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Chia—Tiny but Mighty

by Dave Straub, Cordata produce department

Chia has the ideal balance of fatty acids we need for healthy joints, digestion, and brain function.

There is evidence that chia (pronounced ‘chee-ah’) was cultivated by the Aztec empire, rivaling corn in cultural and economic significance. These tiny seeds have a slight nutty flavor, are stunningly beautiful, and are versatile in nutrients and use.

I was first exposed to chia as a child in the form of an inane infomercial for Chia Pets. Luckily, this ancient superfood has regained some dignity since its debut sprouting green ‘hair’ on novelty terracotta statues. The past few years have seen an all-out chia revival, due partly to the constantly increasing demand for functional food with multiple health benefits.

Lauded for its high omega-3 content, chia has the ideal balance of fatty acids we need for healthy joints, digestion, and brain function.

It also contains all the essential amino acids needed for our bodies to use as a complete protein, making it a perfect ingredient for meal replacements and protein powders like Garden of Life Raw Meal found in your Co-op’s wellness department.

Other benefits include calcium, lots of fiber, and a variety of micronutrients.

Agriculture has kept up with our increase in chia consumption. Newly developed cultivars have increased production in the U.S. and abroad.

This is good news for fans of organic. Chia leaves produce a natural insect repellent and there are no major pests or diseases affecting chia crops, so organic farming comes naturally for the hearty chia plant.

I’ve been enjoying chia for years.

My pantry is never without a mason jar full of chia from the bulk department.

It is an easy option for adding nutrients and texture to my oatmeal or my favorite smoothie recipe. Today, chia is used in numerous products that you can find at the Co-op. I spent the last couple of weeks on a chi-adventure exploring the aisles and trying out everything I could find.

For breakfast I tried Qi'a Superfood from Nature’s Path Organic. Qi'a has only three ingredients; chia, hemp, and buckwheat. It is nutrient dense and filling. For a more decadent breakfast try Chia Plus gluten-free frozen waffles from Nature’s Path Organic.

GT’s Synergy Cherry Chia Kombucha is so good I’ve been drinking it every day. Chia seeds are hydrophilic, meaning they absorb twelve times their mass in water and develop a gel-like coating. When added to a drink such as kombucha, it takes on a pleasant jell-o like texture. (Side note: the gelatin quality of soaked chia also makes it an excellent egg replacement in baked goods.)

Hope you enjoy some chia soon, in whatever way you choose!

Dear Nutritionist: Caramelize Your Veggies

by Lisa Samuel, Co-op News contributor

dear nutritionist, lisa samuel, nutrition, registered dietitian, nutrition advice

Lisa Samuel, Registered Dietitian and Nutritionist

Dear Nutritionist: I know vegetables are good for me, but I don’t really like them. Do you have any tips for making them delicious?

Dear Member: I get this question so often! One of the simplest tricks to making vegetables more delicious to a picky eater is to roast them. Roasting brings out the natural sugars in the vegetables, caramelizing them and making them taste sweeter. And you can roast all kinds of veggies: cauliflower, broccoli, asparagus, zucchini, mushrooms, kale … the options are endless. In general, just coat them with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and any herbs or spices you like. Roast in a 425°F to 450°F oven until the vegetables are caramelized.

See Lisa's recipe for Whole Roasted Cauliflower and Tahini Sauce.

Whole Roasted Cauliflower and Tahini Sauce

by Lisa Samuel, Co-op News contributor

Lisa Samuel, Registered Dietitian and Nutritionist

Whole Roasted Cauliflower

INGREDIENTS

1 head cauliflower, tough leaves removed and stem trimmed
1 cup white wine
1 tablespoon sea salt, plus extra for sprinkling at the end
1 teaspoon whole coriander seed
1 teaspoon whole cumin seed
1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling at the end
Handful of parsley or cilantro
2 bay leaves

METHOD

Preheat oven to 475 F.
Place cauliflower in a pot and add enough water to cover (or almost cover). Add wine and seasonings. Stir. Bring the broth to a boil and then reduce to a simmer, cooking about 20 minutes or until the cauliflower is very tender. Use a fork to test. It should slip in and out very easily.
Remove the cauliflower from the water, brush with olive oil, and place on a baking sheet or an oven-safe skillet. Place in the oven and let roast for about 45 minutes, or until very dark and beginning to blacken in some spots.
Remove from the oven and drizzle with extra olive oil and a sprinkling of sea salt.
Serve warm or at room temperature with tahini sauce and zhug (Yemeni hot sauce).

Tahini Sauce

INGREDIENTS

1 cup tahini
1 clove garlic, ground to a paste with a little salt
3 – 4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
Zest of one lemon
½ teaspoon sea salt
Water

METHOD

Add tahini paste to a large bowl. Add garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, and about ½ teaspoon sea salt. Whisk together with a fork, making a thick paste. It will turn a strange color and consistency and you’ll think you’ve ruined it.
Add cold water, a few tablespoons at a time, until the tahini becomes the consistency of a thick sauce. Taste for lemon and salt and adjust, as desired.

Tahini sauce will keep in the refrigerator for one week.

Dear Nutritionist: Whole Grain, No Pain

by Lisa Samuel, Co-op News contributor

Lisa Samuel nutritionist cutting mushrooms on cutting board in kitchen with vegetables

Dear Nutritionist: I know whole grains are good for me, but I haven’t tried anything other than brown rice and quinoa. I’m bored with those choices. Can you help?

Dear Member: Whole grains are good sources of carbohydrates, and carbohydrates provide energy for your body and brain—energy to help keep you running full steam ahead all day long! Whole grains are naturally full of fiber and nutrients, and eating whole grains has been associated with reduced risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes, and obesity.

Whole grains can be found in a variety of textures and flavors, adding to the pure enjoyment of eating. When we think of grains, we typically think of wheat. There are many varieties of wheat, including spelt, emmer, farro, einkorn, kamut, durum, and forms such as bulgur, cracked wheat, and wheat berries. But there are also many different types of grains besides wheat, including amaranth, barley, buckwheat, corn (including whole cornmeal and popcorn), millet, oats (including oatmeal), quinoa, rice, rye, sorghum, teff, triticale, and wild rice.

Buying grains from the bulk bins can be a great way to experiment. Just buy a small amount of a grain and then see if you like it.

To get you started, see Lisa's recipe for a Spring Lamb Stew with Farro.

Dear Nutritionist: Meatless Monday

by Lisa Samuel, Co-op News contributor

Lisa Samuel, Registered Dietitian and Nutritionist

Dear Nutritionist: I’ve heard about the Meatless Monday campaign, and I’d like to try it for my family. Do you have suggestions for how to get my meat-loving family to try a vegetarian meal once a week?

Dear Member: Going meatless once a week is a great way to help you and your family be healthier, save money, and help the environment!

When planning meatless meals, think about them the same way you would any meal, by including a good source of protein, a fiber-rich carbohydrate, and healthy fats. Good sources of plant-based protein include beans and legumes, whole grains, soy, nuts, and nut butters. Dairy products, like milk and cheese, are also a great source of protein.

To keep it interesting for your family, try a new recipe each week. Ask your kids to look through magazines or websites to pick out new meals, and then make them together. Sometimes it’s easiest to start with familiar meals, like pasta or tacos. Experiment with herbs, spices, and bright dressings or sauces to add lots of flavor to your dishes.

You might find the meals so delicious you end up going meatless more than once a week!

See Lisa's One-Pot Tomato & Swiss Chard Pasta and other meatless recipes.

About Meatless Monday

It’s Worldwide!

Meatless Monday was founded in 2003 by Sid Lerner in association with the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. In May, 2009, Ghent, Belgium, became the first non-U.S. city to go meatless. Shortly thereafter, Paul McCartney introduced the U.K. to Meat-Free Mondays.

Meatless Monday is now active in 44 countries and continues to grow. Representatives from different nations are finding innovative ways to make meatless and vegetarian dishes part of their everyday culture, customs and cuisine.

Skipping meat one day a week is good for you, great for your nation’s health, and better for the planet.

Did you know the Co-op hot bars are meatless on Mondays? Check out the menu.

Dear Nutritionist: Getting the Most from Fruit

by Lisa Samuel, Co-op News contributor

Lisa Samuel, Registered Dietitian and Nutritionist

Dear Nutritionist, I’ve heard that some fruits are more nutritious than others. Is this true? And if so, how can I choose the most nutritious fruits?

Dear Member, It’s a great question! Different fruits provide different
health benefits.

For example, some are higher in fiber, or some have greater amounts of antioxidants. Have you ever heard the term “eat the rainbow”?

The bottom line is that the more colorful the fruits in your diet are—the better!

However, there are differences in the nutritional value of certain fruits, and how you store and serve them can also affect their nutritional value. Here are a few general guidelines to getting the biggest bang for your nutrition buck, when it comes to fruits.

Fruits vary widely in their nutritional value. For example, different apples have different amounts of antioxidants. Try to choose the most colorful fruit on display.

Select ripe fruit for the highest nutritional value. Fruits picked before they are ripe will never develop the same nutritional value as naturally ripened fruits. Also, fruit loses nutritional value as it ages. The sooner you eat it after it has been picked, the more nutrition.

Eat the skin! For most fruits with an edible skin, much of the fiber and nutritional value is contained in the skin.

Blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries are among the most nutritious foods you can eat! They are rich in vitamin C and anthocyanins (beneficial phytochemicals), and are high in fiber.

Frozen berries are almost as nutritious as fresh berries, if they are flash frozen. Thawing them destroys many of their nutrients unless they are thawed very quickly. Thawing berries in the microwave is the fastest method. Eat them right away after thawing, or eat them frozen as a refreshing treat!

Dried fruits are also nutritious and are good sources of fiber. Try to choose those dried without added sugar.

Dear Nutritionist: Getting Kids to Eat Vegetables

by Lisa Samuel, Co-op News contributor

Lisa Samuel, Registered Dietitian and Nutritionist

Dear Nutritionist: I have a hard time getting my son to eat vegetables! Do you have any suggestions?

Dear Member: It’s almost every parent’s dilemma: How do I get my child to eat vegetables? Here are a few tips for the picky children in your life. And maybe a few picky husbands or wives, too!

• Invite your child into the kitchen to help make dinner. Kids are more likely to eat what they cook. Kids love projects, and cooking their own dinner gives them a sense of accomplishment and ownership. Give them age-appropriate tasks like washing vegetables, measuring ingredients, dumping, or stirring.

• Give foods fun names. A recent study shows kids eat twice as many vegetables when the veggies were labeled with cool, fun names, like X-ray Vision Carrots and Tiny Tasty Tree Tops. So come up with fun names for foods (or let your kids invent names) and you’ll watch those veggies disappear.

• Give your kids choices. Like all of us, kids want to have control. Let them choose between healthy options, and they’ll feel empowered. For example, when you’re making pizza, set out bowls of different types of vegetable toppings, and let your child build his own pizza. You may be surprised when he chooses spinach.

• Add vegetables to recipes. While I’m not a huge fan of sneaking vegetables into meals, it can take time for kids to develop a taste for them. Studies suggest kids may have to taste a food 15 to 20 times before they start to like it. So, keep serving that side of broccoli and encouraging your child to at least taste it. Eventually, her taste buds will start to accept it—and even like it! In the meantime, there’s nothing wrong with sneaking a little more vegetables into her favorite foods, to make sure she’s getting all the nutrition she needs. For example, shred carrots or zucchini and add to hamburgers or meatballs, add shredded or pureed veggies to pasta sauce, or puree cauliflower and add it to mac n’ cheese. You can even blend fresh spinach into a fruit smoothie (blueberries are great for disguising the green color). This works for picky adults, too.

• Eat together as a family. The research is clear—kids who eat dinner with their parents are healthier, happier, and less likely to get into trouble as a teen. And kids model what their parents do, so if you’re putting more vegetables on your plate, eventually they will, too. Don’t pressure your child to eat—just set a good example. There are 1,440 minutes in a day—make at least 30 of those minutes a dinner with your kids.

See Lisa Samuel's kid-friendly recipe suggestion for Green Goblin Sandwiches.

Green Goblin Sandwiches

by Lisa Samuel, Co-op News contributor

recipe, sandwich, kid friendly, avocado, spinach, cheese, nutrition, healthy, lunch, dinner, fast, easy,

Every child loves a grilled cheese sandwich, but this gooey grilled cheese sneaks in a healthy dose of protein, good fats, fiber, and greens from cheese, avocado, and spinach.

Adapted from The Natural Pregnancy Cookbook.

Green Goblin Sandwiches

Makes 1 sandwich

INGREDIENTS

1 cup baby spinach
1/4 medium avocado
1 ounce melting cheese (like cheddar or mozzarella)
2 slices whole grain bread
1 teaspoon butter
salt, to taste
Tabasco or other hot sauce (optional)

METHOD

Finely chop the spinach and place in a medium bowl. Add the avocado and use a fork to smash it into a paste. Add the cheese, salt, and hot sauce and stir. Spread the mixture evenly over the slices of bread and close them to form a sandwich.
Heat a heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-low heat and add the pat of butter. Once the butter has melted, add the sandwich to the skillet. Cover the skillet with a lid to help the cheese melt. Cook until the bottom of the bread is deep brown and toasted, about 2 to 3 minutes. Flip and toast the other side, covered, until the cheese is melted and the bread is crispy. Cut in half and serve.

Dear Nutritionist: Cure for the Summertime Blues

by Lisa Samuel, Co-op News contributor

Lisa Samuel,
Registered Dietitian and Nutritionist

Dear Nutritionist: I’ve heard that most people who live in the Pacific Northwest don’t get enough Vitamin D. Do I still need to take Vitamin D in the summer?

Dear Member: Vitamin D helps in the production of serotonin, a neurotransmitter that can help you feel calm, relaxed, and happy. Vitamin D deficiency is associated with low mood, and it’s also associated with PMS, seasonal affective disorder, mood disorders, and depression.

While we do get Vitamin D from the sun, it can be hard for those of us who live in the Pacific Northwest to get enough sun to maintain our Vitamin D stores. Wearing clothing that covers our skin and wearing sunscreen (which you should do!) prevents Vitamin D from being synthesized. The only way to tell if you have adequate Vitamin D stores is to get a blood test. Most labs use a reference range of about 20 – 55 ng/ml for Vitamin D levels. Research suggests that levels for optimal health are much higher, about 50 – 80 ng/ml.

While the recommended daily allowance for Vitamin D has been set at 600 IU, most studies suggest that you need at least 1,000 to 2,000 IU a day. The upper limit is 4,000 to 10,000 IU a day. If you take a supplement, make sure you take vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol), which is the active form of Vitamin D. Talk to your doctor about what level is right for you.

Drink Up the Benefits of Organic Milk

Most of us have been there. Standing at the dairy case and comparing milk prices, then wondering if it’s worth spending the extra bit of money for organic. Wonder no more.

A Washington State University study has confirmed the benefits of organic milk, finding that “organic milk contains significantly higher concentrations of heart-healthy fatty acids compared to milk from cows on conventionally managed dairy farms. While all types of milk fat can help improve an individual’s fatty acid profile, the team concludes that organic whole milk does so even better.”

Why? The short answer is that cows on organic dairy farms are pasture raised and spend their days outside grazing on a variety of grasses and legumes, and they are raised hormone and antibiotic free. As compared to conventionally raised cows that spend their days in barns, or otherwise confined, are fed a diet high in corn and soy (both at high risk to be GMO), and are treated with large doses of antibiotics and hormones.

The resulting human health benefits from organic milk include 62 percent more healthy omega-3 fatty acids, including ALA which is an omega-3 that cannot be found in fish, and 25 percent fewer omega-6s (unhealthy fats found in disproportionately high levels in the American diet). You may also want to note that many nutritionists now recommend whole milk, rather than 2 percent or skim, as it provides more beneficial omega-3s since skimming off the milk fat also skims off the omega-3s.

Even our environment benefits from organic milk, because of the careful stewardship of organic dairy farmers who maintain healthy pastures free of GMO crops, persistent pesticides, and synthetic fertilizers.

The Co-op carries two high-quality brands of organic milk, Organic Valley and Fresh Breeze Organic. Organic Valley is a nationwide dairy cooperative. In the Northwest region 27 farms provide milk to the cooperative. Among them are Hans and Colleen Wolfisberg, owners of Edelweiss Dairy and Organic Valley members since 2005. Some of you may have visited their picturesque 80-acre farm along the Nooksack River in Everson during a recent Whatcom County Farm Tour. Another local Organic Valley farmer is Andrew Dykstra, one of the first dairy farms in Skagit County to earn organic certification and join the Organic Valley cooperative.

The Co-op’s other brand of organic milk comes from Fresh Breeze Organic Dairy, a fifth-generation Lynden dairy farm located on property homesteaded by the family in 1901. They bottle their organic milk right on the farm—and it doesn’t get any fresher than that.

So, here’s to your health—and to the health of dairy cows and our environment. Enjoy some peace of mind knowing that the benefits you reap from purchasing organic milk far outweigh the small extra expense.

Chia—Tiny but Mighty

by Dave Straub, Cordata produce department

There is evidence that chia (pronounced ‘chee-ah’) was cultivated by the Aztec empire, rivaling corn in cultural and economic significance. These tiny seeds have a slight nutty flavor, are stunningly beautiful, and are versatile in nutrients and use.

Dear Nutritionist: Caramelize Your Veggies

by Lisa Samuel, Co-op News contributor

Whole Roasted Cauliflower and Tahini Sauce

by Lisa Samuel, Co-op News contributor

Whole Roasted Cauliflower

INGREDIENTS

METHOD

Tahini Sauce

INGREDIENTS

METHOD

Dear Nutritionist: Whole Grain, No Pain

by Lisa Samuel, Co-op News contributor

Dear Nutritionist: Meatless Monday

by Lisa Samuel, Co-op News contributor

About Meatless Monday

Dear Nutritionist: Getting the Most from Fruit

by Lisa Samuel, Co-op News contributor

Dear Nutritionist: Getting Kids to Eat Vegetables

by Lisa Samuel, Co-op News contributor

Green Goblin Sandwiches

by Lisa Samuel, Co-op News contributor

Green Goblin Sandwiches

INGREDIENTS

METHOD

Dear Nutritionist: Cure for the Summertime Blues

by Lisa Samuel, Co-op News contributor

Drink Up the Benefits of Organic Milk

by Laura Steiger, Publications Editor

Learning to Make Mocktails

Shop Small: A Gift Guide

Celebrating Red Wine Day with some Co-op Favorites

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