Cosmic Cookies Help Nourish Lost Snowmobilers

EDMONTON – Nichole Marrazzo knew something was wrong when her husband Doug, who was out on his snowmobile with two other friends in the Blue Lakes area of Sicamous, B.C., hadn’t made it back by their agreed time of 6 p.m.

She was in for a very long night of waiting, as her husband and friends weathered a cold stay in the outdoors after getting hopelessly stuck in deep snow and having to abandon their snowmobiles in the vast wilderness area. All she could do was wait with their four children – Marina, 8; Mesina, 7; Melina, 5 and Douglas Junior, 2 and hope dad would be found and back with them soon.

Doug, who is from Beaumont, Alberta, and friends Charles and Alex Voyer of Salmon Arm, B.C. were located by RCMP search and rescue the next day. The three men had survived by building a rough lean-to in a sheltered creek bed, starting a bonfire and eating the few provisions they had with them – including carefully rationing Nichole’s home made Cosmic Cookies.

Nichole keeps a supply of Cosmic Cookies, which she makes from the Planet Organic Market Cookbook, in the freezer at all times. Packed full of nutritious ingredients such as rolled oats, spelt flour, sunflower seeds and dark chocolate chips, the cookies “are like a meal” said Doug, and he should know.

“They had never tasted so good,” said Doug, who ate one of the substantial cookies for dinner the night they got lost, and then had another one for breakfast the next day before walking out of the bush to safety.

“All I could think about was getting home to Nichole and the kids,” Doug said. “It was what kept me going.”

The Marrazzo family was honored at the Edmonton Planet Organic Store on Saturday, April 18 at the first annual Canadian National Cosmic Cookie Day.

“We feel pretty darn happy that Doug and his family had such a positive ending to their story,” said Store Manager Doug Fleshman. “We were so inspired by their great spirit and tenacity that we decided to start this special day and give away Cosmic Cookies to 1,000 people to celebrate.”

Nichole Marrazzo is a regular Planet Organic shopper, and a fan of the cookbook. Besides the Cosmic Cookie recipe, she also makes the banana bread, carrot spelt cake, granola and hot cocoa mix recipes regularly for her family.

“They really have everything at the store,” she said.

And you can bet the Cosmic Cookies will stay high on the list of favorites in the Marrazzo family for some time to come.

Earlier this year, Corporate Knights magazine ranked Planet Organic Markets number one in Canada in its Green Grocer survey. Planet Organic achieved an overall “A” grade and outranked all national grocery chains for their excellent track record in stocking a wide variety of organic, fair-trade, and environmentally-friendly products, as well as integrating consumer education and sustainability into its operations.