Happy Birthday Joel!!!

We're late on this but here's a big belated HAPPY BIRTHDAY to most awesome kitchen manager, Joel! He brings humor, calm and balance to our kitchen.

Joel, you are a pleasure to work with and to know!

!

Simple and healthy recipe

1 cup brown rice

1 sweet potato, grated
1 bunch collard greens, chopped
Frozen Edamame

I used a rice cooker to cook the rice. Put in 1 cup water, 1 cup rice and 1 tsp. olive oil. It should take about 1/2 hour to cook.
Meanwhile, grate the sweet potato and add it to a lightly oiled, hot skillet (I'm a fan of grape seed oil)
While the sweet potatoes are cooking, place the Edamame in a pan with a couple inches of water. Cook for about 10 minutes, drain with cold water and set aside.
When sweet potatoes are soft, add the chard and cook until the chard is just wilted; season with salt and pepper.
When the rice is cooked add it to a plate along witht the sweet potato/chard mixture and the edamame beans.
When I eat low fat, high fiber, nutrient dense dishes like this one, my body literally feels happy.

BEWARE THE DISEASE!!!!

Many people these days want the biggest bang for their buck. They want the maximum entertainment, portion, and service... or else. This has caused SEEMORETHANYOUNEEDitus. Folks across the country are scavenging for the places that will give them more for less as far as they can "see" anyways.

But is quantity really better than quantity? Is seeing really believing? Is it really fair to say that you get MORE just because the box is bigger? I say NO.

Giant bottles of milk can contain chemicals related to formaldehyde. Innocent cookies from popular brands can have more than 50 ingredients in them. Produce can me genetically mutilated/mutated to look fresher longer- but the long term health affects remain unknown.

SEEMORETHANYOUNEEDitus is a real epidemic- quickly on the verge of becoming a pandemic. Symptoms include various forms of cancer, birth defects, infertility, higher stomache aciditity, digestive problems, evolutionary mutations, acne, cramps, headaches, nausea, addiction, irritation, loss of eyesight, diabetes, several viruses, loss of feeling in limbs, acid reflux, ulcers, cold sores, cavities, diarrhea, and much much more. It's literally killing us and those we love. In this economy I can understand wanting to save money- but the hospital bills you will have to pay later will quickly surpass the cost of those "cheap" items you ingest.

Good news though! SEEMORETHANYOUNEEDitus can be cured! How? Love.

Seriously.

Love for yourself and the love put into what you are putting in your body. Food is literally the fuel we use to keep our engines going. We can NOT afford to put in a low grade because we WILL break down eventually.

At Nature's Express I get a LOT of people questioning me about the food. Asking if it comes with anything. When I say "no it comes as is." People get a little sad. They sometimes even question the cost of the food and complain that they should get more. Does anyone really know what a serving size is anyways? Does anyone really know that they are doing to their bodies when they see more than they need and consume it until their belly feels at bursting?

The reason our food costs the way it does is because it is made fresh, on-hand, and it's mostly organic stuff. Every dish is scrutinized, studied, and worked upon until it proves that it can provide the maximum nutrition and flavor for its purpose. Trust me- I am an official taste-tester and structural critiquer. As a full-time student I can not afford to be messing around with low-standards. We work hard to maintain portion sizes because we are well aware of SEEMORETHANYOUNEEDitus- and we want you to be able to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Besides that, every item ordered on the menu DOES come with something. LOVE. Of course. It's in the ingredients to ensure the biggest bang for Your buck.

So please, love yourself. Appreciate the vessel that carries you around from day to day. Prevent SEEMORETHANYOUNEEDitus... it just might change the way you experience life.

<3>

Rain

SUPERPOWER SUNDAYS

Ladies and Gentlemen! For your pleasure only we are starting SuperPower Sundays!

How it works:

Every Sunday from 10:30am-9:00pm we will be offering a special superpower from our superpower bag of amazingness. These powers come with either your delicious meal purchase or of course your generous and intelligent tips. (The superpower bag of amazingness may appear to be just a paper bag with superpowers written on papers inside it... but don't underestimate it....)


Today we had quite a few great superpower moments!

Amy... dog walker and Grilled Tempeh Rueben eater... left Nature's Express with the ability to fix a flat tire by chanting a secret chant.

Dan... the man who almost always enjoys an Einstein... received the power to harmonize with all birds.

Barbara (and friends!) who usually come in as an ordinary cheery trio- all were boosted up with the power of perfect jump roping, armpits that always smell nice, and of course everlasting minty fresh breath!

We have many more powers to hand out from say... flight by flapping your arms to the ability to always see the truth in someone. If you don't like the power you get from the superpower bag then I can guarantee you that you will like the power that you will get from your meal. With our food chock full of love and flavor yet void of evil fats and villainous GMO ingredients how could you not feel like a superhero? I mean saving your own body from the harms of bad consumption is just as good as Spiderman doing his Spidey thing!

Catch y'all next Super Power Sunday!

Nature's Express

Identifying and cooking root vegetables

Root vegetable medley in 4 easy steps

1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees

2) Choose your roots

Our personal favorite - The Turnip

The inspiration behind our very own TurnipMan!

Part of the cabbage family, Turips are high in vitamin C and they thrive well in poor soil where other vegetables suffer. Super Power indeed!

Chiogga Beet

Beets were originally used as medicine dating back to before written history!

They are high in folic acid, potassium, calcium and antioxidants.

3) Cut your roots into bite size pieces

Rutabaga

The Rutabaga originated as a cross between the Turnip and the cabbage.

4) Place all root cubes into a casserole dish, drizzle a little olive oil, salt and pepper and stir

5) Place in the oven and bake for one hour and fifteen minutes

This is a great side dish when paired with grains, legumes and greens

Sean the Super Dude

Today we had yet another recipient of our $25 gift card. Sean Munding. After an epic adventure of eating here enough times to reach 250 points on his Natures Express Card- he finally reaped the rewards.

Sean was here with about a million friends (or 5... if you want the buzz-killer facts) so it was difficult to interview him. Yours truly attempted to fight through his entourage in order to ask him some questions for this blog- but alas I was trumped by a grilled tempeh reuben and a "Sean Stalker" named Caroline. However I will do as every other tabloid does and pretend I managed to get him aside for few moments. What you are about to read next is the (not-so) "real" conversation I had with him.

ME: SEAN YOU JUST WON A $25 GIFT CARD HERE! HOW DO YOU FEEL?!

SEAN: Rain- is it alright if I call you Rain?

ME: Yes Sean it is!

SEAN: Well Rain- to answer your question it feels just amazing. Like I won the lottery- only better.

ME: WOW Sean, it sounds like you are really happy!

SEAN: I am Rain! I really am!

ME: Now Sean, it takes some dedication to build up those points as high as you did. A lot of eating here had to be done! What kept you coming into Nature's Express?

SEAN: I must be honest- besides your witting charm and dashing smile- I came into Nature's Express because it's where I get my superpowers from.

ME: Oh please do Explain Sean!

SEAN: Well Rain since all of your food is plant-based, cooked fresh and delicious in such a happy atmosphere- it gives me my awesome SuperStrength and my SuperSuaviness.

ME: What a story Sean! I'm glad to work here and have been a part of such a great moment! Now Sean do you have any words for our readers on this blog?

SEAN: Definitely! GO TO NATURE'S EXPRESS! IT'S AMAZING, FANTASTIC ATMOSPHERE, TASTY FOOD, and of course RAIN works there so um- how could it not be incredible?

ME: There you have it folks, from the man himself- SEAN MUNDING! Thanks for answering these questions... and for all of you tuning in thanks for reading!!

(Sean's hypothetical interview was brought to you by RAIN. Nature's Express is not responsible for any bias in this article... not that there is any- it's all true right?)

Please feel free to RESPOND to this article and tell us how we can make YOUR Nature's Express experience better...