For Moms, Moms-to-be & Babies 9 Months+*
THE PRODUCTS:
Ardent Mills® is a creator of innovative ingredients, which range from traditional flours to ancient grains, and are available at grocery stores throughout the country as flours, grains, and in finished foods. With well over 50+ different products and brands to choose from, Ardent Mills® makes it a point to produce the highest quality foods – and is why I have come to love their Quinoa products so much!
For those who don’t know, quinoa (pronounced Keen-wah), is a small, light-colored round grain with an unmistakably nutty, earthy flavor. Though it is indigenous to South America, where the Incas praised it as the “mother of all grains”, Ardent Mills® offers Great Plains Quinoa, a North American-grown quinoa which includes identity preserved varieties that have been adapted to grow on the Canadian prairie and are traceable to the source.
Ardent Mills® has also turned their delicious quinoa into several different products including your traditional Quinoa [Seeds], Quinoa Flakes, Quinoa Flour and Quinoa Puffs. Furthermore, many of their products are available in Organic.
THE COMPANY:
Ardent Mills® is North America’s leading flour supplier and grain innovator. With more than 40 community flour mills and blending facilities throughout the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico, they offer the broadest range of premium multi-use flours, whole grains, mixes and custom multi-grain blends.
What makes Ardent Mills® different is the bold spirit of innovation and imagination that is ingrained in everything they do. They bring superior quality, deep knowledge, excellent service and creative approaches to the food of today and the innovations of tomorrow.
Ardent Mills® follows the strictest guidelines for food safety, making sure that safety and cleanliness are at the core of what they do. They also work hard to ensure a consistent performance so that recipes always turn out well. Furthermore, Ardent Mills® makes it a point to partner with farmers who maintain sustainable growing practices, including organic growing; and they support non-GMO grains and family-owned mills.
NUTRITION-FACTS:
While I could go on and on about the nutritional profile of quinoa, I will make it short and sweet by saying that quinoa truly can be considered a Superfood – and one of the world’s healthiest at that. Known as one of the only plant-based complete proteins, quinoa is also full of fiber, contains very little fat, it gluten-free, and is filled with tons of other vitamins and minerals to boot.
[To learn more about quinoa’s nutritional profile, check out this article by Dr. Axe.]
*Quinoa is gluten-free and allergen-friendly, so the majority of kids and adults alike can enjoy it without any issues. It is also very easy to chew – when cooked properly, of course – so even babies without teeth will be able to enjoy it. While I personally think that babies should start off with vegetables as first foods, quinoa can definitely be incorporated soon after since it is a plant-based food and contains lots of protein and healthy nutrients.
WHERE TO BUY:
You can purchase Ardent Mills® by checking out their facilities, or at select retailers nationwide.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
I’d say if you asked the majority of people 10 years ago what quinoa was they’d probably have no idea. Now fast-forward to today and I’m shocked if somebody doesn’t know what it is! But did you realize that quinoa is not only available in different colors, it’s also available in different forms?! From your typical quinoa seeds to flakes, flours and even puffs, quinoa can literally be made savory or sweet, and used in 100s of recipes for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
And while you’d think that a grain like quinoa would all taste the same from one brand to the other, since there’s really nothing that’s done differently between them, they don’t! Just like not every almond tastes the same, for example.
With that said, I am super impressed by the quality of Quinoa products that I received from Ardent Mills®! Maybe it’s the fact that they are made “closer to home”, or that they weren’t sitting on a shelf forever, or that the quality of their products are just that good, but I sincerely think that the Quinoa form Ardent Mills® is the best I’ve ever tasted!
Curious? Feel free to try their flakes as an oatmeal replacement (especially great for babies and toddlers), their quinoa flour in pancakes, their puffs sprinkled on a salad, or their traditional quinoa as a side-dish. I’m telling you, you will not be disappointed when you try the products from Ardent Mills®! Because it’s those small steps that make healthy living a lifestyle – so why not take one today?!
For more information about Ardent Mills®, please visit their website and check them out on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
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