Support Local. We Do: Rooster Hill Farms

Randy frying eggs at HHM!

Have you tried our all natural, free range, local eggs from Rooster Hill Farms? If not, it's time that you do (unless of course, you're vegan)! We carry hen, duck and quail eggs. Once you taste them, you will never go back to conventional eggs! They are not certified organic, however, all organic techniques are practiced. Rooster Hill Farms is located just up the road in China Grove, NC and is proudly owned by Randy and Cynthia Klocke. Farms is plural because they actually own two seperate farms. They bought the first one in 2007 and the second one, around the corner, in 2008. Today the farms are home to a small flock of Golden Comet hens, 95 ducks (of various breeds), a few phesants, a growing flock of quail, three goats, a donkey named Jenny, and turkey named Tom. Randy is originally from Iowa, where he grew up on a farm. After high school, he joined the Army and then went on to finish college. He has served as a pastor at three churchs, worked as a professor and in 2005, he established NorthGate Academy K-12 in Salisbury, NC. Cynthia grew up in Lacoma, NC and Concord, NC, where she enjoyed a career in medicine.

Meatless Monday: Grilled Eggplant Stacks with Tomato, Feta and Basil

Ingredients

1 cup fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium eggplants
1 large tomato and 2 medium tomatoes
3/4 cup feta, crumbled (or goat cheese if you prefer)
Finely shredded fresh basil leaves for garnish
Freshly ground black pepper
Sea salt

Directions

1. Blend basil with oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt in blender until finely chopped. Pour into a paper-towel- or coffee-filter-lined sieve set over a bowl and let drain 20 minutes. Gather together sides of towel or filter and press gently on it to extract more oil. (You will have a generous 1/3 cup oil.) Reserve 1 tablespoon basil oil separately for serving. Scrape basil solids into a small bowl and reserve.
2. Prepare grill for cooking over medium-heat. While grill heats, cut off bottoms of eggplants, then cut 6 (1/2-inch-thick) crosswise rounds from each, starting from cut end. Reserve remaining eggplant for another use. Cut 4 (1/3-inch-thick) rounds from large tomato and 2 center slices (1/3 inch thick) from each medium tomato, reserving remaining tomato for another use.
3. Lightly brush eggplant rounds on both sides with basil oil and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Grill on a lightly oiled grill rack, covered only if using a gas grill, turning over occasionally, lightly brushing eggplant with more basil oil occasionally if it looks dry, until eggplant is very tender, 6 to 10 minutes. (Leave gas grill on.)
4. Make the stacks — on a baking pan, arrange the 4 largest eggplant rounds side by side and spread each with a generous 1/2 teaspoon of reserved basil solids, then top each with 1 of the 4 largest tomato rounds. Season tomatoes with salt and pepper and top each with about 1 tablespoon feta. Make another layer with medium-size eggplant rounds, basil solids, medium tomato rounds, salt, pepper, and feta, then top with remaining eggplant and feta.
5. Set baking pan on grill and cook stacks, with grill cover closed, until heated through and cheese on top is softened, about 3 minutes. Transfer stacks to 4 plates and drizzle plates with reserved basil oil.

Source: care2.com

What's Going on at Customer Appreciation Day Tomorrow? All Four Locations!

Customer Appreciation Day is finally here...well, almost! We are very excited and hope you all are too! Healthy Home Market has grown and thrived in the Charlotte area since 1979 and that's all because of loyal customers like YOU! We want to thank you for all of the support you have given to all of our stores over the past 30+ years through your patronage and appreciation of all things local. This is the day when we take care of YOU and your family as our way of saying thank you for taking care of us all these years. All practitioners will be offering their services for free tomorrow! And please be sure to enter to win one of many awesome health-filled gift baskets! This event is happening simultaneously at all four stores, so you can visit your favorite! Here's what you can expect at each location:


South End - 80's Theme
Food Samples: Tavern Cheese Spread, Novel Sweets, Grayson Natural Farms, Breadsmith Artisan Bakery, Bushelle Seasonings, Tito's Specialty Foods, Organic Valley Cheese, Udi's Gluten Free and King Cliff BBQ and Steak Sauce
Wine Tastings: Ararat Wines and Juice Wine Purveyors
Vitamin Demos: Gabriel/ZuZu Luxe Cosmetics, Barleans, Ultra Labs, TGIN, HealthForce, Country Life, New Chapter, Gaia Herbs and Garden of Life
Practitioners: Migun Wellness Center, The Natural Response Acupuncture and Wellness Center, Reiki and Crystal  Light Therapy, Cornerstone Health Center, Art of Massage, Katie Hastings Holistic Health and Wellness Coach and Moga Charlotte
Additional: Jewelry by Crispin, SkyeTurtle Designs, Parker Autism Foundation and Trusleep Organics
Entertainment: Jeff Brown Around Town and face painting
Grill Out: Southern Style Plate (2 piece grilled chicken (leg and thigh) with Lexington slaw, baked beans and a dinner roll) Vegetarian Special (Veggie burger (mushroom based) with lettuce, tomato and onions, side of grilled asparagus and rice chips)

Davidson - Summer Fun Beach Theme
Food Samples: NumNum Sauce , KW Collards, EnergMax, Grammie's Salsa, Hearth Strings, Udi's Gluten Free, Uncle Scott's Root Beer, Coco Life Coconut Water, Our Daily Bread, Boar's Head, Tito's Specialty Foods, Farm 430, The Naked Tart and Novel Sweets
Beer/Wine Tastings: Mutual Distributing Company and Tryon Distributing
Vitamin Demos: Barlean's Organic Oils, Country Life, MegaFood and Nordic Naturals
Practitioners: Acupuncture Center for Balance and Healing
Entertainment: Calvin Edwards and a bounce house
Grill Out: grassfed hamburgers, homemade sausage and split-chicken grillers

Independence - Around the World Theme
Food Samples: KW Collards, Hain Celestial, Roots Hummus, fruit cups, Elderberry Life and pet food samples
Vitamin/HBA Demos: Buried Treasure, Genesis Today and Hair 180
Practitioners: Massage Therapist
Entertainment: DJ Stampede, face painting, sidewalk chalk and hula hooping
Grill Out: grassfed hamburgers, hot dogs and veggie options

Galleria
Food Samples: KW Collards
Vitamin/HBA Demos: Amazing Grass, Nutraceutical, Jarrow Formulas, Garden of Life and Gaia Herbs
Practitioners: Vital Yoga Center
Entertainment: Sergio Agraz

Tofu Tuesday: Grilled Adobo Tofu and Veggies over Fresh Citrus Salsa and Cilantro Sunflower Seed Pesto

Ingredients

Tofu and Veggies

1 block organic, extra firm tofu, pressed 1 hr - overnight
2 Tbsp + 2 tsp adobo seasoning
1 Tbsp + 2 tsp olive oil
2 fresh zucchini, sliced
1 onion, quartered and cut into chunks
5 oz. button mushrooms

Adobo Seasoning
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp onion powder
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp chili powder
1 Tbsp paprika
2 Tbsp salt

Fresh Citrus Salsa
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 navel orange, peeled and chopped
1/4 red onion, chopped
Juice 1 lime
1 avocado, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
Dash coarse sea salt

Cilantro Sunflower Seed Pesto
1 cup fresh cilantro
1 Tbsp chopped onion
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 cup roasted sunflower seeds
1/8 - 1/4 tsp coarse sea salt (depending on taste)
1/4 cup water

Directions

1. Mix 2 Tbsp adobo seasoning and 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large bowl; cut tofu into chunks and add to bowl; toss to coat and set aside for at least an hour or the day.
2. Preheat grill to medium high; season the vegetables with remaining 2 tsp adobo seasoning and 2 tsp olive oil; toss to coat.
3. Thread veggies and tofu onto skewers in an alternating pattern; spray with organic, non-stick spray.
4. Grill until nice char marks appear and vegetables are soft but not mushy; 5-10 minutes on one side and 5 or so minutes on the next.
5. While grilling, mix salsa ingredients in a bowl and blend together Cilantro Sunflower Seed Pesto ingredients in a blender, bullet or food processor.
6. Serve items together and enjoy!

Source: floridacoastalcooking.com

The Benefits of Grassfed Beef

Healthy Home Market is proud to offer local, grassfed beef from Grayson Natural Farms. But what exactly are the benefits of this beef vs. conventional factory farm raised beef? Well, let's start with the obvious, local grassfed beef just tastes better! It's miles fresher and when the cows are treated humanely, the beef is much more tender. Plus, you can feel better about your choice because not only do the animals live a peaceful life in a pasture, but everything about the process is better for the environment. Now, let's compare the health benefits of grassfed vs. grainfed. Grassfed is much leaner, lower in fat, contains healthy Omega 3's and CLA, plus more vitamins and minerals, including B's, C, E, Beta Carotene, Calcium, Potassium, Magnesium, Iron and Selenium. And then there's what's not in it, such as, growth hormones, steroids, antibiotics, GMO corn and food industry waste. Seems like a clear choice right? Here's a handy infographic if you're still having trouble deciding!

Meatless Monday: Curried Lentils

Ingredients

1 cup orange lentils, washed

4 cups + 1 TBS vegetable broth
1 medium onion, chopped
3 medium cloves garlic, chopped
2 medium carrots, diced into 1/4-inch pieces
2 medium celery stalks,diced into 1/4-inch pieces
2 cups finely chopped kale
2 tsp curry powder
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes (do not drain)
3 TBS chopped fresh cilantro
Salt and black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Rinse lentils in strainer and sort through, removing debris.
2. Chop onions and garlic and let sit for 5 minutes to bring out their hidden health benefits.
3. Heat 1 TBS broth in medium soup pot. Healthy Sauté onion in broth over medium heat for 5 minutes stirring frequently, until translucent.
4. Add garlic, carrots, and celery. Continue to sauté for another couple of minutes. Add curry powder and mix to bring out its flavor.
5. Add rinsed and drained lentils, 4 cups broth and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium low, and simmer uncovered until lentils and vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add kale and simmer for another 5 minutes. Add cilantro and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Source: whfoods.org

Cinco de Mayo: A Little History + Recipes

Saturday is Cinco de Mayo, a day celebrated not only in Mexico, but throughout the US as well. Many people wrongly believe that Cinco de Mayo is Mexican Independence Day, when in fact, it is a celebration of Mexico's triumph over French occupation. The United States strongly supported the Mexican government’s resistance to the French occupation and the people of Mexico never forgot this. In gratitude, thousands of Mexicans crossed the border after the attack on Pearl Harbor to join the U.S. Armed Forces. As recently as the Persian Gulf War, Mexicans flooded American consulates with phone calls, trying to join in and help fight with the U.S.

While many are unaware of the true meaning behind the May 5th holiday, people everywhere sure love to celebrate it, usually with Mexican (or a variation of) food and beer, and often with friends! This Saturday, try your hand at some of these delicious, often unique, healthy versions of Mexican (or a variation of) fare. Your family, friends, guests, you...whoever...are sure to be impressed! Please also take some time to reflect on what we are all celebrating. Esperamos que disfrute estas recetas y tener una celebración segura y saludable!

Pineapple- Chipotle Salsa

Coctel de Camarones

Vegetarian Tortilla Soup

Crab Stuffed Jalapenos with Guacamole

Huevos Rancheros Verdes

Charred Chile Relleno w/Green Rice
Chicken Breasts w/Green Chili-Almond Cream Sauce
Adobado Pork Tenderloin
Blueberry-Lime Margarita
Passion Colada