Gourmet Global

Several months ago I advocated Urban Organic as a wonderful resource for organic produce which is delivered to your doorstep either weekly or bi-weekly. I am going to have to retract my endorsement, due to their lack of customer service.

Starting with delivery, they change the day of delivery at times without notice. So if you are not home on the new date of delivery, the box will sit on your doorstep until the next day, causing some of the products to lose quality - lettuce gets very limp after sitting out in a box all night. Which leads to next problem - the delivery itself.

When you sign up for the service, you are asked if you need an afternoon or an evening delivery. Your request is not honored - so I don’t know why they bother. My box would repeatedly arrive before I am home and sometimes when I happened to be home early, my box would usually be delivered around 3. It is just left on my doorstep or sometimes in the lobby of my building. There were even times when I was home and they did not bother to ring the doorbell. I was discussing this with a neighbor of mine in my building and she would repeatedly find the box outside her door, when she had been home the entire day. We live in a decent neighborhood with decent neighbors - but anybody could come and pick up the box of fresh, organic produce!

I have sent email requesting substitutions for items in my box that I do not like. My requests were not honored and since getting a live person on the phone is virtually impossible, after several attempts, there is no way to verify they receive your request.

The latest problem which is causing me to write this blog entry - I decided to stop service since I have recently joined the Food Coop where I have a variety of organic products at a convenient location. I called and left a message - a live person NEVER answers the phone. You are not given the option to wait to speak to someone. You leave a message and usually do not receive a return call until the next day. I was at a trade show that day at a location without cellphone coverage, therefore, I did not receive the message until it was after office hours. The message said they did not understand if I just wanted to next delivery canceled or if I wanted to permanently cancel. Instead of canceling the next delivery until they received a confirmation from me, they disregarded my message and made the delivery, causing me to have a ridiculous amount of produce because I had gone shopping at the Coop, thinking I would NOT be receiving a delivery.

Although it is a great service for those where fresh produce is not readily available, their lack of customer service may be worth you going out of your way to do your shopping - so that your box does not get stolen off of your doorstep!!

OK - enough venting - I promise my next blog will be back to the normal cheerful mode!!

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I recently joined my local Food Coop - the Park Slope Food Coop which is the largest in the country, in existence for more than 30 years. 100% member supported - the members work at the coop. With the decrease in paid labor, the coop is able to keep the prices very low - cheaper than your local supermarket and the added bonus of mostly organic products.

With the new year, many of us have made the resolution to eat better and lose weight in 2009. Shopping at the food coop is a great aid in accomplishing this by having a very large selection of organic products and especially fruits and vegetables - things like jicama, celery root, fresh tumeric and curry leaves just to mention a few.

Just because you live alone, that is no excuse not to make yourself wonderful, healthful meals that you enjoy. You do not have to be like the Diane Lane character in Must Love Dogs, eating a single chicken breast, standing up in your kitchen alone, EVERY NIGHT.

Make interesting meals for yourself and you will enjoy eating healthy meals, instead of pizza and Chinese food. This was my dinner tonight - just an idea to get you started to making delicious meals for yourself, even if you are single!!

The perimeter of the place is arranged with slices of fresh buffalo mozarella, then a dollop of fig spread and topped with slices of fresh tomato. A sprinkling of any spice blend you like and then freshly chopped tarragon (you can use any herb you like).
In the middle of the plate is a simple vegetable salad - this is what I used - but you can use any vegetables you like. This recipe serves about 4.:
1 bunch asparagus, boiled until tender but still crisp and then chopped into bite size pieces
1 small can of kernel corn
1 tomatillo, thinly sliced
1/2 cucumber, thinly sliced
10 grape tomatoes, halved
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1 tablespoons of unsalted sunflower seeds
2 tablespoon dried currants
Dress the salad simply with about 2 teaspoons of olive oil and the juice of 1 lime

Place a little of this salad in the middle of the plate and top with grilled chicken sausage (I used Applegate Farms organic Fire Roasted Pepper sausages made of chicken and turkey).

If you like, you can eat this with a few water crackers.

This is a wonderful low fat meal to make you enjoy your, healthy dinner!!

All the ingredients were from the Park Slope Food Coop - a coop I highly recommend if you live in the NY area!

Looking for a great organic cookie, low in fat and calories that tastes out of this world??? - I highly recommend Paul Newman’s Ginger Hermits!

Made with all natural ingredients:
Organic Unbleached Wheat Flour, Organic Raisins, Organic Molasses, Organic Sugar, Organic Palm Fruit Oil, Oats, Organic Figs, Raisin Paste, Leavening (baking soda, monocalcium phosphate), Ginger and other Spices, Salt, Rice Bran Extract.

They are a great snack for kids - not loaded with sugar, but still chewy and delicious. Cholesterol free and at only 80 calories a cookie, they are a great snack even if you are on a weight management program. About the size of a fig newton, they are very filling.

If you are a ginger fan, the ginger really POPS in this cookie and with its soft texture, tastes almost like gingerbread. However, if ginger just ain’t your thing, hermits are also available in original and cinnamon.

Go to your local food coop or healthfood store, if you cannot find them in your local market.

Also, the fact that all profits go to charity - it’s a good company to support!!!

There was a great article on cnn.com yesterday detailing the healthiest supermarkets in the country:

Whole Foods
Safeway
Harris Teeter
Trader Joe’s
Hannaford
Albertson’s
Food Lion
Publix
Pathmark
Super Target

Plus I have my little two cents to add:
Whole Foods - while I agree it is one of the healthiest, it is also the most expensive and in these hard, economic times you can still get healthy alternatives at a variety of other markets.

SuperTarget - I HIGHLY recommend. Many of my colleagues and friends had been telling me for many months that I have to go to the grocery section of Target and when I finally made it there - WOW, was I impressed. Their store brand, Market Pantry, is very good and made with mostly all natural ingredients. I bought their Italian salad dressing and ketchup. Tasted as delish as any other name brand that you are used to.
Archer Farms, their organic brand is amazing-with LOTS of unique snacks. The Archer Farms line of cereals are delicious -the Triple Berry Clusters is really good but my absolute fave is the Multigrain with Yogurt Cranberries. Made with wheat, kamut, millet, brown rice and oats, it is full of fiber and delicious. I eat it with oat or rice beverage (instead of milk), and it packs a lot of fiber, vitamins and minerals in one bowl of breakfast cereal. Add some sliced banana and it keeps you full until lunch. Also, the potato chips with black pepper and sea salt is to die for.

Some other local markets that did not make it on this list that I highly recommend are:
Fairway - huge selection of fruits and veg. at reasonable prices. The location in Brooklyn is located behind God’s back, as my grandmother would say, but the Manhattan location is very accessible to public transportation and the prices can’t be beat, especially for Manhattan. They also have a large International section - the only place in Manhattan I can get halloumi (one of my favorite cheeses - from Cypress). Organic meat also, at half the price of Whole Foods.

Food Coops are also great. Two are in Brooklyn:
The Flatbush Food Coop, which is only a few blocks from my house so I frequent it often. The prices are a hit or miss - Some things can be really reasonable (especially if they are on sale) and others can be really expensive. Because membership is not mandatory (as it is in most coops) their prices have to be higher because they have more salaries to pay.

The Park Slope Food Coop prices are amazingly cheap, but membership is required. In addition to making a $100 investment in the coop, you must work a 2 hr and 45 minute shift every 4 weeks. You reap the benefits of your work by paying extremely low prices for all natural and organic products.

The 4th street coop is located at 58 East 4th Street. I am not familiar with this food coop but take a look at their website and you can call and find out how they operate.

Sahadi’s on Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn, in the middle of the Middle Eastern enclave, sells a variety of foods from a variety of cuisines throughout the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Spices, All varieties of Grains, Coffee, Dried Fruits and Nuts as well as Fresh Olives are also in abundance at this market.

Urban Organic, which I mentioned in my last post, sends me carrots every single delivery. Needless to say, I am having to come up with interesting ways to use all my carrots. I came up with these wonderful low fat muffins. I used almond flour but you can use any kind of nut flour you like. This is a great way to boost the protein in muffins.

These muffins are great for kids, having very little sugar and virtually no fat. Instead of soaking the dried fruit in port, you can soak it in orange juice if you prefer. These are tasty, healthful muffins for everyone and very simple to make.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup dried fruit peel
1 cup port (or orange juice)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup natural applesauce (unsweetened)
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup almond flour (or any nut flour - soy flour or oat flour are also good substitutions)
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup grated carrots (about 3 average sized carrots)
1/4 cup grated coconut (use natural unsweetened coconut - not the flaked stuff)

Directions:
Soak dried fruits in port for 1/2 hour.
Preheat oven to 375 F.
Sift all the dry ingredients into a large bowl.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, blend sugar and egg together until well blended, about 3 minutes.
Add half of the dry ingredients. Mix until well blended. Add the applesauce and vanilla. Mix until blended. Add the rest of the dry ingredients. Mix until well blended.
Using a rubber spatula, fold in carrots, dry fruit and coconut until thoroughly combined.
Spray muffin pan with non-stick spray or use paper muffin cups. Fill muffin pan about 2/3 fill with batter and bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
I use mini muffins tins to help control the size of the muffin and a great way to use portion control for us adults to control our caloric intake. These are not the HUGE muffins you get in deli’s and bakeries.

Enjoy and watch the kids love this healthy version of a muffin!! Please try this recipe and let me know your feedback!!

Organic Produce is something we would all love to have in our kitchen at all times, but depending on where you live it can be very inconvenient to come by. You might have to take a train just for some fresh fruits and vegetables. Since it so far, you would like to be able to buy a lot, but you can’t because you can only carry but so much. Also, since it is produce the shelf life is not very long.

I have the answer for all of you who have been in this predicament and the answer is Urban Organic. Urban Organic is a great company with a wonderful concept. Every week or bi-weekly as you prefer, you will get a box of organic fruits and vegetables delivered to your home. It will be a variety of in season produce. Depending on which size box you order, the price varies from $24.99 to $44.99. It is an adaptable service - You can have a list of certain items you are never to receive, for example I never receive kale because I HATE it. The weekly listed is posted online, so you can also weekly change items for a fee.

I just received my new box on Thursday and received lettuce, tomatoes, potatoes, yellow squash, canteloupe, pears, peaches, nectarines, bananas, carrots, plums, corn and red chard. I did not get the kale that was also on this week’s list.

So log on to their website and check out this great service for convenience and a great way to stay healthy!!

I stopped by the Unions Sq. Farmer’s Market today, the largest Farmer’s Market in the NYC Metro area. I had not been there in a long time and everytime I am blown away by how diverse nature is.

Purple Bell Peppers, Brown Scotch Bonnet Peppers, Red Scallions (look purple)! I can’t wait to eat these and get all those vitamins into me. The darker the vegetable, the better it is for you. The darker colored vegetables are extrmely rich in anti oxidants. That is why orange sweet potatoes are better than white ones. That is true for all foods - brown sugar is better than white sugar, whole wheat flour is better than white flour.

And one of the reasons I would not go to the Farmer’s Market very often is because of the prices. I know how much better it is for me to eat organic without hormones and pesticides, but unfortunately my wallet cannot always afford it. I am glad to see that is changing. With demand for organics so much higher, prices are not what they once were.
Organic lamb for 10/lb.
The largest heads of cauliflower I have seen in my life for 3.50 a head.
This huge bunch of fresh chiles was $6.00 for the whole bunch.

The Union Sq. market is open Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat 8a-6p. Saturday is the best day to go, however, because all of the merchants are there. They don’t all come on the other days.

Especially those of you who have children, it is very important to feed them organics especially dairy. Since young children drink so much milk, ingesting all those hormones on a regular basis is so bad. That is why we have 6 year old girls starting to menstruate and developing breasts. The hormones are making their bodies develop too quickly and that is so bad with all these pedophiles around. Young children that age don’t realize what some men’s motives are and are unequipped to interpret the signals.

I am going to start eating organic a lot more often and buying organics for my clients - with these prices, I and them can afford to do it!

On the same topic, I saw an interesting documentary the other day called How To Save the World - I am not sure where it is available - perhaps Netflix?? I saw it as part of the South Asian International Film Festival and it was about the switch many farmers in India are doing, switching to organic. When farming is your livelihood as it is for many Indians, a failed crop means your family does not eat that year. Many crops were failing when they started using chemically engineered hybrid seeds. The amount of farmers committing suicide was rising year after year. Now that many farmers have switched back to the way they were raising their crops for centuries before huge corporations convinced them to switch, their crops are succeeding again and farmer suicides are starting to decrease.

Catch this movie if you can.

As long as you can afford it, I am pushing organic on you all!!!