Wholevine Products

Whole Vine products are created by California based SonomaCeuticals. Cheers to the founders for maintaining 100% ownership of their company. This company is profitable with a purpose as it was founded,  "to become a sustainable wellspring of funding," for philanthropic organizations.

"The products' wine country sources ingredients are from 100% certified sustainably grown grapes and vines with natural nutrition and purity, and a traceable provenance of some of coastal California’s top vineyards."

Here are some bullet points regarding the products they have available to customers. Whole Vine customers can shop at shop.wholevine.com or they can visit the store :

707.547.4731

http://www.wholevine.com

Gluten-free cookies
Gluten-free flours
Culinary Oil
Artisan Wheat Crackers
Vine Grown Colors
Natural Cosmetics-Coming Soon

My favorite product was the Award Winning Oatmeal California Currant gluten free cookies. You can read more about the Sonoma County Harvest Fair's Double Gold award for gluten free desserts.

http://bit.ly/1elArB8

Through Whole Vine I learned about a Grape Seed Flour and Grape Skin Flour. According to the Whole Vine website, these Gluten Free products are farmed by Jackson Family Wines and offer various nutrients such as calcium, dietary fiber and essential amino acids and proteins.

Whole Vine has Cook's Tips available to provide information about how you can use Grape Skin and Grape Seed Flour.

* Grape skin flour helps to stabilize egg whites
* Make flavored salts and rubs
* Use to emulsify salad dressings
* Make juicier, more flavorful burgers and meatloves
* Grape seed flour keeps baked goods fresher longer
* Use grape seed and grape skin flour when making marshmallows.

"The grape seed and skin flours are rich in potassium,calcium, and magnesium, with a good amount or iron,copper, and zinc as well. Moreover, these grape flours provide optimal ratios of minerals, being high in potassium but low in sodium, while also having an excellent balance of both calcium and magnesium."

"Notably, the raw materials we harvest were the ones typically cast aside until now. We conceive of a time when everything in the vineyard is harvested for its highest best use, something we call Optimum Harvesting."

Whole Vine Theatre offers several videos for anyone interested in multimedia resources.

http://bit.ly/1jSxJHc

                                                        http://www.wholevine.com

Jovial Foods

Based in Connecticut, Jovial Foods got its' start in 2010 and has gone on to be mentioned on the Dr Oz show.

A variety of products are available including Brown Rice Pasta, as well as Whole Grain Einkorn Pasta and a selection of Gluten Free Cookies.

Gluten Free products have been on the market for some time now and Jovial foods is another company, fairly new to me, that offers these products.

http://bit.ly/KfmE46

Here is some interesting information about gluten free diets from the Jovial website:

"Gluten-free diets have also been used in conjunction with the treatment of other medical conditions, such as Autism, Multiple Sclerosis, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Others report not having any particular medical condition but feeling better when limiting wheat consumption."

I tried the Crispy Cocoa Cookies which are a vegan product made using Einkorn. The Jovial website gives some useful information about how the product is now made using Fair Trade certified ingredients, " which ensures that small farmers get just compensation and helps developing communities improve their quality of life." *Allergen information can be found on the Jovial website.

There is a feature on the Jovial Website that allows you to see a close up of the nutritional information should you wish to review it while shopping on their site.

If you are interesting in eating healthier and are new to cooking with products such as Einkorn Flour, or Einkorn Wheat Berries, you can view recipes on the Jovial website.

http://www.jovialfoods.com/recipes/

The recipes include such dishes as the Einkorn and Yogurt Breakfast Bowl, Gluten Free Whole Grain Pumpkin Quick Bread, Gluten Free Classic Lasagna, Einkorn Birthday Cake and Spiced Apple Cranberry Pie with Einkorn Crust. From a quick scan through it looks as though there are over fifty recipes for all types of food.

Jovial has been featured in several major news publications such as The LA Times, The NY Times and the Wall Street Journal.

You can request that your favorite store carry Jovial products and/or contact Jovial directly at 877-642-0644 from 8:30am to 4:30pm EST M-F.

The Jovial blog can be found at http://jovialfoods.com/blog/.

Enjoy.

5C

Amy's Kitchen

Most people who have food sensitivities are probably already aware of Amy's Kitchen, a frozen food company with a variety of vegetarian options.

One unique product you may not yet be aware of is the rice crust pizza. I'm not 100% certain about  the retailer from whom I purchased this item. It may have been whole foods. For those in the mid west, I think Sprouts may carry Amy's Kitchen products.

http://bit.ly/IPOT8z

If you are wondering where you can find Amy's Kitchen in your area, the Amy's Kitchen website has a Store Locator feature on their website.

http://bit.ly/IZWpgI

The FAQ's section on their website addresses a variety of points that consumers may want to review including information about everything from the 2012 completion of a transition to the use of cans that use no BPA in the formulation of their liners to their 2003 Kosher certification.Additionally, for those who are interested in vegetarian cooking, you can find a listing of vegetarian cookbooks.

I wanted to include more information about what makes Amy's Kitchen unique and through searching around on their website found that they have a periodic newsletter. The Fall 2013 newsletter includes a write up suggesting that customers save their POP proof of purchase tabs in order to trade for Amy's Kitchen products.

Currently, their website has a coupon available for download for .50 c off of any Amy's Dessert Item.
http://bit.ly/19t9wBJ

Amy's Kitchen has taken customer feedback about having lost weight eating Amy's and turned it into Amy's Diet Plan. You can find out about who they worked with in putting the diet together as well as some exercise tips.

http://bit.ly/1jbDOiC

I'm always interested to read about success stories so if you have also started a business and would be interested in sharing you story, I can be reached at thefiftycoop@gmail.com.

http://www.amys.com/

5C

Feta Fest

Summer is here and you are bound to end up cooking some food of some kind for some event/reason. For those of you who end up cooking for something because you allowed yourself to get roped into it, here is a pretty simple meal that tastes good and looks great.

Food for Life Baking Company sent me a few of their products including Sprouted Whole Grain Penne Pasta, Almond Sprouted Whole Grain Cereal and Cinnamon Raisin Whole Grain Cereal.

As mentioned above the simple meal I prepared is just pasta with a few basic ingredients added in. I cooked the Sprouted Grain Penne Pasta and added some baby spinach once the pasta was pretty much finished cooking. FYI baby spinach cooks down pretty fast. I also added in Feta Cheese and tomatoes. I don't know if there is an ideal time to add the Feta and tomatoes so you may want to search around and see what you can find as to preparing pasta dishes.

The link below has pictures that can give you an idea of what these ingredients look like in case you have never eaten or cooked with them before.

http://www.fortheloveofcooking.net/2013/03/spinach-saute-with-grape-tomatoes-feta-cheese-and-toasted-pine-nuts.html

I am learning as I go about sprouted grains. I added some of the Cinnamon Raisin Whole Grain Cereal to a yogurt snack and I have also had it as a snack by itself. I've had the Almond Sprouted Whole Grain Cereal as a snack by itself as well.

If you are interested in a self guided/self-paced introduction to Sprouted Grain they have a resource on their website that gives you information about the benefits as well as the available Food For Life products that include sprouted grain as an ingredient. I like that it is detailed and it seems to me that these products would be good for anyone who has food sensitivities or is preparing meals for someone who does. Their website says that sprouting produces Vitamin C, I wonder if sprouted grain products would be a good source of Vitamin C for people who have a citrus allergy. (* I am not a health care professional and this is not meant to serve in any way as medical advisement*)

http://www.foodforlife.com/about_us/sprouted-grain-difference

Food For Life also has a section on their website that lists out the Low Glycemic and Diabetic Friendly offerings. I'm impressed that they obviously took a lot of time to address the potential concerns of a wide variety of customers. Very inclusive.

http://www.foodforlife.com/about_us/diabetic-friendly



Ezekiel 4:9^® Sprouted Whole Grain Penne Pasta
http://www.foodforlife.com/product/pasta/ezekiel-49-sprouted-whole-grain-penne-pasta
Ezekiel 4:9^® Almond Sprouted Whole Grain Cereal
http://www.foodforlife.com/product/cereals/ezekiel-49-almond-sprouted-whole-grain-cereal
Ezekiel 4:9^® Cinnamon Raisin Whole Grain Cereal
http://www.foodforlife.com/product/cereals/ezekiel-49-cinnamon-raisin-whole-grain-cereal

Go Raw Real Live Food

After living in New York and having access to healthy-food-palooza I know for sure that if you really look, you can find some great, healthy,tasty food products. Go Raw-Real Live Food is a company based in Mountain View California.

 

When I received some of their products to review, I was pleasantly surprised to see that they had sent so much.I tried the Banana Bread Flax bar first and after trying their Live Granola, which I have stashed away at work for the occasional (okay almost daily) snack, as well as a few different flavors of their Super Cookies, I would definitely support this company.The Carrot Cake Super Cookies are delicious!
 

I attended a get together and took the Pizza Flax Snacks with me and they were a hit. One person stopped to take down the goraw.com website.
 

On top of everything else, they sent me chocolate. Score! Real Live Chocolate comes in shiny individually wrapped squares and they taste like what I imagine real old fashioned chocolate treats would taste like. I haven't been to Belgium but I imagine they have a whole other standard for sweets than what I have been used to.They have agave nectar, which I just found out a bout a few years ago. I'm at a point where I am starting to recognize certain natural products and understand what function they serve. I also like the Sprouted Pumpkin Seeds, they might taste good as a salad topping, or maybe a nice finish to a pasta dish.
 

I love chai, so for the piece de resistance (spelling) I have to mention that I really enjoyed the Masala Chai Super Cookies. I used to live near a neighborhood garden and have been interested in urban/community gardening for a while now. Maybe because my family is from the country I'm not new to the idea that food by itself (with out a lot of extra stuff) actually tastes pretty good if you know what you're doing. I wonder how more products like these can be positioned so that all these food deserts we have here in the states can offer healthy food to undeserved areas? I'd be very interested in comments...
 

All the Best!

The Fifty Co-Op

Moore,Oklahoma- KiZE Concepts

I learned about KiZE through SITS blogger Fit 'n' Well Mommy and the post below is a recent initiative of this company in response to the tornadoes in Oklahoma. I think this is a unique idea!

The Fifty Co-Op



Help us Feed the Tornado Victims

Every Order Will be Donated and Matched by KiZE

Hi Friends,

Please help us donate KiZE to feed the affected in Moore by using the online order code “love moore” at www.kizeconcepts.com/shop .

Every order will not go to you, but be donated on your behalf to those affected. We will match every order and get to those in need. Ex: You order a Beast Mode, 12 pk, we will match and provide 12 as well to provide 24 bags total to the individuals in need. We’ve already gotten some to people in the disaster area and they’ve been tremendously appreciated as a snack and meal option.

Thank you in advance for your support!

Please forward on to any friends, family, or co-workers and let us know of other ways we can help fuel the body and feed the soul in this time of need.

Show some PDA – Pray, Donate, Act

- Jeff

Truebars

Gourmets lovers may want to reach for their monocles.Bakery on Main's Truebar is charming it's way onto the scene. The chic packaging could easily appear on the storefront of any New York City cafe.Sweet but not saccharine, Truebars are granola bars for adults.Finding products that do not aggravate food sensitivities can be an endeavor especially if you do not happen to live close to a specialty store or if you are shopping on a budget.Natural foods have been presented as some type of extra moon in orbit around 'all other foods'. It's possible that natural foods are really just foods that we already know we are supposed to eat. I reached for the Walnut Cappuccino first and it was a flavorful balance of chewiness and crispiness.Bakery On Main, where have you been all this time?

https://www.bakeryonmain.com/Products/Store/tabid/135/categoryid/7/truebar/Default.aspx?categoryid=7