Introducing THRIVE Organic

I'm excited to share that Shelf Reliance is launching an organic line! THRIVE now offers six organic products: Green Peas (FD), Raspberries (FD), Hard White Wheat, Amaranth, Spelt, and Quinoa! Our organic products are certified by the USDA.  More organic products will be coming.  Click the FAQ below for more information on our organic line.
  Organic FAQ

Organic Green Peas (FD) $38.89 $36.99 Shop More Info Organic Spelt $12.59 $11.99 Shop More Info

Organic Raspberries (FD) $46.49 $44.19 Shop More Info Organic Amaranth $15.79 $15.09 Shop More Info

Organic Hard White Wheat $9.89 $9.39 Shop More Info Organic Quinoa $34.59 $32.89 Shop More Info

Quinoa Pancakes

After our first experience with Quinoa, I have been hesitant to try it again.  And my family wasn't encouraging either.  So many of you keep posting Quinoa recipes on Pinterest and sharing how you like Quinoa that I wanted to try it again.  The nutritional benefits of Quinoa were also appealing.  I discovered that .  I discovered that THRIVE Quinoa is pre-rinsed and is certified Gluten Free (except that when I turn it into quinoa flour, I'm using my wheat grinder that also grinds my wheat).

So here's what I made for our second experience with Quinoa - Quinoa Pancakes.  I deliberately made the pancake batter when no one was in the kitchen so that there wouldn't be any pre-conceived ewws coming from the family (learning from the mistake I made earlier this week with the chocolate cake made from zucchini).  This recipe called for quinoa flour as well as cooked quinoa.  It also called for whole-wheat flour, cornmeal, quinoa flakes, and no all purpose flour.  I knew that that combination of flours would not go over with my family.  They taste "healthy" and immediately say "yuck".  So I knew I had to change up the flours.

I took the 1/2 cup of quinoa flour and 2 cups of whole wheat flour and changed it up to about 1/3 cup quinoa flour (I put some quinoa through my Nutrimill and it ended up being a little shy of 1/2 cup) and filled the rest of the 1/2 cup with whole wheat flour.  I then used another 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour and the rest was white flour.  I also replaced the quinoa flakes with old fashioned oats because 1) I didn't want the quinoa flavor to be overpowering and 2) I'm a newbie to quinoa flakes and have no idea what they are.

Another change I made was to add chocolate chips immediately after putting the prepared batter on my griddle.  Princess Smiles-A-Lot doesn't like plain pancakes, even when they're normal pancakes.  The pictures of the recipe were of fluffy pancakes.  Mine did not turn out fluffy.  But I thought they did turn out edible, with the chocolate chips.  In fact, Princess Naked Toes scarfed down 3 pancakes!  Princess Smiles-A-Lot took one bite (without hesitation or fighting) and said "what did you put in these?" and refused to eat anymore.  I couldn't argue with her because she tried it and that was a big step for her.  My dear husband ate his two pancakes but asked that I not make the recipe again.  For him, it was a texture thing from the cooked quinoa.  The cooked quinoa looks too much like tapioca for me to want to eat it.

So the verdict?
If you like whole grain pancakes, you'll probably like these.  They were too "healthy" tasting for us, even though I added those chocolate chips.  Because the recipe mixed the dry ingredients separate from the liquid ingredients, I still have lots of the dry ingredient mix to use.  I just need to figure out a replacement "liquid" for the cooked quinoa.  If you have suggestions, PLEASE share them!
I love the idea of quinoa.  The nutrition available in quinoa is very appealing.  But so far, the taste has not been for our family.  But that's just my family's tastes.  I have had several friends who say their children LOVE quinoa.
For my family, I will not be adding more quinoa into our food storage, unless I find a magic recipe that everyone here loves.  But that's okay.  That's why each family gets to build their own home store.  And this is another example of why we need to be eating from our home stores - to discover what we are willing to eat and aren't.

Update 11/5/12 - I've learned that Shelf Reliance has used two different sources for Quinoa and one of them is darker and has a more bitter taste.  I believe that's the source for my Quinoa; although I would have said "strong" taste more than bitter.  The other source for Shelf Reliance is becoming the standard so I'll probably be willing to try again in the future.  And I'm not willing to waste food so I'll be finding ways to use the Pantry can of Quinoa that I already have; but probably not where it's the main ingredient :)

My first Quinoa experience

Over the past week, I have had my first experiences with quinoa.  I did a little research about quinoa and discovered a few tips, hoping to make our first experience positive.


This site gives a great introduction to cooking quinoa.  Combined with other sites, I knew I needed to make sure my quinoa was pre-rinsed to remove the saponin which is on the outside of quinoa and gives it a bitter taste.


I decided to make the Quinoa Pizza Bites for our first try.

I checked my packaging and it did not mention being pre-rinsed so I set about to rinse it.  If you've never used quinoa, it is TINY.

I tried rinsing it in a bowl and using my hand to drain it.   That created a mess.

All of our strainers, including my sifter, had too large of holes to rinse the quinoa so I added a paper towel to be able to rinse thoroughly.  For this first recipe, I would be cooking the quinoa so I didn't have to let it dry.

 I added it to the water per the directions on my package and let it cook.

Before I could combine the cooked quinoa with the other ingredients to make the pizza bites, we ended up making a last minute visit to the pediatrician.  And the recipe was put off so the cooked quinoa was put into the refrigerator.

 I made the pizza bites the next night after another busy day.  The smell was good.  Getting them out of the muffin pan was not so easy - note: spray the muffin pan first!  I tasted a nibble and thought hmm, pretty good.  I put them away in the refrigerator to reheat on Sunday.

 Sunday we took the pizza bite with us to my sister's and heated them up to try.  My 9 y/o tried a bite and wasn't impressed.  My husband was okay with it but not loving it.  I'm going to quote my sister "Tastes like healthy food."  Some of the bites that I tried were good, but not great, and one of them just didn't taste good.  I could eat the bites but I wouldn't crave the bites.  So now I'm hesitating to try the Cheesy Quinoa Bites I put on my To Try list.

On Monday, I went to make my pizza dough for dinner and needed to grind some wheat.  I had the thought I'll grind up some quinoa into flour to add to it.  I rinsed it out and set it out to dry.  The drying took too long for the pizza dough but they're dry now.  After a second experience with rinsing, I decided to contact Customer Support at Shelf Reliance to verify that our quinoa is NOT pre-rinsed.  They are really wonderful and responded quickly!  Can you guess their answer?

Our Quinoa is fully processed to remove the bitter saponin coating that naturally encases the seed. This process involves both mechanical abrasion and a thorough washing with a rapid dry and heat stabilization process creating a ready to use product for the customer. Therefore, no rinse is required.

Hip Hip Hooray!  Of course, I got the answer AFTER I had made my pizza dough.  But now I'm ready for next time.  I won't be pre-rinsing my quinoa anymore making my next THRIVE Quinoa experience a much better one! 

Have you entered our Dreaming Big Giveaway for a Cansolidator Cupboard?  What are you waiting for?  Simply post a comment here and you're entered into the Giveaway.  The winner will be announced May 28th!

It's here - now what do I do : Quinoa

This is the recipe that started it all for me...

Quinoa and Black Bean Salad

As soon as I spotted it on Pinterest, I immediately Pinned it to my Recipes for THRIVE Board  I then went to my Q and added it to my next shipment.  That shipment just arrived and I'm ready to start trying.  I've been scouring Pinterest, asking on Facebook, and searching the internet for Quinoa recipes beyond simply replacing rice.

Why do I want to try quinoa?  #1 is because of it's nutritional value.  I'm also excited to have some gluten-free options for when GF friends come over for dinner.  I love that Shelf Reliance is making an effort to have more and more of their products Certified as Gluten-Free.

Here are the recipes I am excited to try...

Source:  www.cookingquinoa.net

 Quinoa Pancakes

Source: www.SoVeryBlessed.com

Cheesy Quinoa Bites

Source: www.SoVeryBlessed.com

Quinoa Pizza Bites

Quinoa and Black Bean Salad (image not available)

Source: http://southamericanfood.about.com, Marian Blazes

Honey Quinoa Bread

Source: http://healthyfamilycookin.blogspot.com

Popped Quinoa

Source: With Style & Grace (http://withstyle.me)

Quinoa Stuffed Cucumbers

I'm also going to try adding Quinoa flour into various recipes like Pizza Crust, muffins and waffles.  I'll be sure to share with you how it goes, which recipes my family likes, and even the ones we don't.  Of course, if you eat at my house over the next few weeks, you may be one of my Recipe Guinea Pigs :)

I found this great resource for basic information on preparing quinoa from www.cookingquinoa.net and it includes a recipe index.


My other goal is to remember to pronounce it properly (keen-wa).