Newark Natural Foods

I don’t know what I would do without the co-op. I depend on it for organic food and supplements to continue recovering from a chronic illness. Being diligent with eating a diet of organic foods ( and of course all those supplements-but that’s a whole other blog!) helped me see remarkable improvements last summer. It was like a great awakening! It’s amazing what your body can do when given the nutrients it was intended to use in place of processed and denatured food. I’m mostly enjoying the grass-fed beef and organic produce. I just recently tried the Jerusalem artichokes and found them to be a great substitution for white potatoes. If you need to avoid the nightshade family and can’t have potatoes give the artichokes a try. They taste just like them but maybe with a hint of sweetness. In the snack aisle a favorite is Pamela’s Chunky Chocolate Chip cookies. They are wheat-free, gluten-free and non-dairy and they are gooood.

On this journey to health I’m still learning healthy ways to prepare foods. I soaked a batch of almonds overnight (soaking helps to get rid of those enzyme inhibitors in nuts and seeds) two nights ago and put them in the food dehydrator at 150 degrees but they took 36 hours to dry. Is that normal? Seems like a really long time. I’m soaking pumpkin seeds now and will start drying them later tonight.

I’m also looking for tips for making ghee. Now, I’ve been making it for awhile and I’m making progress - I’m not burning it anymore (or I should say I rarely burn it) and it usually looks perfect - just like the store bought kind! But it tastes a little grainy, not real smooth and creamy like the bought ghee. I’m wandering if I’m not getting all the milk solids cooked out. I use the Woodstock Farms organic unsalted butter. Guess I’ll keep practicing.

There’s also a new member of my family that will probably benefit from the co-op and that is Molly, a black lab and retriever mix. I will have to explore the pet section next time I’m in shopping.

It’s really exciting to hear about the co-op expansion project that will make room for more great products. I know it takes much planning to make projects like this a success and I appreciate all who are making it possible.