April Newsletter

Message from the team at The Organic Food & Produce Co.  

Hi Everyone,
Well, I think you can tell how busy we have been by the fact that we are getting our first newsletter since February to you in the final few days of April!  

OFPC continues to grow, so to our many existing loyal customers, we thank you for your great support and regular referrals to friends and family. And if you have never tried organic produce before, please give us a try and enjoy our wonderful fresh produce and friendly customer service!

If you order one of our mixed fruit and veg boxes it is a nice surprise to see what awaits you each week! If you prefer to customize exactly what you want each week, our website is updated weekly to show when new seasonal items become available. Now we have waved goodbye to summer, you will start to notice some different items in your mixed boxes. Always fresh and great variety for your diet!  

There has been great demand for our new grocery products but we are adding new items ALL the time, so keep checking all the shopping aisles in our website http://www.organicfood.com.au.

Happy shopping all  

The Team at OFPC

Information Corner Why is it important to eat a mix of fresh fruit and vegetables?

There is a significant amount of evidence linking fruits and vegetables with lower risk of heart disease and cancer. In fact, in the USA the FDA has approved two health claims related to fruits and vegetables...
"Low fat diets rich in fruits and vegetables (foods that are low in fat and may contain- dietary fiber and vitamins A and C) may reduce the risk of some types of cancer,"

or "Diets low in saturated fat and cholesterol and rich in fruits, vegetable, and grain products that contain some types of fiber may reduce the risk of heart disease."  

Maximum protection comes from eating a mix of all types of fruit and vegetable, because each type contains components that reinforce one another. All the different components are described as 'phytochemicals'. Eating with the seasons is a great way to ensure you are eating a healthy mix of different seasonal fruit and vegetables. It’s natures way of giving us the blend of nutrients we need.  

When eating your balanced diet of seasonal fruit and vegetables, make sure it is all natural and organic.  Going organic is the only practical way to avoid eating genetically modified (GM) food. And by buying organic food, you are registering your mistrust of GMO's and doing your bit to protest against them.

Click here to read further information on this topic.  

What’s in season?

Cauliflower
English Spinach
New Season Brown Onions
Golden Delicious Apples
Brown Bosc Pears
Lots more, check out our fruit and vegetable aisles!  

Recipe of the month

This one is absolutely delicious, great in colder months, and so so healthy!

Vegetarian Cottage Pie

INGREDIENTS –
 1 tbsp oil
½ onion finely chopped
1 clove garlic chopped
3 celery stalks finely chopped
2 carrots diced or sliced (if putting into individual dishes to bake, I dice otherwise the slices can be a bit bulky)
4 or 5 flat mushrooms (equivalent of one punnet)
2 tsp vegetable stock
½ pint (300ml) water
1 bay leaf
14 oz (400g) tin tomatoes
3 tsp tomato paste
Few dashes tamari sauce
4 tbsp white wine, sprig thyme (or tsp dried)
1 tsp marjoram

Topping
3 baking potatoes
2 tbsp rice milk
1 tbsp soy yoghurt
1 chopped spring onion or chives 

METHOD
1.Heat the oven to 170°C
2.Heat the oil in a big pan, add the onion and sauté until they begin to soften.
3.Add the garlic and sauté for a few minutes, then add the celery and sauté the mixture for about 5-10 minutes.
4.Add the carrots and stir in well. Sauté for another few minutes
5.Add the mushrooms and sweat mixture for 10 minutes.
6.Cover with water and wine, add herbs and stock.
7.Simmer until the carrots are cooked.
8.Add the tin of tomatoes and tomato paste and simmer until reduced to a thick mixture.
9.Whilst the mixture is reducing boil the potatoes.
10.When cooked, mash well and add the milk to make the mixture creamy (add more or less milk depending on the potatoes you are using). Stir in the yoghurt and chives.
11.In a dish, pour in the tomato mixture, then spoon the potato mixture on top to cover the surface.
12.Put in the oven for 20 minutes or so to crisp the potatoes and until you can see that the tomato mixture is bubbling - it generally has a habit of escaping at the sides so you should be able to tell quite easily!

For those able to eat dairy ...I tend to bake these in individual dishes so that people who can eat dairy can have grated cheese on top or maybe a knob of butter, which gives the dish a lovely crispy golden brown finish. Cows milk and butter could be used instead of the rice milk when making the mashed potatoes if everyone can eat it.

Grocery and products department

Many of you have tried and already commented enthusiastically on our delicious fresh orange juice.  For those of you who have not yet given it a go – we highly recommend this scrumptious fresh OJ!

We have added a new pasta – my family absolutely love shell pasta and at last it is available!  Check it out in our pasta section!

For those of you who want the more unprocessed milk, don’t forget, you can get unhomogenised full cream milk.  Please let Leonie know a week in advance so that she can be sure to get it in for you in time for your delivery.  

We’d love to hear from you if you have any comments or questions. Just email us at info@organicfood.com.au or call us on 02 9967-9967  

The Organic Food & Produce Company
Proud supporters of WSPA
‘The World Society for the Protection of Animals’