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Living Maxwell

Company Stories

Ozuké – The Best Organic Kimchi I’ve Ever Had

When I review organic food products, I do my best to make sure that they are available either online or at retail locations throughout much of the country, so readers can go buy them.

Sometimes, however, my excitement about a product is so strong that I have to make an exception.

Over the Thanksgiving holidays, not only was I fortunate to have eaten at Dr. Andrew Weil’s restaurant True Food Kitchen for the very first time, but I was also lucky enough to have discovered Ozuké kimchi by the Esoteric Food Company.

For the most part, sauerkraut, kimchi and other fermented foods is a very regional business.

So, wherever you go in the U.S., there tends to be a different local producer of these foods.

Why is this? I am not exactly sure but it probably has something to do with the size of these companies and their ability to scale a refrigerated product on a national level.

Over the last few years, I’ve been on a serious kimchi kick – for both its health benefits and taste – and have become pretty obsessed the stuff.

Yet, I have had tremendous difficulty finding an organic one that I thought was outstanding. Until I tasted Ozuké.

There were two reasons why I liked this brand so much.

One, the flavor. It had just the right amount of spice without the heat being overwhelming.

Two, the texture.  I don’t want it soggy and flat. I want kimchi to have a real crunch to it and this one had exactly that.

(This was my Thanksgiving meal – Organic quinoa, salad, and Ozuké’s organic kimchi. I haven’t eaten turkey in many years.)

Now that I am back in New York, I miss Ozuké’s organic kimchi greatly and am really hoping that Whole Foods in Manhattan will soon carry it.

Without a doubt, this was one of the best organic products I have had all year. It totally rocked!

—-

Ozuké kimchi by Esoteric Food Company can be found mostly in the Rocky Mountain region and is available at select stores in Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Utah, Wyoming, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, and South Dakota.

The ingredients include organic napa cabbage, organic yellow onion, organic green onion, organic shallot, organic ginger, organic garlic, chile powder, cayenne pepper, paprika and sea salt.

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The best testimonial that I can give is that I drink this every single day, as it impacts my mood in an incredibly positive way.

E3Live + BrainON is certified organic, fresh-frozen AFA (Aphanizomenon flos-aquae) with a concentrated, aqueous, organic extract of Phenylethylamine and Phycocyanin.

Learn more.

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Living Maxwell

Company Stories

Sol Simple Solar Dried Organic Bananas – A Fantastic Product and An Amazing Story

I can’t tell you how gratifying it is to share with you great-tasting organic products that are also making a big difference in the world.

One such product that I recently discovered at Whole Foods Tribeca is Sol Simple Solar Dried Bananas.

Produced in Nicaragua, the organic bananas come in thin spears and are dried indoors using a solar drying technology, which enables Sol Simple to reduce carbon emissions.

According to the company, traditional outdoor drying techniques take 2-3 days, expose the fruit to mold and bacteria, and allow the fruit to oxidize.

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Why Sheryl O’Loughlin’s Killing It is Such an Important Read for Organic Food Entrepreneurs

Serial entrepreneur Sheryl O’Loughlin has just come out with a phenomenal new book called Killing It: An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Keeping Your Head Without Losing Your Heart, and it should be at the top of the reading list for all founders of organic food companies, regardless of whether you’re in start-up mode or well on your way to generating $100 million in revenues.

Aside from the fact that Sheryl O’Loughlin has some serious street cred in the organic food industry – CEO of Clif Bar, Co-Founder of Plum Organics and now CEO of REBBL – and has plenty of experience to draw upon as an entrepreneur, this book focuses on the most important aspect of building a company that rarely gets discussed – the human element.

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Cornucopia Institute Requests that the USDA National Organic Program be Investigated for Corruption Charges over its Approval of Synthetic DHA and ARA Supplements

Let me say right up front that I support the USDA’s national organic certification program. Why?

Because it is the only nationally recognized and accepted system we have in place for organic standards.

I firmly believe that the more people we have participating and engaged in the system, the stronger it will become. Conversely, the more people who opt out of the system, the weaker it will become.

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