Product Updates | Eating Out of the Local Box

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Steaz to the Rescue!

By Mason on March 18, 2012 in Advice from our Bloggers, Product Updates

I just noticed something that I found to be very cool! I get so frustrated when in convenience stores and you are forced to choose between HFCS drinks and aspartame drinks if you want a little caffeine. If I have a long drive or just didn’t get enough sleep, I usually try to get a little caffeine. I don’t drink coffee and any drink with coffee in it needs to be incredibly watered down and with lots of sugar and milk. I am usually just fine with a Tea for lunch or the likes to get me through a day when I’m tired. “Energy Drinks” are normally way too loaded with caffeine and sugar for me. I bounce off the walls. All I need is a little pick-up. And we won’t go into the controversies over Taurine and other ingredients.

So, I’m wandering my office…feeling tired, wondering if there’s anything that can help. Usually an apple or something can give me that little boost, but today I knew I needed something more. I’m looking at our shelves and pick up a diet Steaz. Now, for reference, it’s about 10:30am when I do this and if I have too much sugar in the morning it usually leads to a big crash in the afternoon no matter what I eat for lunch. So, I can’t have anything with a lot of sugar. And by the afternoon I can’t have caffeine or energy stuff if I want to go to bed at night. So I normally don’t pay much attention to even organic energy drinks. But I look at the diet Steaz ingredients and it still has some sugar, just not much. Perfect! I don’t have the guilt associated with consuming artificial sweeteners and I avoid the afternoon crash from too much morning sugar. Seems almost genius to me. And it tastes good. I don’t really want a super sweet drink. I want a little sweetness and a little caffeine. Diet Steaz to the rescue!

And I would be remiss not to mention that Greenling sells Steaz and Diet Steaz for the same prices as the grocery stores.

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Sustainable Gifts are Sexy!

By Kathryn on February 8, 2012 in News and Announcements, Product Updates

Spoil your sweetie this Valentine’s Day with a special delivery of local and organic surprises. We have a wide selection of gifts, romantic dinners, and tempting treatsthat are sure to please the special person in your life.

Our Valentine’s gifts and meal kits will be delivered on Monday, February 13th– in plenty of time to impress your date and set the stage for a romantic (and eco-friendly) Valentine’s Day. As always, gifts arrive in attractive, recyclable packaging and include a hand-written gift note for the recipient. How sweet!

Valentine’s Day Gift Baskets

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Chocolate Rain Gift Basket- Decadent and delightful! Naughty and nice! This indulgent gift showcases the best in local chocolate talent, with enough goodies to share (or not– we won’t tell). Includes Miles of Chocolate, 1 bag Fat Turkey Dominican Joe Extra Dark Chocolate Domes, 1 bag Fat Turkey Chocolate Pools with Cocoa Nibs, 1 Love Puppies Mocha Me Crazy Brownie, 4 Fat Turkey Truffles.

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Love Bites Truffles - Calling all chocolate lovers! Central Texas chocolatier Fat Turkey has prepared this assortment of one dozen handmade truffles just for Greenling. Each pretty box includes three each of the following flavors: chai tea chocolate ganache with a dark chocolate coating, creamy white chocolate strawberry ganache with a dark chocolate coating, lavender caramel with a milk chocolate coating, and classic chocolate truffles.

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Afternoon Delight - Romantic relaxation in a box, hugged by a bow. Your valentine will love the flavor and quality of these organic, loose leaf teas from Central Texas’ Zhi Teas. Accompanied by local pastries, local honey, and a romantic scented candle that both of you can enjoy.

Valentine’s Day Meal Kits

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Spice Rubbed Texas Quail - Set the stage for a romantic encounter with a three-course meal of salad with citrus vinaigrette, spice rubbed Texas quail on a bed of vegetable couscous, and Tiny Pies cherry pies for dessert. The pies and salad arrive ready-to-serve, and the remaining items are prepped and portioned for seamless cooking.

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Oven Seared Texas Ribeye - Nothing says “I only have rib-eyes for you” like a home-cooked steak dinner for your sweetheart. This three-course meal includes salad with citrus vinaigrette, local, grass-fed ribeye steaks with a red wine reduction on a bed of vegetable couscous, and Tiny Pies cherry pies for dessert. The pies and salad arrive ready-to-serve, an the remaining items are prepped and portioned for seamless cooking.

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Stuffed Acorn Squash - Share the veggie love with a three-course dinner of salad with citrus vinaigrette, roasted, couscous-stuffed acorn squash, and Tiny Pies cherry pies for dessert. The pies and salad arrive ready-to-serve, and the remaining items are prepped and portioned for seamless cooking.

Browse our complete selection of gifts at the gift page of our website. We will be special delivering all Valentine’s Gifts and Meal Kits on Monday, February 13th. If you’d like another sweet treat from our gifts page delivered that day, please leave a note in the gift message area of your order to “lettuce” know.

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Local Sake Now Available!

By Kathryn on December 30, 2011 in Greenling Central Texas, Notes from the Field, Product Updates

Texas-made sake is a bit surprising, no?

Texas Sake Co. is not only the first sake producer in Texas; they’re also using organic Texas rice, making this brew the first organic alcohol made in Texas.

Texas Sake Co. produces 2 types of sake:

Nigori Cloud Junmai – Pictured on the left, above. This coarsely filtered sake, also known as “cloudy,” is creamy and smooth with coconut & cider flavors.

Tokubetsu Junmai – Pictured on the right, above, is clear and pure, with rich apple and pear flavors.

Kampai!

**Please note due to TABC regulations, we can only deliver alcohol to Travis Country residents. Sorry!

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You Know What Really Gets My Goat?

By Mason on September 5, 2011 in Greenling Central Texas, Greenling DFW, News and Announcements, Product Updates

Goat Meat now available

While the New York Times claims it’s ‘the most widely consumed meat in the world’ and I have been repeating that ever since, it turns out it’s fourth behind the usual suspects – pork, beef, and chicken. No KIDding. So, while they’re not the sleeping giant I sought out to promote, they are quite a special animal (vegetarians feel free to skip this article). Goats will eat just about anything that’s technically edible and chew on everything else to find out if it’s edible. Luckily there’s an abundance of natural pasture for them to browse at Windy Hill Organics in Comanche, Tx, where our all-pastured, local goats come from. Your shoes are safe!

We’ve carried goat milks, yogurts, and cheeses for a while, but once we learned about the nutrition in goat meat we decided to add it to the mix. It’s classified as a red meat but since goat is such a lean meat it usually requires low heat and slow cooking to preserve tenderness & moisture. It’s higher in iron, potassium, and thiamin than other meats and is able to maintain some sweetness found in lamb without all the saturated fats of lamb or beef.

Happy goats make happy goat meat and we now carry this delicacy at Greenling.com. We have several cuts to choose from – and plan to add more soon!

Ground - perfect for burgers, tacos or meatballs

Stew Meat - ideal for stews & chilis

Boneless Loin - great for grilling, braising or roasting (we recommend marinating it first, as it can overcook and dry out if you’re not careful!)

by Mason Arnold, Co-founder & Cookie Monster

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Sweeten Up Your Love Life with Watermelon

By Mason on August 13, 2011 in Advice from our Bloggers, Product Updates

It’s not true that lugging a watermelon around in your cart, to your car, and finally home actually makes it sweeter. And the first time it crushes that bread or bag of chips it becomes a bittersweet affair. But no longer because we’ve got big, burly men to carry these amazingly delicious boulders right to your door (and into your kitchen if you like).

Watermelon has had a slow season locally with the drought…being 94% water means they need a lot of water, but they are finally appearing in the Local Box this week. Local watermelon is one of those treats I think has absolutely no comparison. Check out this previous newsletter for the best way to cut picnic perfect watermelon. Nothing holds a candle to a Texas watermelon on a hot & sweaty summer day.

Speaking of candles – if you are longing for another kind of hot & sweaty summer, watermelon may be your new best friend. New studies show it has much higher levels of some particular amino acids that have a particular function in making a particular body part…..function. In other words, keep the candles and champagne but replace those strawberries with some watermelon when getting in the mood.

by Mason Arnold, Co-founder & Cookie Monster