I was born in the south and grew up with a mother who was a true southern cook – and that meant plenty of greens like collards, mustard and beet greens. When we moved to California, I was surprised to find hardly anyone eating these “common” vegetables. I soon realized that while southern cooks had been preparing greens for years, the rest of the country hadn’t caught on yet. Well, that’s certainly changed now!

The more we know about good nutrition and how important it is to eat fresh veggies, the more attention we give to leafy greens. In fact, you can’t find a list of the “most powerful foods” that doesn’t mention kale, spinach or collards. That’s because dark leafy greens contain such an abundant source of nutrients and powerful antioxidants, packing plenty of iron, calcium and fiber! They also contain chlorophyll, the pigment that turns the leaf green. Some people think of this as the plant’s blood and that makes sense when you also consider that leafy greens contain vitamin K, which helps our bodies with blood clotting abilities. Read the rest of this entry »

After four days of running between panels, keynote speakers and core conversations during the South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi) Conference, I was exhausted and needed refuge from the madness of the Austin Convention Center.

Thankfully, I’d received an invite to the Austin360.com SXSW Food & Wine Blogger Bash, sponsored by Whole Foods Market and Go Texan and hosted at our flagship store’s wonderful Lamar Culinary Center. Little known fact – I started with Whole Foods Market as catering staff for the Lamar Culinary Center, so I know the place well and was very pleased with how the cooking school space was transformed to house not only a foodie meet & greet, but also wine tastings from the GO TEXAN wine program and demonstrations from two of the best chefs in town – Tyson Cole from Uchi and Jesse Griffiths from Dai Due Supper Club.

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Since you meet them in the aisles of our stores, you probably know that our Whole Foods Market Team Members are passionate about food. What you may not know is that our local vendors are some of the most zealous food people you’ll ever find! These folks have devoted their lives – often at great financial risk and always with great personal dedication – to making high-quality, natural food. Pretty incredible!

One inspiration for some of our producers’ love for food is their family history. Italians are well-known for great food and enthusiastic eaters, and our Local Producer Loan recipients are no exception. Elisa Gambino, Philomena Aceto and Jim Blumetti were all inspired by their Italian roots and took some time to talk about their products and their passions. Read the rest of this entry »

One of the most important things Whole Foods Market does is expressed in our first Core Value: Selling the highest quality natural and organic products available. You’ll find that statement on our walls, our website, our brochures, etc. But what do “natural” and “organic” mean, and who sets the definition? I’ll start to get into the nitty gritty details of these questions in this post. For background, you may want to check out my introduction to the topic of quality standards from last week. Read the rest of this entry »

When I spot Epic Roots mache in the salad greens aisle, I invariably start humming Macho Man, the 1970s dance tune by the Village People. The pronunciation of the word has more in common with 1980s mosh pits (rhymes with posh), but I’ll use any excuse to hum the tunes of my youth-in the grocery store, of course.

Yet beyond my in-store musical salute to the waning days of disco, what I’m really excited about is the novelty and sweet flavor of this salad green. I eat a lot of leafy greens and raw vegetables, and even with a plate of frilly bits (as I refer to mesclun), I longed for something new and different to chew on. Frilly bits were starting to feel so 1990s.

I had been reading about lamb’s lettuce, as mache is also known, for a few years, and last growing season even purchased seeds so that I could grow it at home. At the time, mache wasn’t easy to find in Texas, and in the Lone Star State, we home gardeners are typically able to grow salad greens in the seven cooler months of the year. Sadly, my first efforts came to little, due to overzealous thinning.

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It was one of those days where time gets away from you and everyone is hungry and you know if you don’t act fast, hungry turns to cranky turns to worse. Dinner had to happen PDQ and I was so tempted to do the drive-thru. I stuck it out, though, and headed home to my own trusty kitchen.

It’s taken perseverance, but I’ve finally learned to keep some longer-lasting foods on hand to ensure I can make dinner fast and affordable when I need to. These are things I always add to my kitchen-drawer shopping list again as soon as I use them. I’ve also been known to keep a list of quick, easy-and relatively healthy-meal options taped inside a kitchen cabinet door for when my brain is tired. Here’s a peak at my list and the “on-hand” ingredients that make them possible PDQ. (I call them silly names to let humor help when a hungry someone asks “what are we having?”)

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The coming of March marks an awakening of sorts here on the Central California Coast. With daylight savings time bringing longer afternoons, more folks are outside – assessing their yards and plotting what early projects can be squeezed in to take advantage of March’s generally abundant rainfall. I’m among them, doubly so as this year is the first full spring in our new neighborhood (and my new backyard).

Asparaguscape- Yolo county, California

This awakening is not lost on the local nurseries and farmers markets- suddenly we go from the drab and ordinary dregs of the winter to a world of fruit trees and flowering plants, seed potatoes and garlic, in addition to tempting starter plants of all kinds. Spring for me is a circus of optimism – and like every year I start the season believing I can grow anything. Mostly though, I just stay out of the way and let Mother Nature work her magic – trees bloom, vines put out leaves and dormant seeds push their first shoots up from the ground. Read the rest of this entry »

For many women, getting pregnant—or trying to—is the definitive time to move toward a healthier lifestyle. From diet to household products to a little pampering for stress management, these days there are plenty of choices, but where to start? Nutritionist (and mother) Malia Curran, MS, MPH demystifies natural supplements, body care and aromatherapy for pregnancy.

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No, I did not change my name just so I could write with a level of authority on this subject! I guess you could say that going to a nutritionist named Sugar is like going to a dentist named Payne. Funny how life works. But this isn’t about me.

America has a sweet tooth. Well, some would argue it’s more like an addiction. Sugar is everywhere. You’ll find refined and concentrated sweeteners in obvious places like soft drinks, candy, cake, cookies, ice cream, bottled teas, coffee drinks and more. And also in places you might least expect, like salad dressing, soup, bread, pizza, pasta sauce, salsa and even bottled water. Whether in the form of white sugar, high fructose corn syrup, cane juice or honey, too much sugar is too much sugar. It’s been linked to everything from diabetes to behavior problems, mood swings to dental cavities.

So, what really happens when you consume sugar such as a candy bar or a soda? The short answer is your blood sugar spikes and your body responds by secreting insulin, a hormone made in your pancreas. Insulin then lowers your blood sugar causing you to “crash” and this can lead to tiredness, irritability, mood swings and cravings for more sugar. Read the rest of this entry »

The luck of the Irish is lucky for all of us too – we get to try one of the Emerald Island’s best cheddars infused with it’s best known fermented beverage, Irish Stout. Well, maybe not truly “infused” cheese, but this is a new concept. While we’ve experienced beers being used as a solution to “wash” cheese to add flavor and complexity, the stout is actually introduced into a “double milled” cheddar. Traditional Irish Stout, made with roasted barley, is bitter with a slight hoppy finish. The stout adds caramel and coffee notes that accentuate the flavors of the cheese. When tasting this cheese, the creaminess fills your mouth, the nutty flavors begin to open up and the caramel finish lingers on the palate. It is really a unique flavor experience.

So, how does it get this way? Dubliner cheddar is aged 12 months and is a very complex cheese. Produced in County Cork, south of the city of Dublin, it’s made from the milk of grass fed cows that graze on the lush green rolling hills of southeastern Ireland. The grass makes the cheese rich in beta carotene. The cheese is made using the traditional “cheddaring” process and is set aside to age. When it is matured, the cheese is milled again. Milling is a process where the cheese is put through a “grinder” to break it into smaller pieces. This is where the beer comes in. The Irish Stout is mixed into the cheddar pieces and the combination is put into a cheddar form where it is aged a bit longer to assure that the smaller pieces combine to form a cheddar wheel. The cheese round is then finished with a dip into green wax. Not only is this colorful, but it acts as a preservative against mold. Read the rest of this entry »