Hail Merry

Most people go to Hawaii and come back with a tan. Susan O'Brien went to Maui on vacation and came home with a new vocation. She and her husband met Renée Loux, host of the Fine Living network's It's Easy Being Green, who gave Susan a copy of her raw-food cookbook, Living Cuisine: The Art and Spirit of Raw Foods. Susan put her novel aside and by the time she got home had committed to a whole new lifestyle.

She did a six month raw food cleanse and traveled to California to train with raw-food chef to the stars, Julanio Brotman.  On an all raw diet, Susan felt and looked better than she had in years. She put her new found energy to work creating new raw and vegan recipes. The results of her experiments to create tasty meals with heat kept under 116 degrees met with enthusiastic favor, not just from raw foodists, but from everyone who tasted them.

It occurred to her that for all the dehydrators, raw food cookbooks, and shortcuts to raw food that existed, no really good raw snacks were available in the grocery store. And for Susan, "life requires treats." She believes in snacks that have health benefits. If no one else was producing them, she would and founded Hail Merry Foods. She started making raw, healthful treats in her kitchen when the kids were in school. With her nanny and a truck, she made deliveries before racing to carpool line. After outgrowing her kitchen, she moved operations to her cabana.

Sarah Palisi Chapin became Susan's partner and together they doubled production while still working in the cabana. They've since moved to an FDA certified space and brought in Allison Brushaber, a scientist. In March, they began selling to Whole Foods' north Texas stores. And with the tasty treats they create, this is only the beginning.

Chocolaty , coconutty  nuggets: delicious? Count on it. Good for you? Not always a guarantee.  Unless they're chocolate macaroons from Hail Merry's organic foods line. Hail Merry snacks are made of pure, fresh ingredients that are mostly raw. The most amazing treat is Merry's Miracle Tart made of dark cocoa, coconut oil, maple syrup, almond flour and sea salt. That's it.

Delicious foods that you don't have to feel guilty about eating. Organic, vegan, gluten and wheat free, and sweetened only with maple and brown rice syrup, Hail Merry snacks seem to have a built in monitor. The body knows when it's had enough.

Raw Ranch Dressing from Susan O'Brien

½ cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon Celtic Sea Salt
1 tablespoon dried chives
1 tablespoon dried rosemary
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried sage
1 cup whole, raw macadamia nuts
1/3 cup cold-pressed olive oil

Blend all of the ingredients until very smooth. Add water to achieve desired consistency.

Pour over chopped salad of choice:
Raw brocolli rabe
Raw cauliflower
Raw red pepper