Meet Our Sponsors: organicgirl

Introducing organicgirl, producers of great organic dark greens, our latest sponsor. 

We eat a lot of dark greens around here. A LOT.

I know that gluten-free folks often feel left out when they can no longer eat traditional baked goods. I know how many people out there truly love the meditative act of baking for other people. And we have a gluten-free flour we believe will be a help to people who want the best treats they can bake and eat. So we tend to show you a lot of the treats here. (Our next cookbook is filled with 130 treats — churros! beignets! pineapple upside down cake! — that gluten-free readers said they most missed.)

However, pies and cakes and cookies? They are truly treats around here. This year, we instituted a new rule around the house: we only have dessert on the days that start with S. (“Saturday and Sunday!” Lu will tell us all, immediately.) We’ve set the notion of “sometime foods” into solid rotation in our schedule.

Most of the time? It’s vegetables. And my favorite vegetables are dark greens: kale, mustard greens, spinach, dark romaine leaves, chard, and microgreens when they’re in season. These days, about 50% of my diet seems to be dark leafy greens. I’m certainly not surprised to find that I feel good when I eat this way.

Every day this summer, I’ve had a giant salad for breakfast or lunch. (Think Elaine’s big salad, really.) I have a template for it: a pile of dark greens, a pile of colorful vegetables, something crunchy, something soft, hopefully something fermented, some protein, and an interesting dressing. Today’s happened to be 4 different kind of greens, fermented carrots, pistachios and dehydrated coconut flakes, a bit of Parmesan, a fried egg, and lemon-tahini dressing. After the big salad, I feel strong and don’t need to eat for hours.

We grow greens in the summer and we have farmers on Vashon we love. However, during the winter, I find that I need something other than cabbage to sustain me. And I know that most folks don’t have access to enough land to grow their own greens.

This is why we’re such big fans of organicgirl, our latest sponsor.

We love the greens offered by organicgirl. They’re delicious and already triple-cleaned. Unlike some of the greens in plastic clamshells I see in stores, the greens in the organicgirl packages are always crisp, not one leaf past its prime. I keep a container of the spinach greens in our refrigerator for my morning smoothies.

These are good people. organicgirl is a good company. We’re very happy to share the work of this company with you.

We’ll let them tell you more about themselves here.

Why are you in the business of “good clean greens”? 

Quality rules at organicgirl. Day in and day out, we work hard to give you good clean greens that we’re super proud to put our names on!  At organicgirl that means growing and selecting only the very best fresh, wholesome and tasty greens.  We have very high quality standards throughout our growing, washing, drying and salad blending processes.

We also believe that greens can be used in your daily diet in many ways, so we created unique blends that offer you versatility to cook, bake, juice & eat your greens.

Why do you feel gluten-free folks need greens and vegetables in particular? 

We know gluten-free folks are very conscious about what they eat.  At organicgirl, we are very conscious about our greens and salad blends.  We have a group of salad blends, SUPERGREENS, SUPER SPINACH and I heart baby kale, that was specifically designed to maximize nutrition AND taste great without any compromise. These greens offer versatility of use to help incorporate greens into a healthy diet.

Our philosophy is that anyone can be an organicgirl and we believe that good clean greens are a great addition to anyone’s lifestyle. Whether you’re a salad fanatic or you’re new to good clean greens, there truly is something for everyone at organicgirl.

Can you tell us about the farmers you work with? And how you work with them on sustainability? 

We are partners with a handful of growers from various farms on the central coast of California and in the desert of Arizona. The growers we partner with share our same commitment to quality, follow the organic standards outlined by the USDA and organicgirl, and together we continually work to improve our quality farming practices. This hard work was highlighted last year when organicgirl received the highest rating of “BEST” from the Whole Foods Market Responsibly Grown program.

Can you share a story from a customer that is particularly meaningful? 

 This is a hard decision.  I think my most meaningful interactions with organicgirl fans are either those where people are on a journey to health or wellness – fighting an illness or improving their health and they associate organicgirl with their success.  (Of course, we are humbled to be part of that journey, and realize ultimately it is all them !)    OR, it’s the fans who are 60+ years of age who write to us to tell us they are organicgirls too — always have been and still feel that way.  organicgirls are age-less. I find both those interactions most meaningful and inspiring.

We hope you’ll notice organicgirl greens the next time you go to your grocery store. (And if you don’t see organicgirl  greens, ask for them by name. Here’s a list of grocery stores carrying organicgirl right now.) These are an easy way to add food packed with nutrition into our lives. And we gluten-free folks can use all the help we can get with that.

The women at organicgirl would like to give away a box of greens to three readers of gluten-free girl. Leave a comment on this post for a chance to win. Winners will be chosen at random on Friday, July 24th and notified by email. 

The post Meet Our Sponsors: organicgirl appeared first on Gluten Free Girl and the Chef.

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