Authoring a food blog has certain benefits. Perhaps the most obvious is receiving many delicious and interesting product samples. Another, less advertised benefit is communicating with various people and discovering commonalities, even outside of food.
In October 2008 I was reading one of my favorite food blogs, David Lebovitz’s, when I was compelled to post a comment disagreeing with one small item from this post about NYC- his assertion that public bathrooms were plentiful here. (Visitors beware-they’re not!) Shortly following I received an email of vehement agreement from another David Lebovitz reader and fellow (former) New Yorker, Pat Fusco, who is now a food writer in California. Curiousity piqued (if she agrees with me, she must be a smart lady!), I read some of her articles online and left a comment.
Fast forward many months and I was contacted by a woman named Sally Shepard who works for Newman’s Own Organics. She is friends with Pat and had seen my comment on Pat’s article. Sally checked out my blog and graciously offered to send me some Newman’s Own Organics products to try.
So, should I stop rambling and get to the food review? Newman’s Own Organics has a wide array of products. From soy crisps and dried fruits to vinegars and chocolate bars, there are multiple flavors and varieties of each. They’re also uniform in impressive quality and taste–honestly, I enjoyed every single thing.
What doesn’t vary among the offerings are the organic and sustainable origins of the ingredients: “Newman’s Own® Organics’ products meet all the requirements of the USDA’s National Organic Program. Ingredients have been grown on farms that have not used artificial fertilizers or pesticides for three years or more. The farms and processors have also met the USDA’s organic standards.”
I will absolutely be seeking out Newman’s Own Organics products when I shop. If I had to pick my favorite few (okay, okay!) they would be:
1. Dried apricots – the moistest and most delicious dried apricots I have ever tasted. Better than I knew existed!
2. Olive oil - great for cooking but also a nice flavor for dipping bread before dinner.
3. Ginger mints – curbs the sweet tooth in a healthy way. Plus I love ginger!
A huge thanks to Sally, via Pat, via David for so many wonderful samples, and for helping me spread the word about a fantastic company, and for building friendship through food writing online-and through bathrooms in NYC or, rather, the lack thereof!
