Authors

Hail Merry Chief Product Officer, Alison Bushaber, has worked as a corporate chef for various restaurant chains producing award winning menus and innovative food, beverage, and equipment products. Influenced by celebrity chefs Julia Child and Charlie Trotter her cuisine now focuses on simple, organic food prepared easily. Her current passion is creating great tasting, gluten-free and vegan snacks and desserts made with natural “clean” ingredients. We caught up with Chef Ali at the National Restaurant Show in Chicago where she is unveiling the new Chocolate Mini Miracle Tart, a 2013 FABI award winner for innovation.

You were Vice President of Food and Beverage for Tony Romas, Vice President of Culinary Services at TurboChef and provided product development for various other restaurants and food manufacturers.What has been the most challenging part about making the leap from conventional food manufacturing to natural food manufacturing?

Making a leap from conventional to natural has been a learning curve. In college they train you to add this or that to extend shelf life. In natural we don't add anything. We have had to rely on methods like running an operation with almost 'clean room' standards to get maximum shelf life. 

Hail Merry is dedicated to using high quality mostly organic ingredients. Many of these ingredients are new to the American consumer packaged goods industry, such as organic virgin coconut oil and Fair Trade dark cocoa. How do you ensure supplier integrity to the world of raw, gluten-free and vegan ingredients?

In our commitment to sourcing natural and mostly organic ingredients we have discovered we are breaking new ground. When we started we were buying organic coconut oil in 5-gallon pails. We have upgraded the specification to be an extra virgin organic coconut oil and now bring it in 55-gallon drums from the Philippines. We just ordered larger containers that are made for us. We are the first in the states to bring this in. On our organic maple syrup we also broke new ground by buying large containers of grade A maple syrup. I recently visited the farm we buy from and they said we were the first in their 40 year history to buy that large a container. We work closely with our vendor partners to break new ground in the world of natural.

3. What are your "Lean In" words of wisdom for young women interested in a career in the male dominated food industry?

My 'lean in' words of wisdom is to work at something you are passionate about and don't be afraid to make mistakes. As a start up business we are constantly inventing new solutions to the challenges that come up. Sometimes we get it right. Sometimes we don't. Our CEO Sarah Chapin often reminds us ' don't let perfect be the enemy of good'. Getting it DONE is better than polishing it until it is perfect.

4. What is your favorite Hail Merry recipe?

My favorite tart is the coconut vanilla creme and I love the new strawberry macaroons. I am most proud of a new product we are just introducing the miracle tart mini's. We have had this idea for some time but it took some innovation to design the trays and have them custom made and work with our talented head if operations Dell Steinmann to figure out how to produce it. We are starting with the chocolate flavor but we have more Flavors in the works.

5. Gluten-free dining is one of the top food trends for 2013. How important is it to be certified gluten-free?

We are proud of our gluten free certification especially since we have higher standards than the government allows. We test both the ingredients and the products that are made constantly and always have less than 5 parts per million, which is, less than the government proposed standard of 20 ppm. It is important to have a low number because of the cumulative effect of eating gluten daily.

Enjoy this vegan & gluten-free vegetable dish made with summer fresh eggplant, zucchini, peppers, tomatoes and basil grown in home gardens or purchased from farmers markets and organic grocery produce sections. Ratatouille is delicious warm or cold, tossed with gluten-free pasta or on top of a bed of leafy greens.  It takes 20-30 minutes of prep time but, make extra so you can enjoy this super nutritious, alkalizing dish filled with phytochemicals, antioxidants, fiber, vitamins and minerals, for several days. Sprinkle with Hail Merry Seasoned Pecans or Sunflower Seeds for some healthy plant oils to totally Feed Your Body Royally!

ROASTED RATATOUILLE

Serves 8 to 10

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons minced fresh garlic
1 teaspoon coarse salt

1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon raw honey or agave

1–pound eggplant, peeled, cut into ¾ inch cubes
1 medium red bell pepper, seeded, cut into ½ inch pieces

1 medium green bell pepper, seeded, cut into ½ inch pieces

1 large onion (such as a Vidalia or Texas sweet), peeled, cut into ¾ inch cubes
1 6-inch zucchini, cut into 1 inch cubes                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     1 6-inch yellow squash, cut into 1 inch cubes

1 cup diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon tomato paste

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/4 cup chopped fresh basil

1/4 cup chopped fresh oregano

1 teaspoon coarse sea salt (to taste)
Non–stick vegetable oil spray

1/2 cup Hail Merry Chimayo Chile Pecans

1. Preheat oven to 425°F. Spray 2 large non–stick baking sheets with non–stick spray.
2. In large bowl, whisk oil with garlic, salt, black pepper, crushed red pepper and honey. Add eggplant, bell peppers, onion and zucchini. Toss to coat. Spread half of the mixture on each baking sheet and arrange in single layer.
3. Roast vegetables for 10 minutes and then turn. Continue to roast for another 10 to 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender and lightly browned. Cool 10 minutes on baking sheet.
4. Transfer vegetables to a large saucepan. Add diced tomatoes, tomato paste, parsley, basil and oregano. Bring ratatouille to a boil and then simmer for 15 minutes.  Add salt to taste and adjust fresh herb seasonings.
5. Sprinkle with Hail Merry Chimayo Chile Pecans. Serve warm, room temperature or cold with more fresh chopped basil as garnish.

Ratatouille can be made up to two days in advance. Refrigerate until needed.

Watercress is another "green"superfood and when made into an alkalizing and refreshing raw and vegan no oil added salad, created by Chef Ali Brushaber, it contains more calcium than the average glass of milk. Whole Foods Markets has an aggregate nutrient density  index, called the ANDI. The ANDI is a score based on a scale of 1 to 1000 that measures many nutrients in a food product including:  Calcium, Carotenoids: Beta Carotene, Alpha Carotene, Lutein & Zeaxanthin, Lycopene, Fiber, Folate, Glucosinolates, Iron, Magnesium, Niacin, Selenium, Vitamin B1 (Thiamin) Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin), Vitamin B6, Vitamin B12, Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Zinc, plus ORAC score X 2 (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity is a method of measuring the antioxidant or radical scavenging capacity of foods). Watercress is right up there with Kale with an ANDI  score of 1000. Watercress has a peppery flavor that pairs well with the sweet notes of the watermelon and other fruits in this raw and vegan salad. Toss in some Hail Merry Salt N Pepper Sunflower Seeds and you will truly being Feeding Your Body Royally!

Watermelon Watercress Salad       yield: 4 servings

2 head              Watercress

2 cup               Sugar snap peas, cut into ¼” pieces

1 cup               heirloom yellow ‘cherry’ tomatoes, halved

1 each              Granny Smith green apple, cut into ¼” pieces

4 cup               Watermelon, cut into 1” cubes

1 each              Lemon, juiced

1/2 bag (4 oz)  Hail Merry Sunflower Seeds

½ teaspoon     Himalayan sea salt

1. Remove stems from the watercress; rinse and towel dry. Place into a bowl and squeeze fresh lemon juice over the watercress. Place onto a plate to serve as a base for the rest of the salad.

2. Mix sugar snap peas, tomatoes, apples, and watermelon and sunflower seeds. Sprinkle with sea salt and toss gently.

3. Mound the salad over the base of watercress.  Serve immediately.

Timesaver Tips: Mix the base salad ahead of time and refrigerate for up to one day. Toss the watercress right when you need it and assemble the salad.

Hail Merry Raw Statement:

Thanks to movies like Food Inc. and Forks Over Knives, and the double-digit growth of the gluten-free market due to an epidemic increase in chronic and autoimmune diseases like celiac and type-2 diabetes, the public has awoken to the health benefits of raw foods. Consumers are looking for quality transportable products that are affordable, taste good, and do not contain refined sugars, oxidized refined oils, synthetic vitamins, GMOs, soy fillers, gluten or animal/dairy products. Hail Merry snacks delivers on all fronts while proudly offering outstanding award winning taste! Safety, quality and dependability of the finished consumer product are of utmost importance to us. We methodically source our ingredients for the same safety, quality and dependability so we can deliver a product that not only tastes delicious but also is healthy & safe to eat. This philosophy and dedication to our consumer is the reason we are not 100% raw. Hail Merry is a RAW OIL story. Let me explain.

As you are probably aware there are two factors that make a food raw, raw oils & living enzymes.  Living enzymes like probiotics are VERY hard to quantify.  That is why we hang our hat on raw oils not enzymes. There is not a standard of identity yet for RAW foods the way there is for gluten-free (Hail Merry is certified Gluten-Free to the highest standards of the industry by its most respected approving authority). We will become involved in contributing to the standards of RAW as an OIL story as we believe it is as critical as the ENZYME story. All Hail Merry products include RAW ingredients. Some of our products are more RAW than others, but they ALL feature RAW oils.

As a raw food enthusiast our brand reflects my own personal lifestyle (which is not 100% raw) and what I prefer in regard to flavor profile and the unique benefits of raw oils.  I do believe strongly that enzymes play a major role in health and vitality.  I prefer to obtain the majority of the living enzymes I consume daily from raw fruits and veggies.  Our foods contain some living enzymes (as opposed to baked snacks) but are in fact more of a raw oil story, since by nature  macaroons, dessert tarts, nuts and granola are considerably low in enzyme payload by nature.   We choose to celebrate the plant based raw oil within the coconut oil, nuts & seeds left in tact from low heat dehydration.

As a manufacturer, we can source raw oils to meet our high quality standards.  The raw cacao industry is not regulated and there is no guarantee that temperature limits to preserve living enzymes have not been exceeded. Manufacturers of raw foods cannot guarantee enzyme levels of their packaged products by the time it reaches the consumer, much like the yogurt industry. Air, light and temperature become factors. We can guarantee the processing of our cold-pressed raw oils.

I also personally believe that raw cocao is toxic when consumed often.  It is not a superfood in the minds of many raw food experts including Jeremy Safron who is very outspoken on this issue.  My recipes happen to be inspired by the highly esteemed raw food chef Matthew Kenney, who uses maple syrup in many of his recipes.  Mathew also owns the raw food culinary school in Oklahoma and is regarded as a leader in the industry speaking at TED conferences etc.

Therefore, Hail Merry is a RAW OIL story.  Raw oils don’t begin to fully oxidize until heated to temps well over 220 degrees.  For the record we dehydrate our foods at 115 degrees.

For example our Meyer Lemon Tarts do contain raw fresh squeezed Meyer lemon juice, which gives the tarts our signature great fresh taste.   We also use organic raw agave in the Meyer Lemon Tart.  As you know there is a tremendous amount of controversy surrounding agave.  At the end of the day we selected the highest quality raw agave on the market to use in this recipe for the flavor profile - yet how raw is the agave truly?  Most agave syrup is processed at temperatures between 120-160F. How many living enzymes really exist in that agave after processing, manufacturing and transportation? If it does not have enzymatic activity, is it raw? As the controversy plays out in the raw food industry, we will continue to primarily use maple syrup as a sweetener.  Maple syrup has a higher vitamin/mineral payload than agave and often a better taste profile in our snacks and desserts. The result is repeat sales and consumer loyalty, lifting the entire raw food market for all manufacturers. If a product does not taste good, it will not have sustainability. I can’t tell you how many raw enthusiasts Hail Merry has as fans, who are happy we use maple syrup in some of our recipes instead of agave.

At the end of the day, there are no official standards for defining raw.  The fact that we dehydrate at 115 degrees to protect our raw plant based oils is how WE lead with raw.  Hail Merry adds an asterisk next to those items in our ingredients that don't contain living enzymes for transparency, however there are still raw plant based oils present.  We believe our customers are educated enough to make their own decisions about how raw a raw food should be to fit their individual lifestyle and philosophy, just as I have done. We believe in our customer and they trust us to deliver high quality, safe, transportable raw, vegan and gluten-free snacks that taste great and make them happy!

Here is a statement I wrote for our website.

Hail Merry foods are not 100% raw.   We feel that we are raw where it counts most -  in the plant based dietary oils found in the nuts, seeds and coconut oils.  Our almonds have been steam pasteurized at 160 degrees, however the oils inside the almonds still remain raw.  Our buckwheat groats, & sunflower seeds, have been soaked prior to seasoning and dehydration for optimum digestion. A diet flush with living enzymes is the key to vitality and longevity. Pair that with raw plant based dietary oils for proper vitamin absorption, and hormone balance and our bodies will radiate with good health.

I hope this helps give you more perspective into our story and philosophy.  There are some living enzymes present in our foods just like other raw food companies, but no company can guarantee how many enzymes are present at point of consumption. We can guarantee consistency, dependability, sustainability and safety to your customers.

Thanks,

Susan O’Brien
Founder, Hail Merry