shadow bottom

Pistachioioio

According to the Uncyclopedia, pistachio nuts are the 5th most addictive substance on the planet. (What’s more, there’s a 1 in 3 chance that you or a loved one is already hooked!) Sure, they’re delicious. Sure, they keep you coming back for more. But what’s the backstory here?

*

*

Well, when it comes to backstory, there’s a lot of it. Pistachios are one of the oldest flowering nut trees, and are one of the only two nuts mentioned in the Bible (Genesis 43:11). Humans have eaten pistachio nuts for at least 9,000 years. The modern pistachio nut P. vera was first cultivated in Western Asia, where it has long been an important crop in cooler parts of Iran. According to legend, pistachios were featured in the fabled Hanging Gardens of Babylon, built about 700 B.C. by King Nebuchadnezzar for his wife Amytis. The Queen of Sheba also loved pistachios. In fact, she demanded that the entire region’s pistachio harvest be set aside for her. (Greedy Sheeby!)

*

*

A seed rather than a true nut, almost 90% of the fat found in pistachios is the healthy mono- and polyunsaturated fats. Pistachios are a good source of fiber providing 3 grams per serving, that’s more than many types of whole fruit–you would have to eat three plums to get the same amount of fiber found in one serving of pistachios. Just one serving of pistachios has 32% of magnesium, 34% of iron, 65% of a daily serving of B1, 69% of phosphorous, and a whopping 98% of B6.We’re proud to offer local pistachios in our cereals. A desert plant, the pistachio loves our California sunshine. The state produces upwards 300 million pounds of pistachios, about 98 percent of the domestic crop. Pretty impressive, when you consider that there was virtually no pistachio production in the state until the 1970’s!

*

*

 

Getting Help

*

Pistachio Addicts Anonymous holds regular meetings in most major civic centers and many churches across North America. Don’t want help? Then try a helping (or two!) on your Mojamix. (Also, listen to this song while you do it.) Indulge the decadence!

Pining for Apples

One of the most popular tropical fruits here at Mojamix is the sweet, sharp, golden pineapple. It’s got quite a taste, and quite a backstory.

***

The first account of the pineapple was given by Christopher Columbus and his men, who landed on the island now known as Guadeloupe on their second voyage of discovery. Columbus brought the succulent fruit back to Europe in 1493. By 1642, pineapples were grown by the Duchess of Cleveland and France’s Louis XIV had it grown in the greenhouses of the Versailles vegetable garden. The plant was brought to the Hawaiian islands by the Polynesians and formally discovered there by Captain Cook in 1778. It remained an expensive delicacy until after the advent of the steamship and after World War II.

***

To the Carib, the pineapple symbolized hospitality, and the Spaniards soon learned they were welcome if a pineapple was placed by the entrance to a village. Seafaring captains used to impale fresh pineapples–souvenirs of their lengthy travels to tropical ports–atop the porch railings of their homes when they returned. It was a symbol then that the man of the house was home and receiving visitors.

***

During early Colonial days in the United States, families would set a fresh pineapple in the center of the table as a colorful centerpiece of the festive meal, especially when visitors joined them in celebration. Today you can find fine examples of this detail throughout many historic homes and churches around the world, especially around main entrances and walkways, staircase finials, bedposts, headboards, and fireplaces. And if you’re really lucky, in your cereal.

Bananarama

Eating a healthy breakfast is one of the very best ways to stimulate your metabolism for an energetic, healthy day. If you want to amp up that effect, make sure to include bananas.

A staple starch in many tropical locales, bananas are an especially resistant starch, which means that they fill you up and keep you full for a particularly long time.

Vitamins and minerals are abundant in the banana, with especially high levels of vitamin A, a full range of B vitamins, thiamine, potassium, riboflavin, niacin, folic acid, calcium, iron, and magnesium. Their high level of potassium, combined with an extremely low level of sodium, make an excellent food for people with high blood pressure—so much so that the United States Food and Drug Administration recently gave permission to the banana industry to make the official claim that bananas can reduce the risk of high blood pressure and stroke. Bananas are also excellent for treating constipation, hangovers, and morning sickness.

Enjoy your Mojamix with our own, intensely-flavored dried banana chips or top your morning bowl with a fresh, sliced banana. Or to take your enjoyment one step further, broil banana slices sprinkled with brown sugar and cinnamon until they begin to brown and sizzle. Yum!

Pining for Nuts

Are your cereal options limited by nut allergies?  You might want to give pine nuts a try.

Despite their name, pine nuts are not nuts at all, but the edible seeds of pine trees. Their rich and earthy taste has been prized by foodies since the Stone Age. Today, pine nuts are popular in Latino, Mediterranean, Native American, and Asian cultures.  They are known by many names including pignon, pignolia, pignoli, pinolos, pinhao, and pignole. The Tuscan word for pine nut is Pinocchio—although the belief that your nose will grow if you lie after eating them is, hopefully, just a myth. In terms of nutrition, pine nuts contain fiber, thiamine, vitamin B1 and protein—up to 35% of their mass is pure protein!

In ancient Greek and Roman times pine nuts were commonly preserved in honey, creating a sweet and nutritious treat that remains popular to this day.  Their characteristic taste also matches perfectly with coffee—in the Southwest, the enticing aroma of piñon (pine nut) coffee is enough to beckon the sleepiest dreamer out of bed.  Try your Mojamix with pine nuts, a dollop of honey, and a strong, fresh cup of coffee for a breakfast that’s rich, nourishing, and delicious.  But keep it honest afterward (just to be on the safe side). ;-)

Gin Gin

Our ginger snap granola base has become a fave recently!  (No surprise here, we think it’s tops.)  So what’s the story behind this gnarled, bumpy little root?

ginger root

Ginger’s current name comes from the Middle English gingivere, but ginger dates back over 3,000 years to the Sanskrit srngaveram meaning “horn root” with reference to its appearance. The English name ginger comes from French: gingembre, Old English: gingifere, Medieval Latin: ginginer, Greek: zingiberis, Old Persian: shingavir. Ultimately the origin is from Tamil: inji ver. The botanical term for root in Tamil is ver, hence inji root or inji ver.

 

As suggested by the origin of its name, ginger cultivation first began millennia ago in South Asia. Although it was well-known to the ancient Romans, ginger nearly disappeared in Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire. Thanks to Marco Polo’s trip to the Far East, ginger came back into favor in Europe, becoming not only a much-coveted spice, but also a very expensive one.

 

Today, ginger is used in Asian medicine to treat stomach aches, nausea, and diarrhea.  Ginger has also been historically used to treat inflammation, and research on rats suggests that ginger may be useful for treating diabetes. It has additionally been used for rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, and joint and muscle pain.

 

In Asian cultures ginger is also reputed to be effective for infertility and erectile difficulties. That’s right, the “horn root” might be the “horn-y root”. (Whether you up your chances of having a “ginger kid” if you eat a lot of ginger—well, the jury’s out there.)

ginger kid

Mighty Mighty Nut Nut

From time to time on this blog we talk about those grace notes you can add to your Mojamix which are best done at home.  (If they weren’t best done at home… they’d already be on our big-ass menu!)  Among these, our current favourite is  the tiny and terrific nutmeg!

 

Fragrant, spicy, and flavorful, nutmeg has been making its way around the world for centuries. Emperor Henry VI had the streets of Rome fumigated with nutmegs before his coronation. In the sixth century, nutmegs were brought by Arab merchants to Constantinople. In the fourteenth century, half a kilogram of nutmeg cost as much as three sheep or a cow.

 

You have to grind your own nutmeg.  You just do.  Some spices can be ground, bottled, and retain their taste for months.  Nutmeg, however lasts about ten minutes, so pass up the shaker container and buy the little nuts whole. 

 

The good news is that you don’t have to buy a nutmeg grinder–unless you want to; some folks swear by them.  In fact, intricately decorated nutmeg graters have been a foodie fashion item in Paris since the middle ages.  For the rest of us: Know that squarish thing you grate your carrots with?  Turn it around to the side with the teeniest holes and rub your nut on that. (No dirty comments, please! Just delicious taste.)

Dried Nutmeg

New Year’s Moja-lutions

It’s almost that time again!  You probably won’t max out your 401K this year or lose 20 pounds, but you can meet some realistic goals for eating well in 2011.  Try some of our tips to get you started:

 

Fill your plate with color (and not the kind that has a number attached!)

 

Celebrate your New Year with vegetables in every color of the rainbow.  Dark, leafy greens are especially loaded with vitamins and antioxidants, not to mention the fiber you need to keep everything moving along ticky-boo.

 

Be a fruity snacker

 

When that snack attack hits, grab a peach instead of a potato chip or a mango instead of a milkshake, And don’t forget about dried fruits. Mixing them with whole-wheat breakfast cereal and nuts makes for an anytime snack or meal.

 

If you eat meat, keep it real

 

Avoid processed meats like the plague.  This means lunchmeat, hot dogs, bacon, etc.  Try shredded beef roast in a yummy sauce or sliced chicken, instead.  Or veg it up for a change of pace!

 

Choose whole grains

 

The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend eating at least 3 servings of whole grains every day. Not only are they high in fiber, whole grains also contain an array of antioxidants not found in fruits and vegetables.  Toss some barley or brown rice in your next soup, eat popcorn instead of chips, and… oh, right! Eat lots of Mojamix! 

 

Eat breakfast

 

I know you’ve heard this one before.  It’s easy to put off your first meal, but your metabolism will pay for it the rest of the day.  That’s why having something that’s both intensely nutritious and convenient is such a valuable part of your diet.  Now if oooonly you knew where to get just the right breakfast food to help you keep your resolution… ;-)

Figgy Gooding

Ever since Adam and Eve slapped its leaves over their naughty bits, the fig tree has been one of humanity’s most beloved fruits.  It even survived being cursed by Jesus (who, to be fair, was just really disappointed he couldn’t eat a fig—they were out of season at the time).

 

The Prophet Muhammad said, “If I had to mention a fruit that descended from paradise, I would say this is it…eat from these fruits for they prevent hemorrhoids, prevent piles, and help gout.”  Okay, possibly more than you wanted to know from a religious leader, but true!   What’s more, the word “sycophant” comes from the Greek word sykophantes, meaning”one who shows the fig”.  Three guesses what that means!

 

Unlike most fruits, figs aren’t acidic, making them a great choice for people with sensitive digestion or ulcers.  They have a mild but rich taste, described by some as being halfway between a pear and an apple, but with the texture of a prune.  Figs are a powerful source of fiber, copper, thiamine, riboflavin, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, and B vitamins.  Toss a few in your next order of Mojamix—your mouth (and the rest of your body) will thank you!

fig cross section

Happy, Happy Holidays

 It’s the time of year for crafts, treats, and presents.  At Mojamix we live to please–so we’ve combined all three in one!  Try this holiday treat for a special gift or party and wow all your friends and family.  

 

 

Mojamix Wreath

 

Ingredients
3 tablespoons butter (plus 1 teaspoon for your hands)
3 cups miniature marshmallows
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon green food coloring
1 package Mojamix (use Jingle mix, recipe below, or your favourite blend!)
Wax paper
Cranberries for decoration (optional)

 

Directions
Combine butter and marshmallows in a saucepan over low heat and stir constantly until thoroughly melted. Add vanilla and food coloring and stir to combine. Remove mixture from heat, add cereal, and stir until evenly coated. Butter your hands (1 tablespoon should do the trick!) Shape the warm mixture into the shape of one large wreath or several small ones on the wax paper and allow to cool. Decorate with additional cranberries as desired. Serve as a special holiday treat!

 

Jingle Mix
Corn flakes
Cranberries
Golden raisins
Pears
Walnuts
Pumpkin seeds

cereal wreath

Yummy Monkey Face

When Spanish explorers first discovered the coconut, they called it the “monkey face nut”—a fact we love!  But that’s only one reason why we offer both a delicious coconut crisp base and coconut chips to add to any mix. Coconut is highly nutritious and rich in fiber, vitamins, and minerals. It is classified as a “functional food” because it provides many health benefits beyond its nutritional content.

 

People from many diverse cultures, languages, religions, and races scattered around the globe have revered the coconut as a valuable source of both food and medicine. Wherever the coconut palm grows the people have learned of its importance as an effective medicine. For thousands of years coconut products have held a respected and valuable place in local folkways.

In traditional medicine around the world coconut is used to treat a wide variety of health problems including abscesses, asthma, baldness, bronchitis, bruises, burns, colds, constipation, cough, dropsy, dysentery, earache, fever, flu, gingivitis, gonorrhea, irregular or painful menstruation, jaundice, kidney stones, lice, malnutrition, nausea, rash, scabies, scurvy, skin infections, sore throat, swelling, syphilis, toothache, tuberculosis, tumors, typhoid, ulcers, upset stomach, weakness, and wounds. Talk about a cure-all! The coconut palm is so highly valued by them as both a source of food and medicine that it is called “The Tree of Life.”

 

And that’s not even all: In tantric practices, coconuts are sometimes used as substitutes for human skulls.  So just think of that the next time you eat your Mojamix.  ;-)

Blog
shadow bottom