Congratulations!!! Karen D
Comment: @KDFF follows Oldways on twitter
Hi Everyone,
Today is a big day here at PBandP! I have so much to tell you, share with you and give you that I don’t know where to begin! I guess I should start off by telling you that today is a very special day! Today is Whole Grain Sampling Day! What does that mean? It means eat your Whole Grains, sample some new ones and enjoy them, after all they are very good for you. I am also very proud to tell you that I am a Whole Grain Ambassador for the Whole Grains Council. This was truly an honor that I was asked to be an ambassador. I could not turn it down because, if you’re a follower of PBandP, you know how much I love my whole grains!!! I have to share one more thing before I get to todays recipe. Thanks to the Whole Grains Council and the Brentwood Press, I was asked to give an interview about Whole Grain Sampling Day. I didn’t get to read the interview until it hit the press and on Friday afternoon, I grabbed my paper and what did I see on the cover? Me! I almost fell over! ha ha! This is the first time I have ever been in a newspaper. They called me the East County’s Quinoa Queen! I love it!!! I was so excited I had to share it with you!
If you would like to check out the article, you can go here. I found it on their website. In honor of this very special day and being East County’s Quinoa Queen (still makes me laugh) I made for you Chocolate Peanut Butter Quinoa Balls. These little balls are a guilt-free treat and oh my gosh soooooooooo good!!! One of the best balls I have ever ate!!!
These little balls are made with nothing but good things!! Peanut butter, maple syrup, vanilla extract and the star of the recipe cooked quinoa. These little balls are sweet, peanut buttery and chocolaty and a perfect little snack. They exceeded my expectations!! So next time you make quinoa, save some leftovers and make these little treats. I guarantee you will love them, just as much as I do!!
The Peanut Butter Chocolate Quinoa Balls are super easy to make too! Just mix all of your ingredients in a bowl and then roll them into balls. I popped them in the freezer for about 30 minutes so they hold their form. One thing I need to tell you is that I used warmed quinoa, so the chocolate would melt in them. Makes for messy hands, but well worth it!! You can use cold quinoa and your chocolate chips will hold it’s form. I prefer the melted way, but whatever way you chose to make them, they will turn out great!
- ½ cup peanut butter
- 2 tbsp. pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 dash salt
- 1 cup cooked quinoa, slightly warm (not hot)
- 2 tbsp. mini chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life Dairy Free)
- Line a half baking sheet or plate with parchment paper; set a side.
- In a bowl, add peanut butter, maple syrup vanilla extract and salt. Mix until thoroughly combined. Stir in quinoa and mix until well combined. Fold in chocolate chips.
- Take a heaping tablespoon size of dough and roll into a ball. Place on to prepared parchment paper. Do the same until no dough remains. Place in the refrigerator or freezer to chill for about 30 minutes.
- Store in an airtight container in the freezer or refrigerator.
Since today is Whole Grain Sampling Day I wanted to talk a little bit about the benefits of Whole Grains. Eating whole grains gives your body extra antioxidants, fiber, vitamins and minerals which are essential to good health. Adding whole grains to your diet can lower the risks of chronic diseases and illness such as stroke, diabetes, heart disease, some cancers, high blood pressure and inflammatory diseases. I think these are great reason to have whole grains if you ask me!! Plus not only are they healthy for you, but they taste great and so versatile! Just make sure you look for the Whole Grain Label to make sure you’re getting 100% Whole Grains, if you don’t see the label, then read your ingredients.
So what are the whole grains? Glad you asked! Here is a list of whole grains.
- Hulled Barley
- Brown Rice (and colored rices)
- Buckwheat
- Whole Corn
- Oats
- Whole Rye
- Whole Wheat
- Wild Rice
- Amaranth
- Buckwheat
- Millet
- Quinoa
I also have a cooking chart, which I find comes in handy when cooking whole grains. I got this chart form the Whole Grains Council and Oldways
I always thought that gluten-free meant no whole grains, but you know what I found out a few months ago that I was wrong and I think a lot of people think the same way. It’s good to know that even being gluten-free you can still have your healthy, good for you whole grains. Here is a list of gluten-free whole grains.
- Corn
- Rice
- Oats (check for gluten-free label)
- Wild Rice
- Buckwheat
- Quinoa
- Millet
- Sorghum
- Teff
I thought since it was National Sampling Day that I would put together a few of my favorite recipes from the picture above.
- Lightened Up Mac & Cheese (made with Quinoa Pasta)
- Peanut Butter & Chocolate Chip Quinoa Snack Cake
- Whole Grain Pumpkin with Chocolate Chip Bread
- Roasted Butternut Squash with Quinoa and Honey Balsamic Dressing (Trader Joe’s Copycat Recipe)
- Apple and Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal (Gluten free)
- Asparagus and Basmati Rice
- Spanish Quinoa
- Delicata Squash and Cranberry Quinoa Salad
- Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
- Pesto Pasta
- Individual Baked Oatmeal Cups
- Peanut Butter Honey and Oat Bars
Now are you ready for the big giveaway? All I can tell you, is boy is it a lot of goodies! I got this package and I was like holy crap! Then I read the letter that was sent with the package and it said I can giveaway the same goodie box to one of my readers (minus the t-shirt)! But before I show you a snippet of the package, I thought I would share with you just some of the goodies you will get.
This is a whole grain mix from Among Friends. I made this a couple of weeks ago for my Husband to take to work and for my friends at my work. All I can say is it got eaten up in minutes. It tastes like coffee cake with jam in the middle. I bet adding peanut butter to it would taste great too!! Here is a picture of it in the pan. Since I made it before bed, I wanted it to cool, so I didn’t take picture of it cut, but you get the idea and yes, this is in the giveaway.
Jovial Pasta – I haven’t tried this yet, but I am looking forward to it!
Late July Sea Salt Seashore Snack Chips and Mary’s Gone Crackers Gluten Free Pretzels
Upfront Foods Granola – I loved this and it was the first thing I tried. Just amazing and simple, low-calorie and darn good!
Erewhon Buckwheat and Hemp Cereal – I haven’t tried this yet either, but this will be one that I will try today, since it’s sampling day and I have never had buckwheat or hemp. Have you?
Here is a list of goodies that is in the giveaway:
Among Friends 0 Jam Bar Baking Mix
Attune Foods – Buckwheat & Hemp Cereal
Barbara’s Bakery – Snackimals Cereal
Bob’s Red Mill – Gluten Free Honey Oat Granola
Carl Brandt – Mestemacher Rye Bread and Multigrain Bread
ConAgra Mills – voucher for 1 bag of Ultragrain Flour
Dr. Knacker – Engine 2 Crispbreads
Freekehilicious – Whole Grain Freekeh
Goose Valley Natural Products – Brown & Wild Rice Fusion
HomeFree Treats – Gluten Free Cookies
Jovial Foods – Einkorn and Brown Rice Pasta
Late July – Multigrain Snack Chips
Lotus Foods – Rice Ramen
Mary’s Gone Crackers – Gluten Free Pretzel Sticks
Nabisco – Classic Wheat Thins and Brown Rice Triscuits and belVita Breakfast
Pamela’s Products – Whole Grain Whenever Bars
Popsalot Gourmet Popcorn – Cinnamon Popcorn
Real McCoy’s Snax – Rice Puffs
Roman Meal – Whole Grain Bread (and cute toaster USB drive)
Rhythem Superfoods – Super Food Chips
Skeeter Snacks – Nut Free Cookies
Upfront Foods – Straight Up Granola
War Eagle Mills – Corn Flour
I told you that’s a lot of goodies!!!
To win, all you have to do is tell me what is your favorite grain?
For additional entries:
- Sign up for e-mail Peanut Butter and Peppers and or Oldways (Health Through Heritage)
- Follow Peanut Butter and Peppers and/ or Oldways Twitter
- Tweet my giveaway: Win a Whole Grain Sampling Day Gift Pack at Peanut Butter & Peppers http://www.peanutbutterandpeppers.com/?p=18665 #SampleWholeGrains @JenatPBandP @OldwaysPT
- Follow Peanut Butter and Peppers and/or Oldways on Facebook
- Follow Peanut Butter and Peppers on Pintrest and / or Oldways
- Follow Peanut Butter and Peppers on Instagram
I will pick a winner on Sunday evening and announce the winner on Monday’s post!!
One last thing before I go, there will be few restaurants participating in Whole Grain Sampling Day such as California Pizza Kitchen, Denny’s, Dunkin’ Donuts, Genghis Grill, McDonald’s and Rubio’s Restaurants. Plus grocery stores, vendors, schools and more to get a full list you can go to the Whole Grain Council website.
I am truly proud to be a part of this big day! Thank you so much for reading all of post, I know it was a long one today!
Have a great day and be sure to eat your WHOLE GRAINS today!
Toodles,
Jennifer
Disclosure: I received a selection of whole grain products to sample but was not compensated for this post. All opinions are my own.