Summer is a few days away, and summer means it’s time to fire up the grill. This summer the (delicious) smell and sound of meals being cooked over an open flame will be more than in years past, and it is all thanks to millennials. Yes, millennials! Millennials are the generation of young adults that were born between 1980 and 2000 (also called Generation Y), and let’s face it, they’re trendsetters. They are the biggest generation in U.S. history, surpassing Baby Boomers!

Millennials are obsessed with food and crave an experience. They use food as an outlet for entertaining and self-expression, which is why grilling is their latest obsession. But, millennials are not the only ones enjoying the grilling trend, ten years ago the average family was using the BBQ, 2½ times during the summer. This year, it’s expected, that families will be eating dinner from the grill 9 times during the summer months.

What is being grilled up is also different than in years past. It is not your typical burgers and dogs, millennials are concerned with how their food is made, where it comes from, and how it’s grown, more than any other generation. Millennials try more bold flavors when they cook but they more often seek healthy options and flavor alternatives. Wellness is huge with this generation, and for them, grilling is a healthy food prep method. Millennials have helped boost the clean eating, healthy eats, carb alternative, and healthy swaps trends.

The latest hashtag phenomenon is Meatless Monday or Meat-Free Monday, where they choose to not eat meat one day a week, (most of the time, obviously, Monday) for their health and the health of the planet. These meals are all photographed and documented on Twitter and Instagram, of course, accompanied by at least a dozen hashtags! The benefits to swapping out veggies for the meat include, less fat and calories, lower to no preservatives and higher fiber intake.

Well guess what Millennials we hear you! We know exactly what you want, and we have the perfect recipe for your #MeatlessMonday #MeatAlternative #Grilling #GetTogether! Let us introduce you to the Grilled Broccoli Mushroom Burger! This tasty burger is made with Gold Coast Packing’s Caulifornia™ Broccoli Bits. We have done all the hard work for you, we got broccoli and cut it up into small pieces, about the same size as a rice granule. It is part of the Caulifornia™ family, along with our award winning Caulifornia™ Snow™. Caulifornia™ Broccoli Bits is available in retail and foodservice packs and ready for your culinary creations.

The burger patties come together quite easily, with common ingredients that you will most likely have stocked at home. AND… guess what?!? You don’t have to be a millennial to enjoy this recipe, and if you don’t care to grill these meat-free patties, they can easily be made in your kitchen on a skillet. So, whip up a batch of these patties, throw them on your grill (or don’t, use your stove you rebel), serve them up on a whole wheat bun or a lettuce leaf (you-carb conscious diners) and don’t forget your favorite toppings! Pickles please!

We hope you have enjoyed this meatless adventure, whether you’re a baby boomer, or from generation X, Y or Z!  Remember you can stick with The Produce Navigator for recipe ideas, produce industry news and a little bit of everything in between, thanks for joining us.

Recipe Here: Broccoli Mushroom Burger

Shopping for produce, or any food item really, can be a little overwhelming. We are bombarded by terminology like organic, gluten free, Superfood… and the list can go on and on but what the heck do they all mean? Which is the best option? What makes this so super? Which one will help me look 20 years younger? (OK, there is no fountain of youth vegetable so that last question, sadly, we can’t answer, but we will help you understand the rest.)

To be Organic, growers must follow strict guidelines and procedures. The following are guidelines from the USDA website.

Organic is a labeling term for food or other agricultural products that have been produced using cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that support the cycling of on-farm resources, promote ecological balance, and conserve biodiversity in accordance with the USDA organic regulations. This means that organic operations must maintain or enhance soil and water quality, while also conserving wetlands, woodlands, and wildlife. Synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, irradiation, and genetic engineering may not be used. Only products that have been certified as meeting the USDA’s requirements for organic production and handling may carry the USDA Organic Seal.*

Gluten, means “glue” in Latin, and is a protein mainly found in wheat, rye and barley. It allows bread and pasta to stick and keep its shape. (Alright, now the glue name makes sense.) For many of us, eating items with gluten, like cereal, bread or cookies is no big deal, but for those with Celiac Disease, who can’t process gluten, it’s a serious issue. It causes major stomach discomfort and pain, plus many other issues, hence the need for Gluten Free labeling.**

So now that we have learned a little about some of these terms, let’s get to the star of today’s show, The Superfood. A Superfood is defined as a nutrient-rich food considered to be especially beneficial for health and well-being. Superfoods contain high levels of much needed vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. They can increase energy levels, regulate cholesterol and blood pressure and may help prevent or fight certain diseases and cancer (pretty impressive!) Maybe there is a fountain of youth vegetable, were kidding… or are we?!?

So, what foods are considered super? There are several vegetables that are considered Super, and we grow a few of them here at Gold Coast. Spinach, Broccoli, Kale, Cilantro, Carrots, Cabbage, Brussels Sprouts are just a few veggies that will help boost your immune system to super status. Getting all those veggies into your daily diet can be a bit difficult, we get ya, that’s why we have made the perfect solution, Gold Coast’s Superfood Blend! Wait what? Yes, you heard right Superfood Blend! We have tossed together those potent veggies all into one semi magical blend. Our Superfood Blend is a mix of Kale, Red and Green Cabbage, Brussels Sprouts, Broccoli and Carrots. It comes chopped, washed and ready to use.

Our Superfood Blend can be used in a variety of ways, drizzled with dressing and eaten as a salad, sautéed with some olive oil and garlic and used as the perfect side dish, or it can be transformed into a Super Smoothie, like we’ll be doing in today’s video tutorial. Throwing veggies into a smoothie is the easiest way to get extra, much needed vitamins and minerals, and by the time they’re blended up you wont even taste the greenery! So, throw in some Superfood Blend, you’ll know it’s there, but your taste buds won’t and your immune system will get the Super Boost it needs! Check out the video below, to see one of the ways we get extra greens in daily. Thanks for joining us, we hope you learned something and got some ideas on how to make your next smoothie SUPER!

* USDA Organic Guidelines https://www.ams.usda.gov/publications/content/about-national-organic-program

** What is a Gluten Free Diet http://greatist.com/eat/gluten-free-diet-what-is-it-really

Recipe Here: Superfood Smoothie

Original Article Here by Tim Linden

Gold Coast Packing Inc., a close to four-decades-old California grower-shipper that has specialized in the foodservice sector, is expanding its product line to include more retail offerings.

Marketing Manager Katie Boncich was quick to note that the firm is not altering its focus, just diversifying and adding to its product line. She explained that the firm has a great innovation team and its new efforts are designed to broaden the marketing opportunities for its core products. She characterized the new retail packs in developments as “staying on trend” with the items it already produces.

The best example is the riced cauliflower grown and packed by the firm. Called Gold Coast Caulifornia Snow, the product was developed more than a year ago and has been marketed to foodservice operators around the country. Boncich said the use of riced cauliflower allows chefs to tout some of the new trends, including gluten-free and veggie-centric, on their menus.

Gold Coast is now taking that same product, putting it in a retail pack and inviting consumers to imitate what they are ordering in some of the country’s finest restaurants.

The company is also working on another retail pack that offers a garden blend of riced cauliflower, broccoli and carrots. Boncich said those three items, along with spinach, kale, cilantro and brussels sprouts, make up the core of the company’s product line, though it grows other items as well.

She characterizes Gold Coast as a “smaller grower-shipper” that relies on customer service for its advantage in the marketplace. “We are known for doing specialty cuts and packs.”

For example, she said the company provides the Taco Bell restaurants with all of its cilantro throughout the country, delivered to the exact specifications that the giant fast food chain demands. Boncich said they will do the same for any other customer, creating packs and cuts that fill the buyer’s needs.

Several years ago, Gold Coast Packing and another Santa Maria grower-shipper, Babe Farms, co-built and co-own Fresh Venture Foods, a local vegetable processing plant. It is in this facility that Gold Coast can create the special packs and cuts for its customers. She said the co-ownership also affords buyers one-stop pick-up when in the Santa Maria area.

Along with the company’s expanding product line is coming increased visibility to its customers and potential customers. Gold Coast has redesigned its website, hired a new social media-focused marketing coordinator in Crystal Chavez, and has launched a new monthly blog. Titled “The Produce Navigator,” the blog is designed to keep its customers up to date with regard to the firm’s expanding product line and new packs. In addition, Boncich said there will be a reach out to consumers as well as chefs with new recipes and product information. The goal of course is to get both home cooks and professional chefs to use more veggies. The first blog entry was published in March and the April posting promises a recipe featuring its trademarked Caulifornia Snow.

Gold Coast is a vertically integrated company that grows about 35 percent of its production on its own ground in Santa Maria. It also contracts with a handful of other growers in both Santa Maria and in the California and Arizona deserts for winter production. Boncich said that currently about 70 percent of its production goes to the foodservice sector. Much of its retail activity has been in private labels but the new expansion will tout the Gold Coast label. Boncich explained that rising costs, including labor, requires a successful firm to continue to grow and expand. She likened the firm’s several sectors to a pie, with retail being one portion of the pie. “We need to add to the pie, grow that portion and diversify that product line.”

Cauliflower… the great white cruciferous vegetable…the culinary chameleon…. one of the healthiest foods on earth. Cauliflower is loaded with antioxidants and phytochemicals (you know, those plant chemicals that have protective and disease preventing properties). Studies have found that it helps ward off diseases like heart disease and cancer. So, eat up because not only does it taste good but it’s oh so good for you.

Back in the day, the only way most of us thought to serve cauliflower, was steamed or plain ol’ raw. Over the last few years the way we eat and incorporate Cauliflower into our diets has drastically changed. Today, meatless meals and finding carb alternatives is the norm. We have become innovative with our vegetables but especially with Cauliflower. Consumers now chop it up and make it into tots, puree it into a creamy mash, or serve it up as a rice replacement. The creative cooking craze is allowing everyone to not only enjoy the vegetable, but helping us find new ways to substitute Cauliflower into our favorite dishes, and making it the most popular vegetable around.

Here at Gold Coast we grow cauliflower year-round. All of our Cauliflower is washed and ready to use, available in various formats including florets and stalks. But today we are highlighting our “riced” cauliflower, our trademarked and award winning Caulifornia Snow™. Gold Coast snow is a unique, pre-washed, California grown, specialty cut that comes packaged in a 1lb.bag, and ready for your culinary creations.

One of the first ideas many had for using “riced” cauliflower, was as a pizza crust/base. A no bread pizza?!? GENIUS! We’ll try anything that makes one of our favorite meals healthier but still super tasty. Which brings us to today’s recipe. What other classic dish is made with bread and loaded with cheese… you guessed it, grilled cheese! We are axing the bread, making our own out of our Caulifornia Snow™, and smothering it with some white cheddar! HELLO YUMMINESS! So, check out the step-by-step video (to get your mouth watering) and then whip up your very own sandwich at home with the recipe that’s included below. We hope you enjoy the video, and thanks for traveling with us to Grilled Cheese Lovers Island… we mean “New and Improved” Grilled Cheese Lovers Island.

Recipe Here: Cauliflower Grilled Cheese

Welcome to our first Produce Navigator post. Thanks for being here, we’re glad you joined us on this journey. Gold Coast Packing has been providing US grown produce since 1978. We strive to continuously provide fresh, innovative, value added products. As a grower, shipper and processor we make sure our customers receive the best quality products available. Our goal is to stay ahead of the consumer by creating new and healthy alternatives like our Caulifornia Snow™.

California has finally received some much, needed rain. We have seen more showers in February then we have in what feels like ages. It has flooded some areas, filled reservoirs and replenished our water supply! Finally, after four years, California is nearly out of the drought. As our fields dry from the recent rains, we will see how the abundance of precipitation will affect our crops. We’ll keep you posted on any harvesting setbacks.

Our Marketing and Product Development Teams have been busy working on several new and exciting projects. This blog is just one of our latest endeavors. This month we are partnering up with a professional video production company, and shooting videos for some upcoming product launches. In April, you’ll get the first look at a step by step recipe tutorial featuring our Caulifornia Snow™. You won’t want to miss this tasty dish!

We hope you enjoyed our first post. We want to keep you all engaged and in the loop. Stick around, there will be new adventures you will get to join us on. We want to hear from you too. What do you want to see? What new products should we create? Let the Produce Navigator take you there.

Gold Coast Packing, Inc. was a key sponsor at the Fresh Produce and Floral Council Membership Luncheon on February 8th in Cerritos, California. The event featured speaker Neil Saavedra, host of “The Fork Report” on KFI radio in Los Angeles. Saavedra discussed food trends he believes will continue to grow in the next few years, including a future where produce will be the center of the plate, and meat will be second. The event also introduced Connie Stukenberg of the California Avocado Commission as the new FPFC chairwoman for 2017.