[1] Original Green Tea, which along with Original Black Tea are the two unsweetenened, zero-calorie teas in the line (all photos © Eat The Change).

[2] Berry Hibiscus, one of the two herbal (caffeine-free) teas in the line.

[3] Our personal favorite, Half Tea & Half Lemonade (also known as the Arnold Palmer).

[4] A tribute to the OG line of premium bottled teas, Honest Tea.

Thank goodness for Just Ice Tea. We just returned from the specialty food industry’s big annual trade show, showcasing some 2,000 food producers who sample their wares. It’s hard work, going up and down the aisles tasting chocolate, then barbecue sauce, then pepperoni, then hot sauce…after just two rows (out of 70+ rows) one can get a bit woozy.

So after 10 rows, staggering under all of the carbs that had broken down into sugar in our bloodstream, we came to the booth of Just Ice Tea. A bottle of Just Ice Tea refreshed us so much, that it is deservedly our Top Pick Of The Week.

It turns out that Just Ice Tea is a rebirth of a Nibble favorite that had been acquired by Coca-Cola: Honest Tea.

Honest Tea was founded in 1998. In 2011, the brand was sold to Coca-Cola. Goldman served as “TeaEO” of Honest Tea through 2015 and stayed closely involved with the brand through 2019. He then shifted to launch his new food company, Eat the Change*, with chef Spike Mendelsohn.

Last year, Coca-Cola decided to discontinue Honest Tea—a pricey product that didn’t give them the margins they were seeking. Based on the terms of the purchase, the original founders of Honest Tea were able to go back into the iced tea business. They just couldn’t use the name Honest Tea.

The new brand, Just Ice Tea, officially launched on September 20, 2022. We would have called it Just Iced Tea, i.e. tea that is iced.

However, founder Seth Goldman noted that the name “Just Ice Tea” also sounds like “justice,” following the “honesty”-inspired Honest Tea.

Whether ice or iced, the brand is part of founder Goldman’s larger company, Eat the Change.
 
 
JUST ICE TEA FLAVORS

As with Honest Tea, Just Ice Tea is “just sweet enough.” It uses as little sweetener (organic agave syrup†) as possible.

The brand is USDA Certified Organic, Fair Trade Certified, and OU Kosher.

There’s something for everyone in this line, each refreshing and low in calories.

 
 
GET YOUR JUST ICE TEA

> Discover more on the company website.

> Here’s a store locator.
 
 
MORE ABOUT ICED TEA

*Eat The Change currently sells two better-for-you organic snacks, Carrot Chews and Mushroom Jerky.

†Honey Green Tea also contains organic honey.
 
 

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

The Fourth of July is the biggest hot dog-eating day of the year. According to the National Hot Dog & Sausage Council, an estimated 150 million hot dogs are consumed on Independence Day—enough hot dogs to stretch across the country and back.

From Memorial Day to Labor Day, “peak hot dog season,” Americans will gobble up 7 billion hot dogs—beef, chicken, pork, turkey, organic, vegan, and now…regeneratively sourced, exemplified by Applegate Naturals’ The Do Good Dog Uncured Beef Hot Dog (photos #1 and #2).

While Applegate introduced the Do Good Dog in November 2021, the news just crossed our e-desk recently and introduced us to a new term: regeneratively sourced.

There’s more about regeneratively sourced agriculture below, but the gist of it is a positive impact on the land: better for the planet.

Beef for the Do Good Dog comes from SunFed Ranch, headquartered in Woodland, California approximately 15 miles northwest of Sacramento.

Their beef carries the Savory Institute’s Land to Market Seal (photo #3), certifying that it was raised on verified regenerative U.S. grasslands.
 
 
DO GOOD DOG INGREDIENTS

The environmentally friendlier dog is made with just four ingredients:

 
The result: a delicious, juicy bite with a flavor that’s sure to satisfy—whether boiled, broiled, grilled, or mixed into grandma’s secret baked beans and franks recipe.
 
 
WHAT IS REGENERATIVELY SOURCED BEEF?

Regenerative beef comes from cattle raised and fed by rotational grazing. This allows the animals to graze on real grass, and their manure contributes more nutrients to the grasses and plants.

This in turn results in more nutritious meat from the animals that graze there. It’s great for the environment.

In fact, it’s better for the environment than beef from any other source (that includes vegan and other imitation meat). It:

 
 
MORE ABOUT REGENERATIVELY-SOURCED BEEF

Emerging research shows that regenerative practices, such as holistic managed grazing, have the potential to better the environment and mitigate climate change.

According to the Savory Institute, the cattle that graze this way are part of a system that has the potential to contribute to the regeneration of up to 260,000 acres of U.S. grasslands. This makes it one of the largest verified systems for regeneratively sourced beef [source].

Regeneratively-sourced beef is on the rise. Applegate’s commitment to supporting and selling it has helped SunFed Ranch to double its grass-fed cattle production.

Another benefit to the environment and the animals: Diverting cattle out of the commodity feedlot system [source]

If choosing food that regenerates the land sounds good to you, look for Do Good Dogs products online or in-store at select retailers near you (start with Whole Foods).
 
 
> The different types of beef: a glossary.

[1] Do Good Dogs do good for the land (photos #1 and #2 © Applegate Farms).

[2] Ready to enjoy!

[3] The seal of Verified Land To Market ensures you’re getting regeneratively sourced beef (photo © Savory Institute).

[4] Eating the good stuff (photos #4 and #5 © SunFed Ranch | Facebook .

[5] He’s eating an ideal diet—no grain, no bull!

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.

[1] Wylie Dufresne’s potato chip salad (photo © Lanna Apisukh for The New York Times).

[2] We used salt and vinegar potato chips from Kettle Brand (photo © Kettle Brand).

Wylie Dufresne’s potato chip salad at Stretch Pizza in New York City may not seem so revolutionary.

It’s a green salad topped with custom-made salt-and-vinegar chips. The chips act as both croutons and vinaigrette.

“…nothing is as good or mind-bending” says The New York Times. The article continues:

“This dish already has a cult following. Among the faithful, there was minor panic last month when Grub Street reported that Rick Bishop, the Sullivan County farmer who makes the chips, had retired.”

If it sounds good to you, here’s how you can make one at home. Here’s our own version, somewhat different from the original.

> The history of salt and vinegar potato chips is below.

> The history of potato chips.

> The history of potatoes.

> National Potato Chip Day is March 14th.

> National Vinegar Day is November 1st.
 
 
RECIPE: POTATO CHIP SALAD (NIBBLE VERSION)

Ingrients

 
Preparation

1. MAKE the vinaigrette with optional lime zest.

2. TOSS the lettuce, scallions, and optional dill with a modest amount of vinaigrette—to dampen, not to soak. Fold in the tomatoes.

3. PLACE in a serving bowl and top with potato chips. Serve.
 

Per The New York Times, salt and vinegar potato chips were created in 1968 at Griffith Foods, a subsidiary of an American Company located in Bristol, England. Griffith Foods specializes in food product development.

The chips were invented by Jim Connell, a Canadian chemical engineer who worked for the Canadian subsidiary of the lab and was working on a venture at the U.K. facility.

Shortly after his arrival, the company was approached by Imperial Tobacco, which wanted to expand its product line to include potato chips.

The combination of vinegar and potato chips was a no-brainer. Malt vinegar is the condiment of choice for Britain’s fish and chips (chips are fries, known as crisps in the U.K.).

Connell found a way to make a dry seasoning version of the vinegar, with which to flavor the chips.

The tobacco company ultimately passed on the product. But a much smaller and older British company (possibly Smiths Potato Crisps) launched salt and vinegar potato chips to immediate success.

CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM.