Posted March 13, 2018 by Corey Tufts & filed under Education.

Is there anything better than the first sip of coffee in the morning? Organic coffee is a far superior product to non-organic as it’s grown without the use of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. These chemicals have been proven to irritate the skin and eyes, disrupt the nervous system and hormones, and even cause cancer, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. When it comes to consuming high-quality, organic food, you can rest assured you’re doing both your health and the environment a service. Discover the wonders of organic coffee and you’ll be hooked for life!

A cup a day keeps the doctor away

Organic coffee is brimming with powerful antioxidants beneficial for your health. How do antioxidants work their magic? By neutralizing the harmful effects of “free radicals” and repairing oxidative damage in the body. Diets rich in antioxidants have been proven to prevent heart disease, diabetes, and even cancer. Moreover, coffee is known to be the biggest dietary source of antioxidants for people in America. Many people find it easier to drink copious amounts of coffee than eat as much fruit and vegetables. So, not only is organic coffee delicious — especially paired with your own healthy homemade coffee creamer — but it’s also great for your body.

And, if you prefer your coffee decaffeinated, make sure it’s organic — your health will thank you. The majority of decaffeinated coffee has the caffeine removed with the help of chemical solvents (ethyl acetate, pressurized carbon dioxide, and methylene chloride). Alternatively, organic decaffeinated coffee makes use of a safe, natural, and chemical-free process called the Swiss water method. Organic decaf coffee avoids exposure to unnecessary toxicity and is also noticeably more flavorful than non-organic decaf.

A sustainable solution

We can’t talk about organic coffee with mentioning its many and very important benefits for the environment. Aside from the dangers they pose to our health, pesticides also contribute to soil erosion and water pollution. Furthermore, farm workers often experience illness due to pesticide handling. Organic farms eliminate the use of these harmful chemicals meaning they’re much safer for the environment, wildlife, farmers, and consumers alike.

Organic coffee. It’s healthy, sustainable, kinder the the environment — and not to mention tastes better! Drinking around three or four cups organic coffee per day can be part of any healthy lifestyle. So, kickstart your day with a cup of organic coffee and experience its life-enriching benefits for yourself!

Click Here to get sustainable and locally roasted organic French Roast coffee delivered to your doorstep!

Posted March 8, 2018 by Corey Tufts & filed under Uncategorized.

It’s no secret that peeling, chopping, and preparing home cooked meals takes time and effort. It can seem almost overwhelming at times. But over a long period of time, you’ll find that the extra work becomes second nature and is worth the benefits that your body receives. When you eat healthy and organically sourced, fruit and veggie-rich meals, you’ll feel so much better. One trick that will really help you manage the work is to have a weekly prep day.

What is a weekly prep day, and how does it work?

What Is A Food Prep Day?

A food preparation day can be what you want it to be. It can be as organized or as flexible as you desire. The basic idea is to do all of your cutting, seeding and mixing in one day, usually in a block of a couple of hours. During this time, you can make big batches of food, or merely prepare items to be used in various dishes throughout the week.

Examples Of Prepared Dishes

For instance, on a prep day, you might make a large batch of soup or stew that can be served throughout the week as a main dish, side, or snack. You might also wash and chop a head of broccoli and put it in a glass container in the fridge so that it can be quickly steamed in minutes after a busy day of work.

You might also make a large salad of cabbage, carrots, apples, sunflower seeds and a handful of superfoods full of antioxidants to keep on hand when the munchies hit, and even chop up fruit so that it will be ready to toss on top of a dish of yogurt. It is fun to base the meals around what you find in your CSA.

Start The Habit

If you use a calendar, try setting aside a block of time to give this practice a try. If you experiment with it, you’ll likely find that the benefits are well worth the effort. You can make the prep day fun by playing music as you chop and stir or involving your family members.

Sample the food as you go, and make a party out of it! Then, enjoy the benefits of your work throughout the week. This is a great way to stay on track with your organic lifestyle instead of caving and buying foods that are convenient but full of chemicals.

Once you get started using this prep day strategy, you’ll notice how helpful it is to have ready-to-go organic items in the fridge at all times. You’ll be able to prepare dinners faster, to became less of a chore. You’ll now enjoy your time cooking for each week

Posted February 7, 2018 by Jen Tufts & filed under Organic Lifestyle, organic produce delivery, tips & tricks.

Our organic fruit basket ready for the week. Yum!

When I first was introduced to local organic produce delivery in the Bay Area, I admittedly was not it’s target market. I was a single young woman from Ohio who survived on beer and chicken nuggets. I rarely ate fruit and almost never cooked for myself at home. It’s a wonder that my then boyfriend, Corey, such a health advocate, was even interested in me! All jokes aside, I am so much healthier and happier now that I have both an organic produce delivery service and Corey in my life. I even run a motivational and health oriented instagram account now! But, embarrassingly enough, it took me six years and two kids to fully understand and appreciate a seasonally local organic produce delivery business like Golden Gate Organics.

What to Expect From an Organic Produce Delivery Service

For years, when it came time to fill my local organic produce delivery box, I really didn’t know what I was doing. I saw the weekly menu and just thought, “oh, this looks good” or “oh, I might use that next Thursday”. I didn’t really put much thought into it. And that resulted in so much wasted food! Which is one of the biggest reasons that many organic produce delivery service’s customers decide to cancel their subscription: wasted food. I don’t blame them! It feels awful throwing that food away. Not only are you wasting money, you’re wasting the life of a perfectly wonderful plant that you could have used to nourish your body. I shamefully did this for years. On the bright side, I did learn a lot with my weekly boxes!

Worried About Wasting Produce? Don’t Be!

One of the good things that I learned with my weekly organic produce delivery was how to use produce I never knew anything about. Leeks, for example. I learned to make a delicious leek and potato soup with the recipe included in my weekly produce order email! When I still had produce left over after a couple of weeks I decided to downsize my local produce order to a smaller and less expensive box. Plus it is so easy to substitute our items you don’t like!

Fast forward a few years.. I now have a toddler who has developed quite a taste for fresh fruits and veggies so I upgraded my box size again. Having produce delivered weekly was a great benefit for a hungry toddler in the house too.

Googling Recipes and Meal Planning Saved My Produce

Then one day, it hit me. Google! How does an organic food subscription and google go together? Let me explain.

I received the weekly email and decided to really look to see what was available. Beets.. hmm. What the heck can I do with beets? So I googled “beet dinner recipes” and wa-la! I clicked on a recipe that had five stars, which ended up being a beet salad. This particular recipe called for arugula, which also happened to be in my organic produce delivery box that week. I continued this trick for other items on the menu. Like “cabbage veggie soup” was another one that I found because of what was available through Golden Gate Organics that week (cabbage, carrots, onions, potatoes, etc). What else was available? Portobello Mushrooms? You guessed it, we had stuffed portobellos for dinner, too! I also discovered other excellent meals, like apple breakfast smoothies. We were eating local, seasonal produce with every meal and not wasting anything!

At the end of the week, I could not believe my eyes when I saw an empty fruit basket on the counter. My crisper just had a few stalks of celery left inside. I had used my entire order with no waste! And I couldn’t wait for my next delivery.

So What Did I Learn?

The seasonal menu is different every week, so really check out what’s available and base your meals on it! What can you do with a pineapple? Google “pineapple recipes” and have fun! Does that recipe call for milk? Add it to your produce delivery box. We’re having so much fun discovering all of these new, healthy, mostly vegetarian meals, with the convenience of it arriving on my doorstep each week. And I know you can, too.

Posted February 2, 2018 by Corey Tufts & filed under Food Philosophy, Organic Lifestyle.

Not long ago, the online magazine “Organic Authority” named San Francisco the best city in the US for living the “organic foodie Lifestyle” — which may make you wonder: what exactly is an organic food lifestyle? Does this lifestyle extend beyond the foods that we buy? Our answer is yes, and we’ll tell you why.

What Is The Organic Foodie Lifestyle?

Living this lifestyle is about more than just the food that we eat on a day-to-day basis. It’s also about respect of the earth, the upliftment of society, and conscientious living.

The way that we spend our money can be seen as the way we cast a vote into the workings of the world. If we vote for clean food that is free of GMOs, hormones, and pesticides, that is grown in cruelty-free, sustainable ways, we are affecting many levels of society. The organic foodie lifestyle affirms that it is essential to touch many levels of life positively.

What Does It Look Like?

People that live the organic lifestyle are from all walks of life. You might not be able to identify them on the street, but on some level, they have a few things in common. Here are some everyday actions that create this lifestyle.

Care For Environment

Organic food is pesticide free. Since the 1960’s, people have known that toxins affect the land, water, and habitats of creatures and humans alike. It’s taken a long time to allow the message of Rachel Carson and other activists to permeate our culture. Now that we have pesticide-free food options as well as organic health and beauty products, we still have to actively choose to buy them.

Aware Interactions

The Organic foodie lifestyle includes awareness of how individual actions affect the whole or society. We’re each like little rocks, thrown into a pond. Our actions ripple outwards touching the lives of countless others. Through the food we eat, the words we speak, and the way we spend money we can affect change in the world.

Respect For The Body

Organic food is nutrient rich and doesn’t contain the harmful chemicals that conventional foods may have. Eating organic food is one way of showing the body respect. The organic food-lover may also do other healthy things, like deep breathing, exercise, or abstaining from alcohol.

San Francisco is a city that encourages the organic foodie lifestyle, which includes much more than what you put on one end of your fork. The lifestyle includes a caring about the environment, the body, and the interactions that occur between self and society.

Written with care by Jennie Spring.

Posted January 30, 2018 by Corey Tufts & filed under Festivals, Healthy Business, local, Organic Lifestyle.

Corporate Farmers Market

Everyone loves going to the farmers market. So why not host your own Corporate Farmers Market? Afterall, it is an innovative corporate wellness idea for Silicon Valley. The friendly faces, beautiful, seasonal farm fresh produce, and meeting the proud welcoming people that grew the food you will soon be eating. There is a connection- and intimacy to our food, to the earth, that can only be had at your local organic farmers market. Has your business considered hosting its own organic farmers market? If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area please contact us for more information. Or call us at 510-698-9446. Here are a few reasons why your business should host a local organic farmers market for your employees:

It Shows Your Employees That You Value Health, Sustainability, and Community

When you arrange an organic corporate farmers market visit for your wellness fair it demonstrates to your staff that you value health, sustainability, and community. Most people already know that organically grown local food doesn’t contain synthetic pesticides or herbicides. And since those chemicals are not in your food they don’t get into your employee’s bodies which will make them much healthier!

Additionally, certified organic farms grow sustainably by not using synthetic fertilizers. Instead, organic farms rotate crops and use natural fertilizers such as compost. Organic farmers markets are also non-GMO. For more info on the difference between organic and non-gmo read this. Finally, farmers markets are all about community and will encourage your employees to share food stories, recipes, and relax in a friendly, fun, and healthy environment.

It’s Fun and Educational to Learn About Your Food

Whether it is learning about the health benefits of beets and the most fun ways to prepare them in your kitchen or finding out the secrets to choosing the right persimmon, your diverse staff is guaranteed to learn something new about their local organic fruits and veggies Golden Gate Organics will provide for your own personal corporate farmers market.

But it’s not all about the fruits and veggies. All of the fresh and local farm items we bring to your farmer’s market have a story to be told too. Our caring and professional on-site staff are exceptionally knowledgeable about not only the food we bring but also the local organic farms where it is grown. We will answer questions about the farms your food comes from, the seasonality of the different items, and share the stories of the farmers that grow your produce. It is a fun and welcoming experience for everyone.

A Corporate Farmers Market Is Way More Than a Farmer’s Market

While we may not be as big as the Ferry Plaza Farmers Market in SF we personalize each of our corporate farmer’s markets specifically to the needs and goals of our clients. What makes our corporate farmers market a success for you is that we customize every experience to suit the needs of your business and employees. We bridge the gap between traditional farmers’ markets and people’s kitchens by educating your employees not only on the seasonality and origins of their food but also training them on how to prepare foods they might otherwise find intimidating. From massaging kale to shocking lettuce we have the easiest tips and recipes for choosing, storing, and cooking all the delicious and organic produce from your market.

It Demonstrates To Your Employees That You Care About Their Health

By providing a healthy and educational atmosphere at your next wellness fair, your employees will know that you care about their health and wellbeing. With time away from their desks employees can bond over a local organic apple. Perhaps even share childhood memories of traveling to a farm and what their favorite fruits and veggies are back home.

Providing healthy organic produce at your corporate farmers market nourishes the minds and bodies of your employees making them healthier, more alert, and more productive.

Areas We Provide Corporate Farmers Markets

San Francisco Bay Area

Golden Gate Organics provides corporate farmers markets in the San Francisco Bay area including San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, Santa Clara, and everywhere in between. For more information call: 510-698-9446

Curious About Hosting Your Own Corporate Farmers Market?

Interested? Take a moment to send us a message through our contact form and one of our caring staff will be happy to answer any questions you have. Our corporate customers love our corporate farmer’s markets and ask us to come back year after year. Add some local flavor and fun to your next event with your very own farmers market. No matter the season our local farm partners have just the right fruits and vegetables to make your employees happy and healthy. For more information on our corporate wellness services please visit our For Business webpage.

CONTACT US RIGHT NOW!

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Posted January 11, 2018 by Corey Tufts & filed under Food Philosophy, fruit, Organic Lifestyle, weekly update.

The Weekly Thought

What are you going to do to make the world better tomorrow?

Two years from now will be the second decade of the New Millennium. Therefore, for perspective, contrast this fact with the “Roaring Twenties” of the last century. I already feel the change beginning to happen. Like oil slowly being poured into water, there is a new wave of energy already beginning to form the new decade. Right now new-wave ideals are beginning to manifest around an evolved respect within society. Respect for ourselves that will result in healthier experiences and longer lives. Respect for others resulting in ever closer and complete equality. Respect for the environment resulting in more awareness and care towards sustainability. These shared social ideals have already began to manifest themselves in all of us and our culture. It’s obvious in the media and internet. Together you, me, Golden Gate Organics, and the values & ideas we share will do our part within society to usher in an ideal future that we create for ourselves, even if we haven’t realized it yet.

This Week’s Awesome Organic Produce Update

The California citrus season is in full swing right now. It is really hard to not just have six different citrus varieties, and bananas, on the fruit menu this week. Our rep, Carson, at Earl’s Organic Produce said he bought an entire case of Cara Cara oranges to give away to his friends because they are the best oranges he’s ever had. So I got them for you this week too! And though they may look imperfect on the outside, look past the superficially scarred peel to be delightfully rewarded with the most beautiful and sweetest flavor a California Cara Cara orange could possibly be. On the vegetable side we have loose-leaf arugula sold by the ounce and the ever venerable cauliflower. Jen made a broccoli and cauliflower soup a few weeks back and I want it again! Its sooooo good I wanted to share it with you this week. Click here for that recipe, add any ingredients you need, like onions, and enjoy a delicious meal for dinner, and again the next day for lunch!

With Great Care,

Corey (Loves Avocados) Tufts, and the Team at Golden Gate Organics

Posted December 7, 2017 by Corey Tufts & filed under Education, Food Philosophy, local, Organic Lifestyle, organic produce delivery.

I am excited for what the New Year will usher in less than a month from now. As it is true that we nourish and sustain ourselves with local organic produce, it is also true that we nourish and sustain our realities by the actions we create.

Each choice we make is one of infinite possibilities. Your choice of Golden Gate Organics supports local organic farms and influences the realities of you and those around you. By your thoughtful decision of love you manifest a progression of collective reality and, consequently, become a leader by example that inspires others. Also, you get some pretty delicious and awesome fruits and veggies delivered to your doorstep!

Citrus Season Has Began

Speaking of awesome fruits and veggies: Citrus season has began! This week we have the first Cara Cara oranges of the season. This orange is an early season navel with red flesh. But much sweeter than a Blood orange in my opinion. We also have more Satsumas from Side Hill orchard, Rio Red Grapefruits from CCH, and some delicious limes, lemons, and kiwis! Wait, are kiwis citrus? You can think about that as you are eating one. On the veggie side we have some of the most delicious leeks of the year just in time to make some leeks and potato soup. Check out my easy go-to leek recipe on our recipe page. Yum!

Announcement

We recently rolled out Oakland’s Hodo Soy Beanery tofu and veggie burgers to our dairy and tofu section. So far you’ve been loving them. This is important because as we move into the New Year we are looking to add more local, organic, and artisan options to meet your sustainable and discerning cooking tastes. We welcome your ideas and insights pertaining to how we can be our best, together.

Our goal is excellence in everything we do and your comments help us achieve excellence together.

Please enjoy this week’s produce and don’t forget to let us know if you can’t quite find the substitution you are looking for. We are always happy to make some manual subs to make your order perfect.

With great care,
Corey (Superfood) Tufts, and the Team at Golden Gate Organics

Posted November 30, 2017 by Corey Tufts & filed under Education, Food Philosophy, organic produce, produce report, weekly update.

This week was interesting for us all as we returned to the normalcy of post-Thanksgiving. Although for me, finding out today that we can get California blueberries and limes for next week doesn’t seem normal and I love it. Additionally, last week was the end of a bountiful and unseasonably long California Kiet mango season. Perhaps the seasonality of these items are not new but are only new to me?

Regardless, I’ve been doing this for almost eight years and this is the first time I’ve seen organic California limes available in December and the first time I can remember organic California blueberries available in December too. Please reply to this email with your perspective and let me know what you think.

In the meantime, there are so many yummy items available this week! The tiny little Seckle pears are back. These, I think, are the best tasting pears we’ve had in a while and, I was told, should be optimally ready to eat when they arrive at your doorstep next week. We also have some D’anjou pears and, just like the last few weeks of pears, these will need to sit out for a couple days to soften up. Your patience will be rewarded.

Also, the mandarins coming in from Corona-College Heights Orange & Lemon Association (CCH) near Riverside are excellent and even have seeds. So make sure you take that into consideration to sub them out, or to sub even more into your order! Finally, the Early Girl tomatoes from Ellwood Canyon Farms are very supple and bursting with flavor. Ellwood Canyon is a super tiny farm near Goleta and I always keep an eye out for their items because everything we receive from their farm is just perfection. For more information on Ellwood Canyon Farms and the many other organic farms we support please head over to our organic farms page.

Ok back to work for you and me. Stay tuned for more info next week. In the meantime, please click over to our proud partner The Organic Media Network. Over at OMN you will find even more love for sustainability, practical tips for your organic veggies, and so much more. My favorite was their story on sugar addiction. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Have a great week full of healthy love!

With great care,
Corey Tufts and the Team at Golden Gate Organics

Posted November 9, 2017 by Corey Tufts & filed under Education, Food Philosophy, Organic Lifestyle, organic produce, weekly update.

As the days shrink; the nights become longer, earlier. At sunset Mother Earth comforts us in her shadow and lulls us to sleep. The rays of light from our closest star, the sun, now approach the axis of our planet at a steeper angle. We people feel this imperceptible effect on our circadian rhythm as do the fruit, vegetables, and all plants and animals. Winter is coming and so is our seasonal precipitation.

As the weather changes with the seasons, our seasonal offerings of fresh organic produce adjust naturally. We are fortunate here in California for temperatures that, generally, do not dip below freezing too much. Here is where the bulk of our organic farms have found their niche in our state. Near where we live and eat locally; just a drive away.

Mixed Fall Squash Harvest Golden Gate Organics

This week we are delighted to share wil you delicious Satsuma mandarins. This winter citrus staple delights sustainable foodies here in the Bay Area foodshed. Last week was the first harvest of the season, and not as sweet as I like, but Jen loved the flavorful sour taste. As we received fresher and fresher satsumas throughout last week I could taste them getting sweeter every new day they came in. This week I am optimistic that they will be even more full of sweetness.

On the savory side we have another fall staple: spaghetti squash. Its a vegetable and its spaghetti. Its a miracle of culinary concepts and we have them in most boxes this week to nourish your body and mind. Roast your squash, add some tomato sauce, garlic, and some other veggies, (or use this recipe) then enjoy the early evening meal with your loved one. Finally, after dinner is cleaned up and the dishes are done, curl up, be cozy, full, and happy. That is what good, healthy, organic food does for you. We should all feel fortunate for what we have.

With great care,

Corey Tufts and the Team at Golden Gate Organics

Posted October 26, 2017 by Corey Tufts & filed under Uncategorized.

To Our Dear Members,

Tuesday is Halloween and with this festive holiday we move further into the long nights of Fall. Soon our neighborhoods will be full of little costumed super heroes, dinosaurs, and more all seeking sweet treats, or tricks. Yet, last weekend while at a the local pumpkin patch in Piedmont with my family I paused to take in the scene. There was the smell of sunlit hay strewn about rows of oddly sized pumpkins and happily ghoulish decorations.

And now the Fall bounty is arriving from local organic farms all around the area. Sugar pie pumpkins, pomegranates, Fuyu persimmons, Asian pears, and the first local kiwi’s of the season are all available to warm your tummies, and your hearts, this week. The persimmons appeared early this fall. Their appearance firm and more yellow than the orange color we are accustomed too. However, they taste exceptional and will only get sweeter and softer as the season grows. We have so much to be thankful for.

In addition, the Honey Crisp & Jazz apples this week, along with the Asian & Bartlett pears are really among the absolute best fruits or vegetables we’ve had this season. They are so delicious that I tried to put a couple of each into every order this week so we can all appreciate together how blessed we really are with the local organic items available to us here in the Bay Area.

No matter what amazing produce you are fortunate enough to enjoy this week, all of our fruits and veggies will bring a happy, healthy experience to you and your loved ones. I can’t imagine anything more precious than the eyes of my loved ones lighting up with amazing excitement as they taste some of the most amazing fruits and veggies we will have all year long.