Hi, everyone!  You may have noticed that we have not been making new posts here.  It is because we have moved to a new web address here:  (http://tomatotalk.earthfare.com)  It is still Earth Fare’s blog, Tomato Talk, and still looks the same.  Just make sure to note the new Web Address and start following us there.

As if Earth Fare were not excited enough about just being in Chattanooga, TN, we had the special privilege of partnering with the Chattanooga Downtown Partnership and sponsoring Chattanooga’s Holiday Starlight Parade. What a treat! We were so impressed with the enthusiastic turnout despite the freezing cold, but hey, how could we expect any less from Chattanoogans?

We hope everyone enjoyed all the healthy goodies we were able to hand out: organic apple slices, reusable grocery bags, organic chocolates, organic apples, organic oranges, and organic pears. Earth Fare is excited to be here and ready to celebrate Chattanoogans on their health journeys! If you missed us at the parade, no worries – join us December 9th for our Grand Opening!

What do a conventional bottle of ketchup, canned soup, box of cereal, soda, and even some white breads all have in common?  (Hint: check the ingredient label).  They all contain high fructose corn syrup (HFCS).

HFCS did not even exist until about forty years ago.  Invented in a lab, it was slowly added to just about everything in our food system because it was cheaper than sugar, and capable of extending the shelf life of processed foods.  As a result, Americans now eat about 80 pounds per year!  Compare that to the 20 pounds we were consuming in the 1980s.  This extra consumption attributes to about an extra 523 extra calories (76 of those being from HFCS) per day!   

Well, so what?!  High fructose corn syrup is natural, isn’t it?  Don’t believe everything you read.  See below:

 

The Corn Refiners Association targets you with its persuasive ad campaign, and they may have been able to convince the FDA that HFCS is “natural,” but don’t let all the behind-the-door politics fool you!

High fructose corn syrup is derived from cornstarch, but it is treated with an enzyme that removes the glucose and then, the glucose is treated with another enzyme that turns half of the sugars into fructose.  Chemicals are necessary to process the corn starch into a combination fructose and glucose.  Two of these chemicals can offer trace quantities of mercury.  Last January, mercury was found in almost half of all samples of HFCS.  Yikes.  A natural process would probably not leave you with a harmful chemical that can cause brain and kidney damage.    

Good thing HFCS is on Earth Fare’s boot list.  Yep, we banned it.  That means we are HFCS-free…are you? 

Here are TIPS to reuse or recycle that Christmas tree after your holiday celebration:

Upset we cut down some trees? Did you know that Christmas Trees can be a renewable source of energy?  Did you know that most cities and counties provide Christmas tree recycling services?  So, that tree will turn into paper bags, paper cups, cans and so much more!  BUT, if you don’t have that option in your city, do not worry. You can still recycle your Christmas tree!   

1.) Save the lazy birds!  Make a bird shelter from your tree. It’s easy.  Keep the Christmas tree in its stand and out it in your yard (take the ornaments off!). The birds that can’t make it to Key West this season, will get a safe haven from the cold and you will get some good bird watching!

2.) Defrost your Garden!  Trim off the branches from the tree and place them over the garden beds, in order to reduce the frost heaving caused by freezing and thawing. The trunk of the tree can be used for making homemade trellises or tomato stakes.

3.) Save the rivers and streams?  Did you know your Christmas tree can help with erosion?…You can use the tree to make sand and soil erosion barriers, especially at a beach or on a riverbed.

4.) FREE mulch.  The branches of a Christmas tree can be removed, chipped and used as mulch in the garden.

Happy Holidays!

…and eat it too!

When I heard about the “Healthy Holiday Pie and Cake Contest,” my first reaction was, cakes and pies aren’t supposed to be healthy!  But then, one of my very intelligent and logical co-workers informed me that if someone came through and submitted a HEALTHY cake or pie recipe, then, “I could have my cake and eat it too!”  For the duration of the contest, I kept my fingers crossed – hoping, hoping, hoping, someone would submit a delicious healthy cake recipe - a recipe I could gorge myself on – a recipe that would NOT hinder my health journey. 

I was not disappointed…see what I mean in the picture below.

Me chowing down on the winning healthy cake recipe

Want the healthy cake and pie recipes?  STAY TUNED …healthy cake and pie recipe winners to be posted on Earth Fare as soon as the winners are notified.

If you know of any other healthy recipes that will keep me on the journey, send them my way.  I love me some healthy cake.  NOW, I need a recipe for HEALTHY FRIED chicken.

What do you think of when you think Christmas Eve?  Christmas Day?  At Earth Fare, we think, “Family, food, fun and health!”  Yes, we think health – because Earth Fare’s mission is to feed and inspire the healthy person inside us all – even during the holidays!

This holiday season, Earth Fare wants to share our healthy and delicious food, for FREE – with one deserving family at every store.  Yes, we said FREE!    How do you GET US to cook for YOU?  It’s simple.  SHARE YOUR STORY and sign-up for the health journey!

Tell us why you and your family deserve EARTH FARE’S healthy holiday food makeover.

Is it because  you just don’t feel like cooking?  Is it because you have no idea how to make pie without Crisco?  Is it because you have in-laws with allergies?  Is it because you just don’t want Grandma bringing that ten-ton fruit cake?  Or is it because you just want to kick-back and watch those holiday bowl games?

No matter what the reason, you’ve got to tell us ASAP!  Each Earth Fare store will pick ONE family as the first place winner, meaning that 17 families will be getting lucky this holiday season – (um, please get your mind out of the gutter).  We will also award a second and third place for each store.  Yes, that means we are giving away 17 holiday meals, 17 turkeys and 17 pies!

FIRST PLACE: The Earth Fare Healthy Holiday Free Meal will feed up to 6 and include:

• Cooked Turkey
• Stuffing
• Mashed Potatoes
• Two sides of your choice
• Cranberry Sauce
• Rolls
• Pie

SECOND PLACE:   A Fresh Turkey – 12-14 pounds

THIRD PLACE: Fresh Pie and Earth Fare Ice Cream

So, get writing, and start sharing – be creative, be fun – include pictures and/or videos.  Tell us why you deserve a healthy holiday dinner makeover, and we’ll get started on the cooking!  If you don’t win first prize – don’t worry, we will award a second and third prize.

Contest Details:

-Email your submissions with name, PHONE NUMBER, STORE you shop in and home address to information@earthfare.com (send pictures as Jpeg and send links to videos)
-OR upload entry to http://www.earthfare.com/HealthyLiving/ShareYourStory.aspx– be sure to let us know what store you shop in and your phone number!!!
-Enter submissions from  December 1 – December 15th
-Winners will be notified on December 18th

DISCLAIMER: No purchase necessary to enter Earth Fare’s Healthy Holiday Food Makeover Contest.  Contest candidate must be over the age of 18.  Employees and their families are not eligible for this contest.  In submitting a picture and/or acceptance of prize constitutes permission to use winner’s name and/or likeness and picture submitted for purposes of advertising and trade, worldwide in perpetuity, without future compensation.  Prize winners will be required to verify address prior to awarding the prize. There will only be one winner for first place for each store.  Contest winners will be selected at the sole discretion of Earth Fare’s staff.

Earth Fare is opening our 17^th store in Chattanooga, TN on December 9^th!  The excitement is building for us, and we want to share it with you – our loyal following in Chattanooga (yes, we already have Earth Fare fans in Chattanooga!).  So, we will be giving away $50.00 Earth Fare gift cards to four lucky community members.

And, why wouldn’t you want to win!  Come on – who couldn’t use the extra $50.00 to help with groceries?  Second, it’s your chance to try all of Earth Fare’s healthy and delicious offerings for FREE!  Third, looking for a way to impress that special someone with a holiday season stay-at-home date?  For $50.00, you could buy about two Piedmontese top sirloin steaks, a generous helping of Gouda mashed potatoes, a fresh baked European baguette and a great bottle of Cabernet Franc.  Now, that sounds like a memorable date.

Those are just some of our reasons, but now it’s your turn: tell us why you want to win a $50.00 gift card to Earth Fare. What would you do with the $50.00?  Share your your Earth Fare shopping and/or health success story below in our Comments Section, and you might just be one of the four lucky winners.  Please note that special consideration will be given to scrumptiously creative entries.  Or, shall we say, “entrees.”  Only those who are able to pick up their gift cards at Earth Fare Chattanooga on December 9^th or 10^th are eligible.

Good luck!

Contest Details:
- Submit your entry by commenting on this blog post
- Enter submissions from November 30^th, 2009 through December 8^th, 2009
- Winners will be notified on December 8^th, 2009
- Eligibility: Chattanoogan who is available to pick up the gift card in our new store on December 9^th or 10^th, 2009

My boss Jack, once told me, “Ronald – there is always truth in a little teasing…”  My boss is always right (but don’t tell him that)! 

Remember my last blog post?  I was totally on the health journey and my doctor confirmed that.   Running, eating tofu and green beans – I was loving every minute of it!   So, I spoofed a post – I  sent out a fake press release cancelling my health journey!  Well, my subconscious must have heard that message because since my last blog post, I completely fell off the wagon.  

And when I say, “fell off the wagon,” trust me, this was no stumble…I plummeted from the journey in a blaze of glory.  And that glory was filled with donuts, fried chicken (from a fast food restaurant I will not name), slurpees, and french fries (from another fast food restaurant I will not name).   I gorged and gorged on trans fat, high fructose corn syrup and artificial colors.  And when I say gorged, I mean I ate three times what a human needs all in junk food.  The result – all effort from the previous few months was lost.  I even stopped running  and went back to sitting on my butt watching TV and drinking soda.  

I need to stay away from labels that read like this!  
Take a look at all that TRANS FAT!

The consequence of my uncontrolled three-week binge?   I feel like crap.  It’s funny how quickly eating junk food and being a slug caused headaches and lethargy.  I even could feel the pores in my skin closing up.  

Okay, so don’t have a pity party for me.  I already had one…  Instead, help me.   Tell me what you do when this happens to you?  Seriously.  I need a health makeover. 

Just so you don’t think I am a complete failure, I do want you to know that this past week I started running again and eating healthy (only Earth Fare foods).  Guess what?  I already feel better.    Ten more pounds to go! 

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!  Have a safe and HEALTHY holiday!

The Friday after Thanksgiving.  Black Friday.  You plan to wake at 4:30am to be first in line for deep discounts.  But the “Ready – Set – Buy” mentality may result in a $315 porcelain holiday gnome that collects dust on your front porch and frightens the neighborhood children.  Did you know that some retailers jack up prices the week before Thanksgiving, only to lower them on Black Friday in a shifty merchandising sleight-of-hand.  Don’t be fooled! 

The secret to successful Black Friday shopping?  Get thrifty and GO GREEN!  Literally.  Thrift shops are brimming with an eclectic supply of vintage jeans, sweaters, coats, jewelry, trendy shoes, quirky household wares, plaid shirts, antique toys, musical instruments – and shag La-Z-Boys!   What’s better than stuffing that stocking with creative, one-of-a-kind items?  You will love your post-holiday credit card bills and your loved ones will love the thoughtfulness of your gift-giving…

Thrifty’s favorite color is green – NOT black! Hint…hint..hint…  This ”Black Friday,” when you shop thrift-style, you are sending a message with every purchase!   Shopping thrift means that factories don’t make so much stuff, trucks don’t transport so much stuff, less stuff gets pumped into the atmosphere, and less stuff gets dumped into landfills.  The environment thanks you.  Future generations thank you.

Visit a local thrift store this Friday.  Maybe The Salvation Army or Goodwill, or something more off-the-beaten-path like Thelma’s Nifty Thrifties.  Each thrift store has its own personality, and almost all donate sales to worthy charities.  That makes shopping in them a fairly noble act.   And when’s the last time you felt noble shopping for flat screen television?   

Get Your Own Cool Thrift Store Glasses!

A Few Tips to Shopping a Thrift Store
1.) Avoid binging…stick to your shopping list.
2.) Barter and be friendly while you are doing it – some stores are more strict when it comes to haggling – know when to stop!
3.) Dig, dig, dig…it may take a little more time to find what fits your style.
4.) Be patient…if you are looking for something specific, you may need to return a few times before you find what you are looking for!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving means football, family, and food.  When it comes to food, the Thanksgiving meal can load us down with heavy calories, especially if we devour three too many helpings of Grandma’s “famous” bread pudding.  But, don’t worry….There are nutritional items to be had that pack a punch of protein, vitamins, and essential minerals.  So grab the largest plate you can find (everything in moderation does not apply to this Thanksgiving meal) and load it up with these healthy favorites:

Cranberry sauce should be on everyone’s plate.  It contains Vitamin C and was ranked sixth on a USDA study of foods rich in antioxidants, which help fight off nasty “free radical” body cells.

Pecan pie.  Yes, pecan pie!  We give you permission to dig in because these wrinkled little nuts contain monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats.  These are the good fats, both excellent for your heart!  Pecans also contain fiber, zinc and Vitamin E.  HINT: indulge with moderation!

Or pumpkin pie. Skimp on the a la mode and you’ve got a nearly (WE SAID NEARLY) a fat-free food.  Pumpkin only contains about 50 calories per serving and is a great source of beta carotene, potassium, and antioxidants.  It also has fiber, which after eating a big meal is good for digesting …Well, you get the point.

Yams.  What?  Yams.  They’re more commonly known as the orange-colored sweet potatoes, but not quite as sweet.  This root vegetable is an excellent source of Vitamin B6, which helps protect against cardiovascular disease.

Last but certainly not least: THE TURKEY. Juicy, tasty, and pretty good for you too.  Skinless white turkey is low in both fat and calories and brims with B vitamins and selenium, another in the fabulous family of antioxidants.  Who knew?

Go forth &  eat a glorious, guilt free, healthy Thanksgiving meal!

Punch Up the Potassium with Pumpkin!