for presents. I’m often uninspired (my man knows this and just tells me what he wants — thanks honey!) so more often than not, I end up buying some thing just to have something to give. I dislike the consumerist drive to buy, buy, buy. At the same time, though, gift-giving is an important part of our culture. We exchange gifts to show our love and affection for each other. 
To let others know that they’re in our thoughts although we may be far apart or out of touch. And everyone loves getting gifts, right? But, sometimes, especially around the winter holidays, I find myself buying meaningless gifts for people just to have something to offer them. It’s important that I don’t leave any one out, so even if I have no idea what a certain person might enjoy, I feel like I have to get them something anyway. And much as we love getting gifts, does anyone really want another gizmo or dust-collector? How many gag gifts can you get before they get old?
So, the best answer I have come up with to solve this dilemma is to give gifts that don’t collect dust and that everyone will enjoy and be able to share. 
Edible treats are ideal, especially when you know someone loves a certain dessert or don’t know the person very well but can assume that they love sweets like the other 99% of humanity. I especially enjoy giving home-made gifts, and if there’s time, energy and skills to make or bake gift-worthy goodies, they are sure to be appreciated. But, when I mostly need ease of giving and taste perfection, I find that a dozen organic cookies or a tray of deliciously chewy vegan brownies from AG simply can’t be beat. In the words of one happy client:
“Your cookies and brownies are a perfect gift: perishable, so they don’t contribute to anyone’s clutter; shareable so they foster friendship; delicious so they are always appreciated, and cholesterol free, so they can be eaten with uncompromised pleasure. Thanks so much for making the world more delicious.”
Patti Breitman, Author
Back to my fiancé. In case you’re wondering how your non-vegan friends will take receiving vegan goodies as a gift, I can tell you. 
My omnivorous man, and his completely carnivorous teenage daughters LOVE Allison’s goodies. In fact, whenever I bring some home, they are devoured in record time with excitement and glee. So, trust me, these are delectable sweets. Period. Not like other vegan baked goods you may have tried that are “good… for being vegan.” Allison’s are world-class, guaranteed.
Weekly Wrap-up: Decadently Delicious, VegNews Nominations and Your Designs!
What a way to kick-off August! Our decadently delicious flavors of the month shipped, which means our lucky club members this month are receiving gorgeous tropical Toasted Coconut Brownies, classically rich and decadent 
Original Fudge, and ultra-elegant Cinnamon Snickerdoodle organic cookies. Yumm.
We had great news from VegNews—Allison’s has been nominated for 3 VegNews awards!
Favorite Bakery (Online) – Allison’s Gourmet
Favorite Vegan Candy – Chocolate Almond Toffee
Favorite Column – Veganize It! Allison Rivers Samson
What a great treat that is! If you’d like to vote (and we hope you do!), click here. You’ll even be entered to win some fabulous prizes!
Speaking of prizes, submissions to our Tee and Tote design contest have started coming in,
and we’re enjoying seeing your creations! Make sure you spread the word. We’re sharing on Facebook and Twitter, and you can follow us there if you’re not already. Public voting on the contest designs begins after the last day for submissions, which is September 15—so there’s still plenty of time to get yours in. Good luck!
August’s Decadently Delicious Flavors Shipped
After expounding on the amazing perks of monthly club membership last week, I’m happy to announce that another delicious shipment of new monthly flavors went out on Monday. 
Our lucky club members this month are receiving gorgeous tropical Toasted Coconut Brownies, classically rich and decadent Original Fudge and ultra-elegant Cinnamon Snickerdoodle organic cookies. Hungry yet? You too can enjoy August’s distinctively delicious array of out-of-this-world compassionate baked goods. Order them individually or become a monthly club member today to receive a 15% discount along with your awesome sweet treats.
Already a monthly club member? Looking for ways to put that discount to work? Our gourmet Gift Samplers and Gift Sets make perfect presents for August birthdays and vacation treats. 
Since the warm weather this time of year makes shipping vegan chocolates risky, we recommend non-chocolate goodies for those summertime special occasions. Save yourself the time in the kitchen by serving our organic cookies and brownies for dessert at your next picnic or barbecue and wow both your family and guests by filling your candy bowl with all our outstanding assorted flavors of our individually wrapped caramels.
What are your favorite vegan hot dogs or other favorite vegan barbecue fare? We’re always looking for new and exciting grill items, and we love Allison’s All-American Potato Salad to round out a perfect summertime meal.
Summer Heat and Chocolates Don’t Mix
It’s been a whacky weather year here in California. We had an unusually snowy, wet winter, and we’ve had a ridiculously long, cool spring (we’ve even had some confused trees with their leaves turning colors already!) But the sun has finally come out, and I’m hoping that we might soon catch up to the rest of the country and have some real warm weather.
The prospect of summer heat has me smiling big time, but it also reminds me that summer is a hard time to ship vegan chocolates.
Even with a chill pack and 2-day air shipping, chocolates do not always survive the intense heat in many areas of the country during the warmer months. So, now that temperatures are really heating up, we’re recommending that you use caution when ordering chocolate items like vegan peanut butter cups, peppermint patties, cherry truffle hearts, and cherry almond bark. Check the weather for your shipping destination and if it’s going to be over 65ºF, consider ordering something less perishable.
Some non-meltable but still chocolate-y alternatives for summer gift-giving include organic brownies, Double Chocolate Chunk cookies, drinking chocolate (great in shakes and smoothies or as chocolate milk), and individually wrapped caramels in several chocolate and vanilla flavors. Cookies and brownies with chocolate chips in them are also a slight melting risk, but melted chocolate chips, while messy, won’t be a catastrophe. If your chocolate chip baked goods arrive melted, simply let them cool somewhere below 65º for a few hours before devouring them.
P.S. Remember to order your Father’s Day gifts this week. Dad will thank you!
Last Chance to Order for Easter!
Happy Monday, everyone! First, congratulations to Jennifer, the winner of our Springtime Scavenger Hunt! She will be receiving a decadent tray of our luscious Java Crunch Fudge. Yum!
I also want to take this moment to remind you that Easter is THIS SUNDAY! For all you procrastinators out there, it’s getting close, but it’s not too late to order your delicious, compassionate Easter gifts for “everybunny” you love. Celebrate spring and put a smile on someone’s face with Truffle and Caramel Filled or Solid Chocolate Easter Eggs, a super-cute Solid Chocolate Easter Bunny or an elegant Springtime and Easter Gift Basket complete with both kinds of eggs, organic cookies, Easter bunny and green “grass.” 
Hurry! Place your order before 9am Wednesday and choose FedEx 2-day air shipping to guarantee delivery before Easter.
Monthly Club Membership Perks
We shipped February’s organic cookies, brownies and fudge to all our monthly club members this week, and for all you new club members out there, we’re really excited to be able to share with you all the super yummy flavors that are coming your way in the next few months. 
Your monthly club memberships also entitle you to 15% off all your regularly priced orders from us for the duration of your memberships. Treats for you and a discount to share treats with everyone else in your life; that’s a pretty sweet deal!
Let Us Bake Your Holiday Cookies!
Last week I talked about pie, and now I’m on to thinking about other classic holiday baked goods… 
Now, I know that making fudge and holiday cookies is a pretty common tradition this time of year, but I have to ask, who finds that kind of time? Maybe it’s because I work in a vegan bakery and this is by far our busiest time of year, or maybe I’m just lazy, but when I go home after work, and even on the weekends, I do not feel like baking cookies! Luckily for me, I have decided to stop feeling like not baking is a character flaw because, like I said, I work at a vegan bakery!
Allison’s organic cookies, vegan brownies and vegan fudge are hand-made with all pure, organic and vegan ingredients and lots of love, which makes them so out-of-this-world delicious that they surpass anything I could make anyway. 
So, this holiday season, I’m going to take off that apron, guilt-free, spend some time with my family instead of cooking for them, and let the experts like Allison do the measuring and mixing. And you can do the same with our easy online ordering and our delayed delivery date option. Order now and choose a future delivery date that fits with your holiday plans.
Looking for those classic holiday flavors like Grandma used to make? They’re all here, in their pristine and better-than-ever vegan state: (Wheat-Free) Pumpkin Spice Cookies, (Wheat-Free) Gingerbread Spice Cookies, (Wheat-Free) Classic Walnut Brownies, Walnut Fudge, Chocolate Orange Fudge and even Pumpkin Pie Fudge!
Thanks for letting Allison’s Gourmet be a part of your holiday celebrations!
