There's an article about us in the nicely done new Fresh Juice Magazine. It's their "Behind the Label" feature, where they look at the backstory of a unique artisan product (like ours!). Take a look!
We knew we wanted to add another cookie mix to our lineup, it's been on our white board for months now. Our oatmeal cookies are a huge hit, and we wanted to round out the lineup with another cookie mix that was equally addictive, wholesome and versatile. And of course equally "grainstormy" -- that is to say uniquely rustic and deliciously healthy, taking advantage of our fresh custom milling capability to bring something unique to the world of cookies.
Well, here it is: our Ancient Grain Rustic Cookie mix. Like our Ancient Grain muffin and pancake mixes, it's a blend of Spelt, Kamut and Oats. And, as a cookie base, it is everything we were hoping for. Complex yet subtle grainy flavours, and rich chewy texture with a subtle grainy crunch and just modestly sweet. We designed it to make fabulous chocolate chip cookies, and it does. One that is both comfortingly familiar yet totally unique (and uniquely wholesome).
But this mix isn't a one-trick pony. It will make a great base for all sorts of fun and satisfying cookies. So we'll be working on recipes through the summer.
We'd love to have your ideas as well, which is where our free cookie mix offer comes in.
If you would like to try your hand at developing a recipe for this new mix, well, we'll supply the mix. Just make up an order of six bags, including two of the new cookie bags, and then enter the promo code "freecookies" at checkout for a discount equal to TWO FREE BAGS of our Ancient Grain Rustic Cookie mix (offer ends June 28).
AND, if we publish your recipe on the site, we'll also send you a FREE CASE of product -- that's 8 bags.
We're really pleased with our new Ancient Grain Rustic Cookie mix, and we're sure you and your family will love them.
It’s been a while coming, but our first GRAINSTORM demonstration video is ready. It features our friend and healthy baking maven Joy Jones doing some Ancient Grain Apple Almond muffins (well, mini-loaves actually).
As bakers, few of us are as an enthusiastic as Joy, and that’s kinda the point of the video. We want everyone to see how FAST and EASY it is to whip up a batch of GRAINSTORM muffins. You don’t need to be a pro, you don’t need a lot of time and you don't need a lot of fussy measuring. It literally takes like 6 or 8 minutes to get a batch in the oven -- the video is 3 min.
But as fast and easy as it is, GRAINSTORM baking is no compromise: your end result is not just regular muffins, but wholesome, nutritious food that nourishes you and your family while giving them a yummy treat at the same time.
Even if you are a veteran GRAINSTORM baker, have a quick watch — you might pick up a tip or two to make your GRAINSTORM baking better, easier or more fun. Or all three.
Well, it’s been quite the ride over the last 60 days or so. On top of the busy holiday season, we’ve ramped up with a new distributor in Eastern Canada — Neal Brothers Foods. They are going to be a GREAT partner on our mission to bring wholesome fresh grain baking to tons of family kitchens. As they say at P&G, it’s all about distribution.
Of course, we can be on every organic grocery shelf in the country, but that is only half the job. People need to actually TRY it. And for that to happen, they need to know what they are buying, and why it is different and better (and more expensive).
We know that when a someone first understands our product and then tries it they often become a HUGE fan. But communicating our difference and getting that trial on the grocery store shelves is a challenge. This is true for any product but much more so for a truly unique product like ours (and without the P&G budgets).
So hand in hand with our expanding distribution, we have redesigned our packaging—a great new look, bi-lingual across Canada and, a first for us, clear communication of what is called our brand proposition.
With GRAINSTORM, you are baking wholesome, real food, because your main ingredient—the flour—is fresh, authentic pre-industrial food. You simply can’t get this quality from scratch unless you grind your own organic heritage grains.
So now we are communicating this difference clearly and prominantly, right on the package for all grocery shoppers to see.
We couldn’t be more excited. A great new distribution partner and great new packaging…let the fresh-ground organic ancient grain revolution begin! :-)
NOTE: the images you see on our website are of our English-only package because it is clearer for our English-only website audience at this point. All Canadian packaging is now bi-lingual!
While our standard loaf & muffin preparation calls for eggs, butter and yogurt, GRAINSTORM makes a fabulous base for vegan baking as well. And the same benefits apply: instead of baking with modern industrial flour, you are baking with ancient and heritage grains, whole stone ground, with that "just-milled" freshness preserved so you get the amazing taste and nutrition that only fresh-ground flour can provide. Just published in our recipe section you will find base vegan recipes for Ancient Grain Vegan Muffins, Golden Kamut Vegan Muffins and Red Fife Heritage Vegan Muffins.
Keep in mind that these are base preparations and you can of course customize your baking just like the regular prep. So don't be shy about adding whatever fresh ingredients, nuts, spices and flavorings you like.
For some time now, we've really wanted to add a scone mix to our lineup. And for the past two months we've been working hard to do that. We did lots of research and played with lots of recipes. We learned a lot along the way—not the least of which is that scones and biscuits are very close cousins. (This was a happy discovery as we had a biscuit mix in mind for the future as well!) In the end, we had two contenders: a classic scone mix that could go plain, sweet or savory (and also makes a great biscuit!) and an oat scone mix inspired by the rustic origins of the scone in old Scotland. We couldn't choose, so we decided to go with both.
Our Rustic Spelt Scone & Biscuit Mix is made exclusively with fresh-ground organic spelt, ground finer than our other products to give it a surprisingly light texture and a beautiful subtle yet rich grainy flavor. As mentioned, it can go sweet or savory and can be made scone or biscuit style. Many home cooks shy away from making scones as the preparation can seem somewhat involved. But we've developed a quick easy method that makes a great product every time. We're planning to make a short video soon to show you how quick and easy it is.
Our Old Scottish Oat Scone & Baking Mix is made with fresh-ground spelt blended with fresh, raw cracked and flaked oats and is substantially sweeter. The result is not what a scone traditionalist would expect, but it is so good we just couldn't let it drop. Plus, we have in mind that this product will be very flexible, and we've already developed a couple of interesting recipes for bars and crumbles, and are working on more. We think this mix will be a favorite in many families.
We're hoping to get at least six or eight recipes out for our new products in the coming weeks, so stay tuned. And if you try our new scone mixes and have recipe ideas, we'd love to hear them!
The new products will be rolling out to stores in the next month or so, and are available now online or at our Saturday farmers' markets.
Share us on your social networks
and we'll share a 30% off coupon with you!
Just use the social buttons in the top banner to share a post about GRAINSTORM with your FaceBook, Twitter and Google+ networks. Then send us the form below, and we'll email you a single use promo code for 30% off. In the words of our 5 year old: "Easy Peasy Lemon Squeezy".
Be sure your posts are "public" and, if you are new to GRAINSTORM, don't forget to "Like" and "Follow" us, as we'll be doing more social media promotions in the future. If you are active on all networks, by all means, post on all three. We can only send you one coupon, but we sure do appreciate it, and so will your friends!
THE FINE PRINT: Promotion runs until October 11, 2011. Coupon codes must be redeemed by December 15, 2011. Valid in Canada and USA only, one coupon per customer, cannot be used in combination with any other offers. Redeemable only at grainstorm.com.
