LAKEWOOD, Colo., June 22, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- How do you burger? At Natural Grocers, it's an art form—one that we're celebrating the entire month of July. Combine our good4u^SM ingredients, Always Affordable^SM Prices, and healthy grilling tips with your impressive skills at the grill, and you'll soon have a masterpiece on your plate. Our large selection of 100-percent humanely and sustainably raised traditional and exotic meats, as well as our vegetarian and vegan options, mean that we've got you covered, no matter what type of "burgering" you want to do. We'll also be celebrating the Art of Burgering with Traeger Grill giveaways, special {N}power® member discounts, food bank donations, weekly recipes, and more.

Any way you grill it, get ready to experience Natural Grocers' first annual Art of Burgering.

HEALTHY TAKE ON AN AMERICAN CLASSIC
Burgering the Natural Grocers way means using the highest quality ingredients, getting the most mouth-watering flavors out of your burger, and making a better-for-you masterpiece. Nutrition Education is at the core of our Five Founding Principles, so we've tapped our Nutrition Education experts to share some insider tips on healthier grilling.

Here's what you need to know: Heterocyclic Amines (HCAs) are carcinogenic compounds which form when proteins, sugars, and creatine in meat react at high temperatures. These are our favorite good4u "do's & don'ts" to help reduce the formation of HCAs so that you can showcase your grill skills in the most mouthwatering style while ensuring that you continue to Be Rooted In Health℠.

• Every Masterpiece Needs A Twist: Add cherries for a triple win: extra juicy burgers, more free-radical scavenging phytonutrients, and most importantly—burgers made with cherries have significantly fewer HCAs than those without them. Check out the recipe for our Cherry Surprise Bison Burger.
• Higher Heat & Well-Done Meat = More HCAs (this one's a "Don't"): The Art of Burgering demands finesse: temps, time, and even how often you wield the spatula matters. Healthier burgers aren't flame-broiled or well done—they are cooked at lower temps, flipped frequently, and served without charred black edges. Once temps begin to reach 400°F, HCA formation increases, and well-done meat has significantly more of them, so keep it low and juicy.
• The Meat of The Matter: Pasture-grazed, humanely raised, hormone & antibiotic-free is Natural Grocers standard for burgers because nothing less will do. Plus, it's more nutritional bang for your buck—grass-fed beef has 4x more naturally occurring vitamin E than grain-fed, and up to five times the conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a unique fatty acid that supports healthy weight maintenance, normal body composition, and the use of fat for fuel during exercise.
• E is for the Easiest Healthy Grilling Secret: An effective way to reduce the formation of HCAs in your grilled meat is to add vitamin E, and none will be the wiser because it's tasteless. It only takes one 400IU capsule of natural vitamin E (d-alpha-tocopherol) to treat 10 pounds of hamburger.

PERFECT YOUR ART OF BURGERING WITH A TRAEGER GRILL FROM NATURAL GROCERS¹
Want to take your burgering to the next level? We've got you covered there too. Natural Grocers is giving you three chances to win a Traeger Grill so that you'll have a top-quality grill to match your top-quality, good4u ingredients.

• Count the Burgers – Check out the July good4u Health Hotline Magazine (available in-store and via delivery), count the burgers sprinkled throughout the pages, fill out the form and drop it off at your local Natural Grocers by July 31, 2020 for a chance to win. A drawing among all entries with the correct number will determine the winners. Grand prize is a Traeger Pro 575 WiFi Pellet Grill and 10 runner-ups will win a $100 Natural Grocers gift card.²
• {N}power Buy 3 & Win – Between July 1 and July 31, 2020, {N}power members will be automatically entered for a chance to win a Traeger Pro 575 WiFi Pellet Grill every time they purchase a combination of any three products featured in our "Feed Your Family of 4 Burgers for Under $12" promotion. {N}power members can also enter online here.
• Instagram Deliciousness contest – Show us how you burger! Between July 1 and July 31, 2020, snap a picture of your Art of Burgering masterpiece using good4u ingredients from Natural Grocers, post it to Instagram, follow @NaturalGrocers, #TheArtOfBurgering and tag us and 4 friends in the caption. Every post gives you a chance to win a Traeger Ranger Pellet Grill. We'll select a delicious looking burger that best captures the "Art of Burgering" to win the grand prize! Additionally, one burger post will be selected each week of July to be featured on our Instagram feed and receive a $100 Natural Grocers gift card.

BURGER OF THE WEEK
Get those taste buds buzzing with our good4u Burger of the Week. For five weeks, beginning the week of June 29, we will be releasing a new tasty good4u burger recipe. Make sure to check the Natural Grocers website every week for these new recipes:

• Week of 6/29: Guacamole Bacon Burger
• Week of 7/6: Cherry Surprise Bison Burger
• Week of 7/13: Spicy Black Bean Burger with Chili Lime Aioli
• Week of 7/20: Mushroom Bacon Venison Burger
• Week of 7/27: Pepper-Crusted Bacon Cheeseburger

THE ART OF GIVING BACK TO OUR COMMUNITIES
For each limited-edition Art of Burgering reusable bag (retail $1.99) sold during July, we will donate $1.00 in the form of gift cards to local food banks³. We've always looked to our Five Founding Principles to guide every decision we make, and the Art of Burgering is no different. Those Five Founding Principles mean that we want to do our part to help everyone, including those that are experiencing food insecurity, gain access to the highest quality healthy foods at affordable prices.

{N}POWER YOUR BURGER
All month-long {N}power members will have access to these special Art of Burgering discounts to help make their masterpieces even more affordable:⁴

• July 2 ­– July 8: 10% off burger condiments
• July 9 – ­July 15: "Feed Your Family for Under $12" burger deal
• July 16 – July 22: Apply your burgering skills to the "Art of S'morgering" and indulge in the perfect s'more. Purchase four select s'more ingredients⁵, and receive an additional 50-cents off
• July 30 – August 5: 10% off cheese and cheese alternatives

Natural Grocers' loyalty program is free to join and offers exclusive discounts, digital coupons, rewards benefits, and other members-only features. Customers can sign up for {N}power here or by texting organic to 41411⁶.

About Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage
Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc. (NYSE: NGVC; NaturalGrocers.com) is an expanding specialty retailer of organic and natural groceries, body care products, and dietary supplements. The company offers a flexible, neighborhood-store format, affordable prices, and free, science-based Nutrition Education programs to help customers make informed health and nutrition choices. Founded in Colorado in 1955, Natural Grocers has more than 3,500 employees and operates 159 stores in 20 states.  Follow Natural Grocers on social media via Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. #NaturalGrocers

¹ No purchase necessary. A purchase will not increase your chances of winning. Open only to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia, 18 years or older. Void where prohibited by law. Contests begin on July 1, 2020 and end on July 31, 2020. For Official Rules and complete details, visit: www.naturalgrocers.com/sweepstakes. Sponsor: Vitamin Cottage Natural Food Markets, Inc.
² Maximum of one entry per person.
³ Offer valid 7/1/2020 - 7/31/2020 at participating Natural Grocers stores. Quantity limited to stock on hand; no rainchecks. We reserve the right to correct errors. Void where prohibited by law. Prices subject to change without notice.
⁴ This offer is only available to registered {N}power members from July 1 through July 31, 2020 and is redeemable only for in-store purchases at participating Natural Grocers stores. Discount will be applied to the product's regular, non-discounted price. Quantity limited to stock on hand; no rain checks. ALL REWARDS REDUCE YOUR BASKET SIZE. Points are applied to the price paid after discounts. Discount may not be redeemed for gift cards, store credit or cash and may not be combined with other offers. We reserve the right to correct errors. Pricing subject to change without notice. Void where prohibited by law.
⁵ Click to load {N}power offer
⁶ Message and data rates may apply.

SOURCE Natural Grocers by Vitamin Cottage, Inc.