Antoinette from the Valley Natural Foods wellness department is a true fan of SunLeaf Naturals Kitchen Dish & Hand Soap. She explains why she likes this product: "The GrapefruitGinger Kitchen soap is eco-friendly, gentle on the skin, very effective for cleaning dishes and lasts me for about a month!"

For complete details on how this wonderful soap works, click on GrapefruitGinger KITCHEN Dish & Hand Soap to see complete product information.

Antoinette suggests pairing this soap with a hemp washcloth (also sold in the wellness department) that works very well as a gentle exfoliator in the bath or as an effective scrubber in the kitchen. The two items put together makes an attractive, affordable and eco-friendly gift for someone…maybe you!

Staying warm and healthy is our main goal during these cool northern days. Matt from our produce department has created a warm winter solution for a delicious meal with a nutritional boost, packed with vitamin C. (See recipe below.)

See, orange juice isn’t the only way you can get your vitamin C. Leafy greens are packed full of it. Spinach is a great source, but mustard greens take the lead with four times as much vitamin C.

This spicy green is in season now through April and comes from California. It is also in the same family as broccoli, cabbage and Brussel sprouts so it contains all those great phytonutrients that cruciferous veggies are so well-known for.  

Mustard greens and spinach aren’t only good in salads. Check out Matt’s Southern Soup recipe below:

Southern Soup

(Printer Friendly Recipe)

• 4 Tbsp. olive oil
• 2 tsp. salt
• ¼ C. finely chopped red pepper
• 2 C. chopped onions
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 lb. bacon or bacon ends cut into ½ squares
• 2 lbs. Yukon Gold potatoes cut into 1-inch pieces
• 8 C. (or more) water
• 1 10-oz. package fresh spinach, stems trimmed
• 1 bunch mustard greens (about 12 oz.), stems trimmed, leaves coarsely chopped
• 1 tsp. pepper
• Sour cream

Heat oil in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add 1 tsp. salt, red pepper, onions and garlic sauté until tender, about 8 minutes. Add bacon and potatoes; sauté 5 minutes. Add water. Bring to boil. Reduce heat. Simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Add mustard greens and all but 1 C. spinach leaves and simmer for 3 minutes. Working in batches, purée soup in blender until smooth. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cool. Cover and refrigerate.) Return soup to pot. Bring to simmer, thinning with more water, if desired. Add remaining tsp. salt and pepper. Cut remaining C. spinach leaves into 1/3-inch-wide slices. Ladle soup into bowls. Add dollop of sour cream to each bowl. Garnish soup with sliced spinach leaves and serve.
 

If you do your shopping here at Valley Natural Foods on Mondays between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m, you are in for a real treat if you visit our eat-area by the fireplace!

Free 10-minute massages are available on a first-come first-served basis by Joel Ronningen who you may recognize from our wellness department.  Joel is also a bodyworker and owner of Ametrine Bodyworks at www.ametrinebodyworks.com, and offers 10-minute sessions to shoppers and staff.

 The next time you find yourself shopping here on Mondays, take a 10 minute break and relax with a free massage!

Enrollment in Non-GMO Project Nears 3000 Products
 
RICHVALE, CA, January 6, 2010 – Lundberg Family Farms announced today that 66 of their products are among the first products to be officially “Non-GMO Verified” by the Non-GMO Project. The “Non-GMO Verified” seal means that verified Lundberg products have been produced according to rigorous best practices for GMO avoidance, which includes testing of risk ingredients.
 
“It is very important for the consumer to have an educated choice between food containing GMO’s and those that are Non-GMO,” says Grant Lundberg, CEO of Lundberg Family Farms. “It has been my pleasure to work with the Non-GMO Project and like minded members of the natural foods community to draft the first comprehensive Non-GMO standards in the United States. I could not be prouder that Lundberg Family Farms is among the first companies to have our products officially verified.”
 
Grant Lundberg serves as one of eleven governing members of the Non-GMO Project’s board of directors that has been involved in initiating, funding, and writing standards for the Non-GMO Project since its inception. The Non-GMO Project is a non-profit organization, created by leaders representing all sectors of the organic and natural products industry in the U.S. and Canada, to offer consumers a consistent non-GMO choice for organic and natural products that are produced without genetic engineering or recombinant DNA technologies. As the Project evolved, it became clear that in order for the initial vision of standardized labeling to be possible, a 3rd party verification program was needed that would identify products compliant with a uniform, consensus-based definition of non-GMO. With the help of technical consultants FoodChain Global Advisors, and fueled by the passion of a dynamic array of industry leaders, the Non-GMO Project has successfully created a collaborative non-GMO verification program that began enrolling products in the fall of 2008.
 
Companies enrolled in the Non-GMO Project are serious about keeping GMOs out, and work hard to do so. While many products make claims regarding their GMO status (e.g. “GMO free”), these are not legally or scientifically defensible, and are not verified by a third party. The Non-GMO Project is the only organization offering independent verification of testing and GMO controls for products in the U.S. and Canada. To date enrollment in the program is close to 3,000 products from over 50 brands. Visit www.lundberg.comto view a list of Lundberg Family Farms products that have been Non-GMO Verified. 

About Lundberg Family Farms
Since 1937, the Lundberg family has been growing healthy, great tasting rice while respecting and sustaining the earth. Today, the third generation carries on the family heritage by using eco-positive farming methods that produce wholesome, healthful rice, rice cakes, rice chips and risottos while improving and protecting the environment for generations to come.