January 2016

The whole idea behind smoothies, hence the name, is that they are healthy, smooth drinks full of chunks of blended fruits or vegetables. You can also add liquid (fruit juice, milk, or yogurt), ice and nutritional add-ons such as protein powders for a consistent texture to meet your individual taste desires. Click here for tips on making your own smoothies from National Co-op Grocers. However, dependent upon the amount of liquid, and the fruits and vegetables used, some smoothies are not as smoothly blended as others. And have you ever been on a quest to find the smoothest smoothie of them all? My quest ended when I tried our Emerald Pineapple Smoothie, available in our deli’s Coffee and Juice Bar. Our employees love this smoothie so much they chose it as their “Love List” item of the week! It’s a great treat

When glancing at this picture, one would think this strange, yellow apparatus is part of a Halloween display, perhaps representing some ghoulishly freakish goblin fingers. Yet I bet the last thing you would guess is that this large yellow spindly thing is edible and that it is actually a fruit. Called Buddha fingers or Buddha's hand, this fruit is a member of the citrus family although it looks nothing like an orange, lemon or lime. It also features bright yellow, segmented finger-like sections with a thick peel, which can infiltrate any room with a strong, fragrant, citrus aroma. In fact, in Asian countries, a primary use for this fruit is as an air freshener along with it being the base of perfumes and fragrances. Yet similar to traditional citrus, one can eat Buddha's hand, but not necessarily directly as people commonly

**As the temperatures dipped and all the social gatherings of the holidays subsided, an unwelcome guest traveled with me into 2016. I’m sure this unwelcome guest is familiar to most people this time of year as it brings congestion, sinus pressure, leading to headaches, along with a minor sore throat. Yes, I am talking about the common cold. Although I stocked up on various homeopathic products from the co-op’s wellness department, which helped to varying degrees over a couple days, it wasn’t until I discovered Garden of Life’s raw organic extra virgin coconut oil on the third day of my cold that I truly felt relief. I thought that now is the time to try it as it is almost half price through January 31, 2016 at $9.99 for 16 ounces. I simply swirled around a teaspoon of coconut oil