Added on October 4th, 2012
Found in Baking, Christmas recipes, Dried Fruit, Dried Fruit recipes, Gluten free, Organic, Pudding- recipes, recipes
Christmas Pudding
This is a lovely, dark, shiny, vegetarian Christmas Pudding. It’s taken from an out-of-print leaflet from the (no longer open) Wholefood Cookery School in Leicester. We have enjoyed this one many times. You can use all organic ingredients if you like (except for the Guinness), or for a gluten-free pudding, use gf breadcrumbs, gf flour and Glebe Farm’s GF beer. Why not try using dried cranberries or blueberries, instead of some of the dried fruits?
It makes 4 x 1lb puddings or 2 x 2lb. Using 100g / 4oz wholemeal flour, spelt or kamut also works well.
200g / 8oz Wholemeal breadcrumbs
200g / 8oz Currants
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Added on October 1st, 2012
Found in Baking, Cotesbach Shop, Dried Fruit, Environmental, Flour Gluten Free, Lentil, Nuts, Organic, Pasta gluten free orgran, Rice, Wholefoods
If you’ve decided to take the plunge and eat more wholefoods – or more natural or organic food – you’ve come to the right place, not just for the products, but for good advice too. We are always keen to guide customers as to which products to buy, how to use them, and how to get best value for their money. The business started off as a kitchen-table operation for a group of families who couldn’t find the right kind of food to feed their families – we want to help other families get it right too! Call us on 01455 556878.
Perhaps the best advice if you’re making any changes to your diet is to make them gradually. This allows everyone in the family to come on board steadily, without asking for huge compromises all at once. It also means that if you get disheartened with any step you’ve taken, you don’t feel it’s an ‘all or nothing’ approach – if you really, really cannot get to grips with brown rice, for instance, it doesn’t mean you’ve got to abandon all your healthy eating efforts. Just take a step back and bypass rice for a while!
So, what products can Naturally Good Food offer for those who are – gradually – trying to eat a better diet?
- Why not start with things that are not essentials – just to give you an idea how fantastically delicious organic wholefoods can be. Try our range of biscuits, for example, or our crispbreads or chocolate. If you replace your usual treats for these, you’ve straight away made a big difference – environmentally, as well as in health terms – and you’ve eaten even tastier products than usual.
- Make a slow change to more ‘hard-core’ options. One good idea is to buy both brown and white rice, storing these separately. When you cook rice, add a little brown to the usual white mix. Over time, you can increase the amount until you feel comfortable going entirely wholegrain. (Note: as brown and white rices have different cooking times, you may need to cook the brown for slightly longer first – or accept a mixture of soft and al dente textures in the finished product. Personally, I quite like that.)
- Tell your kids that the brown grains of rice in mixed rice, or the different colours in wild rice, are the ‘lucky’ ones. They might buy it!
- Don’t expect the whole family to embrace wholewheat pasta all at once. Try it first with a tasty sauce on top. Make enough for the next day and then try some left-overs. What at first seems quite a strong taste, should, even by the next day, seem much more usual to your taste-buds.
- Using organic, natural or wholefood baking products gives the self-satisfaction of home-baking an even greater glow! We stock a truly incredible range of flours, as well as natural essences for flavour, and of course, our renowned range of dried fruit and nuts.
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Added on September 23rd, 2012
Found in Organic, Recipes, Wholefoods
This weekend, I’ve had two culinary disappointments (as well as a lovely Eve’s Pudding triumph)! I’ve got a bit of a cold, and thought that I could boil up the carcass of a chicken to make a delicious, nourishing, chicken soup for Saturday lunch. Saturday dinner was then supposed to be some leftover lamb-shank stew from the freezer. And while none of it was poisonous, it just wasn’t all that nice. The soup was really just like random ingredients floating in very hot, slightly fatty, every-so-slightly-chickenish water. The stew, which had been so nice in its original incarnation, had a very odd taste after its time in the freezer.
I’ve thought about it, and decided that it’s time to take stock. Take stock of my stock, that is. Because it seems to me that that’s at the root of the problem.
For the lamb shank stew, I’ve been using my mother-in-law’s Scottish idea of basically cooking it in thick bisto gravy for hours and hours. Nice the first time round – but freezes horribly. For the chicken, I just boiled up the bones for a quick half an hour, with all the fat left hanging around.
It’s all wrong, of course. You need to simmer meat stock for about two and a half hours. You need to add some vegetables and get rid of the fat. Vitally, you mustn’t boil it!
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Added on September 17th, 2012
Found in Bulk purchase, Organic
Last week we had our annual Soil Association Organic Inspection. After 11 previous inspections, we perhaps knew what to expect, so were prepared.
As in previous years, our organic inspector was, as my old head-teacher would like to be considered, ‘firm but fair’. This year we have added wholesale sales to our licence, so there were a few new things to consider. As with the previous years’ inspections, we had a couple of things we needed to modify: this seems to happen as regulations are adapted and we need to conform to a new standard.
To see our full inspection report, follow the link for Naturally Good Food Organic Inspection. As with all inspection reports, the best you ever seem to get is ‘conforms to standard’: a pass is all there is, not A+!
Added on September 12th, 2012
Found in Baking, Bulk, Bulk purchase, Organic, Wholefoods
We are delighted to let you know that we have joined the Soil Association’s Organic Food For Life Catering Mark Scheme, or CMASS (Catering Mark Approved Supplier Scheme), as it is known.
We are therefore now a ‘Food For Life’ catering supplier.
The Soil Association notes on its website: ‘The Catering Mark is the UK’s fastest growing best practice scheme. In total over 540,000 Catering Mark meals are being served a day, more than 100,000,000 meals per year. Most of the demand is currently from the school meals sector and we are working with large scale food service providers in hospitals, universities, nurseries, business & industry and on the high street to extend the reach of the scheme.
The exponential growth of the Catering Mark is therefore creating huge demand for products that meet the scheme’s criteria. To help facilitate the growth of these supply chains the Soil Association has created the Catering Mark Approved Suppliers Scheme (CMASS).’
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Added on July 7th, 2012
Found in Grains, Organic
Porridge has been the cool choice of breakfast in major UK cities for a few years now. With ‘porridge bars’ popping up in stations and shopping centres, and major snack retailers jumping on board, you can expect to see city workers, bankers, publishers and all sorts of high-flyers tucking into a takeaway bowl early in the morning. But has the trend reached you yet?
Porridge is remarkably healthy – made from the whole grain, it retains all the minerals and vitamins of the natural oats, and has a high protein and fibre content. It can help to lower cholesterol and to stabilise blood sugar levels. At Naturally Good Food we sell organic porridge oats from a range of suppliers, including gluten-free varieties. We also sell our own packaged oats, ‘porridge’ and ‘jumbo’, in 1kg, 5kg and 25kg sacks. Buying in bulk works out at a very competitive price compared with commercial brands. ‘Jumbo’ oats are larger than the standard porridge oats. Many prefer these for making porridge, as although they take longer to cook, they give the mixture more texture. They’re also great for making flapjacks!
So – how do you like your porridge? Like my Scottish in-laws, with salt? Or like me, with such huge amounts of sugar that the health benefits start to become negligible? Perhaps a good compromise is to serve your porridge with honey. Or of course, like Fortnum and Mason, with brown sugar and whisky syrup – or as Gleneagles Hotel does, with cream and Drambuie. Just the thing to set you up for a hearty tramp across misty moorlands. Or even just for a day in the office.
Added on June 13th, 2012
Found in Guides, Organic
Everyone has pressures on their purse at the moment, but if you plan ahead and are careful, the need to save money should not inhibit your desire to eat well (both in terms of taste and in terms of health). To help you through, we have a few tips to help you buy organic and save money:
- Buy in bulk – substantial savings can be made if you buy in bulk. This is especially true of products with a higher price tag, such as organic nuts. In addition, watch out for case discounts. If you think you would struggle to think consume the goods before their use-by date, then why not buy as part of a group?
- Try buying your organic pulses as dried pulses, not tinned. This is not only much cheaper, but lets you control the amount of salt added. It’s also better for the environment, as there’s no need to ship a heavy parcel and, of course, you’re not using a tin.
- Try using some different ingredients: switch from pine-nuts to almonds for some nut dishes, for example. (Almonds can be sliced to give a very similar consistency.) Broken nuts are also much cheaper: for example, organic cashew pieces are much cheaper than whole organic cashews.
- Try ‘own label’ organic products, but only buy products from a company that has an organic producer licence. These companies will have an organic audit each year and will be able to prove that the products they sell are organic.
- Reduce the expensive part of your meals. For example, as meat can be expensive, try adding organic red lentils to your mince dishes. The meat will go further, you will improve your diet and the whole meal will be less expensive.
Added on June 12th, 2012
Found in Dairy Free, Gluten free, Organic, Tinned food
We have increased our range of the popular Free and Easy soups. In addition to the Green Pea, Leek and Potato, Minestrone and Tomato soups, we now have the following flavours:
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Added on June 4th, 2012
Found in Cotesbach Shop, Herb Tea, Organic, Pukka Teas
Do you enjoy morning coffee and afternoon tea? We have a good range of both at Naturally Good Food. We stock the fabulous Machu Pichu coffee, both ground and as beans. This is a rich coffee – once tasted, you’ll never want to drink any other!
For afternoon tea, the choice is vast. From brown teas including Assam andEarl Grey, through to green and herbal teas, we have something for everyone. We stock Clipper teas, Pukka teas, Golden Temple Yogi teas, Heath and Heather and Dr Stuarts, to name but a few.
If you prefer no caffeine, we also have dandelion coffee and barleycup available. Whether you’re ‘tea’ or ‘coffee’, there’s something for everyone!
Added on April 11th, 2012
Found in Dairy Free, Gluten free, Organic
Ecomil now make dairy-free, egg-free, soya-free, gluten-free, cholesterol-free, and organic almond desserts. They come in cocoa and vanilla flavours and are a good source of protein, containing essential amino acids. These are rich and creamy and a great alternative for those with dairy and soy allergies. Don’t forget our 10% discount if you order a full case.
