Revamped website launch FAQ

If you've been to our site recently you might have noticed that things look a bit different! We are so happy to launch our revamped site and to share with all our customers. So we thought we would make a quick little post with some important information for new & returning customers. Hope this information helps, if you have any additional questions please feel free to contact us!

Q: Are you guys still selling all the same products?

A: Yes, with very few exceptions. We took down some of the gift boxes because we are moving them to be more seasonal.

Q: I'm a returning customer, do I have to make a new account?

A: No. You should be able to use your old username & password to log in. (If you encounter problems, please contact us and we will help you the best we can.)

Q: Are your shipping prices remaining the same? 

A: Unforentually no, as of January 1, 2018, we adjusted our shipping prices to reflect what we are being charged from FedEx & USPS (From the old site to the new one the shipping prices would look the same, but if you haven't visited our site in awhile you might notice the difference). We do not make any money on our shipping and pass whatever savings we do get on to our customers, we feel this is the most honest and fair option.

Q: I found a bug with the site, what should I do?

A: Please contact us about it! We have been working on this for months and feel like we have still overlooked things, the more pairs of eyes the better! If you have already reported a bug to us, we would really like to say a great big THANK YOU. You've no idea how much it's been helping us!

Q: Some of the product images look a bit...well...wonky...

A: Yes, we're aware. We are in the process of creating brand new images to reflect current packaging & hope to have those images up by the second week of March 2018.

Q: Are you having any kind of launch celebration?

A: YES! Of course! Use code NEWSITE18 at check out & get 20% off Dried & Powders. The sale will run from 2/28/18 through 3/31/18. (One offer per order, to qualify for free shipping order must be over $235 AFTER coupon & only eligible product apply)

Happy National Cookie Day!

Who doesn't love cookies? 

We definitely do, but where cookies even came from? Or who makes up all these random holidays? Well, we looked it up! (Thanks, Google!)

 Turns out the English word "cookie" is derived from the Dutch word "koekie" which means little cake.  There have been cookie-like wafers in existence for as long as baking has been documented, their ability to travel well made the quite popular, however, they weren't nearly as sweet as the common cookie. The origin of the cookie seems to be in Persia in the 7th century, soon after the use of sugar became popular in the region. After that, they spread to Europe through the Muslim conquest of Spain. Cookies were common at all levels of society throughout Europe by the 14th century, from the royal cuisine to the street vendors. Cookies arrived in America in the 17th century. Macaroons and gingerbread cookies were among the popular early American cookies.

In 1976, Sesame Street included National Cookie Day on its calendar for the first time on November 26. The Cookie Monster also proclaimed his own National Cookie Day in the 1980 book The Sesame Street Dictionary. Then in 1987, Matt Nader of the Blue Chip Cookie Company out of San Francisco created Cookie Day celebrating it on December 4.

So, how can you celebrate National Cookie Day, and still eat healthily? Our Clean Eating Blueberry Oatmeal Cookies are a great option! 

Blueberry Oatmeal Cookies

These cookies are soft and extra chewy! Our dried blueberries add a bright and sweet burst, while the warm cinnamon and oats provide a comforting backdrop. They'll stay soft for up to a week if stored in an airtight container.

Yields About 15 Cookies

Ingredients:

1 Cup instant oats
3/4 Cup Whole Wheat Flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
1 large egg, room temp.
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 Cup honey
1/4 Cup Sunset Valley Organics' Dried Blueberries

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, egg, and vanilla. Stir in the honey until thoroughly incorporated. Add the flour mixture, stirring just until combined. Fold in the blueberries. Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes. (If chilling longer, cover with plastic wrap, ensuring it touches the entire surface of the cookie dough.)

2. Preheat the oven to 325°F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat.

3. Drop the cookie dough into 15 rounded scoops on the baking sheet. (If chilled longer than 1.5 hours, flatten each slightly.) Bake at 325°F for 13-15 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for at least 15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack.

Happy National Cookie Day! 

Double Blueberry Breakfast Scones

This month is going to be really busy for us here on the blog. Every Saturday there will be a new post plus a couple of other posts that will be published through out the month. We hope you enjoy everything we have prepared! We are still exploring and playing around with our berry powders. They are so versatile that you can really use them in anything! It's sort of like adding salt or pepper to a recipe, it's just something that comes naturally. 

So first up are these delicious double blueberry scones, we used our dried blueberries and our blueberry powder in them. They are gluten free and if you replaced the honey with maple syrup or agave nectar then it would be vegan too! 

Serves: 8-12 Scones
Time:

Ingredients:

• 3 Cups Almond Flour
• 1 TSP Baking Soda
• 2 Eggs
• 2 TBSP Honey (or Agave Nectar,  or Maple Syrup)
• 4 TBSP Lemon Juice
• 1/2 Cup SVO Dried Blueberries
• 2 TSP SVO Blueberry Powder
• Pinch of Salt

*Optional: Add in 1/4 C. of chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Add the almond flour, baking soda, salt, blueberry powder,  and lemon zest to a large bowl and combine.
3. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the wet ingredients starting in the center, stir the dough until combined. Fold in dried blueberries (and chocolate chips if desired). 
4. Using a large ice cream scoop, drop the scones onto a prepared baking sheet. Lightly wet hands and gently flatten tops of the scones. They should be about 1 inch thick. 
5. Bake 18-20 mins until tops are golden brown.
6. Cool on wire rack.

*Store in air proof container.

April 2016 News from SVO

News From Around the Farm

April is here! We are starting to see less rain and are able to start feeding our berries. Our Duke blueberries are starting to bloom, and so are the raspberries and black raspberries, but not as consistently as the blueberries. We think in a week or so, if the weather stays nice, we will have bees brought in. This is one of my favorite times of year, seeing everything waking up and blooming. Before we know it, it'll be summer and harvest will be here. 

This last month we pruned our black raspberries, we posting pictures on our Facebook. We did a short video showing how the machine works, if your interested please click here to see our video. (+ Check out our YouTube Channel! We will be added new videos through out the spring and summer.)

We are also very excited with a delivery or Aronia Berry plants for our newest planting have arrived and once things dry out a bit we will set to work planting them. Bringing our current total of 16 up to 26 acres total. 

Our final piece of news is that we are now selling our products at Natural Groshers in Corvallis, and Eugene, OR. You can find our dried blueberries and spreads, and hopefully we will have our frozen in there as well. We would like to thank everyone for their continued support as we are slowing growing our products and where they are available for purchase. 

New Products In Our Shop

We have a few of new products up in our store, be sure to check them out!

Our New Products:

Frozen Aronia Berries

Freeze Dried Blueberry Powder

Freeze Dried Blackberry Powder

Dried Aronia Berries

Coming Soon:

Dried Aronia Berry + Blueberry mix

Food For Thought

These are the articles we found over the last month and just had to share with you all. 

Biological Farming: Why farm biologically? + What is Biological Farming?

Ask A Master Gardener: Blueberries Need Special Care in the Winter

7 Incredible Blueberry Benefits: From Being a Powerful Antioxidant to Regulating Blood Sugar

We will have Black Raspberries (and products) and  aronia berries (and more products) available to purchase after the Harvest of 2016. 

Blog News:

Check out our blog for our first post in our Biological Farming series. We will be adding a new entry every month, this is a great way to see our farming practices.

Cold Weather Shipping is Back!

It's spring time again and that means the weather is starting to warm up. If you've been putting off taking advantage of our cold weather shipping please place your order soon with us. Once temperatures are hot again we will not be able to offer the ground shipping option.

For those of you who are new to our site, every winter we are able to offer better shipping prices on our frozen berries. We are able to do this by shipping by ground rather than by 2-day air, which is standard in our store online. To take advantage of our ground shipping this winter, give us a call at 541-752-0460 (10 am to 4 pm, PDT). 

Winter + Holiday Office Hours

Our Winter hours are Monday to Friday 10 am to 4 pm PDT. 

Aronia Berry Granola Bars

Great snacks for on the go! A nutrient dense + delicious choice!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Honey
• 1 Cup Dried Aronia berries
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1/3 cup raw, unsalted sunflower seeds
• 2/3 cup roasted, unsalted almonds
• 1 cup dried, pitted dates

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• Whisk together the honey, cinnamon, & vanilla in a larger bowl. Stir in the oats and mix until evenly coated.
• Toast sunflower seeds in a dry pan on medium heat until golden brown, about 3 minutes. Meanwhile, pulse the almonds and dates in a food processor until coarsely chopped. 
• Add the toasted sunflower seeds and chopped almonds and dates to the oat mixture; mix well. The color of the mixture should be more of a purple hue.
• Press the mixture into an 8X8 inch baking pan lined with parchment paper and bake for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool, then place in the freezer until firm. After about an hour, cut into bars and enjoy!
• Note: Store in airtight container up to 1 week. 

Healthy Thanksgiving: Apple Cranberry Walnut Salad

Apple Cranberry Walnut Salad + A Special Twist

Cranberries are a hallmark for thanksgiving, and this salad is a great healthy choice not just for Thanksgiving but anytime in the fall. The first version is the original then the second is our spin to make this awesome salad great for in the spring and summer as well. 

Ingredients:

6 Cups salad - any mix you like, we found that a mix of arugula and baby spinach is delicious!

1 Medium Red Apple*

1 Medium Green Apple*

1 Cup Walnuts, roughly chopped

1/3 Cup Crumbled Feta Cheese 

1/3 Cup Dried Cranberries

Dressing

1 Cup Apple Juice

4 TBSP Apple Cider Vinegar, white vinegar also works

2 TBSP Honey

1/4 TSP Black Pepper

1/4 Cup Oil

A Pinch of Salt

Instructions:

1. Core and chop apples into think slices. Toss lettuce, apples, walnuts, feta, and cranberries in a large bowl. 
2. In a small bowl, whisk together all dressing ingredients.
3. Toss with salad.
4. Serve & Enjoy!

*Apples maybe of any variety you like.

Now for a Twist!

Ingredients:

6 Cups salad - any mix you like

1 Medium Red Apple*

1 Medium Green Apple*

1 Cup Almonds, roughly chopped

1/3 Cup Crumbled Feta Cheese 

1/3 Cup Dried Blueberries

Dressing

1 Cup Apple Juice

4 TBSP Apple Cider Vinegar, white vinegar also works

2 TBSP Honey

1/4 TSP Black Pepper

1/4 Cup Oil

A Pinch of Pink Himalayan Salt

Instructions:

1. Core and chop apples into think slices. Toss lettuce, apples, almonds, feta, and dried blueberries in a large bowl. 
2. In a small bowl, whisk together all dressing ingredients.
3. Toss with salad.
4. Serve & Enjoy!

*Apples maybe of any variety you like.

Happy Healthy Thanksgiving: Home Made Bagles

Who can say no to a bagel? I know no one around here can! So we were super excited when we found a recipe that was gluten free + vegan friendly! We have also given it our own twist! 

Homemade 

Blueberry Bagels 

(Gluten Free + Vegan Friendly) 

Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups gluten free all purpose white blend
1 3/4 cups milk of choice or water
2 1/2 tsp yeast or 1 packet 
1/2 cup dried blueberries
3 tsp guar gum
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp salt (+ extra for top)
1 tbsp sugar

Instructions:
1. Heat liquid to 100 degrees F. Add yeast and sugar, then mix and allow to sit for 5 minutes. 
2. In a separate bowl mix flour, gum, dried blueberries, and salt.

3. In large bowl combine liquid and oil. Gradually mix in all the flour mixture by hand to avoid big lumps. Mix until all incorporated and smooth.

4. Use a large cookie scoop or spray a ½ cup to scoop the dough. With wet hands form dough into a ball and use a finger to poke a hole in the center. Gently shape into bagel form by expanding the hole. Place on a individual piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

5. Spray tops with oil, cover with plastic and allow to rise in a warm place for about 20 minutes. (Don't allow to double in size or else it will lose its shape and fall apart in the bath.)

6. Bring a large pot of water to a rapid boil. Gently drop a max of 2 bagels in the water and boiled each side for only 30 seconds each side. Remove individual parchment paper pieces and place back on baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt.

7. Bake at 450 degrees F for 14-16 minutes or until golden brown.

Useful Info:

Be careful moving bagels to and from the water. The extra sheet of parchment paper makes it easier to move and comes off easily after boiling. The water should be a rapid boil and only let them sit for a short while on each side or else they will absorb too much water and become soggy. If you can, allow your oven to preheat at least 20 minutes prior to baking. These freeze extremely well and can be used for sandwich bread.

Original Recipe from Petite Allergy Treats

Sunset Valley Organic October Newsletter

Happy October! 

We hope everyone’s fall has started off with a bang! For those who aren’t local, Oregon is starting to change color, and our blueberry plants are just starting to change from green to red and orange.  Be sure to follow us on Facebook for Autumn Photos from around our farm.

News From Around the Farm

Our harvest might be over, but we haven’t slowed down just yet. We are busy prepping ground for another planting of Aronia berries. Once we finish planting it, we will have a grand total of 70 acers of Aronia berries, and will have the largest planting of Certified Organic Aronia berries on the West Coast, which we think is pretty exciting. Aronia berries are best known for being grown in the mid west, but we are really excited to be trying this new venture.

We are also hard at work putting our berries to bed for the winter. For the raspberries we have already finished training and tying the canes, and have moved on the blackberries. We have about six weeks to two months to finish them up. For the blueberries we have started our Fall Foilers, which we have designed to encourage fruit bud set for next years crop. We are also spreading a sawdust and mulch mix at the base of the plants. 

Last month we also talked about getting our freeze drier up and running for making powders. A quick update about it is that we have made a couple of trial batches, however they aren’t perfect yet. And we want to give you all the most perfect powder. So we are going to continue to work hard on perfecting our timing with the freeze drier and finish tweeting it to perfection. Keep an eye on our social medias for some up coming photos of our process for freeze-drying. We want to thank everyone for their continued interest in this project we know it’s been a long time coming. 

Frozen Availability

With the start of fall we are nearing when we are able to send frozen berries my ground. We aren’t quite there yet, as some areas of the country are still really warm. We are looking at sometime next month being able to send frozen by ground. When we are able to, we will be posting a notice on the home page of our site. 

In order to get the ground shipping price you will need to call us to place your order, just as it has been in the past. 

Fall & Winter Hours

We will be open at the farm Monday to Friday 10 am to 4 pm. If you are unable to make it between these hours just call us and schedule an appointment. You can reach us at (541)752-0460.

Website Changes on The Horizon

We are going to be making changes to our website, so if you see something wonky, or weird. Please have patience as we will be improving and changing it over the next few months. Our goal is that in 2016 we will have a brand new site, that is educational, and user friendly.

IFBC in Seattle

This month we are doing something new! We have an opportunity to go to the International Food Bloggers Convention in Seattle, WA. We hope to learn tons of new things to make our blog, and website better.  We will also be posting about our experience there on our blog, so be sure to keep an eye on it.

• Adventures In Seattle At IFBC Part 1
• Adventures In Seattle At IFBC Part 2

Specials For This Month

This month we have a few different Coupons to offer to you guys, and since it's Halloween, we are having Three specials on our candy

1. We have an ad in the Pet Press magazine. If you see it and tell us about it you can get $5 off $25+ This offer will last as long as the issue is out. So September until November.
2. Trick Or Treat Chocolate Blueberry Clusters Special. We offered this last year and it was a big hit! So we brought it back, this special contains 10 mini chocolate blueberry packages for $12.95. See it on our site.  (Use code CLUSTER at check out when buying 2 to get the 3rd free!)

Simply Homemade Greek Yogurt Banana + Blueberry MuffinsWhile I was at the grocery store I found Fleischmann’s Simply Homemade Muffin + Bread Mix, specially for Greek yogurt. So I thought I would give it a go. And they turned out so good I just had to share it!If you pick up this box, it has directions on it for what to do. But instead of the corn oil like they suggest, I used olive oil, and I also added one cup frozen blueberries to the mix at the very end then just stirred it a couple times to get the blueberries all mixed in.With the addition of the blueberries, I ended up baking the muffins longer in the oven, on the box they recommend 15 to 20 minutes, and I baked mine for 30.Ingredients:Box Mix1 Single-serve container (5.3 oz) or 2/3 cup plain or vanilla Greek Yogurt2 eggs½ Cup oil (corn, coconut, olive, whatever you prefer)¼ Cup water1 Cup Frozen SVO BlueberriesDirections:1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees, line 12 standard-size muffin cups with paper liners or spray with cooking spray, set aside.2. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl with a spoon, stir until mixture forms a batter, about 50 to 60 strokes (or, mix 30 seconds at medium speed with an electric mixer, scrape down sides, than mix for an additional 30 seconds.3.Spoon batter evenly between prepared muffin cups, filling each about 2/3 full.

Limited Supply Sale

We have a limited supply of 4 pound dried blueberries available. 

Normally $90, with a sale price of $65. If you wish to purchase these berries, or have questions, please call us at 541-752-0460 Monday to Friday 10 am to 4 pm Pacific Time, or come see us at our farm. We will not be listing this on our website, as the quality is so limited. 

You can also of course email us, using our contact page. 

All sales of these berries will be final. 

Healthy Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Bars, Kid Friendly!

Healthy Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Bars

Prep Time: 10 Mins  Cook Time:  25 Mins  Total Time: 35 Mins
These Healthy Chocolate Chip Banana Bread Bars are soft, moist and full of good-for-you and tasty ingredients. They come together in a cinch in one bowl and make the perfect on-the-go breakfast or snack.



Ingredients:

Wet Ingredients

• 1¼ cups mashed banana (4 bananas)
• ½ cup brown cane sugar*
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Dry Ingredients

• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• 1 tbsp ground flax seeds
• 2 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp sea salt
• 1½ cups oats (or scant 1½ cups oat flour)
• 1 cup almond flour/meal

Mix-Ins

• ½ cup + 2 tbsp chocolate chips
• ½ cups oats
• 1/2 cup dried SVO blueberries

Directions: 

1. Pre-heat the oven to 375F or 180F. Grease a square baking pan with coconut oil or non stick spray.
2. Blend the oats until a fine flour forms (using a blender or an immersion blender).
3. Add the banana to a large mixing bowl. Blend or mash the banana. Add the rest of the wet ingredients to the large bowl. Whisk them together until they are fluffy and fully combined.
4. Whisk and add the seeds, baking powder and sea salt, one by one, to the wet ingredients in the large bowl. Fold in the oat flour and almond meal until a thick and fully combined batter is formed.
5. Fold in the oats and chocolate chips (1/2 cup) to the batter until the oats and chocolate chips are evenly dispersed.
6. Pour the batter into the pan. Smooth out the top with the back of a spoon and sprinkle the extra 2 tbsp of chocolate chips on top. Bake for 20 - 25 minutes until the bars begin to golden and a toothpick inserted in the bars comes out almost clear. Leave the bars to cool in the pan for 15 minutes.
7. Cut and store the cooled bars in a sealed container in the freezer for a couple of weeks or in a sealed container for up to 4 days in the fridge. Enjoy!

NOTES

* Substitute brown cane sugar with light brown sugar (Note: this recipe will no longer be refined sugar free)
* Ensure that all your products are certified gluten-free if necessary (oats, baking powder, almond meal)
* Ensure that all your chocolate chips are certified vegan if necessary

Bonus:

We found a great article about why you should ditch the conventional baby food.

5 Reasons to Ditch Store Bought Baby Food.

Reason #1: Organic homemade baby food makes kids smarter.  Ok, ok I can’t guarantee your child will be smarter if he eats organic baby food but homemade organic baby food has a higher nutrient content so it can’t hurt, right?  Studies show that organic produce has higher levels of vitamin C and antioxidants than conventional produce.  Scientists guess this could be due to conventional farming practices that encourage quick, high yields.  Growing extra large tomatoes at the speed of light (as a random example) saturates produce with sugar and water which may decrease nutrient content.  What about organic baby food in a jar?  I’m afraid the news isn’t great.  The process used to prepare organic baby food for grocery store shelf life includes heating the food at high temperatures to kill bacteria.  Unfortunately, the high heat also kills many vitamins and nutrients as well.

Reason # 2: Organic homemade baby food won’t increase a child’s risk of cancer.Why?  Because organic food is free of pesticides, the chemicals that put infants more at risk for cancer, nervous system toxicity, reproductive and hormonal disorders.  Maybe it’s common knowledge that conventional produce is grown with farming methods that use pesticides and insecticides while organic farming practices do not use these substances.  But here are a few (lesser known) reasons I’m convinced organic produce is worth the higher price point (for infants and children in particular):

• Two popular organophosphorus (OP) pesticides used on conventional produce, malathion and chlorpyrifos, interfere with nerve function and can cause behavioral disturbances.

• The Environmental Working Group, non-profit environmental research group in Washington DC, points out that the brain of a newborn child develops quickly and is particularly sensitive to toxic substances.  Because of their susceptibility to developmental toxicity, infants exposed to the chemicals found in conventional baby food are more at risk for cancer, nervous system toxicity, reproductive and hormonal disorders.

• According the Environmental Defense Fund, a non -profit environmental group committed to solving environmental problems reports that more than 1 million children ages 1 to 5 consume a minimum of 15 pesticides a day from conventional fruits and vegetables.  Of these 1 million plus children, at least 600,000 eat amounts of OP pesticides from fruits and vegetables that the federal government deems unsafe!

• The National Academy of Sciences conducted a five-year study and concluded in 1993 that government standards for pesticides in food do not account for the special vulnerability of infants.

• Farmers on conventional farms have been shown to have a higher rate of cancer and there are also suggestions that pesticides may be linked to Parkinson’s disease and Lou Gehrig’s disease.

• The Environmental Working Group and the National Academy of Sciences support infants receiving more protection from pesticides in food and water.

What is particularly disturbing about conventional baby food and infants is the fact that infant’s bodies are smaller and they metabolize food more quickly than adults.  Marion Nestle, author of What to Eat and recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the James Beard Foundation, recommends choosing organic food options because small children are “exposed to proportionately greater amounts of chemicals that act as neurotoxins, endocrine disrupters, and carcinogens.”  Because of their size, these chemicals will cause more harm in children than in adults.

There is good news, however.  Because children are able to metabolize food at a quicker rate, they are also able to eliminate pesticides and insecticides from their system at a faster rate when organic food is introduced to their diets.   A study done at the University of Washington monitored the diets of 23 elementary school children to research the effect of organic diets.  Researchers replaced conventional diets with organic diets over a 15-day period.  The amount of OP pesticides in the children’s urine dropped almost immediately when organic diets were introduced and then rose again when the conventional diets resumed.

What’s in a jar of conventional baby food?

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) analyzed conventional baby food samples from leading manufacturers to find out how many pesticides infants eat.  EWG found 16 different pesticides in the 8 baby food items they tested.  Of those 16 pesticides, “three are probably human carcinogens, five are possible human carcinogens, eight are neurotoxins, five are endocrine disruptors, and five are categorized as oral toxicity 1 chemicals, the most toxic designation.”  Fruit samples contained more pesticides than vegetable samples- with pears, peaches and applesauce leading the pack.

Reason #3: Our babies aren’t lab rats.  Really, they aren’t! So why would we feed them conventional food containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs)?  I’d prefer science experiments containing non-food genes and bits of pieces of insect and human genetics stay out of my baby’s food thank you very much.  The United States is one of the only countries that does not require conventional food makers to identify GMOs in food (WHY?!).  Homemade organic baby food does not contain GMOs.  Enough said.

Reason #4: Babies get used to mom’s cooking.  Trust me, it’s an acquired taste. Children’s eating habits and opinions about nutrition form early and stay with them for life so early exposure to a wide variety of healthy food is key.  A child’s palate is forming in the womb, so what mama ate while pregnant will influence his food preferences as well.  The more you expose your baby to your style of cooking early, the better chance your toddler or preschooler will continue to eat mom’s cooking.

Reason #5: Mama knows if her kid starts stealing cars later in life it won’t be because she jacked him up on chemicals and preservatives. Whew, you can rest easy.

Interested in some of our favorite baby food recipes?  Both my kids loved these between the ages of 6-18months (ish)

Click here to see the original article. 

Children Eye Health Awareness: No Bake Blueberry Granola Bars

No Bake Blueberry Granola Bars

These are the perfect hiking trip, road trip, or afternoon snack. 

Prep: 10 mins Ready in: 1 hour 10 mins
Ingredients:
2 cups rolled oats
1 1/4 cups natural crunchy peanut butter
1 cup ground flaxseed
3/4 cup honey
3/4 cup dried SVO blueberries
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup sliced almonds


Directions:

1. Stir oats, peanut butter, flaxseed, honey, cranberries, chocolate chips, and almonds together in a bowl; press into a 9x11-inch baking dish, using the back of a spatula to press into a flat layer.
2. Refrigerate mixture at least 1 hour.
3. Cut into 12 bars and wrap each individually in plastic wrap for storage.

Women's Health: Dark Chocolate Super Bites

Dark Chocolate Super Bites

Inspired from The view from Great Island 

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

• about 8 oz of dark chocolate, I used Trader Joe's 73% Super Dark chocolate bars (the higher the percentage of cacao the better)
• assorted dried fruits, chopped nuts, and seeds

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Lay out a piece of parchment paper, or waxed paper, or foil.
2. Chop the chocolate into small pieces and put in a microwave safe glass measuring cup. Microwave for 60 seconds, and then stir. Microwave for another 30 seconds, and then stir again to completely melt the chocolate. If there are still lumps, microwave for another short burst and stir again.
3. Use a spoon to make small rounds of chocolate onto the parchment paper. Let the chocolate fall from the spoon and it will naturally form a more or less round shape. You can nudge it with your spoon if you like. Work with one at a time, and sprinkle each round of chocolate with an assortment of your healthy add-ins while the chocolate is still hot. Make them whatever size you like, but mine were about 2 to 2 1/2 inches in diameter.
4. Let the chocolate set at room temperature, or put the bites in the refrigerator to speed things up.

NOTES

If you plan to refrigerate the medallions it helps to put the parchment right on a baking sheet or tray so you can transfer it straight to the fridge.

April Rain Brings May Flowers....

Or at least that's what they say. We have been getting our fair share of rain here on the farm. We are so happy spring is in full swing, for those of you who have been following us on Facebook you have seen all the photos we have been posting of the process our Blueberries have been going through into full bloom. They are so beautiful to see. Our Raspberries and Blackberries won’t be blooming until later, and when they do you can bet we'll be sharing! So be                                                                                                            sure to be following us on Facebook! We have also been selling a ton of our dried blueberries. They are so delicious and make for a great snack! They are great in homemade granola, trail mix, muffins, cold cereal, oatmeal, basically anything you can think of these guys are great to throw into! We dry all of them here on our farm. We start with our sweetest berries; that during our harvest are washed, and cleaned by going over our in house packing line. They are packed into 30 pound boxes and held in freezers until we are ready to dry them. Then when ever we are running low on our dried blueberries we grab a couple of boxes and start the process of drying them. We have two commercial dryers at our disposal. We fill them and let them dry for anywhere 8 hours to 10 hours depending on the weather outside. Then we run moisture tests to make sure everything is stable and won’t mold. Then we package them and have them ready to go!

We have also finally finished all of our pruning around the farm! It feels like we have been mentioning pruning forever, but it’s a lot of hard work, that takes care and time to be done right. It’s important to prune a plant, pruning influences how a plant grows. Depending on what you want out of the plant you can help determine what the plant puts it’s energy into. Either plant growth (more limbs) or production (more fruit). If you have plants that are very small, or that are young you want the plant to focus on growth. If your plant is nice and big, and mature then you would want more production. If you haven’t pruned your plants yet there is still time! See our blog post that is specific to blueberries. 

Office Hours:

Spring is here, but we are still on our “Winter” hours of Monday to Friday 10 am to 4 pm Pacific time.

Better Shipping Rates Are Coming

To An End

Those of you who have taken advantage of our offer we thank you so much, we are so happy we can provide these better rates! However we know some of you have been waiting to place that order. And now is basically the final call. For people in the states in the Pacific Northwest (including: Oregon, Washington, California, Idaho, Colorado, Montana, Nevada) we can easily provide better rates still. For anyone outside of these states please call us and we will see what we can do. As temperature rise we will no longer be able to offer these rates. April will be the last month we can offer general better rates, then it will be gone until next winter. You can call us at 541-752-0460 (Monday to Friday 10 am to 4 pm Pacific time).

Social Media Updates:

We have been hard at working updating and making changes. We are happy to announce our blog is finally back up and running. We would also like to announce our twitter account is back to being active. So all of those of you who prefer twitter to Facebook we will be posting a great deal there as well from now on. We appreciate all the patients everyone has had. This has been a very long bumpy road. We will continue to make more changes and improvements during the year and are excited for things we have coming.

You can find us now on Local Harvest. Local Harvest is a great resource to find farmers who produce local goods. They have a Local Harvest National Directory so even if you're on the East Coast you can use this to find farmers and vendors in your area! Click here to learn more about them.

Our Pinterest Board will be a continuation of Leap into Spring since we are just having so much fun finding recipes, gardening tips, decor inspiration, and all things to do with spring!

Organics To You

Some of you may already know about this company. For those of you who don’t they are a Portland, OR based company who has been delivery local goods to the good people of portland for the last 14 years. Now they have taken their business online and are buying products from vendors/farmers in Oregon to be delivered to anyone in Oregon! They have recently started buying our Blueberry Spread, we are so excited by their business and are happy to be supplying them with a fantastic healthy living choice! Click here to check them out.

Savings & Coupons

This month we have an ad in Willamette Living Magazine that offers a special code for our Tea. So keep your eyes peeled for that (this may also appear in the May edition, gotta keep you all on your toes)!

For those of you who use Facebook & Twitter we will be offering a code for our Teas here as well. Be sure to keep an eye out for those. They will be good for the whole month of April!