No More GMOs.

“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi

And that is what we are going to do. We are taking a big step, an aggressive step, one that not too many stores are willing to take. We’re not waiting anymore for GMO labeling laws.

DEAN’S NATURAL FOOD MARKET NON-GMO POLICY ON NEW GROCERY PRODUCTS:  Effective March 18, 2013

Avoidance of GMOs (Genetically Modified Organisms):  While we do not claim to be GMO-free, we are taking decisive steps to move in that direction. Going forward, we will not accept any new Grocery item containing the top 5 most high-risk GMO crops (corn, soy, canola, sugar beets, alfalfa) into our stores unless they are organic and/or verified by the Non-GMO Project. This includes products containing ingredients such as fructose that are produced using corn or soy.

We strongly encourage any manufacturer that is making a GMO-free claim to have that claim certified by the Non-GMO Project. This service will benefit both the consumer and the manufacturer.

Yes, it’s true. We are not bringing any more grocery products into our stores containing corn, soy, alfalfa, sugar beets or canola unless they are organic and/or Non-GMO Project Verified. Period. It’s not going to be easy, but we are 100% committed. We’re going to be scrutinizing ingredients like crazy, looking for all those hidden sources of the High-risk 5. Corn starch? Sorry, can’t bring it in. Soy lecithin in those cookies, not organic or Non-GMO Project Verified? Sorry, can’t bring it in. This is the level of commitment we are going to bring to make sure that moving forward, we will provide the safest food choices for you and your family.

You may have a few questions about our non-GMO policy, so we’ve prepared a little FAQ.

You’re not taking in any new items containing GMOs, what about everything else in the store? Aren’t you knowingly selling us GMOs?

Few if any stores in the US and Canada are truly GMO free. We’re not there yet, but we are working hard to move in that direction. Going forward we will do our best to limit any products that contain GMOs and continue to find suitable organic/non-GMO replacements for items containing GMOs.

You can help us do this by choosing Non-GMO Project Verified and Organic products when you shop, and encouraging friends and family to do the same.  Look for the seal, check the Non-GMO Project’s iPhone app or product search page, or ask a staff-person for help.

What about other departments, such as Produce and Fresh Foods?

We have no GM produce, as all the produce we sell is organic. This same produce is what we use in our Fresh Foods department. We have taken great care to ensure that almost all ingredients in our kitchens are organic or Non-GMO Project Verified; we still continually seek out replacements for products which do not meet those standards.

If you have any questions, please feel free to get in touch with us at info AT deansnaturalfoodmarket DOT com.

We would like to give a HUGE Thank You to the Non-GMO Project for their collaboration! Please visit them at http://www.nongmoproject.org for more info.

 

 

2nd Annual 99¢ Thanksgiving

After what we’ve been through in New Jersey recently, this year we have so much to really be thankful for – for being safe, thankful for our friends and for our families.

To show our thanks to you, we want you to have the best and healthiest Thanksgiving ever – so we’ve dropped the prices on several organic Thanksgiving favorites in our Produce Dep’t. to only 99¢ per pound (celery is 99¢ each). The sale runs from Friday, Nov. 16 through Friday, Nov. 23, taking you right through a healthy and happy Thanksgiving – see flyer for details. We also have a limited amount of Organic Turkeys available, call to order.

Looking for something different to serve the vegetarians and vegans in your family this year? Then sign up for Jessica Jarmer and her QUICK EASY HEALTHY MEALS: Plant-based Cooking for the Family class – She’ll show you how to make a Tofu Turkey from scratch, complete with vegan stuffing and gravy, how cool is that? Classes are coming up soon, so don’t hesitate: Monday, Nov. 19th at 6pm in Shrewsbury and Tuesday, Nov. 20th at 6pm in Ocean. FREE, registration appreciated. (Shrews: 732-842-8686, Ocean: 732-517-1515 or email info@deansnaturalfoodmarket.com).

Light your fire

Check out these local Costata Romanesco Zucchini we just got in yesterday, literally just picked, beautiful! Farmer Francis delivered them himself, along with some gorgeous kale, gigantic gold turnips and collards. Such a nice man! 

So  totally going home with a bunch of those tonight and firing up the ol’ Char-Broil. One thing I LOVE is grilled zucchini. It soaks up marinade like a sponge and is so healthy and guilt-free, you can eat a ton of it. Here’s a great recipe from last summer, it’s super-easy and everyone will love it. Try it with fresh organic corn, peppers and especially eggplant, which REALLY soaks up the marinade and caramelizes when grilled. OMG SO GOOD.

Meat and veggies aren’t the only thing you can grill, have you ever tried using fruit? Peaches and pineapples are a surefire hit. Both are best grilled for a few minutes then drizzled with honey, or simply brushed with butter, as Martha suggests. You can slices them and grill in large pieces or rings OR – try to make kabobs out of them. The kids will love it, they’re fun, sweet and healthy.

Grilled fruit isn’t just for dessert though, you can pair it up with your favorite meats like a juicy all-natural pork chop or chicken breast. Just cut into chunks, thread onto skewers and baste with your favorite marinade, like jerk sauce or teriyaki. Here’s a great recipe for Barbecued Chicken Pineapple Skewers – they use a homemade BBQ sauce but any good-quality bottled kind would do as well.

What are your favorite foods and methods in grilling? We’d love to hear from you!

PS: Zucchini is on sale this week, check out the rest here.

Mango Mania

It’s Ataulfo mango season! Only twice a year are we privvy to this unique mango, otherwise called the Champagne Mango, known for its golden flesh and intense ripe sweetness, often described as “creamy” and “buttery.” There are little to no fibers in the fruit of the Ataulfo and the pit is the smallest of all the mangos, which means more fruit for us! Look for the most golden yellow fruit which is still firm, but a bit giving and if you’re in doubt, just ask  a Produce team member for a sample and they’ll gladly cut one open for you. (PS: This week they’re on sale, only $3 for FOUR, get ’em while you can.)

Golden ripe organic Ataulfo (Champagne) Mangos, just in

Besides being loved for its exotic, juicy sweetness, the mango is also known for its extraordinary health benefits, rating high in Vitamins C, A and B6, dietary fiber, potassium, beta carotene and antioxidants. What I find interesting is that mangos contain an enzyme similar to papain from papayas, which soothes the stomach and helps digest proteins in meat – which is why it is widely-used as a great marinade.

This classic mango-pineapple salsa can be used as a marinade or as the “exclamation point” of any grilled meat recipe. It’s also delicious with tofu or even over rice.

* 1 mango, peeled and diced

* 1cup fresh pineapple, diced

* 1 half jalapeno, seeded and chopped finely (more if desired)

* 1 half medium-sized red onion, diced

* 4 tablespoons fresh lime juice

* 1/2 cup roughly chopped cilantro leaves

* Salt and pepper

* OPTIONAL: you may also add red bell pepper and/or cucumber, if desired

Combine the mango, pineapple, jalapeno, red onion, lime juice and cilantro leaves and mix well. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Let sit for 15 minutes before serving so the flavors come out. Spoon over meats, un-meats or use as a marinade (discard used portion and use fresh for topping).

The Bamboozle Festival: Let’s rock.

Dean’s Natural Food Market welcomes the up to 100,000 music fans visiting our area over the next few days for Bamboozle – and we hope to meet some!

Customers and employees alike in our Ocean store are starting to feel the excitement (translated: “ARE FREAKING OUT”) for a HUGE event happening here on the Jersey Shore this weekend: The Bamboozle Festival. Dean’s Natural Food Market Ocean is only a 5-minute shot up Sunset Ave. from the festival, taking place on the beach and boardwalk in Asbury Park, NJ.

Well, here is our shameless PSA to everyone out there attending the Bamboozle and looking for food – STOP BY! First of all, I know that whenever I stay at a hotel, #1 thing I do after checking in is to find the nearest decent market and stock up on bottled water & snacks for the hotel room, sometimes even a take-home meal or a salad. Hotel tap water can sometimes be kind of grody and paying $5 for a minibar/venue bottle is just not going to happen. And often when traveling, the healthier options just aren’t there and you’re stuck eating fast food or loading up on a greasy hotel breakfast buffet of bacon and undercooked scrambled eggs. We’ve got healthy breakfasts, a great 100% organic vegan salad bar, quick grab-n-go sandwiches, fresh organic juices and smoothies, wheatgrass, whatever you might need on your way to a very long day of music and partying on the beach. And speaking of beaches, got sunblock? We have that too.

The Bamboozle main stage, photo courtesy of The Asbury Park Sun.

Oh and Skrillex and anyone from We Came as Romans – A fresh juice is on me if ya stop by 🙂

Chicken Soup for the Soul

Many of you, like myself, depend a lot (too much, really) on the internet to find the information we need – recipes, health info, what day the township picks up the cardboard, etc. But what happens if we can’t find it or find conflicting information out there?

Exactly that happened to me last week while searching for info on what diet/cleansing fast to put my husband on, who was going in for an important check-up procedure which we all should do. I knew he had to go a few days eating light (but what does that mean?) and the day before the procedure was to be an all-liquid fast, but what exactly do I feed this meat-and-potatoes guy to keep him not going out of his mind?

Supporting Local Farms in the Garden State: Honey Brook Organic Farm CSA

Dean’s Natural Food Market is very proud to support the Honey Brook Organic Farm local CSA program as their new Monmouth County CSA Boxed Share pickup location.

Photo: David Hunsinger for The New York Times

Dean’s embraces the value and importance of supporting local, but more importantly the significance of supporting local organic farming in the Garden State and we are committed to supporting local farmers and their mission to bring healthy, organic produce to our tables.

What’s Honey Brook? What’s a CSA? What’s a Boxed Share? To help explain, we asked Susan of Honey Brook Organic Farm to give us a little background.

Tell us a little about Honey Brook Organic Farm.

Honey Brook is one of the oldest operating organic farms in New Jersey. 

New Product Spotlight: Twin Oaks Tofu

Look for the New Product Spotlight logo for what's new at Dean's

There’s a new product we’d like to tell you about – thing is, this one isn’t on a shelf really, but rather on the salad bar and in our Fresh Foods cases. Introducing…..! Twin Oaks Tofu.

First a little about Twin Oaks Community Foods. Located in Louisa, VA, Twin Oaks is a worker-owned cooperative started over 40 years ago, an eco-village and egalitarian community founded on the principles of sustainability, nonviolence, equality and ecology. They are 500% dedicated to making the Earth a better place and do so by practicing what they preach and living as eco-friendly of a life as they they can. They all pitch in and do the work, they share food, housing, vehicles and other resources, minimizing waste and making as small an impact on the environment possible. Honestly, it sounds wonderful, can I go??

So let’s get to the tofu.

New Stuff

We can barely keep up with all the exciting new things we’re bringing in lately, but we did want to make some time to tell you about at least some of them. Let’s start off with something we are intrigued with: THE SPOONK.

The Spoonk Acupressure Massage Mat is… sort of looks like a yoga mat, except that unlike a yoga mat, it’s covered in little rubber spikes. SIX THOUSAND little rubber spikes. (6,210 to be precise.) And you should do what with this mat?

Six Thousand Spikes of Spoonk

Lay on it. Stand on it. Feel it working. The mat is designed as a cross between Japanese shiatsu massage/acupressure and an Indian bed of nails in the way that the spikes stimulate pressure and reflex points throughout your body, releasing energy, stimulating blood flow, releasing endorphins and promoting relaxation at the same time it energizes. It has been said to help relieve back pain, tired feet, digestion and is now going through clinical trials to test its ability as a sleep aid. It even received a Top Choice in Clinical Trials stamp from Dr. Oz.

I gave it a try here at the store to test it out by standing on it. I took off my shoes and stood on it in socks. The sensation was strange and the spikes sharp at first, then energizing, like a foot massage. I could especially feel it on the balls of my feet and toes and when I rolled my feet on their sides. This feeling and tingling lasted for a long while after I put my shoes back on, I could literally feel the blood flow and energy after having stood on the Spoonk for only a few minutes. I think I’ll be buying one…tonight. My feet are making me. I have a suspicion my back will agree.

Also in that we’re jazzed about – Harmless Harvest 100% Organic Raw Coconut Water. The only bottled organic raw coconut water on the market and the world’s only wild-harvested coconut water as well and, if you’ve ever had coconut water straight out of the nut, this is the closest in taste you’ll ever find.

They source their coconuts from small organic agroforestry farms where the coconuts are hand-picked and the juice extracted and bottled within the day. The water is then pressure-treated (without heat) to kill any pathogens and keep it raw – thus keeping as much of its natural nutrition as possible. They are absolutely delicious and some of them are pink – read why here. Get some for yourself here 🙂

Look for the New Product Spotlight logo for what's new at Dean's

Next week, we’ll be holding a little contest – subscribe to make sure you don’t miss it!

New in our Fresh Foods Department

We’ve got a few things starting up over in Fresh Foods we thought you’d like to hear about. Like…

Starting today, every Wednesday is HOT PIZZA DAY.

From 11-2 in both stores, we’ll be serving up slices, hot and fresh. The wait time is around 7-10 minutes or you can call ahead: Ocean 732-517-1515, Shrewsbury 732-842-8686. Choose from Vegan Plain, Vegan Deluxe (loaded with veggies)  or Mozzarella & Turkey Sausage (of course, the vegan and meat pizzas are baked in separate places.) We’re working on a gluten-free version, hopefully to come out in the next few weeks, we’ll keep you posted.

We also wanted to tell you about this: