Bouquet with a Twist: Presents for/from raw vegans

Ever wondered what to get a loved one if they are a raw foodist? Ever wondered what to get someone if you are a raw foodist and want to get something that agrees with your ethics but still makes a fantastic and beautiful gift? I guess this is a plug for a certain company, but I certainly didn't mean it that way. I'm only trying to share what I thought was both a great experience and a fantastic present :) This could just as easily be made at home or something...

This weekend, Andrew and I are in London (Ontario) to celebrate his mom's birthday. Earlier this week, I'd been scratching my head quite a bit to try to figure out what to get her. Obviously, it either had to be something we could pick up here or be able to carry on to a plane... A couple days before heading out, I had an epiphany that would be both a beautiful gift and a lesson in the healthiness and fun of raw foodism.

It might seem a little preachy to some, but rather than try to coerce people to adopt our lifestyle, we prefer to live by example. Whenever we visit family, we do our thing and show how a raw vegan diet can be a healthy and happy choice for anyone. If people asks questions, we'll willingly answer them. If they don't, we don't push (though we may drop a couple hints here and there about the benefits of organic food, a healthy diet, etc.).

I'm really psyched by how well both our families have accepted our choices. Like I mentioned, I really appreciate that my mom goes out of her way to look up the nutritional benefits of everything she makes for me, has veganized a lot of my favourite recipes, and even goes out to places I can eat when we go for family dinners. When we come here, I also really appreciate the alternative, which is simply for his parents to step back and let us do our own thing. They don't bat an eye when I've shown up with my Vitamix and strange superfood mixes, and his mom has always let me provide a raw dish for dinners and things to share with the family. So it's all a win.

Anyway, we're often talk to his mom about the benefits of a high fruit diet and she often seems pretty interested. So I figured, why not mix the whole "bouquet of flowers for mom" and fruit thing all in one? My mom received a bouquet from Edible Arrangements a few years ago and I thought it was the coolest thing ever. They're a company who makes flower arrangements out of fruit, and the bouquets can be customized for all sorts of occasions. None of their fruit have any preservatives in them because they're made within 24 hours of your pick-up (or delivery), and the fruit tries to be seasonal (as in, they only have watermelon arrangements in the summer months, etc.) They're even operating operating in quite a few countries now.

When I thought of them, I knew I'd struck gold. I mean seriously: fruit and "flowers," what could be cooler? I'd certainly love one! It can convince people that fruit are both awesome, pretty, and tasty! Plus, it's such an original gift. We took quite a while to slog through all of the choices because so many of them were just so cute! We finally settled on this adorable pineapple-melon daisy bouquet, it just seemed so her, and was so bright and sunny!

Gotta say, it was a huge success. Everyone was super curious about what it was, and it was devoured pretty quickly. It's mostly gone now (in fact, it already eaten by the time I could snap a photo of it).

Next time you're wondering what to get someone for a special occasion, consider this yummy and healthy option, whether you buy it from them or make your own version!