Dream Greens are locally grown all year round by the innovative, passionate people at AeroFarms, a mission-driven indoor vertical farming company committed to making our planet a greener, healthier place for all. You may be wondering why we choose to grow indoors using vertical farming technology in the first place, and what the differences are between the way we grow and the way other farms produce food.
First, some background…
Agriculture is one of the most important industries in the world today. Yet, agriculture’s overwhelmingly positive impact on humanity also comes at a cost that is not captured in the price we pay at the register. Overuse of pesticides and fertilizers, degradation of healthy soil, transporting water great distances to farms, shipping produce thousands of miles across the country where it often spoils before being eaten — these are all just some of the hidden environmental costs that are made worse as we approach a global population of up to 9.5 billion by 2050.
If we want to live on a healthy and thriving planet, we need to rethink how we grow and transport food and drastically lower food’s environmental footprint. With climate change making its mark, field farmers around the world are also facing challenges including extreme weather events, pest outbreaks, soil contamination, water scarcity and the spread of pathogens that can cause havoc for their businesses and add risk to our food supply-chain.
Why Dream Greens?
At AeroFarms, our philosophy is to do more with less precious resources. With Planet Earth in mind, we can grow with 95% less water and as much as 390 times more productivity per square foot, so we can grow anywhere, all year round, regardless of season and weather. Instead of changing seeds to match the environment, we modify the environment to match the seed. The unique way we grow gives us the ability to perfect taste, texture, quality and even nutritional density. Here are some of the ways we celebrate #EarthDay every day:
Click below to download our curated Microgreens Holiday Cookbook featuring delicious recipes from Dream Greens and friends! Tag us in your holiday microgreens creations at @lovedreamgreens.
Purchase our locally grown Dream Greens Microgreens at:
Read our HobokenGirl article below and originally posted here!
Food is one of the last topics we tend to consider when addressing climate change, yet it should be one of the first. As we kick off Climate Week NYC, we take a deep dive into the environmental and societal toll of our industrial food system, starting with the salad bowl.
Did you know that 70% of our freshwater goes to agriculture, and 70% of our fresh water contamination comes from agriculture? With freshwater reserves around the world declining year after year, and the global population rapidly on the rise, if we want to ensure a clean, safe, and sustainable water supply, we need to look at how we grow our food, and do so using a lot less freshwater, land and agrichemicals. Since leafy greens are mostly water by weight, that’s a great place to start.
Two-thirds of the salad greens in America travel thousands of miles from the Salinas Valley in California, Yuma, Arizona, or Mexico. In fact, Salinas is often labeled the “Salad Bowl of America” — and if you’re eating one on your lunch-break right now, that’s more than likely where your lettuce came from. Recent droughts have caused agricultural operations to tap new sources for irrigation water — taxing natural reserves and changing the water table of the area, possibly forever. 20 percent of the wells in Salinas have dangerous levels of nitrates from pesticide runoff, presenting both public health and food safety risks.
By the time the salad greens get to our bowls, they will have traveled thousands of miles and passed many hands and touchpoints including multiple storage and distribution facilities, processors, and trucks, making it very difficult to trace where exactly they came from and how they were handled along the way. Not only does this result in harmful greenhouse gas emissions, but the current leafy greens supply chain also leaves a lot of room for possible contamination with harmful pathogens that cause foodborne illness, and results in many of the recalls you may have heard about for romaine lettuce, spinach and more.
And then there’s the big elephant in the room: food waste – according to the USDA, up to 76% of all leafy greens are wasted from seed to plate, resulting in huge amounts of harmful carbon and methane emissions as food waste decomposes in a landfill.
If we want to live on a healthy and thriving planet, we need to drastically rethink how we grow and transport food and drastically lower food’s environmental footprint.
As a mission-driven Certified B Corporation, we believe that our food should be safe and healthy for our bodies and our planet.
We have developed proprietary farming technology to grow indoors in a fully controlled environment. We use patented aeroponic technology to mist the roots of leafy greens with water and nutrients in a closed-loop system, recycling water and nutrients with virtually zero waste. That means no soil contamination, no toxic runoff, and no good contamination – so what you can feel confident about what you put in your salad bowl is better for you and better for the planet.
Additionally, our indoor farms are setting new standards for traceability & food safety in agriculture overall. Our robust food safety program & technology-enabled process means that every bite can be traced back to the exact square foot where it was grown in an unprecedented way.
Our global headquarters are in Newark NJ and we are proud to be redefining the Garden State. You can enjoy our retail brand – Dream Greens by AeroFarms – throughout the major NJ/NY metro area at major retailers like ShopRite, Whole Foods, FreshDirect, and Amazon Fresh. Vote with your fork on making an impact on Climate Week every week.
The unique way we grow gives us the ability to perfect taste, texture, quality, and even nutritional density. Here are some of the ways we celebrate Climate Week every week:
Here are some tips to create a sustainable salad:
There’s a new fridge favorite in town – and we’re here to tell you all the reasons why! Keep a container (or two or three!) of Dream Greens microgreens in your fridge to instantly add big flavor, a pop of color & immunity-boosting nutrients to every dish. Whether you’re prepping a quick & healthy salad or spicing up your take-out, stock up on our locally grown, pesticide-free Micro Super Mix and Micro Spicy Mix & keep your fridge and belly happy!
Nourish your body and your mind during this Back To School season with our Instagram Salad Chat Series available on the Dream Greens IGTV! Over the last few months, we partnered with leading nutritionists, chefs and wellness experts to talk about all things greens, cooking and wellbeing. See the full line-up in our IGTV @LoveDreamGreens.
JOIN SALAD CHATS VIA OUR INSTAGRAM HERE
By Alina Zolotareva, RDN, Dream Greens’ Veggie Cheerleader
Happy National Salad Month, salad lovers! If you love salad as much as I do, you know that in order to build your dream salad, you need to start with the best tasting, freshest leafy greens—Dream Greens! No matter what variety you choose, our greens are always local, bursting with flavor, pesticide free, and ready to enjoy right out of the container (no washing needed!). Although we’ve grown hundreds of delicious varieties of heirloom leafy greens at our indoor farm, AeroFarms, we chose a handful of customer favorites to feature as part of our selection in stores.
Our beautiful, farm-fresh baby greens and microgreens will add a major boost of flavor, nutrition & beauty to ANY salad. Use any of our baby greens and microgreens as a delicious, nutritious salad base or mix your favorite varieties together–the possibilities are truly endless!
Micro Super Mix: A hearty, balanced blend of powerhouse microgreens including kale, pac choi & red cabbage. Try the micros as a salad base all on their own, or mix into your favorite Dream Greens Baby Green variety.
Available via: Whole Foods Market, FreshDirect, AmazonFresh
Baby Pac Choi: If you love spinach, then you will adore our baby pac choi. These juicy Asian greens are perfectly tender with sweet notes & a crisp, clean finish.
Available via: FreshDirect, AmazonFresh
Salad Recipe Inspo: Cashew & Edamame Mandarin Salad
Baby Kale: Baby Kale Our baby kale is a nutritional powerhouse, super tender and surprisingly sweet.
Available via: ShopRite Stores, FreshDirect, AmazonFresh
Salad Recipe Inspo: Sweet Baby Kale Caesar Salad
Baby Super Mix: Our baby super mix is a hearty powerhouse blend of sweet kale, crisp pac choi & zesty watercress for ultimate nutrition and top-notch taste.
Available via: ShopRite Stores, FreshDirect, AmazonFresh
Salad Recipe Inspo: rainbow harvest salad with quinoa and feta cheese
Baby Watercress: Our baby watercress is slightly sweet with a healthy dose of spice – a bright and zesty addition to any dish.
Available via: Whole Foods Market, FreshDirect, AmazonFresh, ShopRite Stores
Salad Inspo: orange, pomegranate, & pistachio salad
Baby Arugula: Baby Arugula Our baby arugula is perfectly peppery, bursting with fresh flavor second to none.
Available via: ShopRite Stores, FreshDirect, AmazonFresh
Micro Spicy Mix: A peppery, deep purple blend of zesty microgreens including purple pac choi, mustard greens & arugula. Try the micros as a salad base all on their own, or mix into your favorite Dream Greens Baby Green variety.
Available via: Whole Foods Market, FreshDirect, AmazonFresh
Baby Ruby Streaks: Our baby ruby streaks are spicy Japanese greens that add bold pizzazz to any salad, with a powerful mustard finish.
Available via: FreshDirect, AmazonFresh
Salad Recipe Inspo: panzanella salad with citrus and pomegranate
Baby Spicy Mix: Our baby spicy mix is a bold & peppery medley of zesty mustard greens, arugula & watercress, perfect for spicing up any bowl.
Available via: FreshDirect, AmazonFresh
Salad Recipe Inspo: Fresh & Bright Vegetarian Taco Salad
Most salad greens in America come from the Salinas Valley in California, Yuma, Arizona, or Mexico. By the time the salad greens get to our bowls, they will have traveled thousands of miles and passed many hands and touchpoints including multiple storage and distribution facilities, processors and trucks, making it very difficult to trace where exactly they came from and how they were handled along the way. Not only does this result in harmful greenhouse gas emissions, and a huge amount of food waste in the process, the current leafy greens supply chain leaves a lot of room for possible contamination with harmful pathogens that cause foodborne illness, and results in many of the recalls you may have heard about for romaine lettuce, spinach and more.
At Dream Greens, we believe that our food should be safe and healthy for our bodies and our planet. That’s why we designed our indoor farm AeroFarms to grow food in a way that sets a new standard for traceability & food safety in agriculture overall. Our robust food safety program & technology-enabled process means that every bite can be traced back to the exact square foot where it was grown in an unprecedented way. Below are some of the top reasons Dream Greens make a safer salad:
For more information about how we’re taking even stricter precautions due to COVID-19, please refer to our website: https://www.dreamgreens.com/dream-green-by-aerofarms-update-safety-and-policies-around-covid-19/
As we stay inside, we’re sharing tips for National Salad Month to make fun, inventive and nourishing salads from the comfort of our own homes. Checkout the tips below from recaps from a few of our #SaladChats guests and tune in Fridays at noon on IG Live to hear from health, wellness and nutrition experts!
Meal Prep Chef founder, Alyssa Gagarin (@alyssagagarin) shares an idea to keep salads and meals fun! She suggests looking in your pantry to see what you have “in stock” and taking an inventory of leftovers in the fridge to repurpose both in inventive ways. Turn last night’s pasta into a pasta salad by adding greens. Another fun idea from Alyssa? Her go-to panty staple suggestion is Coconut milk for easy curries.
Remy Park of @veggiekins tells us her tip for great stay-at-home salads — when making salad dressing, make a larger portion that can be tossed on top of nourishing salads and yummy bowls throughout the next few days. This helps decrease prep time when you’re ready to eat. Our go-to salad dressing from @veggiekins is her delicious Vegan Kale Cesar Salad Dressing! @Veggiekins favorite Dream Greens variety? Our Micro Super Mix for an extra pop of flavor, nutrition and beauty.
@FarmerNick loves Dream Greens Spicy Mix for that extra “pop” of spice credits locally-grown greens for being packed with flavor. In addition to locally-grown greens being better for our planet because of decreased transportation emissions, greens that are grown closer to our communities are also deliciously fresh and flavorful — perfect for salad bases. Learn more about Farmer Nick’s latest projects here.
We could write an entire book on the reasons why microgreens are great in any dish (high nutritional density, unique vitamins and minerals profile that is not seen in more mature greens, pop of color that elevates any dish, etc) – one aspect that makes microgreens the perfect addition to salad bases is that these tiny greens fit on your fork, with no chopping needed. Dream Greens Micro Super Mix and Micro Spicy Mix make for a quick, easy salad base as there’s no cutting and no washing needed.
Dream Greens baby greens and microgreens are packed with BIG flavor, like our bright & crisp Baby Watercress & bold & peppery Micro Spicy Mix. In fact, they are so flavorful, some people eat Dream Greens salads with no dressing at all because the greens are just that flavorful. Check out our Recipes page for all of your salad inspo and tag us in your National Salad Month creations!
Dream Greens are locally grown all year round by the innovative, passionate people at AeroFarms, a mission-driven indoor vertical farming company committed to making our planet a greener, healthier place for all. You may be wondering why we choose to grow indoors using vertical farming technology in the first place, and what the differences are between the way we grow and the way other farms produce food.
Agriculture is one of the most important industries in the world today. Yet, agriculture’s overwhelmingly positive impact on humanity also comes at a cost that is not captured in the price we pay at the register. Overuse of pesticides and fertilizers, degradation of healthy soil, transporting water great distances to farms, shipping produce thousands of miles across the country where it often spoils before being eaten — these are all just some of the hidden environmental costs that are made worse as we approach a global population of up to 9.5 billion by 2050.
If we want to live on a healthy and thriving planet, we need to rethink how we grow and transport food and drastically lower food’s environmental footprint. With climate change making its mark, field farmers around the world are also facing challenges including extreme weather events, pest outbreaks, soil contamination, water scarcity and the spread of pathogens that can cause havoc for their businesses and add risk to our food supply-chain.The bottom line is that our food choices matter: everything we eat has an impact on our health and the health of the planet. The great news is that choosing Dream Greens by AeroFarms is a powerful way to take #climateaction and contribute to a healthier world for all.
Below are 5 ways we are making a big impact on our planet every single day:
70% of our water supply goes to agriculture. 70% of water contamination comes from agriculture. Current events, future predictions, and common sense tell us we cannot continue on this path. At AeroFarms, we use 95% less water than field farming and has developed a closed loop water circulation system that recirculates water to our plants. Imagine the impact if even 10% of our produce was grown this way.
In the field, overuse of pesticides has decreased the beneficial microorganisms in the soil and allowed bad ones to proliferate. Our soil is no longer healthy enough to filter out pesticides and render them inert, leading to toxicity and runoff. Runoff leads to algal blooms and oceanic dead zones. By growing indoors, we avoid these issues altogether.
Close to ⅓ of the world’s land is now highly degraded, with soil erosion, water degradation and biodiversity loss. Arable land is a precious resource and as soil health depletes, so does the nutrition of our food. At AeroFarms, we are able to use less than 1% of the land required by conventional growing. That means we are over 390 times more productive per square foot vs. traditional agriculture, while also ensuring that our plants get all of the macro and micro nutrients they need all year round.
We believe in doing more with less and embody cradle-to-cradle thinking into every area of our business. For example, our patented growing cloth medium is made of 100% recycled BPA-free water bottles that we reuse for years of growing cycles vs. traditional hydroponic growing mediums like mineral wool, which are energy intensive to make and usually thrown away often after a single use. AeroFarms was the first and only agriculture company to date to be honored by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation as one of the Circular Economy 100, a select group of global companies focused on eliminating waste and improving our positive impact on the environment and sustainability.
What we think of as farming has changed a lot. From drilling for water, pumping from deeper reserves than ever before, operating tractors, tillers, and harvesters, to washing three times in large scale processing facilities that operate 24/7, traditional commercial farming is quite energy intensive. Plus, 95% percent of America’s salad greens are grown in either Salinas, California or Yuma, Arizona – traveling thousands of miles to get to your plate.
Our dream is to be healthy people living on a healthy, thriving planet. Thank you for choosing Dream Greens, and let’s continue celebrating Earth Day everyday, making choices that will help our planet for generations to come!
Join us for our virtual Salad Chats series! We’ll be interviewing food, health and wellness experts as we “eat lunch” virtually together. Join via Dream Greens’ Instagram Live for quick lunch and learns answering your food, health and recipes questions.
JOIN SALAD CHATS VIA OUR INSTAGRAM HERE
@phyllicia.bonanno & @sistersofyoga
Dear Dream Greens by AeroFarms Community,
As we continue to monitor COVID-19 (coronavirus) developments, we want to emphasize the importance of taking care of ourselves, our loved ones, and our customers. As a food producing company, we believe we have a greater societal obligation to feed people particularly during these times of need when we see empty food shelves at the markets.
We want to take a moment to acknowledge the hero’s work that our selling partners are doing, staying open, and ensuring access to food and supplies. We join them with a resolute resolve to continue our farm operations to grow safely, locally, every day of the year.
We especially want to thank our team for their incredible commitment. Thank you, thank you, thank you – only begins to capture the gratitude we have for our team of over 165 people, all aligned with making a positive impact. We are very appreciative of how the team is balancing everything particularly on the home front with family and closed schools. We are proactively working on appropriate coverage strategies to ensure continuity of our farm.
As more information becomes available from the CDC, we will take all appropriate actions, and we wanted to provide you an update on all of the steps that we are already taking.
What We Know:
Action Items:
In addition to our comprehensive food safety procedures, we have enhanced even further our daily activities by:
Our mission of “growing the best plants for the betterment of humanity” takes on even greater resonance in these times of change and uncertainty. What is unwavering is our deep commitment to maintaining a safe, working environment for our farms so we can continue to serve you, our community, with locally-grown produce.
Please feel free to reach out with any questions or comments at Ask.David@AeroFarms.com.
Thank you,
David
David Rosenberg
Co-Founder and CEO
AeroFarms
We’re partnering with ShopRite dietitians for National Nutrition Month as they share nutrition tips, favorite Dream Greens recipes and discuss this year’s National Nutrition Month theme, Bite By Bite!
Additionally, did you know Dream Greens by AeroFarms has an in-house RDN to ensure our greens are the most nutritious and flavorful for our customers? Hear from Alina here as she shares answers to our most frequently asked greens questions. Happy National Nutrition Month!
We sat down with our Dream Greens by AeroFarms Nutritionist, Alina Zolotareva, for a Dream Greens Nutrition FAQ below!
Most of us know that leafy green vegetables like our Dream Greens baby salad greens and microgreens are nutritional powerhouses, chock full of nutrients that are important for keeping us healthy. You may already be familiar with Vitamins C & A (beta carotene), two essential nutrients found in high amounts in dark leafy greens, and also commonly seen on the nutrition panel of packaged foods. However, there are potentially thousands of health-enhancing vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients in leafy greens that are just as vital for our well-being.
Lutein is a member of the carotenoid family, just like beta carotene (the plant form of Vitamin A). Along with another compound called zeaxanthin, lutein is a macular pigment, which means it lives in our eyes and serves as a major protector from sun damage, preventing chronic eye diseases such as cataracts. Dark leafy greens are excellent sources of both lutein and zeaxanthin, so keep your eyes open for Dream Greens on the shelf.
Dark leafy greens and lettuces are good sources of Folate. A member of the B family of vitamins, Folate plays a wide variety of important roles in our bodies, including DNA production and healthy cell growth. Folate deficiency may lead to neural tube defects in newborns, so it is especially important for women that are pregnant or nursing to consume adequate folate. Folate is naturally occurring in beef liver, beans and leafy greens, but many cereal and grain products are also fortified with folate. Dream Greens are good sources of folate all around, especially our baby Kale: 1 serving will get you a whopping 30% of your daily folate needs!
Even though it is a trace mineral, magnesium is a superstar nutrient with hundreds of jobs in our bodies. Some of its major activities include making sure our muscles and nerves are working properly, keeping our blood sugar and blood pressure in check, and even keeping our heart beating to the right rhythm. In recent years, soil quality has been declining around the world, which directly impacted the presence of magnesium in our food supply. Thankfully, this does not apply to your package of Dream Greens–the way we grow ensures that our greens receive the perfect amount of vitamins and minerals like magnesium all year round.
Sulforaphane is a phytochemical that has recently been getting a lot of attention from medical researchers for its biological activity, including antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-aging and anti-inflammatory potential. It has also been found to be a very promising chemopreventive agent against a variety of cancers as well as against cardiovascular and neurodegenerative diseases and diabetes. The great news is that sulforaphane is found in most cruciferous veggies including Dream Greens Baby Kale, Baby Pac Choi, Baby Watercress & Baby Super Mix, and in even higher concentrations in microgreens such as our Micro Super Mix, which includes Kale, Red Cabbage and Pac Choi Microgreens. Eat your greens raw for maximum Sulforaphane content, and make sure to chew your greens extra well – Sulforaphane is activated when the plant is chopped, cut or chewed!
https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Folate-HealthProfessional/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9828775
https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Magnesium-HealthProfessional/
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S221451411500121X
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/sulforaphane#what-it-is
By Jessica Serdikoff, RDN CPT
I won’t lie, as a dietitian and holistically trained chef, the concept of hiding vegetables…kind of makes me cringe. I could shout my love for vegetables from the rooftops of Brookdale ShopRite, where I work 40+ hours a week with the sole goal of inspiring my shoppers to fall in love with taking care of their bodies. My excitement over high-quality produce is bar-none. Hide them?! I want them to shine!
But, I get it. It took years for me to fully embrace the health-supportive diet I’ve come to enjoy today. Sometimes, we just don’t love our veggies as much as nutrition experts like me wish we did. Sometimes, we need a little help, and a whole lot of time and patience. Sometimes, while we’re waiting for our taste buds to acclimate to the earthy and at times bitter complexity of plant-based flavors, a little stealth is exactly what we need.
And sometimes, we love vegetables so much that we want to put them in everything we eat! (Who’s with me?!)
So here you have it: a few of this registered dietitian’s favorite things just in time for the holidays, inspired by my days as a kid with stubborn taste buds (it’s true), but with a health-supportive green twist.
Dream Greens are carefully grown indoors in a safe environment, so all of our delicious Dream Greens varieties are always pesticide free. Since there’s nothing to wash off or rinse, they are ready to enjoy straight out of the container.
Pesticide-Free means it’s better for you & better for the planet (something we’re proud of as a B Corp Certified Company!) so it’s just another ways our greens go #BeyondSalad!
1️⃣ According to the Environmental Working Group, about 70% of fresh produce sold in the US has pesticide residues on it, even after it is washed.
2️⃣ The Environmental Working Group‘s annual analysis of the USDA’s data says leafy greens like kale & spinach are among the most pesticide-heavy.
3️⃣ More than 92% of kale tested contained two or more pesticide residues, according to the analysis, and a single sample of conventionally farmed kale could contain up to 18 different pesticides.
4️⃣ While organic growers are often committed to using limited or no pesticides, they can—and often do—use pesticides allowed under the National Organic Program standards. Therefore, organic does not automatically mean pesticide free.
5️⃣ Pesticides are not just dangerous for our bodies, but also for the planet: pesticide runoff from agriculture can present major public health, food safety & environmental risks.
Learn more about how we grow our local, pesticide free greens all year round in our indoor vertical farm, AeroFarms.
We love bringing community together around local, healthy food, and last month we hosted a Real Food Reset community event featuring tips from our Dream Greens nutrition expert and registered dietitian nutritionist, Alina, and friends from Fresh Bowl and Remedy Organics. With fads constantly in flux, making healthy eating choices can be confusing. To help us navigate our New Year’s Resolutions, Alina shares some of her favorite tips and recipes from our Real Food Reset event for a healthy and delicious 2020.
2. Rainbow Harvest Salad with Baby Kale or Baby Pac Choi
TIME revealed its annual list of the 100 Best Inventions that are making the world better, smarter and even a bit more fun, among which is our sustainable indoor farm AeroFarms! We’re so proud of our Dream Team of AeroFarmers for working hard every single day to grow local, safe, delicious food for our communities.
Started in 2004, AeroFarms is an indoor vertical farming company on a mission to grow the best plants possible for the betterment of humanity. The way we grow is also 390x more productive than field farming and with minimal impact on the environment: we grow using 95% less water, a fraction of the fertilizer, and no harmful pesticides, herbicides or fungicides. We grow fresh food using no soil and no sun, providing our community with locally grown and pesticide free food all year round!
Dream Greens grows all year round at AeroFarms indoor vertical farm! Learn more about the way we grow and take a sneak peak inside our farm. Here’s what makes our greens so special and award-worthy:
Local Growing All Year Round – We grow greens in the city, bringing new life to old buildings. Urban growing means fewer miles traveled, less carbon emissions, better nutrition, and fresher taste.
Amazing Flavor – We cultivate the most flavorful varieties of each green we grow and then elevate them by using special recipes of light, nutrients and a lot of love!
Pesticide Free – We champion ways of growing that minimize & eliminate the use of pesticides commonly used in farming. Our greens are clean & ready to eat, so there’s no washing necessary.
95% Less Water – Water is our most precious resource, so we grow using 95% less water than in the field. No runoff and no excessive water use means a healthier planet for all.
Doing More with Less – The unique way we grow results in 390X more productivity per square foot compared to field farming, using a fraction of the fertilizer, no harmful pesticides and 95% less water.
Safe and Fully Transparent – Our mission is to connect our local farms to your fork. Every bite can be traced back to the exact square foot where it was grown, setting a new standard for food safety.
Community-Focused – We support the communities in which we grow in every way we can. We hire locally, pay fair wages, and work with schools to connect kids to what’s on their plate
Reduce and Eliminate Food Waste – Over 50% of produce in the USA goes to waste. Not these local greens! Ours are tended with tons of care, so you can enjoy fresher, more flavorful baby greens even longer.
We are so excited to announce that we’ve officially added Microgreens to the Dream Greens family! Introducing Micro Super Mix & Micro Spicy Mix, the perfect additions to EVERY MEAL! Now available to the NYC Metropolitan Area via FreshDirect! Our locally grown microgreens are tinier greens with even BIGGER flavor, perfect to top your morning omelet, add a boost of nutrients to your avocado toast, and as a flavor-packed personal salad any time of the day (you’ll probably eat the whole container!)
Harvested after a few short days, our farm-fresh microgreens will add a boost of flavor, nutrition & beauty to EVERY meal and snack. We have two delicious varieties available on FreshDirect: Micro Super Mix & Micro Spicy Mix.
Dream Greens Microgreens are the perfect addition to your favorite taco recipe (and everything, really!) Top this quick & tasty plant-powered taco recipe with a big handful of our tiny microgreens for a BIG pop of flavor & nutrition!
Dream Greens Microgreens are the perfect addition to your favorite taco recipe (and everything, really!) Top this quick & tasty plant-powered taco recipe with a big handful of our tiny microgreens for a BIG pop of flavor & nutrition!
1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for approximately 2 minutes or until you detect a soft
onion aroma. Stir in chili powder, cumin, and 1/4 teaspoon salt.
2. Add beans and mix evenly throughout. Reduce heat to low and cook for 3-4 minutes or until beans are fully heated through. Remove from heat and mash
some of the beans with 2-3 Tbsp salsa.
3. Arrange the 6 corn tortillas and fill evenly with watercress guac, Ruby Streaks, roasted sweet potatoes and black beans. Top with watercress salsa,
more Baby Dream Greens, fresh-squeezed lime juice, and any other toppings you love.
4. Serve and enjoy!
Microgreens on soup? YES! In a wrap? YES!! Even Sushi?? YES!!! Put Dream Greens #MicrosOnEverything & show us – tag us on Instagram @LoveDreamGreens for a chance to be featured!
This recipe was created by our partners at ShopRite for their Meals Made Well program. You can try this recipe at home, or sample it next week, September 8, 2019 – September 13, 2019 at participating ShopRite store (see full list below).
This cheesy #glutenfree pasta recipe is the perfect way to sneak Dream Greens Baby Kale, cauliflower & chickpeas into your lunchbox or family dinner for an added boost of plants!
Prep: 20 minutes • Roast: 20 minutes • Serves: 4
– 1 package (8 ounces) penne made from chickpeas
– 1 small head cauliflower, cut into florets
– 2 cups packed baby kale
– 2 tablespoons olive oil
– 1/3 cup chopped hazelnuts
– 1/3 cup golden raisins
– 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
– Crushed red pepper for garnish (optional)
Preheat oven to 425°. Cook pasta as label directs; drain, return to saucepot and cover.
In large bowl, toss cauliflower, kale, oil, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; spread on rimmed baking pan. Roast vegetables 20 minutes or until cauliflower is golden brown.
In large skillet, toast hazelnuts over medium heat 4 minutes or until lightly browned and fragrant, stirring occasionally; transfer to plate to cool.
Add cauliflower mixture, raisins, cheese and 1/8 teaspoon salt to saucepot with pasta; toss to combine. Makes about 8 cups.
Serve pasta sprinkled with hazelnuts and crushed red pepper, if desired.
Per serving (2 cups): 385 Calories, 18g Fat (2g Saturated), 4mg Cholesterol, 540mg Sodium, 47g Carbohydrates, 11g Fiber, 14g Sugars, 0g Added Sugars, 19g Protein
Dietitian Tip: Swap in different vegetables like broccoli or Brussels sprouts, depending on your family’s favorites, to make this meal your own!
Sample this dreamy recipe from these participating ShopRite stores:
– Hackensack, September 8, 10am – 1pm
– West Milford, September 8, 11am – 1pm
– Columbia Park, September 8, 11am – 1pm
– Hillsdale, September 9, 11am – 1pm
– Northvale, September 9, 2pm – 4pm
– Tallman, September 10, 3pm – 5pm
– Ramsey, September 11, 2pm – 4pm
– New Milford, September 9, 2pm – 4pm
– West Nyack, September 12, 1pm – 3pm
– Wallington, September 13, 4pm – 6pm
At Dream Greens, salad is definitely bae. Since May is #NationalSaladMonth, we’ve put together a list of salad pro tips from some of our favorite greens-loving registered dietitian nutritionists (RDNs) from our partner ShopRite & the Dream Greens Team to help you celebrate all month long.
Monica Hansen, RD at ShopRite of Greater Morristown
“Freshen up your standard salad by adding a whole grain for added fiber and B vitamins! My favorite grain to add is farro, but other great options include quinoa, freekeh, and wheatberries! I would suggest adding about ¼ cup of cooked whole grain per person (so 1 cup cooked whole grain for a salad that would serve 4 people). Your heart will thank you for the boost of fiber and your stomach will thank you by staying full for longer!”
TRY: HARVEST SALAD FEATURING DREAM GREENS BABY KALE OR SUPER MIX
Jessica Serdikoff, RDN CPT at ShopRite of Brookdale
I’m always looking to add energizing, fiber-rich carbs to my salads to make them more satisfying! Roasted sweet potato cubes, chickpeas, and fresh fruit like apples or berries are my absolute favorites. By making sure my salads are bursting with these ingredients, I stay fuller, longer, and don’t need to reach for that mid-afternoon snack.
TRY: QUINOA DETOX SALAD FEATURING DREAM GREENS BABY PAC CHOI OR BABY WATERCRESS
Danielle Buonforte, RD at ShopRite of Lincoln Park
“Salads don’t have to be boring! Spice up your salad with your favorite leafy green and lean protein like hard boiled eggs, beans, tuna, or grilled chicken! If you’re looking for an added crunch to your salad, add in roasted chickpeas instead of croutons! I also love adding in strawberries and blueberries to her salad for a pop of color and added nutrients!”
TRY: TACO SALAD FEATURING DREAM GREENS BABY ARUGULA OR SPICY MIX
Alina Zolotareva, RDN, Senior Marketing Manager at Dream Greens by AeroFarms
“Take advantage of the flavors of the season and leftovers to make a salad that’s delicious and healthy for the planet. Summer is a great time to enjoy heirloom tomatoes and strawberries at their peak flavor. This panzanella salad is a fun way to use leftover whole grain or sourdough bread to make croutons too!”
TRY: CITRUS PANZANELLA SALAD FEATURING DREAM GREENS BABY PAC CHOI OR SUPER MIX
By Leah Gorham, MPH, RDN
With spring around the corner and the weather starting to warm up (keeping my fingers crossed!), you might be feeling inspired to add more green to your plate. Plus, March just happens to be National Nutrition Month®, making it the perfect time to experiment with new recipes and make your meals more colorful.
Most of us know that vegetables are good for us, after all, our parents always told us to eat our broccoli! But it can be hard to get enough of them with busy schedules and limited time to prepare meals. Plus, if the taste is less than thrilling, no one is going to go out of their way to fill their plate with veggies.
So why not start with one small change at a time? As the retail dietitian at the ShopRite of Newark, I spend my days helping shoppers discover ways to nourish their bodies with delicious and nutritious foods. It’s no secret that I love baby greens because they fit both of these criteria- packed with unique flavor and the vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients that we need.
Challenge yourself to add vegetables to your meals throughout the day in creative ways. The more vibrant colors, the better! Not only will you get a variety of important nutrients and maximize flavor, but we eat with our eyes first. A colorful plate is much more appealing and appetizing than a beige meal.
Let’s start by going green! Here are three ways that you can brighten your plate and enhance the nutritional value of your meals with greens.
Vegetables for breakfast? Yes, please! Start out the day with a protein-rich meal, like this veggie frittata, that includes a rainbow of colors. You can make this recipe ahead of time, cut into wedges, and reheat during the week for an easy grab and go breakfast. Try it with baby kale, which is rich in lutein, an antioxidant that is beneficial for eye health.
Salads are definitely a dietitian lunchtime favorite. But my lunch salad needs to be seriously filling to get me through the afternoon. This rainbow harvest salad is pretty to look at and includes a winning combo of beans for protein, butternut squash and quinoa for complex carbs, and pumpkin seeds for healthy fat. Want to cut down on prep time? Use canned beans (rinsed and drained) and cook the quinoa, butternut squash and beets ahead of time. And my favorite trick to make lunchtime easier- if I am packing a salad for lunch, I pack a second salad for the following day (or several for the week)!
Stir fries are one of my favorite ways to get plenty of vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins all in one easy-to-make dish. This superfood stir fry incorporates brown rice for fiber-rich carbohydrates and edamame (green soybeans) for a plant-based source of protein. You can purchase shelled edamame in the frozen section of the grocery store, which are perfect for adding to stir fries!
Want more tips and tricks for healthy eating? This month, ShopRite is celebrating our retail dietitian team by highlighting real advice and ideas from our team of over 100 registered dietitians with our Dietitian’s Dish campaign. And keep your eyes peeled as you shop for helpful hints and signs around the store!
Leah Gorham is the in-store retail dietitian at the ShopRite of Newark in Newark, New Jersey. Stop by ShopRite of Newark and visit Leah for product recommendations, recipe ideas, or to schedule a free consultation to discuss your nutritional goals and needs.
We are thrilled to share that we have been named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies in the World in the Data Science category! We are honored to have been selected for the second year in a row and proud to be recognized among a group of trailblazing companies working to change the world for the better. At AeroFarms, data science is in our DNA, and we have developed our own patented vertical farming technology to completely transform the way fresh, safe, healthy, and tasty food is grown at scale.
We are not just a farm–we are a group of full-stack, world-class agriculture experts fundamentally changing the way plants are understood. At AeroFarms, horticulture intersects with engineering, food safety, data science, and nutrition giving us the unique capability to understand plant biology in an unprecedented way.
We have developed cutting-edge approaches to machine vision, machine learning, and IoT integration, bringing agriculture into the future at a rapid pace. From last year to this year, we have grown over 500 million plants alone and over 300 different varieties, celebrating a rich biodiversity, and harvesting not just the plants but also the insights to ensure high-quality through-put all year round. Through partnerships like our collaboration with Dell Technologies, we are able scale even more quickly on how we automate and analyze everything from seed to package and use data-driven insights to make the most meaningful decisions about plant health, growth and yield.
And it doesn’t stop there — we are working with top tastemakers and chefs like David Chang, and leading researchers at Cornell and Rutgers and the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research on cutting edge science to deeply understand how to grow the most nutrient-dense and flavorful leafy greens on the planet… and the results have been absolutely delicious.
Our flavorful, tender Dream Greens are a perfect ingredient for pestos, sauces and more! Our talented friend Marcy Ragan, chef and owner of Relish Your Chef Services, created a fresh take on the classic relish and it’s a must try! Packed with watercress, lemon, mint, and garlic, this simple sauce can add BIG flavor to any dish.
Recipe yields a little over two cups of relish
Whether you’re training like an elite athlete or just trying to fight off a stubborn cold, Fall is a great time to refocus on your immune health and fuel your body’s natural recovery. AeroFarms Sales & Marketing Intern, Alexa, has some advice on how to refuel like a pro, which she’s developed over many years of training as a high-level athlete. When she isn’t helping out our Dream Team, you can find Alexa in class studying to earn a masters in nutrition and food science, or on the ice as a member of the New Jersey Professional Women’s Ice Hockey Team, the Riveters! Managing a schedule as physically and mentally grueling as Alexa’s is no easy task, but she’s sharing her 4 Steps to refuel and feel fresh and focused on game day –
PHOTO MICHAEL HETZEL
If you’re feeling run down after a long week or a particularly hard workout step 1 is always to hydrate. Maintaining proper hydration is extremely important for your physical and mental performance. One way to make sure you’re drinking enough water is to carry a reusable water bottle with you and track how many times you’re filing it up throughout the day.
Adding in a morning smoothie is a great way to jump-start the day and quickly consume many of the macro and micro-nutrients your body needs. Here’s Alexa’s go to Green Smoothie Recipe –
If you’re feeling the pain of midday drowsiness, use a snack to pick you up! Alexa always looks for an afternoon snack that is easy to pack for class or the office, and doesn’t require any prep time. Her go-to snacks are a big bowl of Dream Greens Kale or a bag of trail mix.
The final crucial component of refueling is rest. Every person is different, so it’s important to listen to what your body is telling you and learn what you need for peak performance. Having the discipline to focus on proper rest, frequent stretching, and active recovery are crucial aspects of being an elite athlete and it’s something that everyone should try to incorporate into their daily lives.
Dream Greens are locally grown by our innovative, passionate team at AeroFarms, a mission-driven indoor vertical farming company committed to making our planet a greener, healthier place for all. We are a certified B Corporation working hard to change the world for the better, and proud to be one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies in the World.
Our Headquarters and largest indoor vertical farm in the world is based in Newark, NJ, where Dream Greens grow locally all year round. Indoor vertical farming means we can grow fresh, local food in a way that is more delicious, better for us and healthy for the environment. The benefits of this unique way of growing include:
Curious to learn more? Take an exclusive tour of AeroFarms right from your laptop or phone below –
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I’m Frank Mentesana, Founding Director of EcoSpaces Education. I’ve had a deep connection to food my whole life. Growing up in an Italian family, let’s just say, we were “food focused.” If we weren’t eating, cooking or shopping for the best ingredients, we were endlessly conversing about it. That was probably the foundation that led me to a long career in food-related jobs. I’ve worked in hotels, owned restaurants, worked in food publishing as a food-stylist, writer, and photographer and even volunteer in kitchens at food pantries in my down time… so yes, it’s mostly all about food for me. Following tradition, when I’m not working at it, I am cooking, eating, and finding the best new food experiences. That’s my idea of fun!
Looking to find some balance between the somewhat manicured world of food photography and something I felt really mattered to the health of our communities, I came upon a school – Philip’s Academy Charter School in Newark, NJ. It was a chance meeting that turned into an almost ten year commitment to bringing food education to kids and families. What started out as a short consulting job designing a healthy lunch program, has turned into EcoSpaces Education (www.ecospacesed.org) a holistic food literacy program that connects kids to food so they can live their lives empowered to make healthy choices.
Former First Lady of the USA Michelle Obama enjoying a healthy snack with the students of Philips Academy Charter School (PACS) in Newark, NJ.
What began as an opportunity to give back to community, has turned into my life’s passion. EcoSpaces Education continues to grow and as Director, I find myself spending a good amount of my time writing grants, making connections, managing a team including a group of FoodCorps Service members (www.foodcorps.org) and sitting at my computer, and from time to time I stop. I leave my office, go out to the Garden, down to the Dining Room, or up to the Teaching Kitchen and connect to kids. It is a quick reminder as to why I do the work I do, when I see them cutting a carrot using the “bear-claw” technique, pulling up sweet potatoes in delight from the garden, or biting into a kale salad they just made in the kitchen. I am engrossed by their excitement, willingness to try new vegetables, and their endless stories about their food experiences. What more can I say… I love the work I do and happy I get to now call this my career.
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