Nature is surprisingly generous and rich. And its gifts are not only clean air and sun, but also the surrounding plants, vegetables, fruits, which saturates the body with valuable nutrients necessary for a full and healthy life, give strength and improve mood.
Discover 5 valuable foods to enrich your diet and enhance the flavor of life.
Forest — Wild Spices
Finland is one of the richest countries in the world with forests, where forests are the “home” for pure, tasty and natural wild products, which are represented by the Finnish brand METTÄ — the most delicious aromas and flavors, authenticity, sustainability and a hint of magic.
METTÄ is the traditional Finnish designation for forest, derived from word Metsä (fin. forest).
For Finns the forest is a place of relaxation and inspiration, a place where they go when they want to fill themselves with energy and vitality. Throughout history, the forest has always provided shelter and food to humans.
The founder of the METTÄ brand Roosa Heinila is a healthy lifestyle adherent for whom “healthy eating means nutritious and whole foods that strengthen and give vitality to the body and all that it works for”.
The most popular is the collection of wild herbs and berry powders, which are used to prepare tasty and healthy tea, smoothies, seasonings for various dishes.
Roosa Heinila: “METTÄ products are for gourmets looking for something new, unusual for their kitchen, who value quality, flavor and sustainability. They are ready to cook homemade meals in a slightly different, natural and exciting style and appreciate the diversity of Finnish nature, the purity and authenticity of its flavors”.
The design of METTÄ products has been awarded the “Design from Finland” mark. The simple and stylish METTÄ packaging clearly represents how finnish people see their forests and nature’s gifts.
Country of origin: Finland
Where to buy: www.mettanordic.com
Instagram: @mettanordic
Sun Gardens — Olive Oil
Olive oil has long earned fame as one of the healthiest foods, rich in esters, triglycerides of fatty acids and trace elements that are easily absorbed by the body. Due to its unique properties, olive oil is classified as a divine product.
Terrecosta olive oils are the “green gold” of the Sicilian land, as it is called Salvatore and Federico Costa, the successors of the family business, which has been passed down from father to son for four generations.
The cultivation of olive groves is associated with a Mediterranean climate characterized by mild winters, hot and dry summers with rainfall in autumn and spring to ensure the right oil content, high polyphenol content and pronounced organoleptic properties.
In order to preserve the integrity of the fruit to obtain high-quality oil while preserving all its beneficial properties, the olives are harvested by hand.
“Since childhood, our father and I attended the grinding of olives, looking forward to the smell and taste of this charming product, which still attracts and amazes us with its beneficial properties and impeccable quality”, — the brothers proudly say.
Terrecosta olive groves stretch over six hectares and are made up of old and young plants planted over the past fifty years, where mainly the varieties Cerasuola and Biancolilla are grown, which are the pride of Terrecosta.
Biancolilla — Extra virgin olive oil Monocultivar Biancolilla has a light fruity green color with a golden hue. Great for fish and vegetable dishes, can be used for making desserts based on butter and sunflower oil.
Cerasuola — Monocultivar Cerasuola is also an extra virgin oil that is medium fruity and has a green-gold color. Suitable for dressing meat dishes, soups and salads.
In addition to the excellent oil, Terrecosta offers juicy and sweet Sicilian citrus fruits from its own plantations — oranges, tangerines, clementines and lemons. As well as the Sicilian artichokes Tema and Romanesco, which are distinguished by their special taste and aroma.
Salvatore and Federico Costa: “We believe that tradition and innovation are inextricably linked to the creation of quality products, and the presence of our olive groves is a testament to a long history that stretches back centuries and has always considered our territory one of the first places for oil production”.
Country of origin: Italy
Where to buy: www.terrecosta.com
Instagram: @terrecosta
Plantation — Raw Cacao
Introducing cocoa as a superfood with all its health benefits and breaking the associations with unhealthy and sugary chocolate bars is the mission of Goodio, a pioneering food company with a big heart founded in 2015.
“How do you create a food brand that you can completely trust?”, — this question was once asked by the founder of Goodio Jukka Peltola. “Our goal was to bring Nordic-inspired flavors to the authentic chocolate brand for the global consumer”.
All Goodio Chocolate is made with high antioxidant Raw cocoa and is classified as a superfood, also suitable for vegans and free from refined sugars.
Jukka Peltola: “We value organic, nutritious ingredients and blend them with unique flavors such as wild blueberry and sea buckthorn to deliver a delicious, healthy and one-of-a-kind treat.”
Starting with pure cocoa beans and mixing organic and wild ingredients, Goodio has managed to create delicious handcrafted raw chocolate lovingly produced in Helsinki, Finland.
Today Goodio products are known not only in their home country, but also in Norway, Sweden, Great Britain, USA, Germany and Japan.
“Chocolate is God’s food”, — Jukka Peltola likes to say, “we are constantly on the lookout for new flavors and aromas, while also focusing on seasonal products”.
The creator of the visual world of the Goodio brand is designer Jesse Kuhn.
Each taste is the result of long-term development and the creation of the right balance so that you can get a boost of joy from chocolate and enjoy all its qualities.
“For example, it took a long time for one of the most popular flavors Lakritsi-Tyrni until the balance of the combinations comes to normal”, — says Jukka.
Special issues as Organic Oat Chocolates and including new Oat Bites with steel-cut oats inside combine unique oat flavor and grain power.
Country of origin: Finland
Where to buy: www.goodiochocolate.com
Instagram: @goodiogoods
Fields — Golden Ghee
Originally from India, Ghee is the purest and healthiest form of clarified butter, cooked by heating for a long time to achieve excellent aroma and taste.
In the Indian Ayurvedic tradition, Ghee has been the fat of choice for thousands of years.
The name Ghee Easy comes from the ayurvedic approach to life. It is to align with the organizing power of nature. Nature doesn’t try to grow, it just grows. It’s effortless, easy.
David Klingen, one of the founders of Ghee Easy, always ate ghee as a child, as his mother made it part of her Ayurvedic diet. As he got older, he began to miss this product, so he started making it himself. Then he and two friends created Ghee Easy in their small kitchen in Amsterdam.
“Ghee is a healthier fat than, for example, butter or olive oil when you bake in it, because the smoking temperature is very high”, — says David. “Using ghee will prevent you from eating too much burnt oil”.
Containing many vitamins and a full spectrum of fatty acids, as well as omegas 3 and 9, Ghee is a healthier fat than butter or olive oil. It is a great source of nutrients that you can use to prepare delicious and healthy food.
“Butter is great for a sandwich, olive oil is great for a salad, but don’t bake or fry with it. Use ghee instead”, — is the motto of David Klingen.
Country of origin: Netherlands
Where to buy: www.ghee-easy.nl
Instagram: @gheeeasy
Ground — Chickory Power
Chicory is a drink that is considered a healthy alternative to coffee, which has a beneficial effect on the functioning of the nervous system and contains healing components for the human body.
After several years of producing ghee, the creators of Ghee Easy have a place for something new. This new thing became “Chikko not coffee”.
Chikko is a delicious drink with a pleasant velvety taste and light bitterness, made from roasted organic decaffeinated chicory root. Chicory roots add flavor to the coffee but are caffeine-free.
“This means you won’t have the usual “coffee shake”, — says co-founder David Klingen. “We think many people could replace their third and fourth cups of coffee a day with this particular drink, enjoying as much pleasure as from regular coffee. And if Chikko is cooked as a cappuccino or latte, then you will get real pleasure”.
Chikko can be drunk in the evening without fear of sleepless nights. An ideal drink for those looking to reduce their caffeine intake.
In addition to Roasted Chicory, Chikko produces Roasted Spelt, rich in vitamin B as well as various minerals, trace elements and fiber, which contains 13 to 18 percent of excellent quality protein. By mixing a few spoons of Roasted Spelt with milk, cardamom and honey, you can enjoy a healthy and delicious drink.
The series of noble health drinks includes another Chikko Golden milk product — Curcuma latte mix. This is a product that truly combines usefulness and tenderness. This spicy drink has the health benefits of turmeric, warming both the body and mind, and supports the body’s resistance.
Country of origin: Netherlands
Where to buy: www.ghee-easy.nl
Instagram: @chikkonotcoffee
Editor-in-chief: Patricia Kolari
Text Writer: Marina Timoshevskaya
Technical Director: Evgeny Fedorov Photos: EATWEEK
