One of the most important themes of the 5-2-1-0 Challenge at Valley Natural Foods from June 9 – July 6 is encouraging our children to eat more fruits and vegetables. The program states that children should eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables daily. We all know that it isn’t easy to get kids to try new things. So Kirsten, our Fresh Foods Educator at Valley Natural Foods, has made it easy for families by providing a series of fresh kid-friendly recipes at her Sunday and Wednesday demos from 3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. during the month of June. She takes tried and true kid favorites such as burgers or sloppy joes and adds vegetables or fruits to the recipes, giving these tired meals a new, exciting twist. What a neat, but sneaky way to get your kids to enjoy eating healthy! At each demonstration you can try a sample, grab the recipe and get a coupon for savings on the ingredients.

Look for all of Kirsten’s past recipes on our Pinterest page.

Visit Kirsten at our demo kiosk from 3:00-6:00 p.m. on these days:

Sunday, June 2 – Hawaiian Chicken Burger   Preview of ingredients: ground chicken, diced red onion, fresh ginger, garlic, pineapple slice, and provolone cheese slices.

Wednesday, June 5 – Curried Potato Salad Preview of Ingredients: potatoes, garbanzo beans, peas, garlic, onion, ginger, cilantro, cayenne pepper, curry powder and Greek yogurt.

Sunday, June 9 – Lamb Sliders    Preview of ingredients: ground lamb, onions, Greek yogurt, red onions, cucumbers, tomatoes.

Wednesday, June 12 – Fruit Salad with Honey Yogurt Sauce  Preview of ingredients: fresh fruit, Greek yogurt, coconut palm sugar and cinnamon.

Sunday, June 16 – Turkey Broccoli Burgers Preview of ingredients: broccoli and ground turkey.

Wednesday, June 26 – Pizza Joe Preview of ingredients: sloppy joe mixture with pepperoni and vegetables.

Sunday, June 30 – Chicken with Sweet and Spicy Nectarine Sauce  Preview of ingredients: chicken breasts and nectarines.

Learn more about Valley Natural Foods’ 5-2-1-0 Challenge from June 9 – July 2013.

presents the first of the season

COMPOST TEA SALE

Saturday, May 18, 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m., outside at the Valley Natural Foods garden center

Come learn about Compost Tea from Karen Graham,  the brewer of EarthTea (763-551-9572, EarthTea@comcast.net). Karen will tell what compost tea is, how it’s brewed, how to apply it, and what you can expect from using it in your gardens and yards.

You will have the opportunity to purchase this concentrated product that day, and will be given plenty of instructions about how to use it once you get home. It is highly perishable, so ideally you will apply it that same day.

YOU WILL NEED TO BRING YOUR OWN CLEAN BUCKET, and will purchase by-the gallon. One gallon will cover 100 square feet. The diluted tea can be delivered with a hand watering can to each plant, and is beneficial as a foliar feed as well as a soil rebuilder.

One gallon will cost $7.99

The ideal bucket will be a clean 5-gallon type, but any gallon container with a lid will do to transport it home.

Benefits of compost tea use:
• Rebuild your soil’s ability to hold water, oxygen, nitrogen and phosphorus
• Convert minerals into biologically available forms for plant uptake
• Promote deeper, more vigorous root growth
• Improve plants’ ability to cope with heat and drought
• Grow more robust plants and nutritionally dense foods

Click here for EarthTea application instructions!

We just received a special delivery of gardening goodness from Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community Organics Recycling Facility! Garden center customers are welcome to bring their own 5-gallon pails or purchase special, heavy-duty reusable bags for $1.00. This special organic blend of composted manure sells for only $1.99 per 5 gallon bucket or bag full. See garden center staff for assistance.

Visit www.smscorf.com to learn more about Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community Organics Recycling Facility.

This is no ordinary compost! The blend being delivered here consists of 40% composted horse manure, 40% composted dairy manure, and 20% Minnesota Origin sphagnum peat moss.  The horse manure is from Canterbury Race Track and the dairy manure is from a local dairy farm.

Compost Blend Testing Data (based on as-received basis)

Organic Nitrogen  --  0.69%
Plant Available N  --  0.03%
Phosphorus (as P2O5)  --  0.42%
Potassium (as K2O)  --  1.10%
Calcium  --  1.80%
Magnesium  --  0.76%
Sulfate  --  160 mg/kg
Boron  --  24 mg/kg
pH  --  7.37
Bulk Density  --  33 pounds/cubic foot
Carbonates (as CaCO3)  --  83 pounds/ton
Organic Matter  --  54.8%
Ash (Mineral)  --  45.2%
Metals (503 USEPA)    --  Pass (all 6% or less of limits)

NOTE: Compost is a soil amendment and should never constitute 100% of any planting media.  Organics Recycling Facility recommends that their product be mixed approximately 50% with native mineral soils or blended 30% compost to 70% topsoil.  Another option in the case of existing perennial plants is to side dress the material near the root zone of the plants.  Plants will respond nicely if combined with a nitrogen sources such as fish emulsion.

Join us at our Garden Center on Sunday, May 19 at 12:00 p.m.  Gardens of Eagan will be here to demonstrate how they graft tomato plants!

BHN 589 and New Girl are two grafted tomato varieties that are available at the Garden Center.

Our new garden center is now open!

Look for us in the SE corner of Valley Natural Foods parking lot! Sustainable and organic vegetable plants, herbs and flowering plants produced locally from Gardens of Eagan, Green Earth Growers and Glacial Ridge are available. Also, look for high quality, organic garden products and compost at the garden center. And did we mention that our hanging baskets are just loaded with stunning color!

Unique heirloom and hybrid tomato and pepper varieties have arrived and will add extra excitement for your home or community garden plot! For a list of those tomato and pepper varieties, CLICK HERE to see exciting descriptions for Hillbilly, Purple Russian, Chocolate Stripe and Indigo Rose tomatoes, or Tequila Sunrise, Red Knight, Ghost, Georgia Flame peppers and much much more!

Available NOW in our produce department are organic seed potatoes and bare root alliums (onions). Click the links for available varieties and growing instructions.

Check out our It’s Gardening Time Pinterest board for garden ideas and inspiration!

Time to GET GROWING!

It’s a new month and a new sales period! The current sales period runs May 1-21, 2013.

April-May 2013 Co+op Deals Coupon Book are available at Valley Natural Foods near the produce department and at customer service.

SMART TIP: Match-up coupons with new sale items for extra savings. Check out the list below:

Selected varieties of NATURE’S  PATH BOXED CEREAL are on sale for $3.49-3.89. Take an extra $1.00 off with coupon.

Selected varieties of CROFTER’S Fruit Spreads are on sale for $2.49-2.99. Take an extra $.50 off with coupon.

Selected varieties of LITTLE BEAR/BEARITOS 16 oz. Tortilla Chips are on sale for $2.89. Take an extra $1.00 off with coupon. (Wow – only $1.89 final price!)

Selected varieties of LITTLE BEAR/BEARITOS 16 oz. Refried Beans are on sale for $1.79. Take an extra $1.00 off with coupon. (Wow – only $.79 final price!)

SEVENTH GENERATION 12-packs of Natural Unbleached Toilet Paper is on sale for $5.79. Take an extra $1.00 off with coupon.

Selected varieties of ALMOND DREAM Dream Frozen Dessert are on sale for $2.99. Take an extra $1.00 off with coupon. (Wow – only $1.99 final price!)

Selected varieties of RISING MOON ORGANICS 16 oz. Frozen Ravioli are on sale for $4.79. Take an extra $1.00 off with coupon.

ORGANIC INDIA Shatavari Wellness Supplement is on sale for $14.99. Take an extra $2.00 off with coupon.

Don’t forget to visit our online coupons link for even more coupons. Enjoy the savings!

Valley Natural Foods will be selling little peat pellets in our garden products area. Using peat pellets  for seeds makes it easy to get an early start on your garden, with less mess!

1. To prepare the pellets for planting, arrange them side by side in a shallow tray. Add enough warm water to cover the pellets, add more water as needed until they are fully expanded (1 ½ inches high).

2. When the pellets have reached their full size, pour off any excess water. Pull the netting back from the top, fluff up the peat a little and make it level. Pellets should be moist but not saturated. Use a needle/pencil point to make one to three shallow planting holes in the top of each pellet (one when the seed is large, three when using smaller seeds), spaced as far apart as possible. Plant the seeds into the holes about 1/4 inch, then press lightly with your thumb to cover the holes. Label each pellet.

3. Cover the tray with plastic. Keep the pellets in a warm area, between 70-80 degrees, but out of direct sunlight. An electric germination mat works well.  As soon as the seeds germinate, poke holes in the plastic tent to increase ventilation and to prevent overheating.  Watch for condensation; wipe it out daily.

4. When the pellets begin to turn a lighter brown and dry out, add warm water to the tray. Remember that at this stage they have to stay moist but not soaking wet. After germination, reduce watering slightly, but do not let the seedlings dry out.

5. When the seedlings show their second set of true leaves, remove the plastic and reduce watering. Place the tray in a south-facing window where it receives at least six hours of direct sunlight a day. At this stage, best temperatures for the seedlings are 60 to 70 degrees during the day. Turn the tray daily to keep the stems growing straight. (Plants are heliotropic, which means they turn toward the light.)

6. As the seedlings begin to crowd each other, use scissors to thin them to one per pellet, snipping off the weak ones. Don’t pull out the extras; you may unintentionally pull up the one you want to keep, because the roots are tangled underneath.

7. Three to four weeks after the seeds have germinated, or when the third leaf appears, begin applying diluted liquid fertilizer.

8. When the roots begin to grow through the bottoms of the pellets, it’s time to transfer them into the garden.  Even though the mesh is biodegradable, it’s a good idea to gently tear it off before planting to allow the roots to stretch out easily.

The Run for Hope 5K  on May 4th, 2013 at Valley Natural Foods, is really heating up!  95 runners are registered now and 40 of those have been added in just the last 3 weeks.

Race registration is not the only thing that is heating up! More sponsors have been added, increasing the free goodies that you will get in your swag bag. Also, we have exciting news: every registered runner will get a custom keepsake race bib with his or her on it.

There is still time to register to get these neat swag items plus a race t-shirt! To ensure you get a swag bag and a race t-shirt in your size, you must register by April 12th. All proceeds from the race benefit Hope for Tomorrow Mentoring, a 501 (c)(3).

Every runner loves swag and you know you will be hungry after that race, so we got you covered with all of these FREE snacks thanks to the product sponsors listed below. Every runner will get at least one of  each of the following items:

• Equal Exchange Bananas
• Iceland Spring Water
• Chobani Champions Yogurt
• KIND Bars
• Larabars
• Clif Bars
• Nature’s Path Granola Bars
• Pamela’s Whenever Bars
• Think Thin Bars
• Garden of Life Protein Mixes
• Enjoy Life Seed and Fruit Mixes

Also, many thanks goes out to our monetary sponsors for their generous donations: Amica Insurance (Platinum Sponsor), McDonald Eye Care Associates (Silver Sponsor), Life Wellness Center (Silver Sponsor), Anchor Bank and Burnsville Community Foundation ($500) Just Me Geralyn and Glass (Bronze Sponsor), Dakota Electric Association (Bronze Sponsor), Garden of Life (Bronze Sponsor), Moms on the Run (Bronze Sponsor), Vital Life Chiropractic ( Patron of Hope Sponsor), Blahnik Insurance (Patron of Hope Sponsor), Pro Staff (Patron of Hope Sponsor).

Thank you to all 635 of you who participated in our This is Living Naturally reader survey! We conducted a random drawing for those of you who provided an email address. Wendy F. won a $50 gift card to the co-op – congratulations Wendy, and thank you for taking the survey!

Readership survey results will be included in a colorful infographic in the upcoming April/May issue of This is Living Naturally. In addition to answering the survey questions, hundreds of you also responded with comments – thank you so much! Listed below are a few of those awesome comments!

Reader Survey Comments:

Valley Natural Foods is a wonderful company that we are very happy to support!

My family and I absolutely love your store and value the opportunity your store allows us to purchase locally grown meat, produce,
dairy, etc. The staff seems to be incredibly knowledgeable about the products and certainly willing to answer any questions.

Love your store. What an awesome member of our community. The staff are always very helpful and friendly. Thanks for your support
of Westview Elementary School. Hooray for Valley Natural!

Keep up the good work, both with education and providing a place to buy food that is good for you as well as “better for you than the
regular” indulgences.

Love the store-great products, even greater staff. Fun to shop there with all the interesting products.

Your staff are always so helpful. I love that your gluten free items are marked with tags on the shelves – it makes it much easier to
shop and is such a relief not needing to check, check, check ahead of time more than I already do. Thanks!

I’ve shopped the coop for years and consider it an invaluable part of the community.

I love the store! I love it when there is someone sampling a recipe by the bulk foods. I have taken several of the recipe cards and a
couple of the recipes have become family favorites:)

Kirsten’s Fresh Foods demonstrations for April will take you on an excursion to the flavors of the southwest with peppers, spices and some unique ingredients such as black garlic. Also, enjoy some great vegan options too. If you missed any of Kirsten’s previous demonstrations, you can find fun pictures and all of her recipes on our Pinterest page.

Visit Kirsten on these dates from 3:00 p.m.-6:00 p.m. at our demo kiosk! Sample these delightful dishes and get recipes, coupons and tips for bringing these flavors to your kitchen.

April 7th – Black Garlic and Tomato Canapes
Sometimes you just want a small, delicious snack to satisfy those mid-day taste buds. This simple cracker, topped with the sweet taste of the black garlic pairs perfectly with a slice of tomato and chicken.  Your afternoon snack just got sophisticated!

April 10th – Soy-Delicious Edamame Salad
Nothing says spring like this light and flavorful salad packed with edamame, cauliflower, carrots and red kale. It tastes so good you won’t even realize your loading up on  protein, fiber & vitamins.

April 14th – Mini Asparagus Frittatas
Making breakfast for dinner doesn’t have to mean frozen waffles or a bowl of cereal. Sometimes making a delicious, healthy and flavorful breakfast dish for dinner is easier than we think. These individual frittatas are fun, delicious and take no time at all to prepare. Add a fruit salad and your meal is complete!

April 17th – Southwest Burger    
There are days when all you want to do is sink your teeth into a hot juicy burger. This simple burger is not only good for you but packed with a lot of spicy flavor too!

April 21st – Sausage, Egg & Cheese Breakfast Sliders
Does a healthy egg and sausage breakfast muffin or bagel actually exist? Yes! Using our Down in the Valley sausage meat, free-range eggs and lots of vegetables including red peppers, spinach and onions and you can start your morning off right with all the protein, energy and vitamins needed to feel ready for what the day might bring!

April 28th -  Grilled Pork Chops with Tex-Mex salad
There’s nothing better than firing up your grill for the first time.  These pork chops seasoned with a flavorful blend of herbs & spices paired with a quick to make Tex-Mex salad provide not only your taste buds some enjoyment, but you as well because you’ll cut your time down in the kitchen to make this great meal.