As a graphic designer, I appreciate good packaging on a gluten-free product. Especially considering all of the ugly, dated, looks-like-it’s-been-sitting-on-the-shelf-for-twenty-years badly designed boxes and bags in the gluten-free aisle, good design really stands out to me. It’s like a little voice (in this case a big voice) is calling out from the shelf, saying: “Buy me!”
This is what I was pondering at Wegmans a few months ago, as a newly redesigned product line really jumped out at me in a good way: a row of Simple Mills brand mixes. After reading the boxes and seeing the banner on top: “Inside you’ll find 7 hand-selected, unprocessed ingredients you’ll fall in love with!” the banana muffin and pumpkin muffin mixes practically jumped into my shopping cart.
Simple Mills mixes are paleo-friendly, grain-free, dairy-free, soy-free and low carb, made in a dedicated gluten-free facility and are certified gluten-free. Simple Mills “believes that when you eat better, you feel better….We are passionate about providing whole food baking mixes that are good for you, easy to make and taste absolutely amazing.”
To this we can attest. Click this link to find out more about their quality ingredients.
The ingredients on the banana muffins (shown above) are: almonds, banana, organic coconut sugar, arrowroot powder, organic coconut flour, baking soda and sea salt. You just need to add 3 eggs, water and oil. We also added a sprinkle of diced walnuts.
Compare that to the crazy long ingredient lists on so many other GF products. The more processed foods are, the more ingredients they have. Once prepared, Simple Mills banana muffins have only 7 g. of sugar, 3 g. of protein and 2 g. fiber per serving! I add 1-2 T of flax seed for extra fiber on top of that and no one in my family even notices. :) They just love the taste of these muffins all by themselves. No need for butter or anything else. They are perfect for breakfast or as a mid-morning school snack for my girls.
The 8 ingredients on the pumpkin muffins (above) are similar: almonds, banana, organic coconut sugar, pumpkin, arrowroot powder, organic coconut flour, organic spice mix, baking soda and sea salt. Again, just add eggs, water and oil. These bad boys only have 5 g. of sugar, 4 g. protein and 3 g. of fiber per serving! Again, I add flax for even more fiber, as that is a big issue in my household. These muffins are just as good on their own, but add a dollop of whipped cream and you may just think you are eating pumpkin pie.
After realizing how amazing these first two products were, I contacted Simple Mills and they sent us a box of their pancake & waffle mix and pizza crust mix to try as well.
First off, the pancakes were amazing. The above photo shows how many one box makes. I ate many of them without using maple syrup and whipped topping, which is unheard of for me. These tasted heartier and more “gourmet” than your run of the mill GF pancakes. Again: 8 ingredients. Just add eggs, milk (we use coconut milk) and oil. Two pancakes provide 2 g. fiber, 3 g. protein and other good stuff. As with any pancake mix, my family added mini chocolate chips and diced walnuts and my daughters really loved these with a little syrup and Cocowhip. Another thing I love about Simple Mills pancakes is how long they keep you satisfied for, so you don’t feel hungry an hour later like you do after eating regular pancakes.
Last by not least is Simple Mills pizza dough mix. And once again: 8 ingredients. Prepare it by following the directions on the box (you’ll need apple cider vinegar, oil and water). They provide a good tip on the box about putting oil on your hands when you are spreading out the dough. That really helped…
We made an amazing dairy-free pizza with it by following this recipe: http://thewholetara.com/best-healthy-vegan-pizza/ and I’m so glad we did. Don’t expect a light, fluffy, airy pizza. This pizza crust is hearty, gourmet-tasting and crispy. I also spread it extra thin and cooked it a little longer, because I like pizza thin and crispy. It was the perfect crust for the toppings in that recipe. I have made it twice since then and my girls & I love it. I honestly don’t think it would work as well with any other pizza crust.
For more recipes using Simple Mills products, visit their recipe page. Lots of good stuff there…
In conclusion, I am a huge fan of this brand. I have made many batches of muffins since I found these mixes, as well as a few pizzas. I look forward to trying their other mixes once they are available in my area or I find a good deal online. We still need to try these other Simple Mills mixes: vanilla cake mix, chocolate muffin & cake mix, artisan bread mix, and chocolate chip cookie mix. The average price of these mixes is $7.50 each from what I have found. To me, it’s worth the money in that Simple Mills products taste great, they have minimal, quality ingredients and are easy to make. I’ll pay an extra few bucks for all of those qualities in a GF food anytime. Life’s too short to eat bad GF food!
Now, for the giveaway:
Simple Mills is offering a free box of their banana muffin mix and a free box of pancake & waffle mix to TWO winners. So each winner will get 2 free products mailed to them!
Entry is simple, as always: Comment below, letting me know what entices you most about these mixes and why you think your family would like to try them.
This giveaway ends Friday, January 29, 2016, at midnight. I’ll pick two winners randomly and will notify them by email. They will have 24 hours to get back to me with their addresses; otherwise I’ll pick new winners. U.S. residents only please. Good luck!
