Goals are much better when they are specific and measurable. For example, instead of the vague “Eat healthier” try “Eat one extra serving of vegetables per day for a month” or “Bake one loaf of whole grain bread per week until June.” Instead of “Lose weight” try “Lose 10 pounds of fat by March 1st.” Instead of “Get Fit” try “Go for a 10 minute walk after dinner three times per week for the month of February.” With this type of definable goal, it’s easy to track your progress and reward yourself for true successes.

Westpoint carries many products that are healthier choices than their over-processed counterparts. We have whole grain flours that can be used to make delicious, nutritious bread. Not quite prepared to give up your white bread? Add just a little bit of whole grain flour, and a little bit more to your next loaf. Or try one of our lighter flours, like our Organic Light Rye, or Organic Light Spelt Flour. These flours have been ground as whole grains and then the largest particles of bran and germ are filtered out, making the final texture closer to a white flour.

For your starchy dinner side dishes, most whole grains can be used in place of white or brown rice. Make things interesting! Try Westpoint’s whole Kamut©, spelt, wheat, oat, or rye kernels, or go gluten free with amaranth, red and white quinoa, sorghum, or teff grain. If you’re looking for something with a bit more protein, look for our organic legumes – every colour of beans, peas, lentils, or a mix of all of the above.

At snack time, instead of reaching for the chips, grab a handful of freshly roasted nuts, fresh or dried fruits, or make some organic popcorn – easy on the butter!  Herbs and spices add flavour to all kinds of snack foods without relying on extra fat or salt.

Eventually you will find that the foods you used to love are too salty, too sweet, too bland, or just not satisfying. Over time, you’ll build up a series of good, healthy habits that will last a lifetime.

The cold, dark and damp weather inevitably leads to more evenings spent safe and warm inside with friends and family, so it’s always good to have freshly-baked goodies on hand for entertaining.  Many cookies, pies and bars can be assembled ahead of time and frozen before baking, saving time in the kitchen when you could be visiting.

It can be tricky for those with allergies or special diet requirements to navigate the many offerings of the season.  Westpoint carries a variety of ingredients to help make baking for ingredient-sensitive loved ones easy, including gluten free flours, flour mixes and baking ingredients, egg replacer, soymilk powder, organic products, and several sugar-free sweeteners.

These traditional Italian almond cookies are high in protein, dairy free, gluten free, salt free, low cholesterol, and low in sugar.

Amaretti Cookies

Ingredients

2 Egg Whites
½ cup Organic Cane Sugar
½ tsp Vanilla Extract
2 ½ cups Blanched Almond Meal

Topping
2 tbsp  Turbinado Sugar
36 Whole Unblanched Almonds

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300°F.  In large bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form.  Add sugar, 2 tbsp at a time, and continue beating until stiff, glossy peaks form.
2. Fold in almond meal.
3. Form mixture into 1 inch balls and place 2 inches apart on parchment paper lined baking sheets, flattening slightly.
4. Sprinkle Turbinado sugar over cookies and place an almond in the centre of each one.  Bake for 20 minutes or until firm to the touch and light golden brown.

Nuts are an excellent snack food, quick and easy to roast and flavour yourself. Get the kids to help – they can put their own combination of nuts and seeds in a jar, pour in a little oil, then add their own seasonings and shake it all up. If your child has nut allergies or goes to a nut-free school, home-roasted pumpkin or sunflower seeds are a good substitute. Westpoint also has some delicious fruit and nut mixes that make great instant snacks.

Dried Fruits. Raisins are the classic dried fruit snack, but they’re not the only option. Westpoint carries many types of dried fruits, from apple slices and banana chips to strawberries and mango slices. Send them along as they are, or rehydrate them first in some fruit juice for extra flavour.

Candy. For a special treat, our line of organic fruity candies are just the thing. We have sour worms, sour bears, fruity bears, jelly beans, and, new this week, organic fruit hearts. These treats are fresh, juicy and delicious, and one serving contains 100% of the recommended daily intake of vitamin C.

Cookies and bars. Home-baked cookies, granola bars, and other goodies are easy to make in large batches and freeze until you need them. You can even freeze your cookie dough in single-serving batches so you can have fresh hot cookies for the kids when they get home without taking time away from dinner preparations. Westpoint’s array of baking ingredients are sure to inspire some fabulous creations.

Good luck with your back-to-school snacking season! Here’s a recipe to get you started off on the right foot:

Chocolate Chip Almond Bars

Ingredients
½ cup Butter
1 ½ cup Demerara Sugar
2 Eggs
½ cup Sorghum Flour
½ cup Millet Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
½ cup Blanched Almond Meal
¾ cup Chocolate Chips

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 300°F.
2. Sift together sorghum flour, millet flour, and baking powder.
3. Melt butter and add to sugar, beat eggs, and add vanilla.
4. Combine mix with dry ingredients and fold in the almond meal and chocolate chips.
5. Pour into a greased 8” x 8” pan, bake 40-50 minutes, until firm. If it browns too much, cover with foil for the last twenty minutes.
6. Cut into bars and serve.

Prior to the 19th century, when microscopes advanced enough to discern the action of yeast in rising bread, all leavened bread was made with a sourdough starter, not the dried active yeast we are familiar with today.  Sourdough starter is essentially a little yeast farm.  Flour, especially whole grain flours, contain all kinds of natural microbes, including yeast.  When you make a sourdough starter from scratch, you provide the natural yeast with optimal growing conditions, and it soon muscles out any competing microbes.  For detailed information on baking with sourdough, see www.sourdoughhome.com.

Flour is the primary ingredient of any bread, gluten free or not.  Wheat flour is the most common type used, but flour can be milled from any grain (and even some non-grains).  Westpoint carries a wide array of flours, including rye, Kamut®, buckwheat, potato, millet, oat, spelt, and more.  Each type of flour has a unique flavour and texture to enhance your baking.  They can be used by themselves or in a blend with wheat and other flours.

Bread can also be enhanced by the addition of dried fruit, nuts, seeds, and whole grains, either as a topping or mixed in with the dough.  A classic sweet bread is the cinnamon bun, which often has both nuts and raisins added.  Westpoint carries all kinds of tasty things that will elevate a simple loaf of bread to a work of gourmet mastery!

Think about it.  What is a seed?  It contains all the life and energy required to keep a plant sustained until it can harvest its own energy from the sun and the soil.  Depending on the plant, that can take hours to days to weeks.  This lengthy process means the seeds have to be packed full of fats and protein, not to mention vitamins and minerals, enough to sustain that seedling for as long as possible.

All this is great news for us nut and seed eating humans.  Combined with some chocolate or dried fruit for a short burst of sugary energy, a handful or two of nuts will sustain you for hours.  Roast your own custom nut blend:  Simply toss them with a bit of olive oil and sea salt, spread them on a baking sheet in a single layer, and roast at 350° F until lightly browned, stirring occasionally.  Try it with curry powder, cinnamon, chili powder, or other flavours.

But don’t stop at snacking.  Nuts are a delicious, nutritious addition to muffins, cookies, cakes and other baked goods, sprinkled on salads or ice cream, or in casseroles, curries and stir fry recipes.  Westpoint offers a wide selection of nuts, suitable for almost any application.  To get started, try this delicious fresh summer pasta.

Fresh Summer Pasta

3 pounds Vine-Ripened Tomatoes
1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 cup cut Basil
1 4 oz. can pitted Black Olives, drained
2 pressed Garlic Cloves
1/2 tsp Fine Sea Salt
1/4 tsp Black Pepper, freshly ground
1/4 tsp Hontaka Chili Flakes
** 1 lb. Pasta
1/2 lb. cubed Mozzarella
1 cup toasted Walnuts
Grated Romano cheese (as desired)

Pour very hot water over the tomatoes and let stand until the skins loosen. Drain, peel, and chop the tomatoes. Mix with the olive oil, basil, olives, garlic, and seasonings, and let marinate at room temperature for one hour. Cook the pasta according to package directions, drain. Stir in 1/2 cup of the juices from the sauce, stir in the mozzarella cheese and toss the pasta
until the cheese begins to melt. Stir in the remaining sauce and the toasted walnuts, and serve immediately. Top with Romano cheese as desired. Serves four as an entrée.

**Use a gluten free pasta, such as brown or white rice, to make this recipe suitable for the Celiac diet.

The big picnic dilemma is this: what to eat? Westpoint carries many foods that make excellent picnic fare. Organic nuts and fruit and nut mixes are ideal for snacking on while you’re setting out your blanket. We have an astonishing array of beans and pastas for cold salads, and if you can’t decide on a blend try one of our 9 or 18 bean mixes.

Iced herbal tea is healthy, delicious and refreshing on a hot day. With over 40 kinds to choose from you’re bound to find a favourite. And when it’s time for dessert, there’s nothing like organic fruity candies – gummy bears, jelly beans, sour worms and more.

For your next summer gathering try this delicious cold quinoa and black bean salad.  Drop by our Facebook page and tell us what your favourite picnic food is!

Quinoa and Black Bean Salad

1 ½ cups Organic Quinoa
1 ½ cups Organic Black Turtle Beans, cooked
1 ½ tbsp Red Wine Vinegar
1 ½ cups Corn Kernels, cooked
¾ cup Green Bell Pepper, finely chopped
1 Jalapeño Chili
¼ cup fresh Coriander, finely chopped

Dressing:
5 tbsp fresh Lime Juice
1 tsp Fine Sea Salt
1 ¼ tsp Cumin, ground
1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Wash quinoa in cold water until it runs clear. Cook quinoa for ten minutes in salted water, then drain and rinse under cold water. Steam, covered with a kitchen towel and lid, until fluffy and dry, about ten minutes. In another bowl, toss the beans with vinegar and salt and pepper. Transfer the quinoa to a large bowl and cool. Add beans, corn, bell pepper, jalapeno, and coriander and toss well.
For the dressing, whisk together lime juice, salt, and cumin and add oil in a stream, whisking. Add to salad and bring to room temperature before serving. Serves 4-6.

Research demonstrates that hemp seeds possess superior nutritional value as a food source. They are high in essential fatty acids (EFAs), protein, energy, fibre, iron, calcium, phosphorous, and vitamin B1. Sprinkle them on pasta, salads, cereals and yogurt, or use in a variety of recipes such as soups, sauces, baked goods, nutrition bars, and smoothies. Westpoint carries Canadian Organic Raw Hulled Hemp Seeds that are the perfect crunchy addition to your meals.

Another excellent way to incorporate hemp into your diet is by using hemp flour, which is milled from the hemp seed cake (the product remaining after the hemp seed has been crushed for oil). This gluten free flour will add taste and nutrition to your recipes, especially breads, cakes, muffins, and cookies. Westpoint’s Organic Hemp Flour can be substituted for 25%-50% of the wheat flour in a recipe, or can be used as is in any gluten free recipe.

As a food supplement, hemp protein powder is a gluten free, highly digestible whole food powder that can be used in place of all other proteins, such as soy or whey. Mix generously into juices, shakes, or smoothies for added protein, or substitute ⅓ to ¼ of the flour in a baking recipe. Our Organic Hemp Protein Powder contains 48.5% protein.

Give hemp foods a try today!

Ginger is known to most of us as a culinary ingredient in foods such as gingerbread, ginger ale and beer, and as an ingredient in stir-fry and cooking sauces. Its spicy-sweet flavour acts as a mild stimulant, helping to create a feeling of warmth and encourage alertness on cold, slow winter days. Ginger is also consumed in tropical climates, where it helps to rouse the natural cooling systems of the body.

Ginger has been used for thousands of years to help ease the symptoms of nausea and other digestive ailments, and is still widely used for this purpose today. It is often consumed as a tea, which can be made using fresh or dried ginger root or even ginger powder for an especially bracing beverage. Use one to two teaspoons dried cut ginger to one cup boiling water, and let steep at least fifteen minutes. Add honey or lemon as desired for an extra boost of healing power.

Ginger also has antibacterial properties and may be helpful when used as a poultice on mild burns or in helping to fight the cold virus when taken internally. Studies done in 2010 suggest that ginger may be helpful in reducing anxiety, a discovery which may provide a valuable natural alternative to modern medicinal treatments. Another way to consume ginger is in crystallized form, which looks and tastes like candy yet also provides the healing benefits of natural ginger (a vast improvement on most nutritionally-devoid candies!)

Westpoint provides both cut and powdered ginger in regular and organic varieties, and also has several types of crystallized ginger to be enjoyed as a healthy treat. Give this well respected rhizome a try next time you are feeling under the weather!

At Westpoint we carry a variety of cereal flakes meant to be cooked like oatmeal, including grain varieties such as Kamut®, Quinoa, Soy, Spelt, and Triticale. These nutritious cereals are optimal for warming our bodies and jumpstarting our brains on those cold, rainy days, of which there will still be many to come in Vancouver! But what about those lovely spring days when the sun is shining and you’re in a hurry to get out the door?

In addition to our Unsweetened Granola, we are pleased to introduce two new ready-to-eat cereals: Organic Amaranth Puffs and Organic Quinoa Puffs. Amaranth and quinoa are ancient, gluten free grains that have an excellent nutritional profile and provide your body with whole grain carbs to use as “brain food”.

For an even better source of vitamins and minerals, we recommend adding our dried fruits to your cereal, such as our new Unsulphured Strawberries, our Organic Apple Slices, or our crisp Organic Banana Chips. Incorporating nuts and seeds into your breakfast will add protein and healthy fats to help jumpstart your day: try Almonds, Brazil Nuts, Cashews, Filberts (Hazelnuts), Flax Seeds, Hemp Seeds, Macadamias, Pecans, Pumpkin Seeds, Sesame Seeds, or Walnuts.

Please visit our new Facebook page and tell us how you like to eat your cereal puffs!

Our brand new booklet Fruits, Nuts, & Seeds is due to be released in July. We hope you will enjoy this full-colour, square booklet that offers a wealth of information about these products as well as intriguing recipes we hope you will sample in your own kitchens. The booklets will be enclosed with orders, yet please contact us to request additional copies.

We will be releasing a new edition of our catalogue for August 2009. Be sure to keep an eye out for the many new products we have brought in as a result of your requests, as well as our most popular snack items now available in handy, clear plastic, resealable tubs.

In fall 2009, we plan to release a full-size Westpoint recipe book. The focus is on using our many products to create healthy, delicious meals for you and your family, with an emphasis on whole grains, gluten free recipes, and tasty baked goods. To promote this new oeuvre, we are offering a contest to our patrons to create a recipe to be included in the publication: please contact us for more information. Submissions must be received by July 31^st, 2009.

Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions or concerns, and we hope you have a happy, healthy summer season!