Jessica & Jeremy Little

Thomasville, GA

Sweet Grass Dairy‘s goats and cows graze happily outdoors on lush green pastures in south Georgia and receive no growth hormones or stimulants. Their fresh hand-crafted, semi-ripened and naturally-aged goat and cow cheeses are some of the most unique and delicious cheeses to grace a plate.

After a typical island-style rain during a visit to Hawaii with my family, we were all transfixed by the most gorgeous rainbow any of us had ever seen. Then my nine year old niece, Natalie, piped up and said, “Hey, look, there’s the papaya I ate!” She was, of course, referring to the dark orange color she was witnessing in the sky and how it reminded her of the tropical snack she enjoyed that afternoon.

Natalie was exactly right: humans need to eat all the colors of the rainbow. In fact, it wasn’t long ago that science began to uncover the health promoting properties of fruits, vegetables and other foods high in compounds called antioxidants. These special little substances help prevent and repair damage to the cells in our bodies. You have probably heard about the antioxidants vitamin C, vitamin E and beta carotene. They have been touted as anti-aging nutrients, but I like to think of it like this: If I cut an apple in half, the cut half will begin to turn brown because it is exposed to oxygen. But if I rub lemon juice over it, the apple won’t turn brown. This is because the vitamin C in the lemon juice protects the apple from oxidation. Eating foods high in antioxidants works much the same way in our bodies.

Over eons, plants have developed thousands of different antioxidants, many of them now well known such as lycopene in tomatoes, beta carotene in carrots and lutein in dark leafy greens like kale and collards. This is precisely why we need to eat a rainbow of colors, and we need to eat them often. Choosing a variety of colorful foods in the same meal allows their antioxidants to work together, creating an even more powerful effect. So, what does this look like? Think about a plate of sautéed pink salmon, baked orange butternut squash, steamed dark green chard and a salad made from raw carrots, baby spinach, sweet cherry tomatoes and dark green extra virgin olive oil. You get the picture. A virtual rainbow! Read the rest of this entry »

**Update on 3/10/09**

Added a few new items to the recall list.

**Update on 3/6/09**

Added a few new items to the recall list.

**Update on 3/2/09**

The FDA has now posted information on their website about PCA’s Texas facility testing positive for the same strain of salmonella as their Georgia facility. Here’s an excerpt from their statement:

Unlike the PCA plant in Blakely, Georgia, which principally manufactured peanut butter and peanut paste, the PCA Texas facility principally blanched, split, granulated and roasted peanuts for distribution to various businesses.  The Texas facility’s activities included the production and distribution of peanut meal, a byproduct of the peanut granulation process used to make peanut butter and peanut paste.  The Texas DSHS is currently notifying all first-level customers of PCA Texas products from January 1, 2007 forward that all products are subject to recall.  FDA will audit 100 percent of those PCA customers to facilitate the removal of product from the marketplace.

This is an ingredient-driven outbreak; that is, potentially contaminated ingredients affected many different products that were distributed through various channels and consumed in various settings. The recalled products made by PCA, such as peanut butter and peanut paste, are common ingredients in cookies, crackers, cereal, candy, ice cream, pet treats, and other foods. Consumers are advised to discard and not eat products that have been recalled. To help consumers identify affected products, FDA has initiated a searchable database of recalled products that is updated daily or as additional recalls are identified. To date, more than 2,100 products in 17 categories have been voluntarily recalled by more than 200 companies, and the list continues to grow.

We will continue to follow this situation and update the list below with recalled products that are sold in our stores.

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Oh yeah, you know you got them – pics of your little angel trying out their first bite of solid food. Well, we want to see them! Upload a picture of your little one enjoying his or her favorite mealtime bite to your Flickr account and add it to the Whole Foods Market “Baby’s Favorite Foods” group for a chance to win a Whole Foods Market gift card, Whole Baby gift basket or a Canon Powershot digital ELPH camera.

The contest starts March 4th and runs through March 13th. Check out all of the important details.

And even if you don’t enter the contest, you’ll find some great baby related coupons from our vendor sponsors too!

I don’t know about you, but it is a rare moment that I can sample cheese in the store without buying some. Fortunately, they’ll cut a piece any size you want so I can get the satisfaction of taking that little gem home without buying more than my budget can handle. My practicality seems to stall at home, though, when I end up with a half dozen morsels of different cheeses going hard or unintentionally blue in the “cheese barn” as I call it.

First, however, I’m not ashamed to admit that I make a meal of cheese about once a week. I call it smorgasbord to create some excitement around the fact that it’s also a good opportunity to clean out the fridge of this and that. On the other hand, this can be quite a healthy meal. The cheeses take center stage, but day-old steamed vegetables, single romaine spears, carrot and celery sticks become appealing when arranged on a nice plate with a little cup of dressing for dipping. A few pickles and olives come out of hiding, sometimes chopped in with leftover meat or chicken and a spoonful of mayonnaise for a poor-man’s pâté. Heels of whole-grain bread get cut into quarters and toasted, as do any withering whole wheat pitas or tortillas. Sometimes I brush them first with olive oil or melted ghee. Read the rest of this entry »

Here at Whole Foods Market, we are always driven by our Core Values, and that includes selling the highest quality products available, satisfying and delighting our customers and caring about our communities and environment. With those values in mind, Chuck Anunciation, one of our Produce Field Inspectors, and I recently visited Chile where we met our new Rainforest Alliance certified table grape growers and inspected their crop.  Grown in the San Felipe and Rancagua regions of Chile, we have partnered with the growers Exser, Gioia and Aldunate to feature the sweetest, most flavorful grapes available while ensuring their farms protect soils, waterways, wildlife habitat and the rights and welfare of workers, their families and communities. What a strong connection with our Core Values.

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What would be your plan for the ultimate green prom at your high school? Answer that question in a video, three minutes or less, and you just may win an incredible green prom prize package from Teens Turning Green, including a trip to New York, an eco prom dress, and eco makeup, skin and haircare products.

Check out their video about the contest:

ENTRY RULES: Anyone who enters must be going to a prom (High School Juniors/Seniors). Fill out entry form at http://www.teensturninggreen.org/events/project-green-prom.html.

Submit video to info@teensturninggreen.org.

All entries are due by the 30th of March. Winner would travel to New York in early April for the Press Conference.

Have you always wanted to can your own vegetables, but weren’t sure how to begin? This week’s episode will inspire you to preserve this year’s harvest, so next year at this time you can enjoy the fruits (or vegetables) of your labor. Join Secret Ingredient host Charlotte Davis as she welcomes professional pickler Rick Field and learns the secrets for making spicy pickled green beans with a crispy crunch. Enjoy your handcrafted green beans in a zesty Niçoise salad, as a Bloody Mary garnish, wrapped in salami for an appetizer or chopped and mixed in tuna salad. Or pick up a jar of Rick’s Picks ready-to-eat Windy City Wasabeans, available at most Whole Foods Markets.

Get the Recipe: Windy City Wasabeans