Native Roots Market, Serving Natural Goodness

       Native Roots Market, a natural food store, is offering locally produced and organic food to the people of Norman, Ok.

       Matt Runkle and Sara Kaplan, founders of Native Roots Market, originally wanted to open a spice shop selling spices they had hand-selected during their world travels.

       “It was a nice dream” Sara said. “But in reality, we developed a need to expand the Oklahoma Co-op market since we were both pretty much ‘dirt worshipping, tree-huggers’. We wanted to make [natural food] readily available to our local community”.

       The natural aspect of the store reflects on its inside as well.

       “It has a really nice atmosphere inside” said Ben Puzan, Psychology sophomore. “Everything is really homemade looking and natural. Everything always looks so fresh. The prices can be on the steep side, but it’s definitely worth it because all of their products are high quality and grown locally”.

       Eating more natural foods can also benefit overall health and well being.

“When people are ingesting more natural foods and less chemicals and artificial things, they will see that their body works and feels better as well” said Jennifer Ray, Registered Dietitian at the OU Health Sciences Center.

       Not only does the Native Roots Market sell natural goods, but it also uses other natural practices like recycling as much waste as possible, using only Energy Star certified lighting and ceiling fans, and only using natural cleaning products.

Native Roots Market is located at 132 West Main St. Norman, Ok.  For more information, call the store at 405-310-6300.

Jumpstarting Breakfast

Audio of Kerstie Moran, Communications Sophomore

Sources say breakfast is the most important meal of the day, jumpstarting the metabolism and increasing overall productivity.

The chance of being productive in the morning goes up greatly when having eaten the right breakfast.

“Our brains operate solely on carbohydrates.” Said Kimberly Davis-Coniglio, Registered Dietitian. “During an overnight sleep, our carbohydrate stores in our liver are depleted. Therefore, a high-carbohydrate breakfast is very important. Whole grain cereals, wheat bagels, toast with peanut butter, or oatmeal, are all great sources of carbohydrate. Adding a little protein at breakfast helps the carbohydrate last longer, hence the peanut butter.”

“I don’t have a lot of time for breakfast in the mornings because of my early classes and practices but I know I definitely need some kind of nourishment in my body” said Kerstie Moran, Communications Sophomore. “When I shop, I keep my hectic mornings in mind. I don’t buy pancake mix and eggs because I know I wont have time to make them. I get ready-to-eat foods like cereal that I can portion into plastic bags to take to class. Fruit is also great for taking on the go. I love grapefruit in the mornings.”

According to the International Food Information Council Foundation Review, “Breakfast contributes to a healthful diet, weight management, cognitive and academic performance, and cardiovascular, digestive, and bone health.”  Eating breakfast also contributes to both children and adults meeting nutrition recommendations.

 “Regular breakfast consumption is associated with higher intake of several vitamins and minerals, which boosts the likelihood of meeting recommendations for these nutrients. Those who skip breakfast may not make up for missed nutrients at other meals of the day” the IFIC Review said.