Super Bowl is coming up February 7th and once again, Valley Natural Foods will beef up their selection of Game Day Goodies! Check out our deli display the next time you are browsing the deli cooler. You will find an assortment of healthy items like Veggie or Grass-Fed Beef Chili, Deli-Baked Cornbread, Spinach, Grinch or Chili-Cheese Dips, BBQ Meatballs made with Grass-Fed Beef , Hot & Honey or Buffalo Chicken Wings complete with Dip and Celery, Old-Fashioned Baked Beans, and Black Bean Quesadillas among other delicious items from which to choose! 

Does cooking food increase the caloric value? What are the benefits of natural sweeteners versus table sugar? How is fructose metabolized? And what are your thoughts on saturated fat and cardiovascular disease?

Marion Nestle takes on a some of those tough questions about sugars and fats in her blog Food Politics. She is an author and Paulette Goddard Professor in the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health as well as Professor of Sociology at New York University.

She shares her ideas in her blog on January 25:

I wish I could answer all of the questions that come into Feedback or Comments, but I cannot except occasionally.  It’s a rainy day in New York and today seems to be one of those occasions.

Q: Does the caloric value of a food change when it’s cooked?  In his latest book, “Catching Fire: How Cooking Made us Human,” Harvard Primatologist Richard Wrangham argues that cooking foods changes the available nutrient content and actually raises the available calories.

A:  The rules of physical chemistry tell us that matter cannot be destroyed or created so the number of calories available in a food does not change with temperature.  What can change is our ability to use (digest, absorb) the calories that are there as well as our desire to eat the foods.  Cooking makes the calories in potato starch more available, for example, but has hardly any effect on the calories in meat.  Both, in my opinion at least, taste better cooked.    But cooked or not, the calorie differences will be small and unlikely to account significantly for weight change.

The nutrient situation is also complicated.  Cooking destroys some nutrients (vitamin C is a good example) but makes others more available (beta-carotene).  This is another reason why nutritionists are always advising variety in food intake.  Variety applies to cooked and raw, as well.

Read more of Marion’s Q and A…

Coming February 1st, 2010, the Cascadian Farm sweepstakes will begin. Look for drawing slips and complete details at the demo kiosk and at customer service. Sweepstakes will run February 1st through February 28, 2010.

Lifeway Foods

Coming soon – you will be able to donate directly to the Cooperative Emergency Fund at the registers of Valley Natural Foods. You can ask our cashiers to add any dollar amount you wish to your grocery tab. The Cooperative Emergency Fund will be donating all monies received from here until July to help the rebuilding efforts in Haiti.

To learn more about The Cooperative Development Foundation and their Cooperative Emergency Fund, visit www.cdf.coop. 

Deep snow can’t dampen the creativity of Cahill Salon & Barber Parlor in Burnsville. As the snow heaps up along County Road 11, this neighboring business to Valley Natural Foods simply used the snow as a new advertising medium. They are also offering 5% discount cards to the co-op with every haircut between now and the end of January. You can walk-in or call 952-432-6699. Just because we are all wearing hats this time of year doesn’t mean we shouldn’t have a good hair-cut. After all, Cahill Salon is close to the co-op and has proven that they are resourceful!

People enter our doors to find answers to their diet and health questions. Sometimes it’s as simple as, “Where’s the salad bar, I ‘m hungry,” or as serious as, “My child was just diagnosed with a nut allergy.”

When it comes to special diets and food allergies we understand that some people are more sensitive than others. We have all different types of customers and we’re thrilled about that, but every item in our store isn’t for everybody.

For example, we are very proud of our bulk department. It’s a great way to try new items, keep your cupboards full of fresh product and save money, however if you are shopping for a person with food allergy it’s important to be aware that the bulk bins may be cross contaminated.

We sell all types of flours and nuts in these bulk bins and although we do our best to keep all the scoops clean and avoid cross contaminating the bins or scoops, it is still likely that the bins are cross contaminated due to the allergens becoming airborn or an accidental misuse of a scoop.
 

Our deli department also uses extreme caution when baking and cooking the gluten-free foods. They clean the kitchen and the cooks understand how to avoid cross contamination, but the kitchen is not a certified gluten-free kitchen. If you are really sensitive to gluten, please keep this in mind. Maybe try the products from Bittersweet Bakery or other packaged goods on the shelves.

We cater to all types of diets and are happy to answer any questions you may have when you come in the store. Please ask if you are unsure about any item, or if you just need to be pointed in the direction of the cookies to satisfy that sweet tooth!

Did you know Valley Natural Foods offers free 20-minute consultations with a registered nurse? Eileen Johnson, RN is on staff here on Monday evenings from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. and on Wednesdays from 4:30 – 6:00 p.m. She will spend 20 minutes with customers who would like suggestions for better health. Eileen can:

• Help you design a plan for making healthy food choices for your family.
• Answer questions about vitamins and supplements.
• Suggest supportive foods and supplements during illness.
• Help you figure out what kind of practitioner to see.
• Give a store tour to help you navigate through when your focus is on certain foods or limitations.
• Suggest ways for achieving stress relief.
• Talk about good choices for exercise routines.

If you are interested in scheduling a 20-minute consultation with Eileen, stop by customer service or call at 952-891-1212, ext. 221 and request a 20-minute slot for one of those evenings. 

Valley Natural Foods works directly with two organizations that offer secure ways to make contributions to aid the relief effort concerning the recent earthquake disaster in Haiti.

The American Red Cross is responding to this disaster, and will be working with Red Cross partners in Haiti and with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. If you would like to support Red Cross/Red Crescent Society disaster relief efforts in Haiti, visit Red Cross International Response Fund. Or you can visit the Red Cross Twin Cities Area Chapter at www.redcrosstc.org for more information.

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Another option is through The Cooperative Development Foundation. They have a fund strictly for the purpose of assisting people in times like these -The Cooperative Emergency Fund.  Over the last 20 years, CDF has raised over $275,000 for cooperative relief and rebuilding efforts for ten different disasters.

The Cooperative Emergency Fund will be donating all monies received from here until July 2010 to help the rebuilding efforts in Haiti. CDF will be collaborating with international cooperative relief efforts in this endeavor to rebuild those coops afflicted by this disaster. Donating through the front page of CDF’s website is quick and easy at www.cdf.coop. 

Cash donations are being collected at the Valley Natural Foods registers for Lakeville Friends of the Environment.

Lakeville Friends of the Environment (LFE) is an organization dedicated to improving the environment in Lakeville, MN.

If you would like to contribute to LFE, cash collection canisters have been placed at each register to deposit any spare change for those who wish to donate. We will be collecting change until the end of May. Valley Natural Foods will then match your total contributions up to $200.