Category Archives: Health/Nutrition

Heat-And-Serve, Plant-Based Latin Eats

Casa Verde's ready-to-eat Garbanzos Al Pastor (front) and Red Bean Pozole (back).
Casa Verde’s ready-to-eat Garbanzos Al Pastor (front) and Red Bean Pozole (back).

Indulging in vegan, Latin-flavored dishes just got easier with Casa Verde.

Made by Ilinel Food Co. founded by Guatemalan-born Harry Lewis, these ready-to-eat pouch entrees need only a minute in the microwave to heat before serving.

I had a chance to try samples of the made-in-Mexico products, which are now available at Raley’s, Lucky’s, Lunardi’s, Draeger’s, and Oliver’s Market.

Four varieties to choose from.
Four varieties to choose from.

Casa Verde’s line includes four products fortified with beans: Garbanzos Al Pastor, Red Bean Posole, Lentil Mole, and Coconut Chowder. Except for the chowder, which is a single serving, the rest are designed to serve two.

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Plant-Based Scrambled Eggs

A scramble that's not quite what you think.
A scramble that’s not quite what you think.

It looks all the world like scrambled eggs.

But in reality, it’s the new Hodo Vegan All-Day Egg Scramble.

It’s the newest product from the Oakland-based purveyor of artisan tofu.

The plant-based product is made with organic soybeans, with turmeric giving it the eggy color.

It boasts as much protein as a real chicken egg and no cholesterol.

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Shake Your Groovies Thang

Turn-Up The Heat plant-based snack made of sorghum, flavored with beets and paprika -- and made for kids.
Turn-Up The Heat plant-based snack made of sorghum, flavored with beets and paprika — and made for kids.

Mom and entrepreneur, Saskia Sorrosa, may have not enticed any sharks to bite when she appeared on TV’s “Shark Tank” in 2019.

But she’s sure shown them now, raising more than $4 million and getting her Fresh Bellies into 4,000 stores nationwide.

Her New York company makes plant-based, allergen-friendly snack foods, especially geared to toddlers, pre-schoolers, and beyond.

The daughter of a banana farmer and agricultural entrepreneur in Ecuador, she wanted to create crunchy snacks with the type of bold flavors she grew up on.

Fresh Bellies' line of plant-based, gluten-free snacks.
Fresh Bellies’ line of plant-based, gluten-free snacks.

Her Groovies are made from sorghum, sunflower oil, and just a handful of other flavoring ingredients such as paprika, onion powder, or dried rosemary. They are vegan, gluten-free, and have no artificial flavors. The sodium count weighs in at 110 to 125mg per 1-ounce serving.

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Watermelon Seeds — Not Just For Spitting

Forca Foods wants you to energize with watermelon seeds.
Forca Foods wants you to energize with watermelon seeds.

If all you’ve ever done with watermelon seeds is pile them off to the side of a plate or spit them with gusto to see how far they’d fly, Forca Foods wants to convince you to do something entirely different: Eat them.

Its Forca Foods Energy Bites are made from watermelon seeds. In fact, they’re the first of only five ingredients used to make these one-bite cubes. The other ingredients are dates, oats, maple syrup, and fruit or coffee, depending on the variety.

Company Founder Guilherme Maia Silva studied plant sciences at the University of California at Davis, where he wondered why we were making snacks out of such water-intensive crops and ingredients as almonds, walnuts, and dairy. It’s a question that’s only gotten more attention now that California is in yet another year of deep drought.

So, a year ago, he launched his snack that’s centered around watermelon seeds, which, he says, use 94 percent less water than pistachios, 78 percent less water than almonds, and 11 percent less water than dairy. Not only that, watermelon seeds also contain iron, zinc, magnesium, and potassium.

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Sponsored Post: Smack Your Lips Over Sweet and Savory Artisan Products From Clif Family

Whether for brunch or a midday snack, Clif Family Solar Grown Honey Spreads, Organic Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Almonds, and Rosemary Roasted Almonds & Pistachios, make for a perfect pick-me-up.
Whether for brunch or a midday snack, Clif Family Solar Grown Honey Spreads, Organic Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Almonds, and Rosemary Roasted Almonds & Pistachios, make for a perfect pick-me-up.

A myriad of honeys certainly abound on supermarket shelves. But Clif Family Solar Grown Honey Spreads definitely stand out. Not only do they pack a wallop of flavor, but they are made with honey specifically harvested from bee hives located on or around pollinator-friendly solar farms.

It’s a concerted effort to encourage both clean energy and biodiversity. After all, flowering meadows planted under solar farms not only create cooler microclimates that improve energy efficiency, but foster thriving beneficial insect populations.

Talk about a sweet win-win.

I had a chance to try samples of three different Solar Grown Honey Spreads ($10 for a 5.5-ounce jar), each smooth, creamy, and thick enough to slather on most anything with a knife.

Clif Family Solar Grown Honey Spreads come in both sweet and spicy varieties.
Clif Family Solar Grown Honey Spreads come in both sweet and spicy varieties.

For added oomph, they are blended with spices sourced from Burlap & Barrel, a public benefit corporation that partners with small farmers to improve their livelihoods.

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