What should I put in a vegan food gift basket?
December 16, 2016 8:15 AM   Subscribe

Recipients are kind of foodies and items will probably be purchased at Whole Foods. Also, they drink...so I won't be including alcohol, but related food items (or other small gifty items) are ok.
posted by lgyre to Food & Drink (13 answers total) 11 users marked this as a favorite
 
Do you want prepackaged things or fresh?
Will this be sitting out for a while or will it be able to be refrigerated ?

Because Maple Pecan Nada Moo ice cream is the poop. Like, I would eat it for every meal if I could get away with it. It's a coconut milk base, but the texture and flavor is astounding.
posted by Suffocating Kitty at 8:21 AM on December 16, 2016 [2 favorites]


If your WF has it, Miyoko's vegan cheese is marvelous and will definitely get an 'ooooh.'

Other ideas: kimchi, vegan marshmallows (without glycerin), a tofu press, fancy olive oil, interesting spice mixes, a really good salsa and/or hot sauce, a decent amount of the good maple syrup, fancy dark chocolate. I'm an (almost) vegan and these are the things I want at all the pricey organic grocery stores but rarely buy for myself.
posted by sonmi at 8:29 AM on December 16, 2016 [6 favorites]


Dried fruits (figs, dates, apricots), fancy nuts (spice- and cinnamon-coated, really luxe macadamias, niche things like pili nuts - SO decadent), vegan sweetened spreads (MANY Nutella-like things and nut butters are vegan if made without milk powder or animal fats), herbs and spices, fancy crackers (many are vegan!), vegan nut cheeses (if it's refrigerated), olives and pickled veggies.
posted by julthumbscrew at 8:32 AM on December 16, 2016


Yes and yes to all of sonmi and julthumbscrew's suggestions. I just want to suggest that if you are not vegan yourself to be careful around packaged or jarred goods that aren't specifically marked vegan. Many things seem to be vegan and turn out not to be. This is especially important if the recipients are strict vegans.
posted by Pineapplicious at 8:37 AM on December 16, 2016


In addition to Miyokos, Treeline and other high-end fancy vegan cheeses are always great gifts. They're too pricey for most people to buy often, even if they're easily available. Maybe ask your WF customer service desk folks if they have any new vegan cheeses or other new vegan products that they could direct you to. There's so much new stuff all the time these days that it's easy to find something that even seasoned vegans have never even heard of. If you can find it, the new Beyond Meat burger is so hot right now.
posted by late afternoon dreaming hotel at 8:42 AM on December 16, 2016


olive tapenade

fancy flatbread

if you can get them, heirloom beans from Rancho Gordo (especially the New Year's-appropriate black eyed peas)

Other black eyed peas

fancy rice to go with the black eyed peas

kale chips (rather expensive and you get a small quantity when you buy them, but they would go well with the black eyed peas)

You could try to get marzipan somewhere. It's more substantial and less sweet than a lot of candy, since it's mainly made of ground almonds. Also, I think there's a German tradition involving marzipan for luck at New Year's.
posted by amtho at 9:03 AM on December 16, 2016


REBBL Tea is both vegan (some flavors) and organic AND fair trade AND available at Whole Foods.
posted by bq at 9:26 AM on December 16, 2016


Cocomels salted chocolate coated caramels, Bixby & Co granola bars, Jillz crackers
posted by carolr at 11:24 AM on December 16, 2016


Medjool dates, pistachios & cashews. Definitely, Miyoko's cheese. Also, you can check out Food Fight's website for additional ideas.
posted by ainsley at 2:09 PM on December 16, 2016 [1 favorite]


Nth'ing Miyoko's vegan cheese. Personally I prefer it over Kite Hill, which is the other vegan option I've seen at Whole Foods among "cheese plate" vegan products. Doesn't necessarily need to be refrigerated if you're only leaving it at room temperature for a few hours, since there's no dairy to potentially go bad.

If you buy anything packaged/processed, like Nutella-esque spreads, please double-check the ingredients list because milk powder/lactose/whey/casein is in a lot of things that you wouldn't expect. And if you find a vegan Nutella substitute, tell me about it please!
posted by serelliya at 2:12 PM on December 16, 2016


Seconding medjool dates. Also good-quality almonds.

Avoid gelatin.
posted by heatherlogan at 3:01 PM on December 16, 2016


Possibly fresh fruit? A pomegranate, some nice oranges, a pineapple.
posted by bunderful at 5:05 PM on December 16, 2016


Tofu misozuke (if you can find it)
posted by aniola at 5:06 PM on December 16, 2016


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