There is a voluntary recall of organic bagged peeled and shredded carrots. If you have purchased any of the items listed in the image from our stores, please feel free to return them.
Easter Dinner & Sides 2021
ORDER ONLINE
LAST DAY TO PRE-ORDER IS WEDNESDAY, MARCH 31, 2021
The Annex is making Easter Dinner this year!
As always we use the finest organic ingredients! You may order an entire ham meal for six people or an entire vegetarian meal for six people, individual meals, quiches for brunch and sides. This year we have made it possible for you to order online via our website. You can choose to pick-up at any of our three locations Saturday, April 3 beginning at 9:00am through Sunday, April 4 at 7:30pm.
You may also order in-store at any of our locations or call us to place your order. If calling, please call the location from which you wish to pick-up your items.
The Annex 510-526-5150
Berkeley Natural Grocery 510-526-2456
El Cerrito Natural Grocery 510-526-1155
Thank you for making The Natural Grocery Company a part of your Easter celebration!
Corned Beef Plates at The Annex
Corned Beef Plates available at The Annex!
10387 San Pablo Avenue
El Cerrito, CA 94530
(510) 526-5150
Christmas Dinner, Pies & Sides
Ordering for meals and pies is now closed. Thank you!
PICK-UP DAY IS THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2020
Heating Instructions_IndividualDinners
The Annex is making Christmas Dinner this year!
As always we use the finest organic ingredients! You may order an entire ham meal for six people or an entire vegetarian meal for eight people, individual meals, whole pies and sides. This year we have made it possible for you to order online via our website. You can choose to pick-up at any of our three locations on Thursday, December 24, 2020 beginning at 8:30am.
You may also order in-store at any of our locations or call us to place your order. If calling, please call the location from which you wish to pick-up your items.
The Annex 510-526-5150
Berkeley Natural Grocery 510-526-2456
El Cerrito Natural Grocery 510-526-1155
Thank you for making The Natural Grocery Company a part of your Christmas celebration!
Thanksgiving Dinner, Pies & Sides (100% organic)
LAST DAY TO ORDER MEALS ONLINE IS SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2020
LAST DAY TO ORDER PIES ONLINE IS MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2020
The Annex is making Thanksgiving Dinner this year!
As always we use the finest organic ingredients! You may order the entire meal for eight people, individual meals, whole pies and sides. This year we have made it possible for you to order online via our website. You can choose to pick-up at any of our three locations on Wednesday, November 25, 2020 from 8:30am to 8:30pm.
You may also order in-store at any of our locations or call us to place your order.
The Annex 510-526-5150
Berkeley Natural Grocery 510-526-2456
El Cerrito Natural Grocery 510-526-1155
Thank you for making The Natural Grocery Company a part of your Thanksgiving celebration!
Cult Crackers – Our Newest, Local Food Crush
Small batch, handmade, organic crackers made in Berkeley?
Yes please!
That’s exactly what Cory (long time employee of Berkeley Natural Grocery) said to Birgitta when she told him about her made-from-scratch crackers crafted from a Swedish friend’s recipe.
Birgitta is a long time (30 + years) shopper at our Berkeley store. For years, she bought the same superfood ingredients from our bulk bins. After chatting and recipe sharing with staff, she brought the team at Berkeley Natural (BNG) samples of her crackers. They were hooked. Birgitta and her partner Dianna credit Cory and the BNG team with inspiring them to start their small business.
The recipe originated with Birgitta’s friend in Sweden whose daughter is a very picky eater. When she finally discovered a winning combination that even her daughter appreciated, she shared it with Birgitta. While Birgitta and Dianna have altered the recipe a bit (most dramatically dropping the olive oil in favor of coconut oil), the Swedish roots are strong.
The flower on the label is a traditional Swedish decoration. 
Their label and logo designer lives on an island in the Baltic Sea between Sweden and Finland. The heritage (and inspiration) for these crackers points back to the majestic northern lands of the Baltic.
Cracker culture in Sweden is endless, with entire aisles dedicated to the craft. Everybody buys and bakes crackers. People commonly eat crackers with every meal whether paired with pickled herring, caviar, cheese, smoked meat, gravlax or soup.
The key to Birgitta’s leap into full time cracker production happened while selling Swedish ovenware. She was going to product shows and would bring her crackers along for snacks and meals. Everybody wanted the crackers more than the ovenware. With that nudge and the continued encouragement from Cory and the Berkeley Natural Team, Birgitta teamed up with Dianna (who has a culinary degree) to forge what is now Cult Crackers.
Together, they met the folks at Muffin Revolution and subleased kitchen space from them. That afforded them the chance (in a certified gluten-free kitchen) to produce more volume and become a registered business. When Muffin Revolution outgrew the space, they offered the lease to Cult Crackers. While it was a big jump, they accepted. And thank goodness they did! 
These two ladies started their official Cult Cracker journey in June. Berkeley Natural Grocery was store number one, and now they are in ten stores throughout the Bay Area!
The crackers are delightful. At their kitchen, we snacked on them with Mitica Drunken Goat cheese and Crofters Jam. With a box to take home, I shared the crackers with my five year old son (and felt great about it!). He loved them with butter and salami.
We are so excited to carry their crackers at both stores so that you can try them sometime soon!
Kohlrabi – Snack Attack
If you are anything like me and you love crunchy, crispy, salty snacks, I invite you to try this delicious (and simple) recipe using kohlrabi!
Kohlrabi is one of the most underrated and forgotten vegetables in our winter produce line up. It is a cultivar of cabbage and is part root, part leafy greens. The root part can be eaten raw (think slaw) or cooked. The greens can be used as you would kale, collards or other winter greens. With so much versatility, it’s a wonder this root doesn’t get more love. Perhaps the recipe below will help to change all that!
Savory Kohlrabi Crisps
Ingredients:
- 3 bulbs of kohlrabi (select those with unblemished leaves and bulbs that are not cracked)
- 1/4 cup of olive oil
- Salt (to taste)
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 250 degrees
- Peel the kohlrabi, taking off a significant portion of the outer layer. You want to remove the layer that looks fibrous as this will not soften and will remain stringy and unpleasant to eat. The inner core is where you will find the sweet “meat” of the plant. Save greens for another use.
- Once peeled, cut the bulb into ½ inch round lices to resemble chips.
- Toss the sliced kohlrabi in a bowl with 1/4 cup olive oil and 1 tsp of salt.
- Once coated (and glistening), place one layer of the kohlrabi on a sheet tray lined with a non-stick sheet (like this Silpat sheet) or coat the bottom of your sheet tray with cooking oil. Tip: the Silpat is less likely to stick to the veggie chips.
- Mix the kohlrabi around and rotate the tray every 15 to 20 minutes in order to cook each piece evenly.
- The total cooking time will range between 30 minutes and one hour depending on your oven and the size of your kohlrabi slices.
- The end result should be golden, chip-like crisps.
- Once they are cooked, remove them from the oven, slide them off the hot tray and onto a plate with paper towel (or cloth) to soak up some of the oil and cool. Toss with salt (to taste) immediately so that it soaks in while the crisps are hot.
Enjoy!
If you end up baking these at home, please feel free to share your results with us on Instagram @naturalgroceryco
Little Trees – A.K.A. Broccoli
In our house, we refer to broccoli florets as “little trees.” We’ve done this since our son was starting to eat solid foods. He LOVES broccoli and other green vegetables to this day (now he’s five)!
With winter in full gear, broccoli becomes one of our winter staples. It’s in the brassica family (along with other cabbage) and is hearty enough to withstand the chilly winter weather.
The word broccoli has Italian origins and stems (pun intended) from the word “broccolo” which means cabbage sprout or flowering crest of the cabbage. The word broccolo is rooted (another pun!) in the Latin broccus which means “projecting.”
Now that we have the etymology covered, here’s one of our favorite ways to prepare our “little trees”:
Steamed Broccoli with Pistachio-Orange Dipping Sauce
Prepare the Broccoli:
Cut 2 heads of broccoli into bite sized pieces. Steam or blanch until just tender. Set your timer for 5 minutes then test a piece with a fork, or knife point. When cooking the broccoli, remember to lightly salt the water, and that the broccoli will continue to cook with residual heat once you remove them from the steam or water, so you want them to be almost ready when you remove them to cool.
Prepare the Pistachio & Orange Sauce:
- Ingredients:
- 2 Valencia oranges
- 2 cups roasted, salted pistachios (shelled)
- 1 tbsp. Champagne vinegar (or white wine vinegar)
- 1 small clove of garlic
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tbsp. water
- ¼ cup olive oil
- Juice the oranges.
- Combine all ingredients in the blender. Blend on high.
- Taste the mixture, adjust for thickness (consistency) and salt levels.
If it tastes flat, add a teaspoon more vinegar and a dash of salt. If it tastes too sharp (indicating too much garlic), add the juice of another 1/2 orange and another handful of pistachios.
The consistency of the dip should be like hummus. Add olive oil and water to adjust as needed.
This recipe will be a little different each time you make it because all these ingredients vary… oranges are different sizes and have different amounts of juice, garlic is more or less potent depending on its age and olive oils are different depending on varietal and harvest date. So, play with your ratios each time. Taste along the way. Try the sauce with the steamed broccoli to get the full flavor profile.
If you have a little one in your house, this is a great recipe to make together. At this point our son instructs us on salt level, acidity and overall balance. And he LOVES dipping his “little trees” into this sauce!
See you soon,
Sarah Valor
Slow Cooking – Groats
Whole Groats
While shopping in our El Cerrito store bulk section, I was tempted to try the organic oat groats instead of the rolled oats. I was both inspired by the current sale price ($1.19/lb) and want the healthiest option for our five year old son. Our bulk buyer, David gave me another reason. He said, “why not eat things as close to the way mother-nature produced them as possible.” I can’t argue with that logic so I bought a bulk bag of groats.
Here’s what I did to process the groats:
1 cup of groats in 3 cups of water
Before bed, I put one cup of groats in a heavy bottom stainless steel pot along with three cups of water.
Simmering groats
In the morning, I turned the burner on medium heat and started cooking in the same pot where I soaked the grains.
Every 10 to 15 minutes, I checked the pot and stirred. 30 minutes into cooking, the groats were sticking to the bottom of the pot so I added more water (1 cup). I also added ¼ cup of raisins, a pinch of salt and a dash of cinnamon. 20 minutes later I added another 1/4 cup of water because the water was nearly absorbed. The groats cooked for a total of 1.5 hours. I added additional water (1/4 cup) another three times during the cooking process.
If you cook groats at home, add water as you see fit. It takes a lot to overcook groats but very little to burn them when there is not enough water in the pot. In other words, keep ’em hydrated.
Toppings: pecans, maple syrup and whole milk
Hearty Breakfast
Leftovers – tomorrow’s breakfast!
The groat cooking process took longer and required more attention than the rolled oats. However, the nutritional benefits make the extra time worth it (when time allows!). For hurried mornings, consider cooking a larger batch. Soak the groats before heading off for your day, cook them in the evening and re-heat them with a little extra water and/or milk in the morning. Or, make enough for leftovers every time you prepare groats.
Why Eat Oat Groats? Here’s what one of our wholesalers (Hummingbird Wholesale) writes about this wonder grain:
Organic Oat Groats are whole oats with only the outer husk removed.
In general, oats have more protein and healthy fats, and less carbohydrates than most other whole grains. This grain is high in beta-glucans, which work to stimulate the immune system. They contain more soluble fiber than any other grain, and oats are also beneficial for their anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, and anti-itching qualities.
Sounds like a great food if you ask me! Here’s to your morning meal!
Yams or Sweet Potatoes?
Purple Yam
Orange Sweet Potato
Yams or Sweet Potatoes?
We all love to make yams for Thanksgiving, but did you know that you are actually eating sweet potatoes? In the United States we refer to an orange fleshed sweet potato as a yam, but they are really two completely different species. The true yam does not grow in the northern hemisphere. They are only grown in the Caribbean, Africa and parts of Asia. The Yam can grown up to 150lbs and 4.5′ in length. Their flesh ranges in color from white to yellow to pink and they have a very thick, scaly, alligator like skin.
Their flesh is also very starchy and dry. Yams are more closely related to lilies and grasses than they are to sweet potatoes, which are in the morning glory family.
Sweet potatoes are native to tropical regions of South America. Peruvian sweet potato remnants dating as far back as 8000 BC have been found. You can eat them raw, baked, boiled, steamed, roasted, broiled, grilled, fried and just about any other way you can think of!
At The Natural Grocery Company, we have a variety of different sweet potatoes to
choose from year round. The orange flesh varieties are known as “moist fleshed” and the white
fleshed varieties are known as “dry fleshed.” Here are the types we carry at both our stores:
Garnet-An orange fleshed variety that is the most popular. This is the traditional “yam” we eat at
Thanksgiving. With a dark red skin and bright pumpkin colored flesh, this sweet potato is great
prepared almost any way. It is very sweet and has a nice creamy, velvety texture when cooked.
Jewel and Beauregard-Both types have an orange flesh. These varieties have tan skin and tend
to be a little sweeter than the Garnet. I like to use the Beauregard in my sweet potato pie recipe.
It is very moist when cooked and has a texture that is not as velvety as the Garnet. Great for
making sweet potato fries or chips!
Hannah– This variety has a light tan, almost white skin with white flesh. The white flesh is
crumbly and has the texture of a russet potato when cooked. This year, I will be making a
Hannah sweet potato pie with cardamom and vanilla.
Japanese– Also a white fleshed variety, this sweet potato has a very dark purple skin. Because of
its drier texture, I like to slice these, drizzle with olive oil, cinnamon and cayenne and bake at
350 degrees until they soften and turn a golden brown color. They are also nice in soups.
Purple Stokes/ Okinawa sweet potato- This super food variety is my favorite! With a bluish
purple skin and deep royal purple flesh, this sweet potato has a texture very similar to the Garnet
but has an extra sweet earthiness to the taste. Originally from the Americas, this variety was
introduced to Japan in the 14th century and has become a staple on the Island of Okinawa where
it is eaten almost every day. This is believed to be the reason why Okinawa has the largest
percentage of people living over the age of 100 (more than any other country). This variety has
150% more antioxidants than blueberries and is wonderful prepared almost any way. Try using
these in a pie (beautiful) or mashed instead of regular potatoes. Add some extra antioxidants to
your Thanksgiving table!
By Casey Goode, Produce Manger at ECNG