Tag Archives: kale

Asulia at Whole Foods Charles River Plaza

I love living in The Bean. One of the things that I love about Boston is how accessible everything is, including grocery shopping. Off the red line at MGH, Whole Foods Charles River Plaza is one of the best locations to get everything you need.

I’m ecstatic that Asulia’s taro root, kale and chick pea dumplings are now available in the freezer aisle at Charles River Plaza Whole Foods!

When I used to work in the financial district, I would walk to Whole Foods Charles River Plaza at lunch time to pick up lunch and or groceries for my newest kitchen adventure. It was a treat to get out and escape from work and the gym, where I was indoors in a basement doing yoga. A lovely, well-lit studio, but I preferred shopping and lunching at Whole Foods instead!

In the past, when I didn’t know what to do with my vegetable obsession (#vod), I’d go to my happy place — the produce section — for inspiration and dream of a day I could make a career in food. Well, I’m happy and humbled to see it come full circle.

Thank you for your continued support. We have added lots of new stores to the list and we have some fun event coming up. Come say hi!

Asulia in Whole Foods Dedham, MA

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Today is a special day over one year in the making. Beginning on 12/10/2013, you’ll be able to buy Asulia chickpea, kale, and taro root dumplings at Whole Foods Market, Dedham, New England’s largest WFM store!

Over a year ago, I ventured into specialty food and could never imagine where this journey would lead me. I think back to last winter when I first contacted WF and started Asulia’s partnership with this amazing team of truly thoughtful and caring members of our community.

It all began with an in-store visit to sample the dumplings with some team members at WF. Back then, the dumplings were wrapped in a traditional wrapper and the recipes were different. We didn’t have packaging, a kitchen or a legal entity.

Today alone, I’ve been in contact with over ten team members at WF who have made it possible for Asulia to get on the shelf, including foragers, grocery, regional and marketing team members. Thank you Whole Foods for your support! I look forward to continuing the plans we have together.

I’ve always envisioned Asulia at WFM from the very beginning and I’m proud to partner with a store that has similar values as Asulia — to make our planet a better place and help our community eat healthier.

Hundreds of people have helped shape Asulia today. This includes our supporters at WF, other friends, family, Indiegogo supporters, volunteers, advisors and fellow foodie entrepreneurs. Thank you all.

Please look for our dumplings in Whole Foods. More locations coming soon!

I’m so thankful for this day. It’s an early Christmas present for Asulia :)

Happy Holidays!

Sourcing locally-grown ingredients from MA Farmers

Eating more fruits and vegetables is not only good for your waistline, but also good for mother earth. The impact on the environment is lessened when we eat our greens.

Asulia supports Massachusetts farmers. We’re busy working to source as much locally-grown organic produce as possible for our handcrafted dumplings. Sourcing non-GMO is important too! We’re not currently certified, but can’t wait to revisit our conversation with the non-GMO Project when we can afford to be certified. Rates are the same regardless of if you’re a startup or a long standing huge food company. With this said, we fully support the efforts of the non-GMO Project and look forward to being certified soon!

Kale is especially resilient and hardy with the cold, so we can use local kale in our dumplings. Some ingredients such as taro root  and chickpeas are not available locally, since they grow in warm climates and prefer lots of sun. Hey, I don’t blame them, I could get used to the warmth too! Also, as we grow, I might change our offerings based on what produce available locally during the changing seasons.

Kale, a look into the leaves and kale smoothie recipe

Kale

Kale is one of my favorite vegetables and I wanted to be sure to use it in my products. That’s why we make kale dumplings.

There’s more to kale than meets the eye. This highly nutrient dense vegetable gives you more bang for the buck than your average green leaves. Let’s break down the numbers. One cup of chopped kale has 33 calories, 9% of the daily value of calcium, 206% of vitamin A, 134% of vitamin C, and a get this, 684% of vitamin K! Kale is also packed with phytonutrients, flavonoids, copper, potassium, iron, manganese, and phosphorus. Move over multi-vitamin, I’d rather eat kale than pop another horse pill. I’m no MD, but I believe that we’re made to eat food and get our nutrients by making use of our chompers.

Kale is versatile. You can put it in anything and everything – including dumplings! I love that Dr. Drew Ramsey loves kale. You could call him a kalexpert. In his new book, 50 Shades of Kale, he shares recipes using kale you probably never thought about, like cocktails! I thought I was using kale in everything, and he outdid me.

It’s possible that kale can make you look better too. Beauty starts from the inside. Bobbi Brown is known for her line of make-up but I came across her coconut kale smoothie and it sounds delish. I can’t wait to try it out!

Here’s my Kalefull Smoothie recipe I use on a regular basis.  When I don’t drink a green smoothie in the morning, I notice  I don’t have as much energy, feel a bit unsatisfied and therefore get hungry more easily.

Sue’s Kale-full Smoothie
1 cup packed, chopped kale
1/2 a banana
1 wedge of lemon
1/2  an apple
1 scoop of original vega or pea protein
1/4 cup mango juice or berries
1 – 1 1/2 cup of water
1 Tbsp chia seeds
1 Tbsp flaxseed

Blend all ingredients together and enjoy! I’m in need of a new blender though. If you have a suggestion on what blender I should pick up, let me know!

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Lockdown saved by Kale Macaroni and Cheese

Boston is on lockdown today. I decided to go through my pantry to see what I could make.

KALE MAC & CHEESE
Box of Annie’s white cheddar mac & cheese
1 cup of kale
¾ cups Japanese panko
2 tps garlic powder
1 tps black pepper
½ tps Hungarian paprika
1 tps provence blend herbs
¼ raw unsalted pepitas

Cook mac & cheese as instructed on the box then fold in the ingredients. In a bowl, mix all the spices together with the panko crumbs. In a medium size casserole dish, pour the mac & cheese in and sprinkle the panko crumbs on top. Scatter raw peptias on top and spay with a bit of grapeseed oil or olive oil. Bake at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes.

Dumpling Fillings and Fears

Last night I was in my mom’s kitchen to test three different kinds of vegetarian dumpling fillings: kale, taro root with toasted sesame seeds, and curry cauliflower with toasted pepitas, a new recipe idea I developed.

When all the dishes were washed, my mom and I sat down and chatted. Over the years she’s been slowly revealing more of her past, most of which I’ve never heard before.  After she was abandoned in China, she would spend nights walking the streets because she had nowhere to sleep. Fearing something bad would happen, she kept moving because she felt that if she was at least on the move, it would be harder for others to harm her. She encountered challenging situations through the years to say the least.

During my commute to meet a buyer at a store this morning, I reflected on what my mom had told me the night before and was over come with emotion. So many things had to happen in order for me to be here today.

Staying with friends and having my stuff around town makes me feel extremely unsettled. I view this as another day of opportunity to turn things around, not only for myself, but also for the girls that need me. I’ve never wanted to succeed at something so much before. I want to bring hope to girls and know it’s one of my life’s mission. I would love for my mom to still be around to see the impact she’s made not just for me, but in how it’ll be paying it forward.

We have to overcome our own self doubts, fears, and take a risk.