About Field Peas

Dried field peas are available all year long. They belong to the same family as beans and lentils and, like them, are a small but nutritionally mighty member of the legume family, and a very good source of cholesterol-lowering soluble fiber.

Soluble fiber helps to prevent constipation and digestive disorders like irritable bowel syndrome and diverticulosis. It also helps lower cholesterol and is of special benefit in managing blood-sugar disorders, since the high fiber content stabilizes blood sugar levels and prevents them from rising rapidly after a meal. If you have insulin resistance, hypoglycemia or diabetes, legumes like dried peas can really help you balance blood sugar levels while providing steady, slow-burning energy.

Dried field peas also provide good to excellent amounts of five important minerals, three B-vitamins, and protein—all with virtually no fat. As if this weren’t enough, dried peas also feature isoflavones, phytonutrients that act like weak estrogens in the body and whose dietary consumption has been linked to a reduced risk of certain health conditions, including breast and prostate cancer.

In addition to their stellar fiber content, dried peas also feature other heart-healthy nutrients. They are a good source of potassium, which may decrease the growth and development of blood vessel plaques and is also good for lowering high blood pressure.

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Posted on June 1, 2015

About Nash’s Cornmeal

Nash’s cornmeal is stone-ground at our farm store from corn we grow right here in the Dungeness Valley. Try both the fine grind and the coarse grind!

Nash’s organic, non-GMO corn—grown, dried, and ground at the farm—is the perfect way to enjoy this nutrient-rich food.

Although corn is actually the fruit of the Zea mays plant, it is classified as a grain and is the only grain that contains vitamin A (though not in significant amounts). Corn also has health-supportive antioxidant benefits. In the case of yellow corn, it’s the antioxidant carotenoids leading the way, with especially high concentrations of lutein and zeaxanthin.

Corn is a good source of dietary fiber and gives us plenty of chewing satisfaction. Eating organic corn meal not only helps support healthy populations of friendly bacteria in our large intestine, but also provides a direct supply of energy to the cells that line our large intestine, helping them stay healthier and function at a lower risk of becoming cancerous.

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Posted on May 14, 2015

About Farm-Fresh Pastured Eggs

Nash’s pastured hens lay eggs in a variety of colors.

Mother’s Day is this weekend and we know Mom would really enjoy a delicious quiche made with Nash’s eggs for a special breakfast in bed or brunch with her family.

Nash’s hens are raised on pasture and have daily access to grassy fields. Real pastured eggs, in addition to all the usual health benefits of eggs, are superior to commercially-produced eggs where the hens are caged and fed corn, soy and cottonseed. Nash’s pastured hens eat organic grains and legumes from the farm, OMRI-approved supplements, and all the bugs and grass they can find as they forage.

According to a 2007 study by Mother Earth News that compared laboratory tests of eggs from 14 different pastured flocks with USDA nutrient data for commercial eggs, the pastured eggs offered:

about 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids
3 times more vitamin E
4-6 times more vitamin D
7 times more beta carotene

They also had:

1/3 less cholesterol
1/4 less saturated fat
2/3 more vitamins

Eggs are an excellent source of protein. One egg contains a little over 6 grams, so they are a great way to add protein to your breakfast. We often overlook protein as an important part of breakfast in our busy mornings, but it’s important. It provides us with stable energy throughout the day, rather than just eating carbohydrates. If you hard-boil your eggs ahead of time, you have an easy portable breakfast!

Vitamin B12 and biotin are both B vitamins that are important for many metabolic processes within our bodies, and they are found in high quantities in eggs. They both serve as cofactors for enzymes–keys that unlock chemical reactions that need to happen to maintain our health. They also support our adrenal glands and help maintain a healthy nervous system.

Don’t believe the myths!
People became concerned about eating eggs because of their cholesterol content. Research is showing that the cholesterol content of eggs is not linked to blood cholesterol levels as much as saturated or trans fats is. In fact, according to the Mayo Clinic, a healthy person can have up to seven eggs in a week with no increase in the risk of heart disease. On the other hand, this is not recommended for people with other health conditions, such as diabetes. But if that is not a problem for you, don’t be afraid to up your protein intake with a delicious and nutritious pastured-raised egg!

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Posted on May 7, 2015

About Mustard Seeds

It’s so easy to make your own mustard!

Homemade mustard can offer you some of the same valuable nutritional benefits as kale and other leafy greens in the brassica family. Isothiocyanates are the phytochemical compounds studied in brassica family plants that may offer protection against gastrointestinal and colorectal cancers.

Mustard seeds are also high in the minerals selenium and magnesium. Selenium is therapeutic for people with asthma as it can help to reduce symptoms. It is also an important mineral for the health of your thyroid gland. Magnesium can help to lower high blood pressure. Mustard seeds are also a good source of vegetarian omega 3 fatty acids, great for decreasing inflammation in your body and supporting the health of your brain.

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Posted on April 30, 2015

About Spring Green Garlic

Green garlic offers the same nutritional benefits as bulb garlic, with a milder garlic flavor.

The Plant that Keeps On Giving
Garlic is the plant that keeps on giving. It stays in the ground for nine months and offers us delectable treats along the way. The first of those treats is green garlic, which comes in the spring, and some farmers grow garlic just to harvest this delicacy. It looks like green onions, but is actually the garlic before it has developed the head with individual cloves. Green garlic can be used like chives or green onions, but it has a delightful mild garlic flavor without all the work of peeling the skin off each clove.

The next offering from the garlic plant are the garlic scapes. These come along a few weeks before the garlic bulb is ready to harvest. Scapes are the flowering portion of the garlic plant, and taste like a mild, garlic-flavored green bean. They are easy to spot because they make the coolest curlicues as they grow. Growers cut the scapes so the garlic plant will focus its energy on the developing bulbs.

Finally, we harvest the garlic bulbs sometime in summer. These are dried, cured and used to robustly flavor our dishes for the fall and winter months until we start the beautiful culinary garlic cycle all over again.

Nutritional Benefits of Green Garlic
Green garlic offers all of the nutritional benefits of garlic, just in a different package and with milder flavors. Garlic is a well-known antibacterial and antifungal remedy. It has a sulfurous compound called allicin, which helps lower oxidative stress and inflammation in our body, which benefits our cardiovascular health. Garlic is extremely efficient in extracting selenium from soil, even if that mineral is depleted. Selenium is a required nutrient for a number of our bodies’ detoxification systems. It is also important for the health of our thyroid gland, an important regulator of many metabolic processes within our bodies.

Garlic should be chopped first when cooking any dish. It takes about 10 minutes for enzymes to be mobilized when exposed to air before being heated. Basically, it needs some time to rest before offering us all of its many health benefits.

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Posted on April 23, 2015

Three Surprising Facts About Oats

As with most grains, the more processed oats are, the more their flavor and nutrients are compromised. Nash’s whole oats offer a hearty start to your day. Haven’t tried whole oats for breakfast porridge? Maybe these facts will inspire you.

Lore: Scottish highlanders carried pouches of oatmeal with them and dinner involved mixing it with sea water to form a cake which was baked over an open fire on a hot stone. Their enemies correlated these meals with their invincibility in battle.

Nutrients: Oats are high in protein and unsaturated fat, making them a great breakfast choice for sustaining blood sugar levels. The more refined the oats are, the quicker they will spike your blood sugar (leaving you feeling hungry more quickly after eating). Because of their fiber content, oats can help to reduce cholesterol in the body.

Whole Health: Oats are the only grain that is considered an adaptogen, meaning that they help our bodies to better cope with stress. People often think of particular herbs as adaptogens, but oats offer us a hearty AND calming breakfast.

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Posted on April 17, 2015

About Parsley

Try curly parsley for a ruffly texture or Italian parsley with its flat leaves.

The name “parsley” derives from the Greek word meaning “rock celery” as it is related to celery. A native of the Mediterranean, parsley was used medicinally before it was eaten as a food.

Parsley has a whopping amount of vitamin K making it an important herb to add to meals to help support bone health. It’s also a great immune-supporting herb with a surprisingly high amount of vitamin C. Parsley also is packed with phytochemicals, such as myristicin, which is helpful in supporting glutathione, an important antioxidant within our bodies that vigilantly protects us from oxidative damage. So get that parsley off the side of the plate—better than a garnish, it should be a part of the main event! Here are some easy ways to help you get more of this nourishing herb into your meals.

Combine chopped parsley with bulgar wheat, chopped green onions (scallions), mint leaves, lemon juice and olive oil to make the Middle Eastern classic dish, tabbouleh.

Add parsley to pesto sauce to add more texture to its green color.

Combine chopped parsley, garlic and lemon zest, and use it as a rub for chicken, lamb and beef.

Use it in soups and tomato sauces.

Serve a colorful salad of fennel, orange, cherry tomatoes, pumpkin seeds and parsley leaves.

Chopped parsley can be sprinkled on a host of different recipes, including salads, vegetable sautés and grilled fish.

We thank The World’s Healthiest Foods for these great ideas for using parsley.

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Posted on April 9, 2015

About Organic Raabs — the Best of Spring!

Green kale raab, Nash’s red kale raab, and collard raab are just a few of the many sweet and tender varieties of raab. Get to know them all!

Raab is what we call the tender new shoots that make their appearance every spring from overwintered brassicae crops like kale, arugula, Brussels sprouts, collards, mustards and cabbage. What we call “raab” is different from broccoli rabe, which is actually a cross between broccoli and turnip.

If we were to let the raab continue to grow, it would eventually produce seed heads by summer, but the stems would be woody and inedible. During these few short spring weeks when raab is tender and sweet, it pours its energy into the flowering tops, giving them an extra boost of nutrients.

Raabs are rich sources of fiber, vegetable protein, omega-3s, anti-oxidants, anti-inflammatory compounds, B-complex vitamins, and unique phytonutrients called glucosinolates. Glucosinolates account for the much-studied anti-cancer properties of this family of vegetables.

These succulent veggie tops are easy to prepare and delicious as a side dish or cut up raw in salads. Don’t shy away from eating the whole thing.

A very simple and easy to prepare any kind of raab is to cut it into bite-sized pieces, lightly sauté it in olive oil with some chopped garlic and salt and pepper. You could also crumble some bacon on top, or sprinkle some chili flakes on it.

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Posted on April 2, 2015

About Purple Sprouting Broccoli – Nutrition

Sure, it’s beautiful — but did you know it’s good for you, too?

Purple sprouting broccoli is a delicious and gorgeous alternative to the green heads found during the summer months. The crop has over-wintered and its lovely purple heads start to bud in February. It offers all of the same nutritional benefits in broccoli, just in a slimmer, more colorful version making it a lovely side dish.

Broccoli is famous for its glucosinolate content, which are phytonutrients that support all processes of detoxification within our bodies. Different nutrients from different vegetables support either phase 1 or phase 2 of our body’s detoxification systems, but glucosinolates from broccoli support both. Broccoli is a one stop shop for detox!

Many people in the Pacific Northwest take vitamin D supplements because we receive less sunshine than other parts of the world. But to support the metabolism of vitamin D, we also need vitamins K and A. Guess which vegetable is high in both of these vitamins? Bingo—it’s broccoli!! Try a mushroom broccoli sauté today, and you’ll be getting a natural source of all 3 of these bone supporting vitamins.

As the seasons change, catching a spring cold is common. In addition to its other vitamin benefits, purple spouting broccoli is high in vitamin C (1 cup offers 135% of the daily recommended value), so it can also help support your immune system.

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Posted on March 26, 2015

About Nettles

From nettle tea to nettle soup, there are lots of ways to enjoy the health benefits of this wild herb.

This is a great time of year for nettle soup, as nettles are abundant and it’s a cleansing spring tonic. If you are looking for something a simpler you can prepare a cup of nettle tea by simply pouring hot water over a cup of fresh nettles, let steep covered for 7-10 minutes and strain the nettles.

Be careful when handling these delicious spring weeds, as their prickles may sting you, so use either gloves or tongs when preparing them. Nettles are high in iron and vitamins A and C. They are a diuretic and a tea prepared with nettles can support the kidneys, liver, and intestines.

An old practice to relieve gout and arthritic pain was to use rub stinging nettles on the affected area. The sting was thought to bring nutrient-rich blood flow to the area to promote healing.

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Posted on March 26, 2015