Food And Recipe

Health food stores have always been mysterious places. Back in the late 1970′s, early 1980′s, health food stores occupied a small niche in society that was close to being underground. They came along on the heels of the hippy movement of the 60′s and often served as a place for communes to sell their homegrown wares. The health food stores smelled of herbs, incense and a few other things that generally defied description. There were strange and exotic foods from all over the globe, all of them claiming to be organic or free range. There were things like granola, soymilk, goat’s milk, tofu and wheat grass juice. You could find books on such subjects as natural healing, crystal therapy and composting.

Wild Oats is a franchise in many cities and when you go into the store, you can tell right away that the basic Mom and Pop operation had changed. This particular chain began eighteen years ago in Boulder, Colorado and has expanded over the years to include more than 110 stores in 24 states and British Columbia. It is clear to see how this company became the standard for the organic market industry.

At first glance, their store looks like any other large grocery store, and you can probably find many of the same items that you would in a standard grocery store – but with one twist. Everything is organic. Usually when you hear the word organic, you might think two things; bland and expensive. However, with all the options and improvements in the way of organic foods are produced, there are many items that are very tasty, and the prices have become comparable to those of a conventional grocery store.

The overall concept of the health food store hasn’t changed. They still offer a wide range of organic foods and herbal remedies. They are filled with all kinds of products to heal the body, mind and spirit. You can find aromatherapy candles, essential oils, books, tapes, and DVD’s on meditation and yoga. You can take cooking classes and learn how to make your own herbal remedies. There are still aisles dedicated to environmentally safe products for household cleaning and recycling. Read the rest of this entry →

It may not always be easy to determine what items are really good for you by looking at nutrition fact labels, but online health food stores often have far more details available to consumers about products such as health drinks. This can help clear up some of the confusion for online health food store shoppers who want the highest quality nutrition. In typical retail supermarkets, items such as natural foods and health drinks may have only one natural ingredient, but still be labeled as “natural”. Online health food stores are usually very thorough in describing the true nature of their products. They assure customers that things like preservatives, isolated vitamins, artificial dyes or sweeteners are not included in their health drinks. The owners of these smaller operations may even know their suppliers personally and visit the manufacturing facilities. This can give them additional certainty that the products are processed at low temperatures to maintain whole food structures of the truly natural ingredients. Unfortunately, some of the so-called health drinks and foods at typical stores are devoid of nutrients because of the packaging processes, but consumers are never made aware of this fact.

Here are examples of a few items you may find at an online health food store that appear the same as typical store bought items on the surface, but are vastly different in the way they are processed:

· Vitamins – At an online health food store it is more likely these are whole food vitamins, not isolated, which provides the body with more effective absorption of nutrients.

· Natural low carb foods – These are not fake-food substitutes, but real, all natural food formulas prepared with your total health in mind.

· Health drinks and herbal teas – These are not enhanced vitamin waters or colored sport drinks, but herbal beverages with whole food ingredients.

Often, these online health food store products provide more effective results with fewer empty calories and less wasted money.

Many of the natural foods and health drinks from an online health food store can contain ingredients from plants grown on small farms, without the use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers. This is vastly different from mass-produced products made with so-called “natural” ingredients that have been manufactured on giant factory farms with artificial fertilizers and dangerous pesticides. You would be surprised to know how many non-organic foods, and even some labeled as “natural”, have been grown that way. The USDA defines organic products as those produced by farmers practicing soil and water conservation. In addition, organic farmers must make use of renewable resources to protect the environment. This is the type of detailed information you are likely to find in health drinks at a reliable online health food store. Read the rest of this entry →