It's so close. Just around the corner... Have you started counting the hours until the big game? More importantly, have you started planning the food?
Guacamole is a surefire crowd pleaser. Bright green guacamole paired with blue tortilla chips is a great way to show your Seahawk pride! Added bonus: it's super easy to whip up.
The most important step to making the perfect guac is fresh, high-quality produce. For the creamiest guacamole make sure your avocados are ripe. If you can't find ripe avocados, place them in a paper bag on your kitchen counter overnight.
Place the scooped avocados in a large mixing bowl with lime juice, toss to coat. Drain the extra lime juice into a small bowl and save. Later you can use the extra juice to add more lime flavor to your guacamole if desired.
Add Simply Organic fajita seasoning and mash the avocados with a potato masher leaving a few chunks for texture. Next, fold in onion, jalapeno, and cilantro. Add a tablespoon of saved lime juice.
Cover with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap against the guacamole to keep it from turning brown. Leave the guacamole at room temperature for about an hour to let the flavors marry.
Taste the guac and add more lime, salt or cilantro. Serve with Natural Directions blue corn tortilla chips and enjoy the game!
It’s a new year and you may be deciding to eat healthier. With a constant barrage of nutrition information and new diets, it’s easy to be confused. Should you go vegan, raw, paleo? Eat meat? Eat grains? Eat dairy? While this is a personal journey and the answer is not the same for everyone, there is one simple answer that transcends the confusion: eat more organic fruits and vegetables. With good intentions, you head to Farm Fresh Market. You stock up on organic apples, pears, citrus, lettuce, kale, potatoes, onions, garlic, and you say to yourself: “Yes! This is the year!”
Two weeks later you’ve eaten half of the apples and pears, the rest are soft and unappealing on the kitchen table, your potatoes have started to shrivel, the onions are drying out, the kale and lettuce are slimy in plastic bags, the garlic is sprouting, and the oranges are molding. “Next year,” you think, “next year is the year.” It doesn’t have to be that way! You can add more organic fruits and veggies to your family’s diet today while saving the cost of spoiled food with a few simple storage and preparation tips.
An invisible, yet potent, factor when storing fresh produce is ethylene, a hydrocarbon gas that acts as an aging hormone in many plants. Some plants are high producers of ethylene, while some are very sensitive to the gas; knowing which is which and storing them separately will yield longevity for your organic produce. Use the diagram to the left to help you see which produce to keep separate. And always remove spoiled produce as soon as it starts to go bad to prevent the food around it from spoiling.
Apples can be left out for about a week. Put 4-5 apples out at a time for snacking, and store the rest in the refrigerator. Pears, melons, kiwis, peaches, and plums should be ripened on the counter and then placed in the refrigerator, loose or in a perforated bag. I recommend a washable mesh bag or you can poke holes in plastic bags. You can also store avocados and bananas in the refrigerator after they are ripe which lengthens their life considerably. The cold will blacken the banana skins but the flesh will still be great!
Potatoes should not be refrigerated because the cold converts the potato’s starch to sugar, altering the flavor. Potatoes store best in a cool, dark, dry area, as do sweet potatoes and yams. Placing potatoes in a mesh bag or a perforated plastic bag helps to retain moisture—no more shriveled potatoes! Onions should also be stored in a cool, dry, dark location, preferably not the refrigerator, as they’ll mold. Store these vegetables, along with winter squash, in a pantry, cupboard, or covered container that still allows air-flow. Garlic will mold in the refrigerator. Garlic is best stored at a moderate temperature and humidity, and drastic temperature changes will cause sprouting. Store garlic in a paper bag or breathable container on the counter or in the pantry.
Lettuce should be stored in the refrigerator crisper, away from apples and other ethylene producing fruits. If you wash the lettuce before storing, be sure to dry with a towel or in a salad spinner before storing in a plastic bag. Wrapping the head of lettuce with a paper or cloth towel will help extend the life.
If you want to eat more organic produce, it must be convenient! Try picking up a pre-washed salad mix or make your own. Once a week wash, dry and tear (as opposed to chopping which will brown lettuce faster) organic lettuce. Add other washed and dried greens like chard or kale and store either in a rolled up dish towel, in a plastic bag with paper towels, or in a breathable container with a towel to regulate moisture. This will give you salad greens for the week! And if you shoved your lettuce to the back of the fridge where it sat for days and is now wilted? Simply fill a bowl or the sink with ice water and immerse the head of lettuce for several minutes, dry, tear and enjoy!
What if you had a busy week and didn’t prepare all your organic fruits and veggies? You have some produce that is less than appealing? Make your own broth with all these ugly, but still useful, vegetables. Juice the mushy fruit or use it to make a smoothie.
I hope this helps you keep your promise to yourself to eat all of those organic fruits and vegetables! Happy New Year from Farm Fresh Market!
Animal lover, motorcycle enthusiast, and backstocker extrodinaire! Lucy comes to Farm Fresh Market with over 10 years of experience in natural foods and along with her experience she brought a giant smile and a bright and bubbly attitude.
What do you do at Farm Fresh and how long have you worked here? I have worked at Farm Fresh since June, so 6 months now. I am an all around clerk, grocery stocker and backstock organizer.
What do you do in your spare time? We recently relocated, so I spend a lot of time working on the property and trying to make it liveable. It’s a beautiful one acre property in Hoodsport that backs a forest. I’m 2 miles from the ocean and a lake. I spend an hour and a half driving everyday, but it’s full of beautiful views and I get to listen to a lot of books on tape! I love to cook, love to feed people and especially love to eat! I’m also playing around with DIY stuff, like home cheese making and fermenting.
What drew you to natural foods? I grew up eating natural foods. I’m fortunate that my parents have always been very conscientious about food. My mother was a master gardener & amazing chef! Back in the day there weren’t all these natural foods stores and the farmers market scene was not thriving like it is now. So you either grew it yourself or you ate supermarket food.
Are you a native Washingtonian? I was born in San Francisco, raised in Portland.
What’s your favorite thing about working at Farm Fresh Market? I really appreciate the community aspect. We have amazing customers and they are very devoted to us. I have so many customers, when they walk through our door, they just make my day. I’m developing real relationships with them.
Do you have any products that you absolutely love? My current obsession is the Liefie’s Caramel. I eat it by the spoonful or put a spoonful in my coffee. That paired with the coconut creamer is like non-dairy caramel latte. Everyone around here knows I'm obsessed with the Exquisite Hummus as well. Both the original and the garlic are amazing. If I’m not working I’ll eat the garlic, but if I am at work, I try to stick to the original for our customers’ sake. It’s ruined me for other hummus. I used to make my own, but now I can’t get mine anywhere near as delicious. Those are my two favorites right now. I also really enjoy the Nineveh products. And of course, the rotisserie chicken. It’s a staple in all of our meals.
What is your favorite winter meal? I love greens, and one of my favorite things in the winter is what I just call greens and beans. Which can be any kind of greens and any kind of bean. I saute onions and greens and then dump a can of beans in there. One of my favorite dinners. I like black eyed peas or white beans and chard is all-time favorite. I love chard.
Whether or not you made resolutions for the new year, it's always a good idea to eat more organic produce! Fresh juice is a highly efficient way to consume large amounts of produce and feel incredible. While “juice fasts” have their pros and cons, there is no arguing that adding a freshly made glass of organic juice to your daily routine is beneficial for everyone. So, what makes juicing so healthy? Juicers break down the cell walls in fruits and veggies releasing their nutrients, which can then be directly absorbed into the bloodstream. Since you don't have to wait for digestion, this gives you an instant energy boost. “Green juices,” made up of green produce such as celery, cucumbers, and leafy greens, supply chlorophyll which helps digestion, neutralizes toxins, and supports liver health. Plus, fresh juice helps promote a healthy alkaline pH in the body and an alkaline body may be less likely to suffer from chronic disease. Most importantly, veggies are full of micronutrients that our bodies need for healthy cell function and antioxidants that clean up toxic by-products and prevent cell damage. Never is it more important to use organics than when juicing. Since the whole fruit and vegetable is being used, any pesticides or chemicals lurking on the skin will go into the juice and be transported straight to your blood stream. Especially watch out for the “dirty dozen,” a list of the 12 most contaminated foods: apples, celery, leafy greens, peaches, strawberries, blueberries, nectarines, sweet bell peppers, cherries, potatoes, grapes, and lettuce. Want to try juicing but aren’t ready to invest in a juicer? With a little extra effort you can make juice with your blender. Pre-chop your veggies before adding them, peel any citrus, and remove seeds or stones from fruit. Add about a cup of water and blend. Next, place a tea towel or cheese cloth over a deep bowl and pour your mixture. Once the majority of the liquid has drained twist the towel to squeeze out the remaining juice. It may be tempting to mix in a wide variety of fruits and veggies when you first start juicing, but it's best to keep it to about three types per juice. Add some herbs such as cilantro or parsley for variety or a bit of peeled ginger for a kick. Stick to one kind of fruit for sweetness since too many quickly add up to higher calories and sugar content. Juicing is a great way to get a quick boost of nutrients, but if you don’t have the time or equipment to try it at home, smoothies are a great alternative. Not only do smoothies provide the same micronutrients as green juices, but the added fiber can help you stay full longer and slows the absorption of sugar into the blood stream. You can easily add other healthy supplements into smoothies such as protein powders, maca powder, flax and chia seeds. Don’t forget to add the greens! I like spinach because it blends really well, but chard and kale are good options too. Cucumbers add a light, refreshing twist to a smoothie and puree well. Even unconventional vegetables such as beets, broccoli and lettuce are great additions. Happy Juicing!
This smoothie is packed with nutrient-rich superfoods. The cacao nibs and powder give you a caffeine boost first thing in the morning, plus they're loaded with antioxidants, iron, magnesium and they're a natural mood booster! The coconut butter adds a little texture and gives you something to bite down on. If you want a smoother smoothie, sub it out with coconut oil to still get the heart-healthy, metabolism-boosting benefits.
Pro Tip: Throw your browning bananas in the freezer, peel and all. The peel will keep them from getting frosty and the frozen bananas will make your smoothies frosty and thick. When you're ready to make your smoothie cut off the tips of the banana, cut it in half and slit the peel. Then use your knife to peel away the skin.
Superfood Smoothie
Ingredients:
1 cup unsweetened almond milk
2 scoops of protein powder
2 Tbsp. chia seeds
2 Tbsp. cacao nibs
1 Tbsp. cacao powder
1 Tbsp. maca powder
2 or 3 Tbsp. coconut butter
1 or 2 generous handfuls of spinach
1 cup frozen blueberries
1 frozen banana
Directions:
Add almond milk to the blender first. This makes it easier on your blender and gets things moving faster.
Next add powders, seeds, and cacao nibs, followed by spinach and coconut butter.
Top it off with blueberries and frozen bananas. The frozen fruits are heavier and will help pack down the ingredients as you blend.
Start blending at a low speed. Once the ingredients start to break down and a vortex is created in the center, turn the speed up until everything is well blended.
Whether or not you made resolutions for the new year, it's always a good idea to eat more organic produce! Fresh juice is a highly efficient way to consume large amounts of produce and feel incredible. While “juice fasts” have their pros and cons, there is no arguing that adding a freshly made glass of organic juice to your daily routine is beneficial for everyone. 
