Whether you want a simple side-dish or a quick seasonal lunch, Annie’s Homegrown has done half the work for you here. Combine this Annie’s classic with a couple holiday staples and you have the ultimate seasonal treat!

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 box Annie’s Homegrown Peace Pasta & Parmesan

2 tbsp. Organic Valley butter

1 tbsp. fresh sage, chopped

¾ cup of canned 100% pure pumpkin

1/3 cup Organic Valley low-fat milk

Salt and pepper to taste

Parmesan cheese, grated (optional)

Directions:

1. Boil the pasta according to the directions on the box and drain. Leave the pasta in the colander to drain and return the saucepan to the stove.
2. Add the butter and cook on high heat until it browns, about one minute.
3. Turn the heat to low. Carefully, stir in the sage and cook for 15 seconds. Turn off the heat.
4. Add the pumpkin, milk and cheese packet to the butter and sage mixture. Whisk to combine.
5. Add the pasta back to the pan and stir until everything is evenly coated with the sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
6. Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle the top with grated parmesan cheese and garnish with any remaining sage. Enjoy!

For more great holiday recipes from our family of vendors, get your copy of Earth Fare’s holiday flyer in our stores or online by clicking here.

From serving dinner rolls at the soup station to Wellness events, the Idea Farm is home to over 1,000 ideas, all reviewed by CEO Jack Murphy.  When Jack gives an idea the “go,” the submitting Team Member gets a $100 BONUS for their idea.

Jack has given the “go” to 72 ideas, including:

• Barcode cards for the kids meals during Family Dinner Night
• Soy nuggets on the kids menu
• Polar Seltzer Water in the Grab ‘n Go
• Fire-extinguisher training and posters
• The “Cheese Passport” in Specialty
• Developing a missing-child safety program (Code Adam)
• A Heavy Weight Championship Belt for the department with the best weekly sales

As Team Earth Fare, we are all in this together and the Idea Farm is a testament to this culture.

To our customers, each day we strive to be better for you, and we will never settle. To our Team Members, keep those ideas coming!

________________________________________________________________________

Check out these other Team Member posts:

South Asheville’s Crazy Hats
Ready, Set, GRILL!
Team Tomato’s High-Heels

Starting tonight, we’re taking it back to the Good Olde Days. Join us each Tuesday from 4:30 – 7:30pm for good food and good times at GREAT prices! Our special meals will be $7.99 with your favorite add-ons for just 50¢ apiece!

Click the image below to check out our menu, and be sure to add us to your calendar! We can’t wait to see YOU at the Good Olde Days!

I’m 65 and have never been overweight, but was diagnosed with high cholesterol when in my early 50s. My doctor put me on statins which lowered it to acceptable levels.

About 5 years ago I started to develop leg muscle pain and cramps. We decided to stop the statins to see what would happen and the pain and cramps stopped almost immediately.

I adopted a much healthier lifestyle to include improvements in my diet (less fat, increased my intake of organic leafy greens, more fruit, low fat yogurt, etc.) and regular vigorous exercise (jogging, hiking and backpacking, and some moderate weight training). My cholesterol quickly went to normal without the aid of statins; my mood is better than ever and I love my lifestyle and the food I eat more than ever because it’s delicious and I feel energized after eating rather than drugged.

An Earth Fare moved into my neighborhood recently and it provides invaluable support for my chosen lifestyle. Life is good and I feel healthier and younger than I did at 60. Thank you Earth Fare!

You can share YOUR story with Earth Fare’s readers by clicking here.

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More stories like this:

Lisa’s Story: 100 Days of Real Food

Snickers’ Story: Healthy pet, healthy person!

Boosting Her Immune System! Allison’s Story

Click here for a printable B&W copy.

Merry Christmas from Earth Fare! We’ll be updating our 12 Days of Christmas coupon every day, so be sure to stay tuned on facebook, twitter, and our web site to get the newest deal each day!

 While summer is a great season for playing outside, dehydration can sneak up on you. Just because you’re in the water doesn’t mean you’re getting enough of it!

 Luckily, Mother Nature’s got your back. Here are three healthy summer treats you have to keep on hand this summer.

 Watermelon

Watermelons are at their sweetest and juiciest right now, so the summer is a prime time for seed-spitting contests! And there’s a good reason these fruits have “WATER” in their name – watermelons are made up of 92% water. They make a perfect summer snack, because they provide valuable vitamins AND help to fend off dehydration.

Frozen Grapes

What could be more refreshing than a popsicle on a hot summer day? Well, consider dozens of tiny popsicles! Grapes are another great source of water, and they’re small enough to be the perfect size for outdoor games or hikes. Freeze a baggie overnight and take them with you in the morning – by the time you’re ready for a snack, they’ll be cool and refreshing.

 Banana-sicles

You read that right! Bananas are a filling source of potassium, which can help keep muscles healthy. Lucky for you, they’re also fun and delicious! Try freezing a few: peel them, cut them in half, and stick a popsicle stick in the end you cut. If you’re feeling adventurous, melt  some chocolate to dip the bananas in before you freeze them. Try some sliced almonds or crushed walnuts for a little added crunch. Then, pop them on a sheet of wax paper and freeze them overnight. They’ll be a perfect late afternoon treat.

There you have it! The snacks you need to be healthy, hydrated, and happy this summer.

What are your favorite summertime treats?

 

No limits?

Ever stand on the beach, look out into the ocean, and marvel at the infinite horizon?  Just because you can’t see the end of the ocean, does not mean that there is an endless supply of marine life and fish in it! 

In fact, there is a very finite limit of fish in the ocean…mostly because of overfishing.  Humans have been fishing for centuries.  In the last five decades, however, technology has improved.  We can now fish deeper, farther, in larger quantities and more often.   Marine life is struggling to compete with this technology.  Scientists estimate that 90 percent of large predatory fish like shark, swordfish and cod have been removed from our oceans! 

Wholesale fish and seafood market in Tsukiji

How did our oceans become so depleted?

• Overfishing: This is the basic reason our oceans are experiencing a shortage.  When fisheries use this technology unsustainably, they remove fish at such a rapid pace that fish populations have no chance to recover and reproduce.  Basically, fish populations cannot keep up with modern, industrial-scale and unsustainable fishing practices. 
• Habitat Damage: Some modern, industrial fishing gear like large nets or trawls that drag along the seafloor damage habitats.  Fish don’t just need the water to survive – they need habitats to survive and reproduce.  Damage from trawling is equivalent to clearing a forest! 
• Bycatch: Often, large nets are cast into the water and unwanted fish and other animals get caught in the net.  These are cast back into the ocean often injured or dying.   
• Illegal fishing: Illegal, unregulated fishing accounts for much of the global catch.  When not monitored, many fisheries will violate regulations and overfish 
• Regulation: More groups are advocating for increased sustainable fishing practices and more monitoring. 

What can you do?  You can still eat seafood!  Read on about how you can do it sustainably…

1. Help spread the word to many who believe that the ocean supplies a limitless supply of our favorite seafood! 
2. Be aware of which fish populations are close to extinction, and try to curb consumption of those fish. 
3. Always buy your seafood from sustainable fisheries.  Support those fisheries, and vote with your fork!  Choosing from a sustainable source shows your support of the oceans’ health. 

“Hungry” to know more?  Sites Earth Fare visited for this post:
(1) Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch Program
(2) South Carolina Aquarium Sustainable Seafood Initiative

Earth Fare’s Itty Bitty Bites Kids’ Healthy Meal

What’s on your kid’s school lunch menu this week?  Probably not the freshest, healthiest options! And, if your kid is like most every other kid, then pizza or chicken nuggets trumps any other food choice.  Can you blame them?  What kid doesn’t love pizza or chicken nuggets?! 

If most school cafeteria meals offer unhealthy choices, the real question is this - is it possible for kids to eat healthy in schools?

Earth Fare knows the answer is YES.  Here’s how:

1. Check the lunch menu at the beginning of the week with your children.
   Instead of letting the kids choose their meals for that day in the cafeteria (for they WILL choose the pizza), review the weekly menu ahead of time, and ask your kids what they would choose.  Use the review time as a chance to educate your kids, and explain why the healthier options will help them be strong and ready for school!
2. Educate your kids about vending machines, and don’t allow them to buy from them! 
   Worse than school lunches are probably the vending machines with sodas and snacks laden with high-fructose corn syrup, trans fats and artificial colors and flavors!
3. If the school lunch menu does not look healthy, try packing a lunch!
   Use leftovers from a last night’s healthy dinner.  Create sandwiches with lean meats and fresh veggies. Or, you could even make an organic PB & J sandwich.  Pack fresh fruit as a snack with other healthy snacks, organic juice or money for milk.  Add a special note, and the lunch will be even more fun! 
4. Busy?  Count on Earth Fare! 
   If you get too busy, pick up an Itty Bitty Bites Kids’ Healthy Meal at your local Earth Fare.  With this meal, YOU can rest assured that lunch is healthy, and your kid will look forward to lunch!  With the bright bag, trading cards and delicious options, your kid will be the envy of the other students.  Double win, no? 
5. Cook with the kids at home, and teach them about the ingredients! 
   No matter what you are preparing, see it as a shared activity with the kids.  Get them in the kitchen, and talk to them about all the fresh ingredients that you are using.  Seeing where their food comes from will help kids think about what they are eating.  Seeing the fresh ingredients deliciously come together is fun for them!

What do YOU do to ensure your kids are eating healthy at school?   Tell us and help others who are reading this!

The real question is: will the legislation work and is it necessary to invest more money in the school lunch program? 

Before answering, consider this: Currently, schools only have about $1 per child to spend on buying actual ingredients.

This is not much money, and schools are struggling to produce fresh meals from good ingredients for just a buck.  In fact, last December, USA Today found that fast food meat was safer than school lunch meat provided by the USDA!  In other words, beef from Jack in the Box is better than a hamburger served in a school cafeteria!   Jack in the Box sets higher limits (10x stricter than USDA’s) for amount of certain bacteria allowed in their burgers.  Companies like McDonald’s, Burger King and Costco check ground beef for bacteria 5 to 10 times more often than the USDA does.   

Want to know something even more shocking?  Meat that KFC won’t buy because it’s from old birds, or “spent hens,” that would usually go into compost or pet food is…being put on kid’s lunch trays.  There were quality issues with this chicken meat, but it is being fed daily to the 31 million students who participate in the National School Lunch Program.   

Oh, and don’t forget that french fries are considered a vegetable according to school lunch guidelines. 

Fortunately, after much understandable outrage, the USDA announced reforms to ensure safety and quality of school food.  In February, the USDA said that it would tighten requirements on companies supplying ground beef, test beef more often and improve communications within the USDA to identify food safety issues. 

If we as a country know that childhood obesity is a public health crisis, why is the taxpayer’s money being used to feed today’s children the lowest quality, over-processed, and unhealthy foods? 

What do you think we can do to help? 

“Hungry” to know more?  Sites Earth Fare visited for this post:
(1) Lincoln Unveils Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act
(2) National School Lunch Program
(3) “US Senator seeks junk food ban, school lunch boost” (Reuters)

Jessica’s Story (in her own words):

We just wanted to say thank you! We heard about and signed up for your pantry makeover. We love what you are doing — trading in “bad foods” for healthy ones. We have been trying to cut out some of these items, and the coupons give us extra incentive to stick with it!

Here’s our story: My stepson’s mother and doctor put him on medications for ADHD when he was 4 years old. He had HORRIBLE side effects from it. We insisted that he be taken off of them immediately, but we needed to find something that would work!

A friend told us about his son’s allergies to artificial colors. We took our soon off ALL artificial color! He’s a completely different child now, and guess what? NO MEDICATIONS!

He’s 6 years old now, in 1st grade and doing great in school.

Now with all your help, we are cutting out high fructose corn syrup and partially hydrogenated oils. Please keep the coupons coming! We want to be loyal to your store because health was always your concern.  But with the bad economy, it’s difficult not to be lured by the cheaper prices at Walmart. The coupons are a wonderful incentive.

Thank you again!