CLASSES IN THE GULCH

In February, we began hosting a series of in-store classes at our Gulch location store led by members of The Turnip Truck staff and/or farmers, educators and specialists from the community. The class is held every 2nd Thursday of each month and repeated on the 2nd Saturday of each month. The class begins with a brief tour of the store where you can learn what we have to offer. You will then be led to a specific area of our store for a more in-depth discussion.

For MAY, The Turnip Truck’s Prepared Foods Manager, Molly Martin, will discuss “Healthy Meal Planning on a Budget.” Molly has a long time passion cooking for friends and family that developed into quite a career. Molly has worked at our store in the Gulch since it opened in October 2011 and she came to us with an impressive

food resume. She previously worked for some of the best restaurants in Nashville- City House, Table 3, and Tayst. Molly headed up Tayst's green program that lead them to achieve a 3 star rating from the Green Restaurant Association and helped found Tayst's green catering division, Local Kitchen Catering. We feel lucky to have her with us at The Turnip Truck!

Here are the class details:
Thursday May 10th 6:00-7:00pm
Saturday May 12th 10:00-11:00am
(321 12th Ave South- Nashville 37203)

Come gets some tips on preparing healthy, inexpensive meals that your family will love! For those who participate, we offer a 10% discount for groceries purchased at the time of the class and a $5 gift card to use on your next visit. Classes are free but space is limited. To sign up for this class, please email kathryn@theturniptruck.com.

We look forward to seeing you there!

GRILLING SEASON HAS BEGUN

As Memorial Day approaches and the warm Nashville weather sets in, many of us are planning family get-togethers and dinner parties with friends. It’s time to fire up the grill!

The Turnip Truck has an amazing selection of local and organic produce- our produce stand at both locations is at least 80-90% certified organic year-round and this time of year, we have lots of local organic produce available. Portabellas, onions, peppers, tomatoes, squashes, cabbage, and asparagus are all great for grilling!

Not only does The Turnip Truck have a great organic produce selection, but we also have a full service meat counter at our Gulch location which is headed up by our meat manager, Ty Bass. Ty has worked in the grocery and meat industry for nearly thirty years and is always eager to assist customers. He and his staff cut and prepare organic, grass-fed, and humanely raised beef, pork, and chicken daily and send a nice selection over to our East Nashville location each day. We also stock a nice selection of seafood at both stores and source the most sustainably caught that we have access to.

And don’t limit grilling to meats and veggies- try grilling some watermelon, pineapple or peaches!

We also carry Woodstock Lump Hardwood Charcoal. Lump charcoal is produced by partially burning wood or by heating wood without oxygen. Unlike charcoal briquettes, lump charcoal contains no additives and is not compressed or molded; instead, it retains the shape of the wood from which it was produced. If unlimited oxygen is available, lump charcoal will burn hot and fast. Therefore, lump charcoal is best suited for grills that allow the user to control the airflow, thus regulating the temperature and speed at which the coals burn.
If bugs are an issue for you while cooking or dining outdoors, remember to use an earth friendly bug spray. The Turnip Truck has several to choose from- Herbal Outdoor Spray by Organix South, Buzz Away by Quantum Health, Herbal Armor by All Terrain, and Quit Bugging Me by Jason. Or, you can make your own using Aura Cacia essential oils and the following recipe…

Aura Cacia Protecting Patio Spray
Ingredients:
4 oz distilled water
1 tsp grain alcohol or high-proof vodka
15 drops citronella essential oil
5 drops grapefruit essential oil
5 drops Texas cedarwood oil

Directions: Place alcohol in a spray-mister
bottle. Add the essential oils and shake. Add
Add water, cap and mist the atmosphere around
your outdoor activities. Always shake well before use.

LOVE YOUR MOTHER

In April we celebrated Mother Earth with a big Earth Day celebration at Centennial Park (see photos).

This month, we celebrate all of our Moms with Mother’s Day on Sunday, May 13th. Cards are a nice gesture- and we’ve got a good selection for you to choose from at The Turnip Truck. Flowers are always nice and something she loves but might not buy for herself. We have some beautiful locally grown flowers from Turnbull Creek Farm in Bon Aqua, TN.

Sometimes cards and flowers alone fall short of really showing the Mother in your life how much you appreciate her. She’d never tell you so because that is just how Moms are. We thought you could use a few Mother’s Day gift ideas to make the day special. We have come up with a short list to get your thinking caps working:

• Think of how many meals Moms cook for us and how nice it would be for Moms to get a day off from cooking. Bring her to our store in the Gulch for Sunday brunch! Or, you can make her breakfast in bed or a nice homemade dinner with all her favorite foods. (Don’t forget to clean up the kitchen afterwards, though.)
• Buy her some of her favorite indulgences- most Moms love CHEESE or CHOCOLATES! We have a huge variety of both- many local, simple varieties and fancy ones, all delicious! Both cheese and chocolate go nicely with organic fruit. We have some amazing local strawberries!
• Lots of Moms spend the majority of their day taking care of people. Perhaps the perfect day would be a relaxing day off from all her usual responsibilities. Arrange for her to have a lunch out with girl friends or a day relaxing with a good book. (Of course, all these gifts go nicely with cards and flowers!)
• Have someone in our supplement department help you put together a selection of relaxing supplements, candles, teas, bath soaps and oils to give her a home spa package!
• Prepare a picnic basket with all her favorite local and organic foods and take her to her favorite park for a picnic! Our Deli prepares fresh sandwiches and salads daily. We also have many housemade side items that would be great for a picnic- such as potato salad, Black Bean Salad, Hummus, Greek Orzo Salad, Tabouli, and Couscous Salad. And we have a large selection of housemade desserts- cookies, tarts, and muffins.
• Clean the house for her so she doesn’t have to. The Turnip Truck has many natural and organic cleaning supplies to help you.

Whatever you do, make sure the Mothers in you life know how much you appreciate them. They work so hard for the love!

VALENCIA ORANGES: UNDERRATED WARM WEATHER TREATS!

Over the next several months, particularly as we move closer to the summer season, the lure of the luscious summertime fruits is inescapable. On our produce stand, you’ll find- peaches, plums, nectarines, grapes, berries, and melons. It’s a lineup that all fruit lovers look forward to. After coming off the autumn and winter seasons, where apples, pears, and citrus rule the day, the summer season fruits seem to bring an exotic quality to their flavor, reminding us of warmth, play, and all that is good about the warmer months. With this said, it just may be that one of the finest summer fruits remains in the citrus family. Valencia Oranges (although not typically lumped in with the summer soft fruits) will often have some of the best flavor and highest juice content of any fruit that you enjoy during the late Spring, early Summer season.

Although the California Valencia season technically runs February through October, the upcoming months of May - June - July are really when this fruit is at its peak. The Valencia is easily as sweet as the navel orange, while featuring a higher juice content and thinner skin. Valencias have virtually no seeds, although it’s not uncommon for nature to sneak a few in on occasion. Even though this fruit is deliciously sweet and completely ripe, Valencia oranges may occasionally "regreen" in warm weather. When the fruit ripens on the tree, it turns a bright orange color, as usual. But the warm temperatures of the season may make the skin reabsorb chlorophyll as it hangs on the tree, causing a ripe orange to look partly green. Don't let this color shift fool you into thinking the orange is not ready to eat as it is perfectly ripe. Often times the "regreened" oranges are actually a bit sweeter as the warmer temperatures elevate the fruit sugar content in the orange, making for a sweeter tasting fruit.

(Adapted from an article from one of our organic distributors, Albert’s Organics.)

NEW CHAPTER MULTI-VITAMINS... WHOLE FOOD THAT'S GENTLE ON YOUR STOMACH

Many conventional multi-vitamins are synthetic, chemical "isolates" that lack the whole-food benefits found in nature.  It’s no wonder they can upset your stomach. But New Chapter vitamins are easy on your stomach because they’re whole-food complexed - cultured in probiotics with organic fruits, vegetables, and herbs.
You can even take them on an empty stomach. It’s nutrition your body easily recognizes and absorbs, the way nature intended.

Probiotic, Synergistic
All of New Chapter’s vitamins and nutrients are cultured in probiotics -- the healthy bacteria every human body needs, found naturally in select foods such as yogurt. New Chapter believes nutrients are best delivered as part of an entire nutritional complex, not as a stand-alone “magic bullet.” That’s why many of their targeted nutrients are combined with organic superfoods, spices and herbal extracts to compliment the health benefits of each targeted nutrient.
                
All of New Chapter’s Multi-vitamins are probiotic and whole. The herbs and cultured whole-food vitamins & minerals in each formulation work together to promote optimal health and deliver condition-specific benefits – not just address nutrient deficiencies. The nutrient needs of men and women can be vastly different – the same can be said for people under forty versus over forty. New Chapter’s formulation team takes exacting care with each nutrient in all of their targeted daily Multi-vitamins to benefit the specific needs of the individual. New Chapter Multi-Vitamins are also Non-GMO Project verified - made with organic fruits and vegetables.
For the month of May, all of New Chapter’s One Daily Multi-Vitamins will be on sale at The Turnip Truck.  Choose the One Daily that is right for you and experience the benefits of Organic, Non-GMO, Whole-Food nutrition.

Did You Know?
Cultured soy is one of the five sacred grains of the Chinese herbal tradition and is the foundation of “superfoods” such as tempeh and miso. Traditional cultures consumed soy only if it was fermented – for good reason. While non-fermented soy can disrupt absorption and normal activity of nutritive compounds, modern science has found that cultured soy actually enhances nutritive bioavailability and promotes normal cell growth, heart, and bone health. New Chapter Multis utilize only organic, fermented soy to deliver these compelling benefits supported by each formula’s whole-food complexed vitamins, minerals and herbs.