June 2017 News & Updates

June Is Here!

Finally the rain is letting up and the beautiful sun is shining through! We had a pretty wet spring and because of that we are currently about 2 weeks behind with the growing season. If we get some really hot weather that can change really quick. It just depends on Mother Nature now.  

WE HAVE NEW PRODUCTS!

What a great reception we have received from our powders! We are so happy to hear that so many of you enjoy them! For those who missed last months newsletter, we have new berry powders up in the shop.  You can now purchase:

• Red Raspberry Powder
• Blackberry Powder
• Aronia Berry Powder
• Black Raspberry Powder
• Blueberry Powder

Our berry powders are a supercharged way of getting your daily fruits into your diet. You can mix our powders into baking, oatmeal, smoothies, milk, ice cream, and more! Just like our dried berries, there are no additives or preservatives, so we're keeping the product as natural and nutritious as possible! 

*Note: Our powders are not soluble*

We've also added a new size to our powders. Now you can purchase all of our powder varieties in 2 lbs. quantities for $110.00.  

We would also like to mention that our free shipping amount has increased to $235.00 after coupons are applied. Our spreads and frozen do not qualify for free shipping. 

Changes Are Coming:

Most of you are aware that last summer we were crazy busy during harvest. In the summer of 2016 we harvested about 2 million pounds of fruit, this year we are projecting at least 3 million. With that much fruit to be harvested we have had to make some hard choices in where to cut back so a balance can be achieved. This has resulted in our decision to not have a U-Pick this summer. We are sad that we can not continue, but our harvest is our first priority. 

We will still be offering already picked & washed blueberries in 30 pound boxes and 5 pound bags. For these you pull around to our office and we help you there. The price for those this year will be the same as in the past at $100 (30 pound box). 

We would like to thank everyone who has come out and supported us over the years. We hope you will continue to enjoy our berries. 

We will have a blog post late May about all the changes we are making why we are making them. 

This Month On The Blog:

Our blog is becoming more active! We will be having a variety of topics, you can expect these posts over the next month:

• Blackberry Crostini
• Spring Superfood Bowl with Blueberry Ginger Dressing
• Blueberry Broccoli Spinach Salad
• Raspberry Chia Seed Jam
• Super Berry Bars
• U-Pick Update

And did you see our delicious post this month? Oatmeal Aronia Berry Cookies. A surprisingly soft, delicious treat!

Have you seen this awesome spotlight video on our farm? It's just a little over 2 minutes so take a look!

Our Normal Office Hours: Monday - Friday 10 am to 4 pm PST  These will also be the hours during harvest this summer. Please note: Do not respond to this email, it does not reach us.  Cold Weather Shipping  Cold Weather shipping is now over until fall. Thanks to everyone who called an placed an order, we are so glad we can provide a cheaper method of shipping so more people have the chance to enjoy our nutrient dense berries. When we get to September we will start looking at temperatures again to see if we can offer this method again sooner rather than later. Typically it won’t be available until mid-October though. If you have questions about frozen and shipping please call us at 541-752-0460 Monday through Friday 10 am to 4 pm PST. We will be having a First Day of Summer flash sale. Details will be posted on our Facebook page on June 20, the sale will take place on June 21st. No-Bake Nutrient Dense Raspberry Energy Bites Original Recipe from sunsetvalleyorganics.com Ingredients: 1 TBSP Coconut Oil 1/3 C Almond Butter (or nut butter of your choice) 1/4 C Honey* (or maple syrup) 1/2 C Old Fashioned Oats 2 TBSP Chia Seeds 2 TBSP Raspberry Powder Directions: Prepare baking sheet lined with parchment, set aside. Melt coconut oil in a large bowl. Stir in the nut butter*, honey (or maple syrup) until smooth. Add the oats, chia seeds, and mix ins of your choice. Roll into 1 tablespoon balls and place on prepared baking sheet, and place in freezer for up to an hour. Remove from freezer and transfer balls into plastic bag. Store in the fridge for up to one week or the freezer for up to 3 months. *If your nut butter is really hard you can try warming it up in the microwave, it makes it a lot easier to stir in!

June 2015 Favorites

It seems like June just flew by, but I guess thats what happens when crops start being ripe and things started getting really busy around the farm. In case you missed anything here a little recap from this month in all the things we liked and had happen. 

I think the biggest news that came from us this month was opening the our farm stand for the summer. Since that post we have had a harvest update and will probably have them weekly until the end of our harvest season. 

It's finally happening! Our farm stand is opening this week with pre picked berries! Here are all the details you'll need!

Officially Opening: Wednesday, June 17, 2015 at 9 am
Farm Stand Hours: Monday - Sunday 9 am to 6 pm
What We Have: Pre Picked blueberries, and raspberries. 
U-Pick Blueberries are now open! Our U-Pick price is $2.75 per pound. 

Click here to see more...

This month we focused on National Men's Health Awareness and a couple of really delicious posts we really enjoyed were: Healthy Greek Yogurt + Honey Blueberry Muffins and Marinated Tomato + Mozzarella Pasta 

In news from around the world we found this article sadly amusing, and a reinforcement that GMO is not the answer to problems in agriculture. 

For those techies out there we discovered Garden Plan Pro, an app in which you are able to plan your garden!

Men's Health Awareness Low Carb Salted Caramel Almond Brittle

Low Carb Salted Caramel Almond Brittle

This recipe for Low Carb Salted Caramel Almond Brittle is quick and easy to make. Just 5 ingredients. A low carb treat bargain at 3.8 carbs per serving.

Ingredients

• 1 cup almonds
• ½ cup butter
• ½ cup Swerve sweetener
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• ¼ tsp salt
• ⅛-1/4 tsp. coarse sea salt (optional)

Instructions

1. Line a 9" x 9" cake pan or 9" pie pan with baking parchment.
2. Pour swerve, butter, vanilla and ¼ tsp. salt into a small 8" non-stick skillet.
3. Heat over medium heat till all ingredients are dissolved.
4. Add the almonds to the candy mixture.
5. Stirring constantly, bring mixture to a boil.
6. Allow to boil 2-3 minutes till it becomes a light golden brown. Remove from heat.
7. Carefully pour it into prepared pan. (It is very hot!)
8. With back of spoon, spread almonds evenly through hot candy.
9. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt, if using.
10. Allow to set 1 hour or until completely cooled. ( you can finish cooling it in the refrigerator, if you wish.)
11. Break into pieces and divide into a 8 servings.
12. Will stay crisp and keep well in a tightly sealed container for 2 weeks.

Nutrition Information

Serving size: ⅛th recipe Calories: 205 Fat: 20.4 Saturated fat: 8. Trans fat: 0 Carbohydrates: 3.8 Sugar: .8 Fiber: 2.2Protein: 3.9

Men's Health Awareness Marinated Tomato + Mozzarella Pasta

Marinated Tomato + Mozzarella Pasta

PREP TIME: 15 minutes / TOTAL TIME: 25 minutes / SERVINGS: 6

1 lb grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
4 oz bocconcini (about 12 sm mozzarella balls), halved
1/2 c torn fresh basil
1/4 c red wine vinegar
1½ Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 lb rigatoni, preferably whole wheat
1 c shredded cooked chicken breast

1. MIX together tomatoes, bocconcini, basil, vinegar, and oil in serving bowl. Let stand 10 minutes.
2. COOK pasta per package directions until al dente while tomatoes stand. Drain. Add hot pasta and chicken to tomato mixture, stirring to coat well. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Top with fresh basil leaves, if desired.

NUTRITION (per serving) 282 cal, 16 g pro, 31 g carb, 4 g fiber, 9.5 g fat, 3.5 g sat fat, 86 mg sodium

Harvest Update: Open Season

It's finally happening! Our farm stand is opening this week with pre picked berries! Here are all the details you'll need!

Officially Opening: Wednesday, June 17, 2015 at 9 am
Farm Stand Hours: Monday - Sunday 9 am to 6 pm
What We Have: Pre Picked blueberries, and raspberries. 

We expect our farm stand to be open from June 17, 2015 until August 1, 2015. We estimate our U-Pick blueberries will open around the 4th of July. The price of our U-Pick blueberries will be $2.75 per pound. Keeping an eye on our social media, and here on our blog is the best way to stay informed about our harvest. 

If your wanting more than a flat of raspberries we kindly ask you call a head and place an order with us. You can reach us at 541-752-0460, please call during business hours. 

We are so excited to finally start the season, and we can't wait to see you all out at our farm stand and in the field this summer! 

Father's Day Gift Ideas

Fathers day this year is June 21, that's a week away! We have some great ideas if your still searching for the best gifts!


1. You can never have to many photos right? There is always room to squeeze one more on to his desk at work. We found some great, creative ideas at this link. 


















2. Subscription services seem to be everywhere you turn on the internet these days. But even we have a couple that would make Dad happy this Father's day. 

          Dollar Shave Club- Dollar Shave Club couldn't be simpler. Select one of their blades, pay only for the cost of the blade, and they send them right off to your door every month. This is one we know from experience you will like, some staff around the farm recently started subscribing it (and loves it!) and has even gotten it for their Dads for Father's day.
          Naturebox- NatureBox delivers a world of carefully sourced and nutritionist-approved foods right to your door. Each snack contains wholesome ingredients - with no artificial sweeteners, flavors or colors. Snacking has never been so deliciously fun and naturally easy.

Not feeling the subscription box thing? Then we also suggest nuts.com. We have not only ordered from them, but sell some of our dried blueberries to them. They have all kinds of yummy treats Dad is sure to love. 

3. Of course there is there is always the option of getting some awesome healthy living choices. Including our dried (if your a newsletter subscriber you can save on them this month), spreads, teas, or frozen! All are delicious and healthy choices! 

If you live in the Corvallis, Or area, we will be having fresh starting June 17, 2015 so you can even stop by and see us and get your Dad some fresh raspberries or blueberries! YUM! 

Men' Health Awareness Greek Yogurt + Honey Blueberry Muffins

Healthy Greek Yogurt + Honey Blueberry Muffins

Inspired from Baker by Nature

Ingredients

• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup low-fat greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup whole milk (you may use another fat percentage if preferred)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 cup olive OR coconut oil (if using coconut oil, be sure it is at room temperature)
•     1 cup blueberries

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees (F).
2. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners; set aside.
3. In a large bowl whisk together flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon; set aside.
4. In a medium bowl whisk together the yogurt, milk, vanilla, eggs, honey, and oil.
5. Gently fold the yogurt mixture into the flour mixture, and using a spatula, fold until combined, being sure to mix just until all the flour disappears. Fold in blueberries.
6. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin tins, place pan in the oven, and bake for 18 minutes, reducing the heat to 375 degrees after 9 minutes of baking.
7. Allow the muffins to cool for 5 minutes in the pan before carefully transferring to a cooling rack to cool completely.

It's Finally Summer! Fresh Berries + News from Sunset Valley Organics

Happy Start of Summer!

We are so happy it’s finally SUMMER! Anybody else feeling the heat we have gotten over the last few days? All this heat really helps our berries ripen, and it helps make them sweeter! Yum! As we have announced we do not have fresh strawberries (frozen is still available) this year. However we will have raspberries, blueberries, and blackberries. 

News From Around The Farm

We have finished trellising the black raspberries, and what a boat load of work that was! After we got it all trellised we put in drip irrigation to the field so we could easily make sure everything was getting the water it needed and that took a good part of our May. 

Every week now we are feeding our plants and soils so they stay nice and healthy during the harvest. Just as we work hard and need food to continue so do our plants. 

In May we also got to try Bearded Brother’s Blueberry Vanilla Energy Bars they were so good you guys! The reason we wanted to try them is because these specific bars are made with our dried blueberries. 

We have also been voted the best U-Pick Berry Farm of 2015 by the readers of Willamette Living Magazine. We would like to thank everyone who voted, and even if you didn’t, you are the whole reason we do this, with out you guys we wouldn’t be in business. So THANK YOU! 

Social Media Updates This month on our blog we are posting about National Men’s Health Month, and some delicious recipes to go along with it. We will also have a Father’s Day inspiration gift guide. This is also going to be a great place to check for updates about our harvest this summer.  We are also going to be starting an Instagram account so if you wanna see some awesome shots of our farm and what harvest looks like for us then be sure to watch Facebook for that announcement!  Our Pinterest board theme is Schools Out! It’s time to be outside and relax! This board celebrates the start of summer with delicious recipes and great ideas for spending some quality time with your kids!  Specials + Coupons So we have a couple of ways to help you save this month: First of all, if you come out to our farm stand and show us you have liked us on Facebook, or Follow us on Twitter then you can save 10% off your total order! This offer will be available as long as our farm stand is open.  Finally We are sending out post cards with a special offer, but if you don’t get those post cards all you have to do is find our ad in Oregon Family Magazine and tell us about it and get a great saving! Each of these is a one time only, and will be valid during our 2015 Fresh harvest, only valid at our farm stand.

Recipes This month we are trying to beat the heat with some delicious, healthy smoothies. We hope you enjoy the selections we have chosen.  Raspberry Coconut Smoothie Dairy-Free, Vegan Friendly Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 0 mins Ready in: 5 mins Yield: 1 smoothie Ingredients: 1/2 cup coconut milk  1 cup frozen or fresh raspberries 1 tablespoon coconut butter 1 banana peeled, chopped into pieces optional: sweetener of choice, if needed.  Directions: Blend all of the ingredients into blender, food processor, or with an immersion blender. Optional: Add sweetener to taste. If the smoothie is too thick for you, add milk until it’s your desired consistency. Raspberry Mango Tango Smoothie Prep time: 5 mins Cook time: 0 mins Ready in: 5 mins Yield: 1 large smoothie, or 2 small smoothies Ingredients:  1/2 of a large banana, peeled, sliced and frozen.  1/2 cup favorite brand of Mango yogurt 1 cup fresh or frozen mango 1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries optional: milk for desired thickness. Directions: Add all of the ingredients into the blender Blend on high for about 3 minutes, or until smooth. Serve + enjoy!

Men's Health Awareness: Healthy Oatmeal Pancakes

Healthy Oatmeal Pancakes

Inspired from The Girl Who Ate Everything

Serves: about 12

 

Ingredients

• 2 cups quick oats (see Note for substitution)
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 2½ cups buttermilk (see Note for substitution)
• 1 cup flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• ⅓ cup vegetable or canola oil
• 2 eggs, beaten

Instructions

1. Combine oats, baking soda, and buttermilk. Let mixture stand for 5 minutes.
2. In another bowl combine flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
3. Add the oil and eggs to the oat mixture and stir to combine.
4. Add the dry ingredients to the oat mixture and stir until blended.
5. Cook on lightly greased griddle or skillet.
6. Top with syrup, yogurt, fruit, applesauce, peanut butter, or jam.

Notes

Quick Oats Substitute: If you only have old-fashioned oats pulse them in the blender briefly to chop them up slightly and then you have quick oats!

Buttermilk Substitute: Substitute buttermilk with 2¼ cups milk and 2 tablespoons white vinegar or lemon juice. Let mixture sit for 5 minutes or until it appears to curdle.

Mens Health Awareness Month

Last month we talked about how everyone can do things to be just a tiny bit healthier in their every day lives. This month we are going to be talking about a few ways to improve the health of Men. The leading causes of death the US Men are hearth disease, cancer, chronic lower respiratory diseases, strake, diabetes, suicide, alzheimer's, influenza/pneumonia, and kidney disease (source). While all of these are terrible things, the thought is if you start taking care of yourself, and make changes to live healthier then your chanced of any if not all of these change dramatically.

Such as for Heart disease not smoking or using tobacco products, exercising 30 minutes a day, and eating a balanced and healthy diet can make a huge difference.

Great heart healthy foods are:

Salmon-Salmon and other fatty fish such as sardines and mackerel are the superstars of heart-healthy foods. That's because they contain copious amounts of omega-3 fatty acids, shown in studies to lower the risk ofarrhythmia (irregular heart beat) andatherosclerosis (plaque build-up in the arteries) and decrease triglycerides. The American Heart Association recommends eating fish and preferably fatty fish at least twice a week. Omega-3 fatty acids are also available as dietary supplements.

Oatmeal-Oatmeal is high in soluble fiber, which can lower cholesterol. "It acts as a sponge in the digestive tract and soaks up the cholesterol so it is eliminated from the body and not absorbed into the bloodstream," says Lauren Graf, a registered dietician and co-director of the Cardiac Wellness Program at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City. Graf recommends avoiding instant oatmeal, which often contains sugar, and heading instead for old-fashioned or even quick-cooking oats. Other whole grains such as bread, pasta and grits are also good for the heart as long as they still contain the entire grain.

Blueberries- 

Not just blueberries, but strawberries and other berries as well. According to one recent study, women aged 25 through 42 who ate more than three servings of blueberries and strawberries a week had a 32% lower risk of heart attack compared with those who ate less. The authors of the study attributed the benefit to compounds known as anthocyanins, flavonoids (which are antioxidants) that may decrease blood pressure and dilate blood vessels. Anthocyanins give plants their red and blue colors.


Dark Chocolate-Several studies have now shown that dark chocolate may benefit your heart, including one in 2012 that found that daily chocolate consumption could reduce nonfatal heart attacks and stroke in people at high risk for these problems. The findings applied only to dark chocolate, meaning chocolate made up of at least 60-70% cocoa. Dark chocolate contains flavonoids called polyphenols, which may help blood pressure, clotting, and inflammation. Unfortunately, milk chocolate and most candy bars don't make the grade when it comes to protecting your heart.

Each staurday this month we are going to have a delicious recipe that is not just healthy but is healthy in a preventive way for one of the diseases we talked about above. 

Check out our recipes that go with this months theme!

Healthy Oatmeal Pancakes
Healthy Greek Yogurt + Honey Blueberry Muffins
Marinated Tomato + Mozzarella Pasta
Low Carb Salted Caramel Almond Brittle