During the second day of exploring the vast halls of the Natural Products Expo West I came across another table that had vegan cookies. Not one to pass up a vegan cookie, I decided to check it out. I was greeted by Jeremy of Partake Foods. He was friendly and engaging, he explained some of the history behind the company. He and his wife, Denise, had trouble finding foods that fit their healthy active lifestyle while also accommodating their daughter’s food allergies. Lots of hard work in the kitchen developing healthy and allergy friendly snacks started to pay off. I asked Denise how she went about bringing the snacks she envisioned to market. She explained: “So we started with a co-packer from Day 1. We produce in a facility that is free of the top 8 allergens. It was critically important for me to reduce the risk of cross contamination as much as possible, and also to work with someone who could grow with us, with a mission to allow as many people to partake in our products as possible.” From these efforts, Partake Foods was born.
They had lined up all three mini-cookies they offer: Sprouted Grain Chocolate Chip, Carrot Oat – reminiscent of a spiced oatmeal cookie or carrot cake, and Sweet Potato Millet – much like a gingersnap. I of course had to taste test each – please don’t let the healthy sounding names strike fear. These little guys pack great taste, sweetness and the perfect cookie crisp! These little rounds, dressed up as vegan, gluten free, and allergen free, will satisfy your inner cookie monster. I asked if they were vegan or how extensive a plant based diet is in their lives. While they are not vegan, she “definitely sees the benefits of a plant-based diet, so my daughter eats a primarily plant-based diet, and Jeremy & I are working on it! We love to do quinoa bowls with lots of veggies – and are big fans of Beyond Meat!”
Jeremy and Denise were nice enough to offer a box of their cookies to take with me. Since my wife couldn’t make the trip to Expo West, I asked for a box of her favorite kind of cookie – Chocolate Chip. I explained that it is going to be difficult to hold off not tearing into the box until I got back to Philly, but I’d do my best! Low and behold, I stuck to my guns, and waited to share them with Karen when I got home. As a chocolate chip aficionado she agrees – these are some rockin’ cookies.
Local to New York City, you can find them in many stores throughout the city or simply place an order via Amazon. So even if you don’t have a food allergy, I would still get a hold of some of these – great tasting cookies buy a true ‘mom and pop’ company who are genuinely warm and friendly! Its the kind of business you just feel good supporting!
These cookies are so good that I ordered 2 boxes of each flavor! I kept one of each kind, and gave one each to my cousin, who has celiac disease. She thought all 3 flavors were delicious, but the carrot was her favorite, which I agreed with. My wife, of course, voted chocolate chip as her favorite. You can’t go wrong with any of them, though!
As a matter of fact, Jeremy and Denise are nice enough to offer some free cookies! All you have to do is follow both Instagram Pages – Philly Vegan Guy and Partake Foods and like the IG pic of mine that is promoting this blog post (it’s labeled Giveaway)! I will draw a random name within a week of this blog going live!
Philly Vegan Guy 