Cooking for myself in the month of January means a major cleanse for my freezer and pantry, while hopefully boosting my wallet. After the excess of food and spending during the holidays, I like to issue myself a challenge in the New Year to only shop for perishable items like skim milk and fresh produce. Other than that, I try to go the entire month using all of that random stuff that builds up throughout the year.

If you’re like me, then you have a few boxes or bags of whole-grain pasta that have less than one serving remaining. When combined with that random can of water-packed tuna and some white beans and fresh veggies, it becomes a hearty pasta dish. If there are leftovers, then you can serve them cold as a filling salad.

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As you may know, we’ve had a series of cold fronts passing through the state of Florida in recent days. We’ve received a lot of questions about how this weather affects supplies of products traditionally produced in Florida during the winter months. Here’s a quick recap:

Strawberry supplies will be tight throughout the industry for the next six to eight weeks. Florida is basically wiped out at the same time that Mexico is cool and rainy and California is cool with rain in the forecast. Not a great recipe for strawberries, but not that unusual for the season either! There will be limited strawberries in the marketplace – certainly less than we would wish for! Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s something you can really dig your spoon into: Learning to cook can really cut your costs, but not your nutrients. This “chili” time of year is actually just right for any warm, comforting bowl of soup or stew and many start with a healthy base of beans — good for you and your budget. So, let’s get to it and learn how to cook:

White Beans

Why Should I?

Why not? Cooking beans at home is renowned as a simple way to save money and provide the base for many a healthy meal. It requires little effort and they’re easy to keep on hand in the fridge or freezer. And then you can quickly put together everything from basic beans and rice (seasoned differently in different cultures) to soups, salads, dips and spreads. Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s help to start developing healthier habits! Good health-and healthy weight-is about smart decision making. Rather than hearing about what NOT to eat or fad diets, listen to positive successes that are truly changing people’s lives. Dr. Joel Fuhrman shares his experiences in helping people create health by aiming for optimal nutrition. He is a board-certified family physician, author and nutritional researcher who specializes in preventing and reversing disease through nutrition, and co-founder and chief medical officer of Eat Right America.

Podcast: Download

Have you noticed that everyone is putting out lists of Top Ten This and Top Ten That? I was feeling a bit left out so I decided to use my soapbox here to share my Top Ten Must-Have Foods. While it’s true there are plenty of great foods available that offer a wide range of health benefits, I have ten favorites for great taste and nutrition. If these aren’t part of your repertoire now, try adding at least one a month during the new year.

Quinoa

This little seed has the highest protein content of any other grain. Since quinoa contains all eight essential amino acids, it’s considered a complete protein. It also delivers fiber, iron, magnesium, calcium and vitamins A and E. Try the red variety for wonderful nutty flavor!

Wild Salmon

An excellent choice for quality protein and heart-healthy Omega 3 fatty acids. My favorite: the easy to find, affordable Wild Alaskan Sockeye Salmon in the freezer section of our seafood case. Read the rest of this entry »

The adventure began in 1786 when John Molson brewed his first beer using the highest quality barley that he brought back from England. Over two hundred years later, the Montreal brewery that he founded is still the oldest on the continent. A successful entrepreneur with a focus on social responsibility, John Molson was dedicated to improving the world, in particular, by building hospitals and railways. Today, Molson’s commitment to crafting world-class beer remains unchanged. Brewed with pure Canadian water and the finest ingredients, it is an easy drinking premium lager that delivers the perfect balance of sweetness with a slightly hoppy bitterness and medium body for a smooth, refreshing finish. An extremely versatile beer, it pairs exceptionally well with spicy cuisines such as Thai and barbeque.

Just a month after providing our first loan in Oregon, Whole Foods Market is happy to announce that Ruby Jewel Treats, yet another Oregon producer, has received a loan through our Local Producer Loan Program! Like our first Oregon loan recipient, Townshend’s Tea Company, Ruby Jewel Treats was recently featured in The Oregonian.

Ruby Jewel was founded by Lisa Herlinger Esco in April 2004 when she started selling her ice cream sandwiches, handmade from locally-sourced ingredients, at the local farmers market in Portland. With her success there, she quickly realized the potential of the product, and later that year she even beat almost 100 fellow competitors to win the American Food Fight Portland Style competition sponsored by Oregon State University and the Oregon Department of Agriculture. Since then the company’s success has continued to grow: after just five years, Ruby Jewel has retail distribution throughout the West Coast and many other parts of the country. Lisa will be using her loan to build a larger, more energy-efficient freezer for ice cream sandwich storage.

So if you’re near a Whole Foods Market that carries Ruby Jewel, go check out Lisa’s ice cream sandwiches. Ice cream in the winter, you say? Definitely! Check out some of the flavors: lemon cookie with honey lavender ice cream; double chocolate cookie with peanut butter ice cream; dark chocolate cookie with fresh, locally-grown mint ice cream; cinnamon chocolate cookie with espresso ice cream; and – seasonal and perfect for winter – ginger cookie with pumpkin! Not all flavors are available everywhere, but trust me, no matter which one you pick up, you’ll go home happy.

We are so proud to support these great products and their producer!

Are you ready for some more ideas on how you can upgrade your life in 2010? At Whole Foods Market we’re welcoming the new year with the belief that everyone should be able to afford healthy natural and organic foods, supplements and body care. So we’re here for you with our 365 Everyday Value line, The Whole Deal value guide, sales and competitive pricing on items produced to the strictest standards. You can have your values and eat them, too!

Here are some of our favorite value-focused tips. Tune in throughout the month of January for more ideas and don’t forget to declare your food-related mantra on our Facebook This is My Year to… app. By voting (daily through January), your support could earn the Non-GMO Project, The Organic Center’s Mission Organic 2010 or Growing Power an extra $10,000 donation above the $10k we are already donating to each. Cool! Read the rest of this entry »

We want to extend our appreciations to the hundreds of folks who responded to two of our holiday giveaways: Jim Brickman’s Bag of Goodies and Beautiful World.

In all of the holiday madness, we forgot to announce the winners who received Better Bags filled with grocery goodies and Jim Brickman merchandise!  So here’s a quick congratulations to Cathy Price and Robin O’Sullivan.  Keep an eye out for more contests, giveaways and fun promotions coming up throughout the year.

Chef Ann Cooper, aka “The Renegade Lunch Lady,” is the author of Lunch Lessons: Changing the Way We Feed Our Children.

The Lunch Box Project has one resolution for 2010: that no child will ever be hungry at school and that every child will have access to a healthy, delicious breakfast and lunch every day at school!

It just seems like a day doesn’t go by without a print, blog or news story about school lunch. As far as I’m concerned this is good news/bad news. Good news because there’s so much interest in these issues; bad news because so little has actually been accomplished to make positive change for all of our children. Read the rest of this entry »