Review and Giveaway: ShaSha Bread Co.

It would be an understatement to say I was ecstatic when ShaSha  himself e-mailed me to let me know a package of ShaSha Bread Co. products were on there way to me for review. I have been a fan of ShaSha Bread Co. for years, particularly of their Original Ginger Snaps. Sha Sha uses only the finest ingredients in their products. Whole grains such as Brown Rice, Buckwheat, Spelt, Barley, Amaranth, Millet and Oat. Legumes such as Lentils, Mung Beans and Adzuki Beans. Seeds such as Sunflower seeds, Poppy Seeds, Flax Seeds and Pumpkin Seeds.

Talk about filling up the delivery box and reducing packing material and fuel. Well done!

The goods!

Snap Cookies

If you haven't tried ShaSha Bread Company's Snap Cookies you have been missing out!  I feel absolutely no guilt when I feed these cookies to my family, particularly my 19 month-old son. They are made with high quality ingredients, no junk and are delicious! They have been a lifesaver many times when dealing with a fussy toddler out in public. Ginger Snaps to the rescue! Keep a stash in the diaper bag. Trust me!

Original Ginger Snaps

Ingredients: Non-treated Unbleached Whole Wheat Flour, Unbleached Brown Sugar, Organic Palm Fruit Oil, Eggs, Canola Oil, Non-pasteurized Raw Honey, Filtered Water, Spices, Soy Lecithin, Molasses, Ginger, Non-Aluminum Baking Powder, Sea Salt.

Cocoa Snaps

Ingredients: Non-Treated Unbleached Wheat Flour, Unbleached Brown Sugar, Canola Oil, Bitter Chocolate, Filtered Water , Non-Pasteurized Raw Honey, Cocoa Powder, Soy Lecithin, Vanilla Extract, Molasses, Non-Aluminum Baking Soda Natural Caramel, Sea Salt.

Cocoa Snaps

Organic Spelt Ginger Snaps

Ingredients: Organic Spelt Flour, Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Filtered Water, In-House Organic Expeller-Pressed Sunflower Oil, Organic Malt Extract, Organic Palm Fruit Oil, Organic Honey, Organic Spices, Organic Molasses, Organic Ginger, Non-GMO Sunflower Lecithin, Sea Salt, Non Aluminum Baking Powder, Baking Soda (Sodium Bicarbonate)

My son enjoying the Organic Spelt Ginger Snaps

Organic Spelt Lemon Snaps

Ingredients: Organic Spelt Flour, Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, In-House Organic Expeller Pressed Sunflower Oil, Organic Palm Fruit Oil, Filtered Water, Organic Poppy Seeds, Organic Malt Extract, Organic Honey, Natural Dehydrated Lemon Flavour,Organic Molasses,Organic Vanilla Extract, Non-GMO Sunflower Lecithin, Baking Soda (Sodium Bicarbonate), Sea Salt, Non-Aluminum Baking Powder, Natural Lemon Flavour

Organic Spelt Lemon Snaps - My Favourite!

Bio-Buds

Bio-buds products are made with sprouted grains, legumes and pods that are dehydrated at the peak of their enzyme levels and nutrient value, and packaged with no additives or preservatives. Not only are they packed with goodness they cook in half the time! A busy mother's dream!

Nutritional benefits of Legumes: 

1)   Legumes are a water-soluble fiber which form gels that provide beneficial effects including:
* Slow stomach emptying which contributes to fullness and decreased appetite.
* This delayed stomach emptying slows the absorption of carbohydrates which reduces after-meal blood sugar spikes (this helps regulate blood sugar especially those who have diabetes)
* Binds to fatty acids
* Lowers LDL (bad)cholesterol

2)   Legumes are a complex carbohydrates (a.k.a.good carbs), which take longer for the body to digest keeping you fuller longer. Because of its complex chain form, your digestive enzymes have to work much harder to access the bonds to break the chain into individual sugars for absorption through the intestines. Because of that, the digestion of complex carbohydrates takes longer. The slow absorption of sugars provides you with a steady supply of energy and limits the amount of sugar converted into fat and stored. 

3)  Legumes are a great alternative to animal-based proteins and they sure measure up to a beef steak. A 50 g piece of beef steak provides 14.5 g of protein while 1 cup of red kidney beans provides 15.3 g of protein minus the saturated fat from the steak. Not bad for this magical fruit!

4)   Legumes provide 3.6 - 5.2 mg of iron per 1 cup. When iron is low, red blood cells can't carry enough oxygen to the body's tissues, causing fatigue.

My new kitchen staples!

Raw Organic Sprouted Lentils

Ingredients: Organic sprouted Lentils.

Organic Sprouted Lentils - Bio-Buds

Gli spaghetti con le lenticchie, l'aglio e l'oliva oliano (Spaghetti with lentils, garlic and olive oil)

Organic Sprouted Mung Beans - Bio-Buds

Organic Sprouted Aduzki Beans - Bio-Buds

Homemade Minestrone with ShaSha Bread Co. Sprouted Organic Mung and Adzuki Beans - Bio-Buds

Raw Organic Sprouted Brown Rice - Bio-Bud

Ingredients: Organic sprouted Brown Rice.

Quickie dinner for my son - Organic Sprouted Brown Rice, sauteed tofu and steamed spinach.

Benefits of Whole Grains:

Whole grains are excellent foods which are rich in complex carbohydrates, protein, fiber and essential nutrients. Here are some of the many benefits of whole grains.

1)    Weight Loss – Whole grains are Complex Carbohydrates; Complex Carbohydrates keep you satisfied for a longer period of time than simple carbohydrates thus making you eat less. Complex Carbohydrates also don’t have the same insulin effect as simple carbs do. Simple carbs release excess insulin which your body stores as fat.

2)    Beautiful skin and beautiful mood– Whole grains are high in B Vitamins. B Vitamins are known to help kick depression and give you glowing skin.

3)    Elimination – Whole grains contain a large amount of fiber. Your body needs fiber to move waste out of the intestines and into the toilet where it belongs. 

4)  Basic bodily functions improve - Whole grains help your body metabolize protein, release energy from muscles, protects your cells, keeps your bowel movements regular, provides heart health and helps relax your nervous system. 

Spelt & Flax Lavash

Ingredients: Organic Spelt Flour, Filtered Water, Organic Whole Spelt Flour, Organic Flax Seeds, Sea Salt, Organic Poppy Seeds, In-House Organic Expeller-Pressed Sunflower Oil

Nutritious and delicious snack. I enjoyed it all week at work.

Sourdough Bread

What is Sourdough? ShaSha Bread Co. explains.....

The word 'Sourdough' is a misnomer since 'sour' refers to the 'mother' or starter used to ferment the dough, not meant necessarily imply a sharp or vinegary taste. These is a symbiotic relationship between cultures of bacteria (lactobacilli) and airborne fungi (wild yeast); simply put, one element in the relationship provides something that the other element needs. Sourdough starter is basically made from water and grain flour, which create the environment and necessary food for these micro organisms to perform their magic.
The longer fermentation time of sourdough baking breaks the protein down into amino acids, However, Baker’s yeast stimulates the leavening process artificially and does not allow the time it takes for the bacteria and natural yeast interaction that are beneficial to occur. Thus the sufficient valuable lactic acid and acetic acid are missing from the final bread product.

The sourdough method with natural bacteria can activity boost lactic levels, greatly contributing to nutrition profile, moisture and flavour. Since the sourdough method acts as a natural preservative, chemicals such as calcium phosphate and others are not used. Our natural bacterial cultures originating from the Nile River and some from Ontario provide the "mother" for our commercial yeast-free breads.

Tip: 
For Optimum product life and freshness, store between 18°C - 21°C. For prolonged storage double bag and freeze.

Organic Ezekiel Bread

Ingredients: Organic Whole Wheat Flour, Organic Whole Spelt Flour, Filtered Water, Organic Sprouted Wheat, Spelt, Lentils, Millet, Barley, Oat & Rye, Organic Sourdough Bacterial Culture, Pure Sea Salt.

Organic Ezekiel Bread, extra virgin olive oil,  mozzarella, freshly picked tomato and basil from my garden.

Multigrain Bread

Ingredients: Unbleached Whole Wheat Flour, Filtered Water, Organic Sourdough Bacterial Culture, 10 Grain Cereal, Organic Spelt, Kamut & Amaranth Flour, Buckwheat & Pumpkin Seeds, Organic Sprouted Wheat & Rye, Pure Sea Salt .

Multigrain bread with Raw Almond Butter and Buckwheat un-pasteurized honey

Organic Spelt Bread

Ingredients: Organic Whole Spelt Flour, Filtered Water, Organic Sourdough Bacterial Culture, Organic Sprouted Spelt, Pure Sea Salt.

Organic Spelt Bread with homemade Guacamole

A BIG thank-you to Sha Sha and his team for awarding 1 lucky My Wholesome Home follower a loaded box of all the goodies reviewed above. What a HUGE prize!

To Enter

Become a My Wholesome Home blog follower and visit ShaSha Co. and leave a comment here about your favorite product or something you learned about the product and/or company.

Extra Entries (leave a separate comment for each one):

* Blog about this contest 
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* Follow @mywholesomehome on Twitter and tweet this giveaway, leaving a link to your tweet in the comments. You can tweet once per day (leave a comment each day). You can copy and paste my tweet if you'd like: Win a @shashaBreadCo Gift Pack at @mywholesomehome http://goo.gl/b/NFjd  #giveaway
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*Facebook mention this giveaway (include link to my blog)

If you posted on your blog, Twitter or Facebook page (one entry each per day) be sure to include it in your post so I can check it out and also so I can return the follow.


Canada and US Postal addresses only.

You must do the first entry in order to enter.
 
You will have until Saturday October 16th, 2010. at 11:59pm EST to enter.
 
The winner will be chosen via random number generator (www.random.org) the next day and notified by email. I'll also post the winners on my blog in the comments below. If I don't hear back from the winner within 72 hours, I'll pick another.

Good luck!

To learn more about ShaSha Bread Co. visit their website.