The leaves have fallen- the days are shorter and we spend less and less time outdoors. Fall is finishing, winter is just around the corner or has already arrived.  It seems every trip I take on a plane, I bring back some new Rhino-bug (the same is true almost daily with my son Aidan and his Kindergarten gang of plague carriers). Just when we need it the most, Mother Nature brings us the sun in a neat little package.

December brings a shift in the focus in produce to citrus. During the summer we see fruit from all over the world and while imports into the U.S. continue well into the winter, late November marks the peak of the long domestic citrus season. Just in time too — consumption of fresh citrus in the winter is four times what it is in the summer.

Warm season / cool nights
The trigger for the start of the citrus season is cool evenings. After growing all summer long, most citrus needs a string of cool nights to bring out the color and flavor. Color can be brought out artificially and if the season starts out like this one (record warm temperatures) much of the new crop domestic citrus we see before Thanksgiving is conditioned (with ethylene, like bananas) to force its natural color to come out or has color “added” (eek!).  All you need is a few long cool nights though, so by December most citrus is coloring on the trees.

Fruit from coast to coast

The Sun Belt for citrus production stretches from Florida to California, with Louisiana, Texas, and Arizona all having large scale commercial production. Citrus trees are notoriously temperature sensitive though, so orchards are planned in areas in the U.S. that do not historically have prolonged periods below freezing.  Each growing region has its own characteristics and special varieties – here are some examples of some early gems I look forward to:

Florida:  Oranges are what the sunshine state is best known for but Florida also puts out exceptional tangerines for juicing and eating out of hand. The best early variety is the Sunburst Tangerine – it’s loaded with seeds but also with flavor. The juice of the Sunburst is excellent alone or blended with grapefruits or oranges.  The amazing thing about the Sunburst (and the Honey variety,  which follows later in the season) is the amount of juice they produce relative to their size — two or three small ones will produce a glass.

Florida also produces outstanding Grapefruit — perhaps the best known is fruit grown in the coastal county of Indian River. Coveted by grapefruit growers for its soil and optimal growing conditions, Indian River is also home to the some of the best eating Honeybell Tangelos, a close cousin to the western Minneola.

Texas:  At the southernmost tip of Texas around towns like McAllen and Einburg, the growing conditions are uniquely ideal for Grapefruit. The Rio Star, with it’s bright red interior, is an intensely flavorful grapefruit variety that is available from late November well into the new year. It’s not the only variety produced in the area (nor is it the only kind of citrus produced in Texas) but it is widely viewed as the best.  For juicing the Rio Star is the stand alone grapefruit.

Among the growers in the area are veterans of organic agriculture Dennis and Lynda Holbrook (South Texas Organics LC).  For nearly 25 years Dennis has been working to perfect organic citrus production in Texas and has succeeded in producing some of the best tasting fruit grown anywhere. When I lived in Texas I would look forward to seeing his plain brown box every season. Now his fruit is sold all over the U.S. and Canada.

Spain:  Before we move out west it would be wrong not to mention the one import item east coast Americans look forward to every year. Late November brings the first arrivals of Spanish Clementines to the U.S. The first few weeks are of the early Marisol variety but by December the main Clemenule has arrived and the small, sweet, easy to peel fruits in five pound boxes become a basic staple in many households. California has also taken the Spanish lead and is now producing comperable fruit for the western U.S.

California: Because of it size and range of climates the state of California puts out remarkable fruit for fresh consumption.  The most common are Navel Oranges, Lemons, and Grapefruit, but some of the best early entries run into the more exotic:

Meyer Lemons:  Unlike the more common Lisbon or Eureka varieties, the Meyer Lemon is extremely thin skinned. It is also full of juice and flavor and the thin skin is excellent for Zest. Because it is a more fragile piece of fruit it is only available for the early part of the season (Nov- Feb). I love the Meyer for cooking — the flavor is better and it generally has far more juice than a regular lemon.

Satsuma Mandarins: The umbrella name for a group of mandarin varieties, the Satsuma is the one variety I eagerly wait for every year. It has all the things I love about citrus and none of the things I hate — it’s easy to peel, seedless, it’s not too big (good for kids), and if you buy the stem and leaf version (which I do) it has to be ripened on the tree (ethylene or heat treatment kills the leaves).  The Satsuma also has the best flavor of any piece of citrus. I like everything in citrus but the Satsuma is the one I love. The season is very short too (about 6- 8 weeks) so they are not around long enough to take for granted.

There is lots more to talk about with citrus but it’s a long season – in fact we never stop harvesting citrus in the U.S. (we just have less to pick in the summer when most of it is growing).  I always thought it poetic that when we need the energy, nutrition, and immunity boosting power of citrus the most, the most is available (thanks Mother Nature).

So come and get me Rhino-whatiz.  Take your best shot, you pack of share-everything’s. I have my little package of sunshine so I’ll be okay.

Did you know that during the holidays extra waste amounts to 25 million tons of garbage? Yikes! Instead of adding to the trash heap with wrapping paper, use A Better Bag. Remember our exclusive A Better Bag designed by Sheryl Crow that benefits the Natural Resource Defense Council? These affordable bags have been flying off the shelves – you may even have one (or more!) already in use as a grocery tote.

For the holiday season, we are featuring two sizes of these re-useable bags and we think the smaller one is perfect for gifts (and at 79 cents it’s way more affordable than many gift bags on the market!) For larger and bulkier items, the larger size is a life saver, especially for those of us who are particularly challenged when it comes to boxes and wrapping paper and bows. Plus when you give a gift in these stylish bags, your gift recipient gets two gifts in one!

Check out our Bag the Wrap video:

And since it’s the season for Top Ten Lists, here’s our:

Top 10 Reasons to Bag the Wrap and Use “A Better Bag” Instead

1. Americans throw away 25% more trash between Thanksgiving and New Year’s.
2. A Better Bag is made of 80% post-consumer recycled PET bottles, saving them from going into the trash.
3. In the U.S. alone, about 100 billion plastic bags are thrown away each year (and only 0.6 % of them are recycled).
4. Extra waste during the holidays amounts to 25 million tons of garbage.
5. Using A Better Bag can save millions of single-use bags (and wrapping paper!) from going to landfills.
6. It’s a great-looking, cool, eco-friendly way to wrap gifts.
7. A Better Bag can be used and re-used thousands of times.
8. Whole Foods Market and Sheryl Crow teamed up to create a custom design for “A Better Bag” to benefit the Natural Resources Defense Council.
9. If every family wrapped just 3 presents in re-used materials, it would save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields.
10. Double the gifting: It’s actually a gift that holds another gift which gives and gives again, and says you care even more!

After nearly two years of planning and implementation, we are excited to announce that, beginning in January, our Whole Foods Market commissary kitchen in Massachusetts will get 100% of its electricity from recycled cooking oil.  Yeah!

The waste vegetable oil used for frying food at the commissary kitchen facility as well as from 21 Whole Foods Market stores across the Northeast region, will be used as a biofuel in a cogeneration module using an internal combustion engine to generate electricity and usable heat.  We expect to repurpose over 1,200 gallons of cooking oil a week, which was previously considered a waste product, to fuel a system that reduces our dependency on conventional fossil fuel sources and results in less harmful emissions — helping us move one step closer to our goal of becoming a zero waste company. The generator will have the capacity to meet the electricity needs of the entire commissary, just over 2,000,000 kWh’s per year.  Producing electricity with waste biomass avoids new carbon dioxide emissions attributed to electricity generated using fossil fuels. Vegetable oil exhaust emissions that are produced contain virtually zero sulfur oxides and sulfates, major contributors to acid rain.

The Boston Globe ran a great in-depth story on the new generator.  Lifecycle Renewables will be installing and operating the system as well as coordinating and managing the logistics involved with weekly waste cooking oil collections and fuel delivery.

A huge thank you to everyone who has worked on bringing this great project to fruition.

You may not think gift shopping when you go to the grocery store, but Whole Foods Market is known for offering unique, interesting, exclusive treats for those who care about quality, social responsibility and the environment.  Check out this video where we share with you some of our favorite ideas for holiday gift giving!

For more info, check out our Holiday Giving Guide.

Gifts

Season’s Greetings!
Welcome to holidays with heart.
Joyous gifting and feasting
while doing our part.

Empowering, inspiring
sharing our treasures.
Satisfying, delighting
and taking great measures.

Here’s the best, you can choose
from far or from near.
Ever green are our values.
Ever bright our good cheer!

Holiday entertaining doesn’t get much easier than this! Join Scott Simons and guest chef Sharon Gerhardt for this encore episode and learn how to create four simply delicious appetizers using this week’s secret ingredient: Whole Foods Market brands. From gourmet spreads and classic goat cheese to appetizer toasts, smoked salmon and more—Whole Foods Market brands are a value-centered, high-quality choice when looking for the best ingredients for making holiday hors d’oeuvres. Discover how effortless entertaining can be when you combine easy recipes with our brands.

Get the Recipes:

• Prosciutto, Blue Cheese and Date Wraps
• Mediterranean Polenta Rounds
• Endive Leaves Stuffed with Bruschetta and Feta
• Smoked Wild Salmon Toasts

All the milk at Homestead Creamery comes from two local farms, both in their third and fourth generations of family ownership.  The milk is free of all hormones and antibiotics, and because the milk is sold in recycled glass bottles it tastes fresher longer and is more environmentally friendly.

Note: Our Farm to Market slide shows currently feature farmers and producers from our South and MidAtlantic Regions. We hope to expand to others in the future.

Still facing the bird with no clue how to cook it?  Got a finished turkey and unsure how to carve it?  Missing an ingredient and need a last minute substitution?  Check out our Holiday Guides & Tips for some help!

I think one of the best things about hosting the Thanksgiving feast is having days of leftovers! Of course, I like leftovers; some people don’t. The trick can be taking the leftover ingredients and turning them into a new dish. In this podcast, we talk with nutritionist and natural foods chef Alana Sugar about using up all of that valuable food in new and interesting ways.

Make sure to check out our holiday pages for great turkey leftover recipes. What’s your favorite way to eat up all that great food?

For those who enjoy the unexpected and esoteric sides of life, I have a souvenir for you to share with those you love to amuse. Algae. From green to red, slimy to coarse, and microscopic to enormous. Just mention the topic of algae, and many people think of the unsightly green film in swimming pools and fish tanks…or their eyes glaze over. Add to your unpredictability the story of potentially the most humble, unpretentious organisms on Earth.

My name is Tim Schaeffer, I am the founder of Depth, an exclusive brand at Whole Foods Market.  Depth offers body and hair care products based on the renowned skin benefits of marine algae, all formulated to meet the stringent Whole Foods Market Premium Body Care Standards. Prior to creating body care products, I was a marine biologist for ten years. My wife, Depth’s co-founder, is also a marine biologist, which is how we met. During my tenure as a marine biologist, my focus was on marine algae. I’d spend hours engulfed in all types of algae on land and underwater, studying their ecology and genetics. Believe me, I have first-hand experience in how algae can flabbergast friends.

Marine algae (or marine botanicals) range in size from microscopic to towering, and can broadly be divided into three main groups: green algae, brown algae and red algae with each designation being derived from these species’ actual coloration. All algae have two primary functions – primary production and the creation of habitat. Both functions are critical to maintaining balance beneath the ocean’s surface.

Think of primary production as the foundation of the food chain - tiny phytoplankton (the smallest of all algae) float in the water converting sunlight and carbon dioxide to food sources that are consumed by zooplankton. Zooplankton (the smallest animals in the sea) are then consumed by small fish. These small fish are in turn consumed by bigger fish, and the links in the food chain multiply from there.

In addition to forming the foundation of the ocean’s food chain, algae also create the oxygen necessary to help support respiring marine species. It’s easy to forget that fish need to breathe underwater. Through photosynthesis, carbon taken from carbon dioxide is used to help the algae grow, and oxygen is released into the water. Fish, crabs, clams, tuna, and sharks…to name just a few…all respire oxygen present in the water in order to live.

Creation of habitat is just what it sounds like…creating a home for other marine life. Just like a tree provides habitat for birds and insects, marine botanicals provide habitat for a wide range of species. Perhaps the most well-known is the habitat provided by kelp. Kelp is one of the few species in the world that completely change the habitat they live in, transforming a two-dimensional surface to a three-dimensional environment, much like a redwood forest does. For example, kelp provides a safe place for baby fish to hide. Have you ever had rockfish for your dinner entree? If so, kelp played a role by providing a place to hide from predators when the fish was much younger. When kelp is abundant, fishermen can typically expect more robust populations of rockfish in the future due to the sanctuary kelp provides. However, if storms or human activity deplete kelp forests, then these baby rockfish are more susceptible to predation, leading to smaller populations from which to fish. Other species rely on kelp for their habitat, as well…helping to keep the ocean community balanced.

How does all of this relate to your daily life? You’d be surprised; there are a wide range of human uses of marine algae. Some species of red algae are used to harvest a compound known as carageenan. Carageenan is used in beer, ice cream, and toothpaste. Other species are used in fertilizers, and many are used in nutritional supplements. In body care, marine botanicals are known to be extraordinarily hydrating. Depth body products rely on wildcrafted marine botanicals to create products that are luxurious and moisturizing for skin and hair.

Perhaps the most well-known and biggest industry of marine algae is that of Nori – the species you find wrapped around sushi. Yep, that’s algae on your sushi! The cultivation of Nori increased ten-fold from 1950 to 1980 after a British scientist, Kathleen Drew-Baker, began to understand the biology of the species. Nori farmers were so pleased with her discovery, and ultimate improvements in aquaculture, that they erected a bronze statue in Drew’s likeness overlooking Shimbara Bay in Japan. To this day, farmers place a tribute of Nori from the current crop at the statue’s feet every year.

If you want to see pictures of some interesting species, do an internet search on any of these: “kelp,” “acetabularia,” “sea lettuce,” or “postelsia.” If you have a question about the ocean, algae, or other marine species and their role in our lives, let me know and I’ll try to answer them in future posts.

Sometimes I find gift giving especially challenging. With all the need in the world, why the heck should I get Aunt Mary Lou a new apron? She has 10 already! What I really want to do is make a donation or give a charitable gift in her honor. But then there’s nothing tangible to unwrap and somehow the family turns me into the Scrooge of the season. “Why can’t Paige give normal gifts like everyone else?”

If a version of this story plays out for you, the Feed 100 Bag just might be the perfect option. Here’s the deal: you buy the Feed 100 stylish reusable shopping bag to give as a tangible gift and part of the proceeds go to providing 100 meals to hungry Rwandan school children.  Win-win, right?

The Bag
Designed solely for Whole Foods Market, the FEED 100 reusable bag is made of organic cotton and natural burlap and is produced with a commitment to ensuring fair treatment of workers, livable wages, overtime pay and safe, clean working environments. It is a lightweight, fresh white tote that collapses easily into its base, which is a zippered rectangular burlap pouch emblazoned with the FEED logo and the number 100. An eco-friendly fashion statement that helps educate people about hunger and what we can do to alleviate it. It’s perfect to use for your groceries and for about 50 million other things too.

The Good
Each bag purchased provides 100 nutritious meals to hungry school age children in Rwanda through the United Nation World Food Program’s School Feeding Program.  In 1994, Rwanda lost 800,000 men, women and children to genocide; as a result, the nation’s economy and social structures were decimated. School feeding is one of the most effective solutions to stopping hunger and breaking the poverty cycle. Since 2003, the World Food Program has provided free, nutritious school lunches to Rwanda’s children in 300 schools in the most food-deprived areas. Each hot, nutrient-rich meal draws boys and girls to school, helps them learn, and may be the only meal they have all day. School attendance has grown from 63 percent to 93 percent, and to help close the educational gender gap, girls with good attendance may receive extra rations to take home to their families. Girls with just a few years of education have fewer children, have them later in life, and are better prepared to care for and educate them.

The Cost
When a Whole Foods Market customer buys a FEED 100 bag, $10 is donated by the FEED Foundation to the World Food Program’s Rwanda School Feeding operation, with the remainder going to cover the costs of making the bag and oversight of the program by the FEED Foundation. The bags are produced with high-quality, 100% organic cotton and natural burlap.  All FEED bags are made as eco-friendly and fairly as possible in audited and certified fair labor facilities. To further help the initiative, Whole Foods Market is not making any profit on these bags – in fact many of our stores are offering this bag for a special price of $25 for the holiday season – kicking in our own donation to help feed hungry children. If you aren’t close to one of our stores, check out online ordering through FEED.

Hope this helps make your holiday shopping (and gift unwrapping) more rewarding!

To learn more about the FEED Foundation, visit their website or check out this video.