Nutritious Eats

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Bob’s Red Mill Buckwheat Pesto Salad: Product Review and Giveaway!

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When I think of my favorite food brands there are a few that really stand out- they’re ones that I recommend over and over again.  In my opinion Bob’s Red Mill is one of those brands that is one of a kind. They offer one of the largest lines of organic, whole grains in the country. I am sure you’ve seen some of their products in the health section of your local grocer, but if you check them out online you will see they have such a huge variety of unusual, high quality items- granola, oats, grains, beans, seeds, cereals, “baking aids” and more! I have been a long time fan so was so excited to see that they were one of the sponsors of this years BlogHer Food Conference. I was thrilled to visit their booth and learn a little more about their products and the man behind the business Bob Moore. What I also love about this company is that they are a leader in gluten free products and make sure to package them using separate machinery in a separate division. It’s so nice to be able to recommend one company that fits so many different people’s dietary needs.

When I was asked if I wanted to try out a few of their products I jumped at the chance. It took me two days to peruse their website to figure out what I wanted to try. All of the grocery stores carry Bob’s Red Mill, however they do not have variety that their online store has. If you are interested in eating more whole grains (and I mean true whole grains- sure they sell brown rice and quinioa but they also sell millet, amaranth, kamut berries) you’ve got to check them out. If you have no clue what some of these grains are (and I didn’t know all of them either!), the website tells you about each product and provides you with recipes both online and on the package so you can get started cooking as soon as you buy!

Why are whole grains such an important part of the diet? They provide the body with complex carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, fiber, fatty acids and antioxidants. Eating at least 2 to 3 servings of whole grains per day can substantially lower cholesterol, triglycerides and insulin levels and as a result decrease risk of heart disease and Type II Diabetes. Whole grains are far more nutritious than the processed grains you find all over the grocery store.

I was able to pick out four items that were of interest to me. Here is what I tried: Organic Buckwheat Groats, Organic Hot Cereal, Organic Coconut Flour and Flageolet Beans,

Instead of trying to come up with new recipes using these products I thought it would be fun to try the healthy recipes provided on the packages. I made slight modifications based on what I had on hand. Everything turned out great! Stay tuned over the next week and I will share the other recipes I made.

Using the instructions from the package, I cooked up the hot cereal for breakfast and topped it simply with berries, cinnamon and agave syrup. Let me say first that my husband and I are hot cereal junkies. This one was thick and dense like a porridge, but with a nice nutty flavor from the great combo of ground oat groats, flaxseeds, wheat germ and oat bran. It was a nice change from oatmeal. I am also eager to try the “wholesome cookies” from the package which sounded great. I’m thinking they’ll make a great snack for the kids and I like that you can do more with the cereal than just eating it as “cereal”.

And today I will share the recipe using the Buckwheat groats. There were two great recipes on the buckwheat groats package so I went with one and plan to make the other one next time (the other one is vegan). I love everything going into this recipe- cheese, olives, herbs, garlic. You can’t go wrong there.

Aren’t they a pretty little grain?

Although I really loved the buckwheat you could definitely sub another whole grain.

 

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Buckwheat Pesto Salad

INGREDIENTS: 

1 cup buckwheat groats
2 1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 Tablespoon butter, softened
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup black olives, sliced
1 cup fresh parsley leaves, finely chopped
2 teaspoons fresh basil, minced (I used ~2 Tablespoons)
1 cup parmesan cheese (I used 3/4 cup)

DIRECTIONS:

1. Boil water with salt. Add groats, cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until water is absorbed. Removed from heat and let sit in pan for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.
2. In a small bowl, mix butter, olive oil, garlic and walnuts together.
3. In a separate small bowl, combine black olives, chopped parsley, basil and parmesan cheese.
4. Add butter mixture to groats, then stir in parsley mixture. Salt to taste. Stir and serve. Yield: 6 servings.

COOK’S NOTES: this is delicious warmed-up the next day as the cheese melts into the groats.

 Recipe from Bob’s Red Mill

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What did I do with the other products? Well I made coconut buttermilk pancakes with the coconut flour (delicious) and I incorporated the Flageolet beans into a cold salad which was also a huge hit!

Stay tuned over the next few days when I’ll share the recipes for those! I loved them so how could I not share?!

Oh and onto the fun news. The nice folks over at Bob’s Red Mill want to give one reader these same 4 products to try! Awesome, right?! The great thing is now you know exactly what to do with them!

BOB’S RED MILL GIVEAWAY!

4 full size packages: Organic Buckwheat Groats, Organic Hot Cereal, Organic Coconut Flour and Gourmet Flageolet Beans

The giveaway will start today Friday, April 27th and end Wednesday August 1st at 12:00pm CST

TO ENTER GIVEAWAY

MANDATORY ENTRY: Leave a comment telling us if you’ve ever tried any of these products!

OPTIONAL ENTRIES: You can earn additional entries by doing one, or all, of the following (leave a separate comment after you complete each item; each comment will count as an entry)

1. Follow Bob’s Red Mill on Twitter ( If you already follow them just let me know and that counts as an entry!)
2. Follow Nutritious Eats on Twitter  and tweet ” @nutritiouseats is giving away Bob’s Red Mill products! http://wp.me/p150Ow-1Oe” ( if you already follow just let me know and that counts as an entry!)
3. Subscribe to Nutritious Eats Email Service (box to the right) OR Follow via RSS ( if you already do just let me know and that counts as an entry!)

GIVEAWAY DETAILS:

Sorry, giveaway open to US readers only. Winner will be chosen randomly using random.org and will be notified by email and have 48 hours to claim prize or another winner will be selected.

GOOD LUCK!


Disclaimer: Bob’s Red Mill sent me one box of samples to review and is providing one box to the winner of the giveaway. I was not compensated for this post; all the opinions and thoughts expressed are 100% my own.

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Comments

  3. I have never tried the products above, but have used Bob’s golden flax, and pastry flour. 🙂

  9. I love Bob’s Red Mill products but have never tried the four products you detailed here – Great review and thank you so much!

  10. I also follow your RSS feed as well – thanks so much and have a great weekend!

  12. I have never tried these particular Bob’s Red MIll products but I have purchased others!

    cjnedrow at gmail dot com

  13. I have never tried any of these products so I’ll definitely be whipping up some new recipes and things to try!

  20. I absolutely love Bob’s Red Mill, but I haven’t tried any of these products yet. I’d love to try them all, especially the coconut flour!

  23. I always buy their organic ground flax, cornmeal and scottish oats! Would love to try more of them!

  33. I have been purchasing Bob’s products at my local Country Mart. I have not yet tried these but even if I dont win, I think I will be purchasing them.

  34. I have used a few of their products, most recently quinoa. I actually have a bag of coconut flour in my pantry & want to make those same pancakes!

  43. I actually have tried the buckwheat groats at a friend’s house. She sauteed ground turkey, onions, tomatoes and spice together and served it on top of the cooked buckwheat. It was reeeeeeeeeeeallly good!

  46. I have never tried these unique products before and I believe they would make a creative, tasty addition to my diet!

  49. I’ve never tried these, but have read recipes and nutritional information that makes me really wantto try them.

  56. I have yet to try any of Bob’s products. I would like to experiment with their coconut flour in the baking of macaroons.

    Hope to win!

  67. I’ve tried different Bob’s Red Mill products but not these. I’m excited at an opportunity to try them though. I’m new to gluten free and buckwheat groats are next on my list of ingredients to try.

  68. I’ve never eaten any of these products. I’d like to try the buckwheat groats in a pilaf dish. Thanks.

  70. I haven’t tried any of those particular products, but I do use Bob’s Red Mill products. Right now I have a bag of almond meal and a bag of brown rice flour in my fridge.

  71. I’ve tried the coconut flour- very flavorful, but requires extra liquid than recipe calls for when used in baking.

  73. We usually enjoy the gluten free products from Bob’s Red Mill, I currently have a huge stash of flours in my freezer that I use for different baking recipes. I think my all-time favorite is the Shortbread Cookie mix!!

  80. I have tried other Bob’s Red Mill products and love them. I love their brown rice breakfast cereal. Their gf mixes are wonderful also. I also follies your emails.

  81. Ok so I joined twitter purely for give aways. So I know follow nutritious eats and Bob’s Red Mill. I will tweet the message above.

  87. I haven’t used any of the items shown but I have tried their Flax Seed and Bran. I definitely want to try the coconut flour!

  88. Ok, take 2!
    Aloha, Melanie! I’m very excited to try these products. I’ve never had them, but they look delicious! I’m especially excited about the coconut flour 🙂 Yum!

    Amy

  94. I have not used Bob’s Red Mill products before; however, I will be looking into them.

  99. I have never tried them, but I have seen them at the stores (especially Big Lots).

  106. I have tried other Bob Mills products but none of these yet. I’d sure love to though.

  107. Just bought some quinoa of his. Love it. Excited to try more products. Following on twitter

  111. I have not tried them, but I have read great things about their Hot Cereal, and a friend of mine also said ti was her favorite breakfast. Thank you for the lovely giveaway!
    Erin E
    busymom369 at gmail dot com

  121. I haven’t tried these specific products yet…but I have tried other Red Mill products before because they are great foods without a lot of sugar, salt, fat, etc. [I think the last Red Mill product I tried was flax seed.]

  124. I’ve never tried them but I’ve seen them in the store and have been interested to try them.

  135. I see these products in the store all the time but never new how to use groats. I think I will try these. My 16 yr old son is a vegetarian this looks like a great option for him!

  143. no, i haven’t ever tried these products, but they would go good with my current healthier lifestyle

  144. I’ve never tried any of those products but I would love to! I don’t eat rice or red meat so the buckwheat groats would be a terrific rice replacement for me!

  145. I have tried that brands gluten free flour before, but none of the products listed above!

  147. I have not tried any of the products listed, but I do have a bag of Bob’s Barley in my cupboard.

  154. I’ve had Bob’s Red Mill steel cut oats and other products but none of the ones you reviewed.

  156. I have tried Red Mill brand but not any of these products. I would most like to try the coconut flour.

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