Holiday’s seem to be the best time of the year to remember the important things in life: Eating great food, spending time with family and friends, giving what you can, appreciating what you have and most importantly, enjoying yourself and having fun.
We have plenty of ways to help at this time of year with locally sourced, organic fruits and vegetables, vegetarian and vegan alternatives to traditional roasts, mince pies made fresh daily from our in-store bakery, advent calendars for children (and grown ups!) with special dietary requirements, and all the ingredients needed to make Christmas cakes and puddings. In fact, I think we have pretty much everything you need to make your holiday fun, festive and delicious for everyone you are sharing this time with.
Here are three ideas to help make your holidays special for you, your loved ones, and your community.
1. Do something for others who might be having a hard time this festive season.
I recently had a friend tell me of a great way we can make a contribution to others this Christmas. As well as having a fun and traditional Advent Calendar for yourself and your family, try a reversed idea. Starting from December 1st put an item of dry foods in a box every day until Christmas Eve and then donate it to a local charity or Food Bank. In Brighton we are very fortunate to live in such a diverse and beautiful city, but there are a lot of people here finding it tough, and they need some extra support. There are many charities helping the people of Brighton and Hove that could really use your donations. A reverse Advent Calendar is a great way to help and support many families that really need it.
2. Make the most of local produce.
Buying local produce is good for our economy and the environment, as well as you and your family. We source as much or our organic fruit and vegetables from local suppliers as we can. We are blessed with an abundance offresh produce in Sussex, and to be fair, eating local, organic food just tastes better!
3. Make sure everyone you share your time with this Christmas has a great meal together.
We get so many questions from customers at this time of year about what they can serve to their friends or family who eat a vegan, vegetarian or gluten-free diet, and we love being able to help! We have a number of different nut roasts, meat and dairy substitutes, vegan mince pies, Christmas puddings and cakes. We have spice blends for making mulled wine or cider, organic vegan wine, beer, Prosecco and Cava, and non alcoholic options. We even have vegan finger food for parties and gluten-free vegan chocolate truffle gift boxes… the list goes on!
If you need help with food and drink ideas for your Christmas, come in and let us know your requirements and we will help you find the perfect additions to your menu.
Melinda Yates is a vegan food writer and Instagram enthusiast, as well as the founder of vegan product brand, Melinda’s Mixes.