One of today’s most popular diet trends is becoming vegan. In case you aren’t aware, being vegan means no consumption of animal products. This includes meat, fish, eggs, cheese, dairy products and even honey for some. While this may sound very intriguing, this (like other lifestyle changes) comes with a lot of work. There are many benefits of eating a plant based diet.

While I’m not vegan, I do believe a diet high in plant based foods is healthy. These foods are a great way to give your body the antioxidants and polyphenols it craves. Vegan options for foods rich in antioxidants are carrots, broccoli, kale and citrus. Rich sources of polyphenols can be found in berries, nuts, flax seed and dark chocolate. While researchers aren’t certain of all the benefits of polyphenols, we do know that they have been shown to prevent disease and slow down the aging process. Another advantage of eating a wholesome diet high in plant based foods is that filling up on low-fat, antioxidant rich foods prevents us from filling up on highly processed, high fat foods. Remember, lowering the portion of animal foods and increasing plant based foods in your diet is a great direction to go! The vegan diet is much lower in saturated fat and cholesterol and higher in fiber compared to other traditional diets. For more information on advantages, please visit http://www.vegan.org/.

People on a vegan diet have to be aware of potential vitamin deficiencies, the most common being B-12. B-12 is most abundant in animal based foods like red meat and eggs. To get enough B-12 from plants can be very challenging and vegans and vegetarians often take supplements to be sure to get enough. Other common deficiencies are iron, zinc, omega 3’s and calcium. Mary’s Gone Crackers uses ancient grains including chia seeds and flax seeds to provide you with many of these common lacking nutrients. Being vegan requires a high level of consciousness to what you are consuming to make sure you do your best to prevent these deficiencies.

Mary’s Gone Crackers is fortunate to have our very own “Vegan Marketeer”. Since I don’t have any personal experience being vegan, I reached out to him for some insight.

From Golden: "One of my favorite things about Mary is that she made her products Vegan. The wonderful thing about Vegan food (all our products have always been Vegan) is that it does not matter why you choose them, so long as you do.

One person is Vegan because s/he eschews violence in all forms. Hens being caged under cruel conditions to increase egg production; or cows living in factories never walking on grass, given growth hormones and antibiotics. We do not contribute to these forms of violence.

Others choose to conserve natural resources. Animal agriculture consumes vast amounts of land and water and contributes to desertification in areas where trees are cut down to produce more animal products.
Still others are concerned about global warming. Animals, mostly cows, produce incredible amounts of methane, a greenhouse gas 30 times more harmful than CO2. Transportation and refrigeration of animal products are the third leading cause of CO2 emissions.

And everyone wants to stay healthy. Mary's Gone Crackers products contain no animal fats or proteins. In addition they are all made with organic whole food. Our goodies are practically a functional food, delivering heart-healthy Omega 3 fatty acids (anti-inflammatory) in each serving.
Whether you choose Mary's for ethical, environmental, personal health or social justice reasons, you are right and you are choosing Vegan.

We support your good choices and encourage you to eat Vegan by eating Mary's Gone Crackers, crackers, cookies and pretzels. Go Vegan! Go Mary's!"

This month’s newsletter highlights why all Mary’s Gone Crackers products are vegan. For additional information on why we’re committed to being a vegan company, be sure to sign up!

Valerie Douglass, DTR
Mary's Gone Crackers
valerie@marysgonecrackers.com

The beginning of a new year is a great time to remind ourselves what our bodies need to be healthy and happy. Trying to come up with some New Year’s resolutions? Mary’s Gone Crackers is here to help! Here are some resolutions from our team members.

Marjorie, Acting Marketing Director, will be celebrating her one year anniversary as a non-smoker. Her New Year’s resolution for 2012 will be to embrace a new eating lifestyle with portion control and less red meat. Also, she will be incorporating exercise into her daily life.

Marjorie, I would like to congratulate you on being one year smoke free. You’ve probably added many extra years onto your life. I would recommend starting slow with physical activity. Building muscle takes time and when it’s done too quickly your body will let you know. Understanding that seeing results takes time will cause you to become less frustrated in the next few months.

Laura, Sales Support Tech, would like to lose 30 pounds.

Laura, I would recommend incorporating moderate exercise in your daily routine. I’d also recommend being conscious of the things you are eating and how they make you feel. Generally the foods that make you feel sluggish are the foods that contribute to extra pounds. Developing a healthy relationship with food is the key to a long, happy life.

Liz, Confidential Executive Assistant, would like to lose weight and spend more time playing with her dogs.

Liz, your resolutions go hand in hand, what a better way to lose weight than to spend time exercising with your dogs?

Serena, Bookkeeper, wants to become more conscious of what foods she’s eating and the nutrients her body needs.

Serena, understanding what your body needs, is a lifelong journey. Keeping a food diary is a great way to show yourself what you eat on a daily basis. It’s easy to forget that you may have been indulging in more sweets lately or that your busy schedule is causing you to be less prepared for lunch, hence eating out more. Also, a great way to be more conscious of what you are eating is to read nutrition facts. It is sometimes the foods that are labeled as healthy are actually higher in calories and fat than other brands.

My resolutions are to drink less coffee and more tea, incorporate more Omega 3’s into my diet and to exercise on a regular basis.

To incorporate more Omega 3’s I would like to have fish at least once a week. Since I am very picky about where my fish comes from, I think a fishing trip is in order! If it is in my freezer and available, I will definitely eat more.

Wishing you all a healthy and prosperous New Year!

Best,
Valerie Douglass, DTR
Mary’s Gone Crackers
Valerie@marysgonecrackers.com

Hi Lori, Can you believe it’s December already! Something I’ve always emphasized is moderation. The holidays are the easiest time of the year to overindulge. This year, feel free to enjoy the foods you love, just in smaller quantities. You will feel just as satisfied, minus all the guilt. I would also recommend to start meals with salads and vegetables. This will make it easier to eat other foods in moderation. Attending a holiday party? Try bringing a platter of our vegan, organic crackers along with some homemade guacamole or hummus. In honor of the upcoming holidays, here’s a healthy gluten free recipe to share with others.

Mary’s Gluten Free Apple Crisp

Apples
5 Organic Granny Smith apples (should be very crisp and tart)
¼ cup sugar
½ tsp. cinnamon
1 small lemon (juice from)

Topping
½ cup quinoa flakes
½ cup walnuts or almonds (chopped well)
½ cup Mary’s Gone Crackers Original Crumbs
½ cup sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
½ cup* melted butter (or substitute with ghee, coconut oil or other light tasting oil)
*enough fat to ensure all topping ingredients are coated but crumbly enough to sprinkle on top of the apples.

Preparation
1. Peel, core and slice apples.
2. Put apples, sugar, cinnamon and lemon juice in a large bowl, mix well and pour into an ungreased baking dish.
3. Shake the pan to distribute the apples well.
4. Combine all topping ingredients and mix well.
5. Evenly distribute the topping on the apples and pat down.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes or until apples are tender and bubbly. If topping begins to brown too much, turn the heat down to 325 and cover with foil.

Best,
Valerie Douglass, DTR
Mary's Gone Crackers, Inc.
valerie@marysgonecrackers.com

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One of the many ancient grains Mary's Gone Crackers uses are chia seeds. Chia seeds have been around for centuries. This flowering plant was initially consumed by the ancient Mayan and Aztec cultures. They are a great source of fiber, insoluble and soluble, and have more omega 3's and protein than flax seeds. They are a good source of calcium, phosphorus, manganese, potassium, iron, zinc, boron and copper. By weight, these seeds are a better source of calcium than milk. The boron in the seeds helps the body with the absorption of calcium. Fiber, which can be difficult to get enough of on a gluten-free diet, is abundant in this seed. Fiber is essential for feeling satisfied and keeping your digestive system on track. All of these benefits are why these powerful little seeds are considered a "superfood."

Chia can easily be incorporated into any diet. Unlike other omega 3 sources, these seeds are tasteless. They become gelatinous when mixed with liquids, adding to the options for including them in your daily fare. The natural fiber in chia seeds slow down the body's sugar conversion which helps to stabilize your blood sugar. When baking, chia seeds can be substituted to cut down the amount of fat used in a recipe. Chia seeds can also be ground into flour for baking or sprouted for a nice addition to salads.

I like to mix chia seeds with almond milk and refrigerate overnight to make a nutritious on-the-go breakfast. You can find chia seeds in our Sticks & Twigs and our love Cookies.

Valerie Douglass, DTR
Mary's Gone Crackers, Inc.
Valerie@marysgonecrackers.com

I’ve received several questions lately regarding soy in our products so I’d like to touch on a few of your concerns. All flavors of our crackers and our Sea Salt Sticks & Twigs contain fermented soy in the form of organic, gluten-free tamari. A small amount of organic alcohol or organic vinegar is added to the tamari to facilitate its fermentation. According to what I’ve read, soy allergies in most people are triggered by the protein in soy. Fermented soy is generally tolerable for individuals with soy allergies because the fermentation process alters the proteins in soy making it easier to break down in the human body. It is thought that unfermented soy is more difficult for the human body to break down due to whole, unfermented soy being rich in enzyme inhibitors. Soy is also found in the chocolate chips we use in our Chocolate Chip and Double Chocolate love Cookies, in the form of soy lecithin. Similarly, this form of soy is also easier to digest and not usually a soy allergy trigger since it is an extract from soy oil and does not contain any soy protein.

I’ve heard from many of our customers with soy allergies or intolerance that our products are easily digestible for them.

Our Sticks & Twigs in Curry and Chipotle Tomato and our love Cookies in “N’Oatmeal” Raisin (without oats!) and Ginger Snaps do not contain soy. The Frequently Asked Questions section of our website also has some great information on soy.

Valerie Douglass, DTR
Mary's Gone Crackers, Inc.
valerie@marysgonecrackers.com