Mac-n-Mo’s Morselicious Treats may be cute little bites of “super-low-cal-nutri-tastic morseliciousness,” but these moist treats pack a sincere mission and a surprisingly deep history.
Mac and Mo in the kitchen.
Mac-n-Mo’s Fast Facts
Mac: Frank McFarland Knowles
Mo: Maura Knowles
Selling Since: Late August 2010
Home Base: Los Angeles, California
Claim to Fame: Morselicious Treats
Flavors: Chocolate Chip, Oatmeal Raisin (vegan), and Pumpkin Cranberry (vegan)
Slogan: Changing the way we eat snacks and treats!
Maura Knowles, an established actor and the company’s creator, usually begins her story with this charming line: ”Mac–n-Mo’s Morselicious Treats were created out of love by Mo (that’s me), for Mac (that’s my Dad).”
Her dad, already a diabetes patient, suffered two major heart attacks and had a quadruple bypass surgery in February of this year. Following the surgery, his doctor put him on a new diet with strict guidelines and limitations. But at 74, Mac had trouble re-training his taste buds.
“He did not want to change his diet, but he was also terrified. He said, ‘If I can’t eat, if I can’t enjoy life, what’s the point?’” Maura said in a phone interview.
At first, Maura was optimistic they could find existing products that her dad could eat and enjoy. She encouraged him: “Dad, you’ve got a second chance. Just follow the doctor’s orders! We’ll find stuff for you to eat.” They already knew how to find low sugar foods for his diabetes condition. However, once they started looking for products that were low in both sugar and sodium, the scarcity of the options amazed them.
“We couldn’t find anything in the market that catered to heart patients and diabetics that didn’t taste like cardboard. He didn’t want to eat anything,” Maura said.
By March, Mac was desperate for a dessert he could eat, so he begged Maura to make him something while she was home for a visit. She wasn’t sure how she’d do it, but Maura, the designated family baker and former 4-H ribbon winner, decided she was on a mission.
Morselicious Treats
She sought out doctor-approved ingredients and avoided all sugar, sodium, wheat (due to her own allergy) and “fake stuff.” Maura returned to her parents’ kitchen with bags of seemingly incompatible food items. No one in the family could predict what the end result would be, but after a couple of days of concocting, Maura came up with her Morselicious Treats.
“We call them magical because they’re legal–Dad can eat them,” Maura said. “There’s nothing bad in them, and they taste good.”
Maura makes her own flour for the Morselicious Treats, and they contain no preservatives, wheat, sodium, soy, dairy, cholesterol or added sugar. Both the Oatmeal Raisin and Pumpkin Cranberry flavors are dairy-free vegan treats. See the nutritional information (right), which varies slightly depending on the flavor.
Word got around about the Morselicious Treats, and Maura’s friends started paying her the cost of the ingredients in exchange for a batch. One of those friends loved his morsels so much that he shared them with a friend who owned a food store in Los Angeles. After trying them, she approached Maura about selling them in her store.
Initially, Maura was skeptical of the idea. “I’m not in business. I’m an actor,” she said. But the store owner persisted, claiming that Maura’s Morselicious Treats were delicious and that her son had devoured the entire bag.
Mac-n-Mo’s story could have very easily ended here. Yet, Maura found herself motivated to expand her efforts and see where it might lead. “I decided to go for it because there is nothing like it on the market. There’s no homemade treat for people with health conditions like my Dad that taste good,” Maura said.
Part of this motivation also comes from Maura’s own experience with dietary restrictions. Shortly after she finished college, Maura had a near-death experience due to a botched-up surgery. The complications led to a long hospitalization and affected her pancreas’ ability to handle fat. As a result, the doctor put Maura on a fat-free diet, which was unheard of at the time. She eventually recovered completely but learned in the meantime how to eat in a way that was best for her health.
“In my own way, I felt like I could give back to my Dad what I had to learn for me,” Maura said. In late August, Maura took the plunge and Mac-n-Mo’s became a company. Now, four stores in the Los Angeles area are selling her gluten-free and vegan treats.
Maura balances her acting career with her baking business, working most recently as a co-star on FOX’s Lie to Me television show and devoting eight to 10 hours a day to Mac-n-Mo’s between jobs.
Many people have told Maura that two to three Morselicious Treats are all they need to feel satisfied. At just 60 calories, a couple of Morselicious Treats are a very healthy alternative compared to most mainstream options.
Maura’s mission for Mac-n-Mo’s is simple, yet deliberate. She’s hoping to change the way we eat snacks and treats, one morsel at a time.
Listen to Maura’s radio show.
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Paleo Comfort Foods: Homestyle Cooking for a Gluten-Free Kitchen by Julie Sullivan Mayfield is a go-to cookbook when hosting gluten-free or dairy-free guests. The Paleo diet (no grains, gluten, legumes or dairy) is named after our hunting and gathering forefathers. This cookbook takes the familiar dinners we all grew up with and turns them into tasty gluten-free dishes that even gluten lovers will enjoy. The book is large, but the photos are helpful (and beautiful!) and the recipes are simple, easy-to-follow, and taste great. If you’re nervous about hosting gluten-free folks, here’s a tip: clean the kitchen before cooking, and ban wheat flour from the area. Don’t even let it sit on the counter in a closed container. An even better suggestion? Focus on dinner and order the dessert from Fooducopia: Dream Desserts makes a variety of gluten-free bars that are decadent and delicious. Read More →
