Check it out! In a segment on NBC New York, Lynda Baquero and BehindtheBurner.com‘s Divya Gugnani featured our Organic Pie Shells as a delicious time-saver for baking your homemade pies and quiches.

Watch the video here–not just because we’re featured in it–we think you’ll enjoy the rest of Divya’s great suggestions for space- and time-saving baking gadgets. And be sure to check out BehindtheBurner.com’s Wholly Wholesome Organic Pie Shell Giveaway!

Did you know?

Did you know our Organic Pie Shells have also received notable kudos from these great publications:

• Good Housekeeping Magazine — For their November 2009 issue, Good Housekeeping Magazine tested a variety of frozen, pre-rolled refrigerated and dry mix varieties of pie shells and crusts. We are tickled pink to say that our Wholly Wholesome™ Organic Traditional 9″ Pie Shell came out on top with First Prize! Good Housekeeping says our pie shell tastes “just like Grandma’s.”
• Real Simple Magazine — Real Simple Magazine’s November 2008 Thanksgiving Shortcuts Road Test named our Organic 9″ Pie Shell as best pie crust, calling our pie shell “amazing―it’s super flaky and soft, with a hint of butter.” All of the products in Real Simple Magazine’s Thanksgiving Shortcuts Road Test were also featured on CBS The Early Show–watch the video here.

Last week we received a message from a consumer who was curious to know about the cherries we use in our Cherry Pie:

“We just bought the cherry pie and we are wondering if the cherries are fresh or from a can?”

Michelle
Oakland, CA

What a great question to address in The Whole Cookie! The cherries—like all the fruits we use in our products—are what is called individually quick frozen (IQF) fruits.

IQF fruits are frozen within hours after they are harvested, locking in the flavor, nutrients, color and texture of fresh fruits. In the case of our apples and peaches, these fruits are peeled, sliced and treated with Vitamin C to preserve freshness and color before freezing.

This ultra-fast method of freezing the fruit to very cold temperatures (below -30°C) minimizes the formation of ice crystals, and stops microorganisms that normally cause the fruit to decay and deteriorate.

This week we received a question from a consumer regarding the sugar we use in our products:

“Is the evaporated cane sugar used in Wholly Wholesome vegan pie crust made without refining through animal bone char?”

Megan
Austin, TX

In addition to providing an answer to Megan directly, we thought we’d share our response here, and expand upon the topic to discuss in general the ingredients we use in our vegan products.

The sugar we use in our products (pie shells or otherwise) is NOT refined through animal bone char. We feel strongly that in order to label a product as “suitable for vegans”, all of the ingredients not only must contain NO animal products, but the ingredients must be processed WITHOUT the use of animal products as well.

Some consumers notice the ingredient legends on some of our vegan products contain the statement, “Made in a facility that uses dairy products.” In some cases, such as our Organic Pie Shells (which are certified Kosher Pareve) no eggs or dairy are used on the equipment at all, though eggs and dairy may be used on equipment elsewhere in the bakery. This is a requirement in order to claim the Kosher Pareve certification. In other cases — for instance, our fruit and pumpkin pies — our vegan products may be made using the same equipment used to produce other non-vegan products. However, between each production run, the equipment is thoroughly sanitized before beginning a new one, ensuring that all traces of the previous run have been removed.

At Wholly Wholesome, our primary goal is to produce baked goods that taste as good as or better than products made with artificial or conventionally refined ingredients and processes. In some of our products we are able to achieve this flavor standard without the use of animal products. Currently our vegan offerings include:

• all of our fruit pies
• our Dairy Free Pumpkin Pie
• Organic 9″ Pie Shells
• Chocolate and Graham Cracker Pie Crusts
• Pocket Breads

Thank you, Megan, for your interest in our Pie Shells, and thank you for asking!

We received a total of 17 comments on Tuesday’s cookie contest blog post. After consulting with Random.org, we’re pleased to announce the winning comment is #10. Congratulations, Jen!

Jen, please contact us with your mailing address so we can send you a dozen Wholly Wholesome Oatmeal Raisin Cookies!

April 30th is National Oatmeal Cookie Day. And this year, we couldn’t me more excited about it, because Health.com awarded our Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Dough “Most Wholesome and Tasty” in their Pre-Made Cookie Showdown! Check out Health.com to see what they had to say.

To celebrate, we want to send one lucky Wholly Wholesome fan a dozen of our Oatmeal Raisin Cookies! To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment to this post saying you’d like a chance to win!

If you’d like additional chances, you can also do any of the following:

• Become or already be a Wholly Wholesome fan on Facebook – THEN post a comment here to let us know (you’ll need to let us know who you are on Facebook)
• Post a comment about or photo of a Wholly Wholesome product you have enjoyed on our Facebook fan page – THEN post a comment here letting us know you did
• Become or already be a Wholly Wholesome follower on Twitter – THEN post a comment here to let us know (please include your Twitter name, and if your account is protected, and allow us to follow you back)
• Retweet the giveaway tweet – THEN post a comment here to let us know (again, please include your Twitter name, and if your account is protected, and allow us to follow you back if your account is protected)

You can make as many as five entries based on the criteria above. Just remember to make a separate comment in order for each to be considered a separate entry. We’ll select a winner from all the comments using Random.com.

Good luck and Happy National Oatmeal Cookie Day!

Thank you to all who participated in our first Twitter contest! We asked our Twitter followers to guess a number between 1 and 500 by 8:00 a.m. eastern time today. The number we were thinking of was 9, and @halleyraine guessed 8!

@halleyraine, as soon as we receive your contact details, these two free item coupons will be in the mail to you! Congratulations and thank you for participating!

This post was inspired by a tweet I came across this morning by Earth Fare in Knoxville, TN (@EarthFareKNX). Earth Fare is cutting out the use of plastic bags at their stores. This morning’s tweet links to their Tomato Talk blog, where they explain their decision.

About a dozen or so years ago I started using reusable bags for my grocery shopping. I have to admit that over the years there have been times when I’ve had good success with this, but most times not. My biggest challenge was actually REMEMBERING to bring my reusable bags with me. Often I would arrive at the store parking lot, and upon exiting the car, mentally kick myself for forgetting my bags AGAIN! Or sometimes, I’d remember to put my bags in the car, but I’d forget to take them into the store with me, only to remember once I was already checking out.

I doubt I’m the only person who is this forgetful when it comes to reusable bags. But I’m happy to say I’ve found a solution to my forgetfulness, and Earth Fare’s tweet inspired me to share. Read this article »

Hey Wholly Wholesome Twitter followers! This giveaway is just for you! We are thinking of a number between 1 and 500. Retweet the full text of our contest tweet with your guess (limit 3 RTs per person!). The closest guess will receive TWO Wholly Wholesome free item coupons*!

• Guesses will be accepted until 8:00 a.m. Eastern time on Friday, April  23, 2010.
• Winning entrant must follow @WhollyWholesome on Twitter.
• If multiple qualified entrants guess the correct or closest number, a winner will be selected from them at random.
• Only the first 3 RTs per person will be considered!

Remember, for an entry to qualify, you must retweet the full text of our contest tweet plus your guess! A qualifying entry will look something like this (and no, 301 is NOT the number we are thinking of!):

301 RT @WhollyWholesome Win 2 FREE item coupons! RT & guess a number between 1-500. READ CONTEST RULES: http://bit.ly/dvc70m #ww01

Good luck!

* Wholly Wholesome free item coupons are redeemable in U.S. stores only.

Would you like a chance to receive our award winning pie shells or a pie in time for Easter dinner?

To enter, you must be a fan of our Wholly Wholesome Facebook page. Once you’re signed up, simply post a comment on our fan page about why you love Wholly Wholesome. How easy is that??

Comments must be posted by 7:00 a.m. eastern time tomorrow, Wednesday, March 31. Winner will be notified later in the day.

This week a consumer wrote to us with a Passover-related question we though might be of interest to others as well:

“Is there any leaven in the flour that is used for your 9 inch pie shells? I ask because Passover and Unleavened Bread Feasts are coming soon for the Jews.  If leaven is in the pie shell then we have to abstain from the delicious shells for a week.”

N.H.
Baltimore, MD

That’s a great question, because while we do not use leavening in our Organic Pie Shells (Traditional, Wheat and Spelt), and while these items are certified kosher (OU Pareve), they are not considered kosher for Passover because of the flour.  Any grain that has come into contact with water for more than 18 minutes is considered Chametz, and therefore not kosher for Passover.  For most people that eat Kosher for Passover this means only matzo and things made with matzo meal.

Thanks for asking!