Walk into Healthy Living and the first thing you will see is our Produce Department… a wild and wonderful world of the freshest, highest-quality organic produce you’ll find anywhere. This is a truly beautiful work of art, and we’ve been proud to be offering it for many years. We’ve been working with local farmers for over 20 years and love doing business with this amazing community of hard-working people. When local’s not available, we continue to stock the department with a huge array of freshness… delivered to us seven days a week.

What's New

New Farms for New Americans Farmers Visit Healthy Living

The Association of Africans Living inVermont’s New Farms for New Americans (NFNA) project is a community gardening, social enterprise and agricultural training program of over 90 refugee and immigrant households inVermont. The project has three levels of participants: Community Gardeners (26); Market Gardeners/Incubator Farmers (65) and Independent Beginning Farmers (2). NFNA market gardeners and independent farmers sell their products at farmers markets, to restaurants and grocers, and through our CSA. NFNA farmers produce food on land at the Ethan Allen Homestead inBurlington(6 acres), at theIntervaleCenter(1 acre), and inShelburne,Vermont(1 acre). NFNA products are produced without pesticides, and with a concern for sustainable and culturally appropriate practices. The mission of AALV is to promote the equal opportunity, dignity, and self-sufficiency of refugee and immigrant individuals and families inVermont, regardless of race, ethnic group, religious or political affiliation, or sexual orientation.

The Healthy Living produce department had the pleasure of sharing information with these farmers about retail bunch sizes, packing boxes, quality expectations and display practices of retailers.  It was wonderful to meet these newVermontfarmers and discuss their crops and share experiences.  We look forward to a good upcoming season and having a lot of their products on our shelves in the spring and summer.

More Great Citrus Available

Come in today and check out all of the wonderful citrus we have in season!

Blood Orange

A variety of orange with crimson, sweet blood-colored flesh. The fruit is smaller than an average orange; its skin is usually pitted but can be smooth. The distinctive dark flesh color is due to the presence of Anthocyanins (a powerful antioxidant uncommon in citrus  fruits).  While all oranges are likely a hybrid origin between the pomelo and the tangerine, blood oranges originated as a mutation of a sweet orange.

 

 

Sunburst Tangerine

The most widely grown commercial early Florida tangerine.  Sunburst Tangerines are a cross between the two citrus hybrids Robinson and Osceola and is very juicy with some seeds. The deep orange color appears early in the season and is an indicator of the high sugar content and the high acidity.  When cut into a cross section, the twelve segments are said to resemble the aureole of the sun, thus its name.

 

 

Murcott Mandarin

Originated in the 1900s on the property of Charles Murcott Smith, in Clearwater, Florida.  The flesh is orange colored, tender, and very juicy.   The flavor is very rich and sprightly.  The Murcott contains small seeds that can be few to numerous. The orange rind is thin, smooth, and peels moderately well.

Citrus Season

Come in to the Produce Department and check out all of the wonderful fresh and tasty citrus available!

 

Cara Cara Orange

Most tree and fruit characteristics reflect its Washington navel orange ancestry.  This medium sized navel is sweet and low in acid; the flavor is more complex than most navel varieties and has been described as evoking notes of cherry, rose petal, and blackberry.The flesh is deep pink, similar to the darkest of the red grapefruit varieties.  This rich color is due to the presence of lycopene which guards against age related macular degeneration.  It has a small navel and the fruits are slightly oblong.

 

Satsuma

The satsuma is a seedless and easy-peeling citrus mutant of Japanese origin introduced to the West.  It is also often known as the “Seedless Mandarin”.  Its fruit is sweet and usually seedless, about the size of other mandarin oranges, but is smaller than an orange.  Distinctive thin, leathery skin dotted with large and prominent oil glands. The numerous oil glands are attached around the fruit enabling it to be peeled very easily in comparison to other citrus fruits. The Satsuma has more Potassium (177mg) than Vitamin C.

 

Minneola Tangelo

Tangelo is a citrus fruit that is a hybrid of a tangerine and either a pomelo or a grapefruit. The fruit is round with a pronounced neck and smooth red-orange rind that can be peeled.  The flavor is rich and juicy, with a touch of grapefruit like tartness.  It is high in Folic Acid, which aids in decreased chances of high blood pressure, is good for brain function, and memory.

 

Produce Department Squash Tasting

With so many beautiful squash to choose from what better way to decide then by tasting lots of different varieties of yummy squash.

The produce department had a squash tasting with a few varieties of delicious squash recipes ranging from:  Sweet and Spicy Kobocha Squash, Mashed Buttercup Squash, Roasted Acorn Squash, Baked Spaghetti Squash and Long Island Cheese Pumpkin Pie.  Everyone had lot’s of fun trying all of the varieties of squash and learning a lot about all of our squash varieties including the ones we didn’t have samples for.

 

The Kabocha squash have a thick filling flavor and were wonderful roasted with the sweet and savory spices.

Kabocha Squash are large, round, and squat. They are dark green and mottled, often with bumpy skin.  Kabocha squash have a remarkably sweet and tender flesh with a slightly nutty flavor. The peel is thick and difficult to cut but the flesh is dense, smooth, and sweet.  Kabocha are great used is soups, roasting, steaming or baking.

 

The Buttercup squash had a delicate smooth texture which made it perfect for mashing.

Buttercup Squash are a flattened round squash. You can usually tell them by their distinct white cup or knob on the flower end. The deep orange flesh is very sweet and dry. The darker green the skin, the riper and sweeter the flavor.

 

The Long Island Cheese Squash was a great alternative for pumpkin pie, we used maple syrup instead of sugar to create the perfect light and fluffy pie with just a hint of sweetness.

Long Island Cheese Squash is A classic pumpkin of the 19th century, medium in size with a pale cheese colored skin and light ribbing.  Renowned for it’s sweet, deep orange colored flesh and its exceptional keeping qualities and named after its resemblance of a cheese wheel.  Great alternative for pumpkin pie and delicious in soups.

 

Find out more about all of our delicious squash by coming in and checking them out today.  Ask produce staff about the varieties and look out for exciting squash recipes!

 

Produce Staff Get Connected with Our Local Produce

RiverBerryFarm

We started the day visiting River Berry Farm in FairfaxVT.  It was great to see River Berry Farm in motion as we get a lot of our kale, collards, cabbage, carrots, lettuce and roots from River Berry.  River Berry Farm is a family owned organic small fruit and vegetable farm operating since 1992 with a farm store, CSA, retail and apart of the Deep Root Co-op. The farm is run by Jane Sorensen, David Marchant and their two children, Huck and Ada. They grow 50 acres of organic vegetables, 3 acres of strawberries, 1-1/2acre of organic raspberries, 18,000 square feet of greenhouse crops, and 400 organic layer chickens.  We explored River Berry’s packing and cleaning areas and then scoped out the fields of raspberries, kale, corn, radishes, beets, lettuce, and much more.  We enjoyed fresh corn right off of the stalk as well as fresh radishes.   We have a lot of products from River Berryavailable now in the department come in today to pick them up and check out the River Berry website to find out more.  http://www.riverberryfarm.com

 

 

Valley Dream Farm

Next we ventured to Valley Dream Farm in Cambridge, Vermont.  Valley Dream is truly a dreamy place to grow food.  Valley Dream farm is nestled in the valley with a gorgeous view of the mountains.  Valley Dream is a family owned organic farm growing diversified crops.  They sell produce at their farm stand, CSA membership, farmers markets, wholesale as well as being apart of the Deep Root Co-op.  Valley Dream believes in honest hard work and strives to be the best stewards of the land on which they grow their crops.   The Valley Dream farm is run by Joe, Anne, Jay, Jon, Ashley, and Becky Tisbert and truly has a fun loving family run feel.  We ventured around the farm viewing all of the amazing produce as well as getting a ride of the back of a pickup so we could see more of the beautiful fields and take in more of the amazing view of the mountains.   We viewed all of the storage and cooling areas for the farm and were amazed at their potato stock.  We are currently getting all of our red and gold potatoes from Valley Dream as well as onions so come in today to check them out.  Find out more about Valley Dream on their website.   http://www.valleydreamfarm.com/

 

 

 

 

Hazendale Farm

Our last stop of the day was at Hazendale Farm.  Hazendale Farm is run by David Allen & Diana Griffiths in GreensboroVT.  Hazendale Farm is a 3^rd generation family farm and it started as a dairy farm until David decided to switch over to a diverse vegetable and fruit farm.  Hazendale farm has been producing Organic produce since 1979 with distribution throughout Vermont.  They carry a large range of vegetables and specialize in early, mid and late Tomatoes, specialty greens (Mesclun), Strawberries and Raspberries.  Hazendale Farm is set amid the rolling hills of Greensboro and although beautifully picturesque the rolling hills make farming the land challenging at times.   Despite the obstacles the hills provide David grows beautiful produce and creates a community destination with their diverse farmstand.  The Hazendale farmstand carries their own Organic fruit and vegetables as well as products from other local farmers including Maple Syrup, organic Beef, Jams and Bread, cold beverages and Ben & Jerry’s ice creams.  We toured around the Hazendale Farm viewing the greenhouses, storage areas and rolling hills filled with produce.  We loved the squash drying area, filled to brim with all sorts of fun squash varieties.  We have a lot of Hazendale squash varieties in stock now so come by to get some today.  For more info have a look  at the Hazendale website:  http://www.hazendalefarm.com/

 

 

 

Thanks very much to our local farmers who provide us with amazingly beautiful produce and keep us fed throughout the year.  Remember although the season is winding down our farmers work is never done.

 

Produce Department Joins Black River at Westminster Organics and Scott Farm

The produce department has a fun filled day seeing Black River Produce in action and then travelling down to Westminster Organics and Scott Farm to view all of the amazing heirloom apple varieties.

Black River’s operation is complex and it was interesting to see everything in motion.  Black River Produce is a Vermont based food service distributor delivering fresh, frozen and prepared foods to restaurants stores and organizations throughout New England.   Black River is one of our main vendors for many produce items including regional and local items we sometimes can’t source from our local farmers.

http://www.blackriverproduce.com/

Westminster Organics was a complex system of packing and storing organic veggies galore.  It was amazing to see the larger scale operation in full swing and see where some of our southern Vermont produce is coming from and have some time to relax at the Harlow Farmstand!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next stop was Scott Farm in Dummerston, VT where we got to see beautiful rows of apple trees and taste some of the many amazing heirloom apple varieties.  Scott Farm has such an outstanding selection of heirloom apples, we had so much fun sampling the varieties and learning about their interesting histories.

http://www.scottfarmvermont.com/

 

Come in to the Healthy Living Produce Department to try some of the wonderful Scott Farm Heirloom Varieties, Check out our Westminster Organics and ask us about our farm trips, we’d love to share the fun interesting facts we’ve learned with you!

Produce Department Apple Tasting

The produce department had an apple tasting to highlight to numerous varieties of apples we have in stock now.   It’s definitely apple season and we had a lot of apples to choose from.  There are so many different shades of sweet to tart and crisp to soft, what better way to pick your favorites than to try them all!  We highlighted some of Champlain & Shelburne Orchards wonderful apple options such as:

Honeycrisp: with the texture of a watermelon, this crisp apple has a flavor reminiscent of honey!  Crisp texture, very juicy, cream colored flesh, well balanced, sub acid and sugar flavor, double the cell structure of other apples

Cortland: an offspring of the popular Macintosh, this is a favorite baking apple.  Also great for fresh eating or fruit salad addition!  All-purpose red apple, crisp, juicy, snow-white, sweet-tart flesh that resists browning smooth shiny red skin, a Northwest favorite.

Check out Champlain & Shelburne Orchard websites to learn more about their apple varieties and come in to Healthy Living to try them all!

http://www.champlainorchards.com/

http://www.shelburneorchards.com/

We also have numerous Heirloom Apples in Produce that have amazing taste variety so we highlighted some of the Scott Farm Heirloom Apples such as:

Ananas Reinette:  This small yellow skinned apple was grown inFrance in the 1500’s.  It has a zesty, pineapple, citrus flavor and flesh that has a fine grain texture.  Used mostly for eating out of hand, it is also a fine cooking apple.

Belle de Boskoop:  This apple is originally from theNetherlands and has a tart, sprightly flavor.  It is a superb cooking apple and is the only apple considered suitable for making authentic strudel.  Boskoops picked later in the fall are much sweeter and are excellent for fresh use.  Very large apple greenish-orange, lightly russeted skin.

Ribston Pippin:  This apple goes back to 1708 in Yorkshire England.  The original tree grew from seeds from Normandy.  It is a parent of Cox’s Orange Pippin but is sweeter, with a delightful pear flavor.  Good for both fresh eating and culinary use.  Reddish skin, some orange and light russeting.

We have many varieties of Scott Farm heirlooms in stock come in to the produce department to try them today and find out more on the scott farm website.

http://www.scottfarmvermont.com/