What's a good 'thank you' gift for a couple of vegans?

July 12, 2004 7:31 AM

What's a good 'thank you' gift for a couple of vegans?

They're helping take care of my son over the next few days (so I'm pretty sure they wont eat him...) and I'd like to get them something, possibly a gift basket with some treats in it. They're not militant Animal Liberation Front vegans, they do it for health reasons and occasionally cheat, so it's probably ok if a cow once cast his shadow on the chic peas that the humus was made from, but obviously I'd like the gift to respect their diet. In addition to being vegan they avoid refined sugar and white flour and I'm pretty sure they're also avoiding alcohol.

I was thinking of some fruit from Harry and David but I think I'd like to get them more of a full meal or a dessert. I want to give it to them Wednesday morning, so mail order is probably out. My time is limited or else I'd bake them a loaf of wheat bread. I make a kick-ass cheesecake but, well, that's like vegan kryptonite. I'd not feel confident making a vegan one, if that's even possible.

So... gifty food treats I could pick up at the local HippieFoods(tm) grocery store or elsewhere? This sort of diet is totally alien to me. I admit to being completely ignorant.

posted by bondcliff to Food & Drink (15 answers total)

its totally possible - you make it out of tofu. hard to believe, but good tofu cream cheese is better than the real stuff.

anyway, your local store should be able to guide you towards some tasty vegan desserts if you ask them.

or could you get them a variety of wines?
posted by headless at 7:51 AM on July 12, 2004

Vegan cheesecake is great. I can't find my recipe right now, but this looks pretty close.
posted by cmonkey at 8:08 AM on July 12, 2004

If you do go with wine; careful which one.
posted by ed\26h at 9:30 AM on July 12, 2004

Nuts! Give 'em an assortment of a few favorite types, like macadamia, cashews, and pistachios, or some nice walnuts or pecans for baking. Or some high-quality vinegars, olive oil, flax oil....
posted by clever sheep at 9:49 AM on July 12, 2004

Head over to your local health food store and ask them. They should be able to walk you through what is and isnt consumable by vegans. Vegan treats are generally a bit pricey so getting it as a gift is a joy.

Then again, being one myself, I'd love some good books. John Robbins' "Diet for a New America" is always awesome.
posted by Dantien at 10:44 AM on July 12, 2004

I really like the offerings at Zingerman's. Their olive oils and spices may work for your friends. Who knows, maybe some of their bread would be acceptable too.
posted by onhazier at 11:01 AM on July 12, 2004

I think an easy and very appreciated way to go would be a nice fruit and nut basket, with a gift certificate to a great vegan restaurant or store tucked in. All of the suggestions here are great. I especially love the vinegars and the nuts as gift ideas. Also nice (just make sure there's no flour or sugar) - corn chips and salsa, veggie chips, kim-chee (a delish spicy cabbage salad that comes in a jar), good honey, flax seed crackers, granola, good olives. I too am a vegan who doesn't eat any flour or refined white sugar, and I would love to have any of those things.

Another nice thing - organic fruit or veggie of the month deliveries from your local health food store.
posted by iconomy at 11:35 AM on July 12, 2004

Just becaue they are vegan, does it have to be food?
posted by riffola at 11:46 AM on July 12, 2004

Agreed. What about a gift certificate for a car wash, a lawn mowing, massages, et cetera?
posted by Vidiot at 2:17 PM on July 12, 2004

You could get them a vegan cook book, and present it with some yummy treat made from a recipe therein...
posted by kaibutsu at 3:59 PM on July 12, 2004

I too am a vegan who doesn't eat any flour

I totally respect your choice, but I'm very currious - why wouldn't you eat flour, if, say, you were sure it was made from organically grown wheat? Wheat is certainly a plant, after all...
posted by anastasiav at 4:04 PM on July 12, 2004

Flour contains bugs, anstasiav. To see them, take some flour and thinly lay it on a black table. Let it sit. Come back after some time (maybe overnight). Notice the little trails.

BTW: My choice of gift would be a cow. :-D
posted by shepd at 4:23 PM on July 12, 2004

There's more than one reason, anastasiav, but the biggie is that I have bad reactions to wheat (like, severe joint pain and edema and bloating and mood swings), and since almost everything that's got flour in it (pasta, bread, cake, wraps...all the good stuff), is wheat flour, I decided to just give it up altogether and save myself the aggravation of looking for non-wheat choices. As an added bonus, as soon as I stopped eating it, I lost weight ;)

shepd, really? Ew. I'm going to try that tonight for shits and giggles.
posted by iconomy at 4:27 PM on July 12, 2004

Flour contains bugs, anstasiav. To see them, take some flour and thinly lay it on a black table. Let it sit. Come back after some time (maybe overnight). Notice the little trails.

shepd, all that proves is that your kitchen has some kind of insect infestation.
posted by Kwantsar at 5:24 PM on July 12, 2004

>shepd, all that proves is that your kitchen has some kind of insect infestation.

Heheh, maybe. However, the larvae for flour weevils and other such mites are small enough the sifting machines can't get at them...

It isn't unusual to find them in your flour.
posted by shepd at 11:48 AM on July 13, 2004