March 2016

With spring arriving, we all are thinking about spring-cleaning, but it’s also the time to have a field day stocking up on Field Day products! Field Day products make up Valley Natural Foods’ Co+op Basics program, which offers everyday low prices on many popular organic grocery and household items. Be sure to take a field trip to the co-op from March 30-April 12, 2016 as you will find, for this limited time only, that many select Field Day products are available at even lower prices. Shopping organic on a budget just got easier as this is the bargain sale if there ever was one. Hint, hint, there are many meal ideas you can utilize these items for, including spaghetti, tacos, bean soups, peanut butter sandwiches for lunch, salads and more! Below is a listing of many of the Field Day products you will find

I can’t believe Easter is this Sunday and I’m sure many people feel the same! In addition, I haven’t completed any of the shopping needed yet for the dinner I’m attending. Perhaps this sounds familiar? For those attending a dinner, it is a nice gesture to bring either an appetizer, a dish to pass or a dessert. For those hosting and preparing the meal, getting that signature ham or those potatoes for the side dish for example, is essential. Then of course many people may not make a dinner, but instead a delicious, simple Easter brunch for their families. Therefore, I started shopping the co-op to see what goodies I could come up with to help people in all of these different Easter scenarios. Here are several ideas I discovered in my shopping journey.   1. Springy Appetizer or Simple Dessert When you think about appetizers, many

Easter baskets full of treats and Easter eggs are tradition. However, growing up as a kid in the 90s, I remember all of those corn syrupy sweet candies and eggs with artificial colors filling my Easter basket. My parents nor did many other people at the time know or even think about natural or organic options as much as they do today. Flash forward 25 years and now natural and organic Easter options are becoming mainstream. You can find many organic and natural Easter options at Valley Natural Foods. The co-op even has many adult-friendly Easter–type gift items too, if candy or sweet treats are not quite your speed. Here’s the lowdown of 10 ways you can fill your Easter basket with new traditions this year:     1. Honey Easter Bears – 2 oz.  $2.99/each This is by far the cutest Easter basket stuffer I’ve

Since my first name is Erin, I’ve been asked many times if I’m Irish and unfortunately I have to tell people I’m not. But with an Irish name and St. Patrick’s Day just around the corner on March 17, whose to say I can’t pretend, just for a bit! After all, we all want to be that lucky Leprechaun that finds a pot of gold under the rainbow! While Valley Natural Foods may not be able to offer lucky pots of gold, it can offer festive St. Patrick’s Day novelty foods that can make pretending to be Irish and celebrating the day all the more fun and flavorful. Here are my top four picks for authentic St. Patrick’s Day fare or food items that simply make the day memorable:   1. Cahill Farm’s Irish Whiskey Cheddar Cheese - $21.99/lb. If authentic Ireland is what you are looking