One of the most enjoyable parts of my job is introducing people to food and products they have never encountered before. Most of my favorite things are available locally.

Chocolate- Hands down, the best chocolate there is is LOCAL! It’s called power chocolates. http://www.powerchocolates.com/ In fact, I’m trying to keep my hands off my office stash of it right now. (I give food away to my clients and so I have stashes of many different things. It’s not so hard to keep my hands off the bags of grain, I must admit.) Power chocolates have flax seeds and sometimes coconut in them. They are most awesome. They are available at the Belfast and Rockland Co-ops, but NOT at Fresh Off the Farm (FOTF.)

Bread– My favorite is the Mestamacher rye bread and pumpernickel available at FOTF. As Dr. Mark Hyman says, the best way to know if bread is healthy for you is to sit on it. If it doesn’t change shape, it’s healthy for you. This bread is so packed with antioxidants that it is shelf stable with no preservatives. That protection extends to your body when you eat it.

Snack – Lara Bars. They are, amazingly, available everywhere, including Hannaford for about $1.30 each. Here’s the ingredients list for the cashew flavor; “Cashews, Dates.” That’s it. They are raw and give you an even slow burn because the sugar in the dates needs to be ripped out of the date fiber and is metabolized along with the oils in the nuts, bringing the glycemic index down. My favorites are cherry (good for anemia!) and chocolate.

Sweetener– My sweetener of choice is whole leaf stevia. It’s brown like molasses and has a richer flavor than the refined clear or white varieties, which sometimes give me a stomach ache. I have it in my tea and porridge, but I don’t cook with it. There are other sweeteners for baking.

Cleaner – Good old fashioned Hydrogen Peroxide. It’s 50c at Reny’s. I pour some on my kitchen sponges after I clean up (hear them froth up– ew) I also whack a little bit into my salad spinner when I’m soaking my spinach or lettuces that I will eat raw. Whether local or “pre-washed” I always take this step, adding either Hydrogen Peroxide or vinegar to the soaking water and let sit for 5 minutes. Kills buggies. I also have a Hydrogen Peroxide based mouthwash. It makes my tongue froth up, which annoys me, so I prefer my essential oils mouthwash instead, but I will use it up eventually.

Teas– The Eden Brand teas are my favorite. Kukicha is made from the roasted twigs of the tea plant which is naturally lower in caffeine. Genmaicha is green tea with roasted rice! Hojicha is green tea that has been roasted. They are all organic and all interesting. Plus they label each packet, so that you don’t wonder what the heck they are when they are in a basket with other tea bags.

Oil– This is a touchy subject for me. I’m extremely picky, yet really need to be able to afford it on a regular basis! I have tried some of the expensive organic extra virgin olive oils and the moderately priced organic store-brand versions, but the oil I’m using right now is Colavita Extra Virgin Olive oil. Here’s why; While green glass bottles protect the oil from light, they prevent me from seeing what color the oil is. I’m looking for something dark, rich and green. Yellow Extra Virgin Olive oil makes me suspicious. Colavita is in clear glass and it’s entirely from Italy, not from “Spain, Morocco, Tunisia or Greece.” I really try to trust the source, because the labeling laws in this country do not help us really know about the quality of our oil, since the US is not party to the International Olive Oil Council agreement. Here’s an article from the New Yorker about Olive oil scams, where the oil was cut with vegetable oil.

Fish– Sockeye salmon. It’s always wild, bright red and always free of mercury because it doesn’t eat other fish. It eats only algae (source of red color and omega 3s) and insects. I eat it fresh and even canned. Love it!

I have some pretty strong opinions on a lot of products, but hopefully well-informed opinions. I do research. I call companies. I also do tours or Fresh of the Farm and the Camden Hannaford to discuss products and scrutinize lables. Check my Events page to find out when the next one is.

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