Opening day for Mill City Farmers Market was on Saturday, May 12. Our very own Down in the Valley Bakehouse was there for the first time and it was a success! Just about everything they brought was sold—but really, it was the number of visitors at the booth and their comments  that defined that success.

Many visitors came by our booth simply because they saw us on the Mill City Farmers Market website. Others ate samples and then made purchases whether they were on a gluten-free diet or not, because our gluten-free products were “that good!”

“Will you be here next week?” was the most common question asked by visitors. And what a joy to have one of the other vendors ask us to let gluten-free customers know they would make sandwiches for them using our gluten-free bread buns on request!

Down in the Valley Bakehouse will be at the Mill City Farmers Market every 2nd-Saturday of the month for the entire market season!

Down in the Valley Bakehouse is Valley Natural Foods’ tasty 100% gluten-free product line. Visit the bakehouse on Facebook and LIKE us for sweet updates!

Check out our online coupons to enjoy savings on a Down in the Valley Bakehouse cookie of your choice!

Some things are worth waiting for, especially the Mill City Farmers Market!  The Mill City Farmers Market will open this Saturday and Down in the Valley Bakehouse will be there selling scrumptious gluten-free goodies.

Celebrate Mother’s Day early with local fresh-foods, art and authors.  Stop by our booth for a chocolate chip cookie just like grandma’s or treat mom to a slice of dairy-free banana bread.  Other vendors will feature asparagus, arugula, baby lettuce, carrots, spinach, nettles, herbs, snow peas, radishes, and much more, including spring’s favorite “fruit” -  rhubarb!  Here’s a map to the market.

Down in the Valley Bakehouse is Valley Natural Foods’ tasty 100% gluten-free product line.  Like Down in the Valley Bakehouse on Facebook for sweet updates.

If you are just starting out on a gluten-free diet or just discovered you have celiac disease, shopping and reading labels can be stressful and time consuming.  Then when it comes to actually cooking your first gluten-free meal or making sure your kitchen is clean from cross contamination, you might just want to give up.

Our advice is to not give up! Instead, take Valley Natural Foods’ Gluten-Free  Basics class  on March 8  with instructors, Shawn Binkowski and Sandra Calcutt! In this class you will have the unique opportunity to learn from our instructors’  over 20 years of combined gluten-free cooking experience! From years of trying many gluten-free items, they will give you their recommendations for the best gluten-free staples to have in your pantry. They will also provide tips on how to organize a gluten-free kitchen to prevent cross contamination, along with introducing you to their favorite cookbooks, resources and websites for making the gluten-free lifestyle easier.

Meet Shawn and Sandra at our education kiosk (located just beyond our produce department) on February 28th from 12pm-2pm to try some gluten-free goodies and to learn more about this class.

There are many ways to register for this class! Pre-registration is required at least 32 hours in advance. Register online, in-store, or over the phone by calling 952-891-1212 ext. 221. View our entire  Education at the Co-op class schedule through May 2012.

Andrea Huggenvick, Residential Life Coordinator at Northland College in Ashland, Wisconsin has shared with us her delicious gluten-free cracker recipe. This recipe starts out as a basic one, but there are endless possibilities for variations, so you can use your imagination! Thank you Andrea for blessing Valley Natural Foods with your recipe!

Andrea’s Gluten-Free Crackers

Serve crackers with:

• Holy Land Hummus
• Brie topped with Lucille’s Kitchen Garden Pepper Jam
• Cheese Slices
• Deli Dips
• Tapenade
• Avocado Slices
• Cranberry Salsa

Tuesday, December 13th was Community Night at the Co-op at Valley Natural Foods from 5-7 pm.  Children and families from District 196 schools, Northview and Westview, were invited to learn more about how to eat healthy along with enjoying a meal and fun samples as a family. This month’s Community Night was extra special as we engaged staff from each department to create recipes for kids to sample. The kids were charged to vote for their favorite recipe. The clear tasty favorite created by Ken Harrington in the meat department  actually makes for a wonderful,  simply  holiday meal  or new year’s party idea: Gluten-Free Ham with Pineapple Juice & Cloves.  Simmered for two hours in pineapple juice and maple syrup, this ham is so juicy and richly flavored, you won’t be able to get enough of it.

Did you miss out all these yummy samples? Stop by our second December Community Night at the Co-op for District 191 schools, Gideon Pond and Sioux Trail on Tuesday, December 27 from 5-7pm. Not only will you get to taste Ken’s ham but you can also try some other tasty recipes made by Valley Natural Foods’ employees.  These include  seven-layer Mediterranean  dip, breakfast pigs in a blanket, kale chips,  amazing peachy pie and Emergen-C  gelatin.  Of course, don’t forget your slider night (hamburger) meal from our deli department!

Whether you are newly diagnosed with a gluten-intolerance or have been gluten-free for several years, we have a wonderful selection of gluten-free cookbooks in stock to help expand your daily menu plans. Save $2.00 on any gluten-free cookbook (valued at $10.99 and up) with an online coupon! Coupon good through October 25, 2011.

Valley Natural Foods strives to meet the needs of our customers who are on a gluten-free diet. Gluten-free foods have really improved over the years, due to better recipe development and the availability of ingredients and products produced in dedicated gluten-free kitchens across the country.

Our gluten-free offerings are better than ever now that we have our very own Down in the Valley Bakehouse operating in full swing just three miles away! Check out our local profile in the October/November This is Living Naturally where you can learn all about our bakehouse. Freshly baked gluten-free cookies, bars, cakes and cupcakes are all available in our deli department, delivered straight from the bakehouse!

Valley Natural Foods sells several other gluten-free products throughout the store from other companies. Here’s a highlight of three local ones:

Fahlstrom Farms from Hastings, MN has a wonderful, tasty selection of packaged baking mixes that get rave reviews at every tasting demo! Don’t miss their October 21 demo right here at our education & demo kiosk from 11:00 – 2:00! Hint: The garlic cheese biscuits are out of the world!

Another close-by company is Black Barn Bakery, located in Shakopee. This company is also very passionate about their packaged gluten-free products, offering a delicious variety of baking mixes. Tasty demos are certain when Black Barn Bakery is here to sample out what they do best! Join them at our demo kiosk on October 18, from 10:00-1:00.

Right out of Shorewood, MN is Beyond the Grain, a company that offers wheat-free, gluten-free and dairy-free mixes. Their cake and cookie mixes are pretty simple to bake, with easy instructions on the back of the package.

Make sure to shop at Valley Natural Foods every 3rd Thursday of the month for Gluten-Free Day, where we offer gluten-free samples to try throughout the store plus a live gluten-free demo from 3:00-6:00 p.m. at our education and demo kiosk–don’t miss gluten-free Quinoa Autumn Casserole with Pumpkin Delights on Thursday, October 20, and gluten-free Holiday Bars & Treats on Thursday, November 17!

LOOKING FOR GLUTEN-FREE COUPONS? Save on Down in the Valley cup cakes and mini sesame baguettes with online coupons! Also find coupons for baking mixes from Fahlstrom Farms, Black Barn Bakery and Beyond the Grain. Coupons good through October 18, 2011, WHILE SUPPLIES LAST.

It is hard to believe that it is already mid August and that in a few weeks school will start again!

If your child has food allergies, specifically gluten, you know how hard it is to pack a healthy, allergy-free school lunch.

Valley Natural Foods wants  to help your family start the year off right!

Join  us on Thursday, August 18th from 3:00-6:00 p.m. at our education kiosk for our Gluten-Free School Lunch demonstration.

Enjoy free samples of our gluten-free peanut butter sandwiches using our Down in the Valley gluten-free sandwich bread and MaraNatha peanut butter.  Also, pick up recipes for our No Bake Power Balls (which contain Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Rolled Oats) and Enjoy Life chocolate bars. All Enjoy Life products are specially made to be free of the 8 common allergies: wheat, dairy, peanuts, soy, egg , fish and shellfish.

MaraNatha is also supporting schools and nutrition through their new “Healthy Bite  Sweepstakes”.  Anybody 18 years of age or older can enter now until September 30th, 2011.  MaraNatha  will give out 10 grand prizes that include a $500 grant towards a school nutrition program, a $500 savings bond in your child’s name, and a one year supply of MaraNatha peanut butter. 10 first prizes will be given out which include a $250 savings bond in your child’s name and a one year supply of MaraNatha peanut butter. Register today! No purchase necessary!

If you are looking a budget-friendly meal to serve your family, don’t miss our Budget meal  demonstration on Monday, August 22nd from 3:00-6:00 p.m, featuring Lundberg Risotto. Find out how you can make a meal out it! It is easy to cook and is made from organic arborio rice. The rice is also vegan and gluten-free.

LOOKING FOR A COUPON? Save on MaraNatha Peanut Butter, Down in the Valley sandwich bread or hamburger buns, Enjoy Life Mega Chocolate Chunks and Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Rolled Old Fashioned Oats with these coupons. Coupons are good through August 23rd, 2011.

Recently, Valley Natural Foods invited a group of gluten-free guests to a special tasting demo at our Down in the Valley Bakehouse to get feedback and suggestions for gluten-free product development. Overall, our gluten-free goodies were well received!

You can read more about the group’s experience in an article written by blogger Amy Leger, and published on the The Savvy Celiac website. You can also view The Savvy Celiac’s yummy-looking facebook photos of the recent visit to Down in the Valley Bakehouse.

See previous a posting about our bakehouse here, to learn more about our state-of-the-art, dedicated gluten-free kitchen!

Looking for a great-tasting  gluten-free  baked good?  It can be difficult to find to say the least.  But look no further—Valley Natural Foods is a new haven for those seeking delicious, gluten-free options.  We’re excited to announce the launch of a 100 percent  gluten-free line of Down in the Valley products.  These wonderful creations are made in an off-site, dedicated kitchen and will be carried at the co-op’s Burnsville location under the label, “Down in the Valley Bakehouse”.

Our bakers have worked to create flour mixes and recipes that remained gluten-free, yet overcome the common issues of non-binding, gumminess and texture sometimes found in gluten-free offerings.  The Bakehouse also uses nutritional ingredients and considers the taste of the final product to be just as important as the food allergen factor.

In addition to offering temptingly sweet items like chiffon cake, cupcakes, banana bread and cookies, the Bakehouse will also carry traditionally hard to find gluten-free products, such as hot dog buns, sandwich bread, pizza crust, tortillas, baguettes and croutons, giving consumers loads of options.

All Bakehouse products are located in our deli department, be sure to check them out the next time you are in!