MojaMix Blog

Mulberrilicious

Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Here we go round the mulberry bush,
The mulberry bush,
The mulberry bush.
Here we go round the mulberry bush
On a cold and frosty morning.

More than just a kid’s rhyme, mulberries have been famous since ancient times when they braved the long trek across the Silk Road. These sweet berries will not only make your taste buds happy, but they also pack an amazing nutritional punch. They’re loaded with iron, vitamin C, and reservatrol, a powerful antioxidant for heart health and combating cancer.

An important folk remedy in Chinese medicine, mulberries are reputed to have a wide variety of health benefits. It should be noted that many of these benefits have not been scientifically verified but are traditionalremedies that have developed in countries where mulberries have been eaten for centuries.

Life Extension
Because of their resveratrol content, mulberries may be a tool in one’s life extension arsenal, as resveratrol has shown in several studies to extend the life of mice.

Blood Tonic
In Chinese medicine, mulberries are considered a blood tonic, meaning that they cleanse the blood and increase its production, strengthening the entire system.

Kidney Strengthener
In Chinese medicine, mulberries are believed to strengthen the kidneys.

Liver Cleanser
In Chinese medicine, mulberries are believed to be effective in cleansing the liver.

Better Hearing and Vision
In China, tea made with mulberry paste is believed to strengthen one’s hearing and vision.

Anemia Treatment
Because they are quite high in iron, mulberries are a great food to use in the treatment of anemia.

Cold and Flu Treatment
In Turkey, mulberry molasses is used as a treatment for colds and flu. Their effectiveness in this way may be due to their high vitamin C content.

Premature Gray Hair Remedy
In several countries, mulberries are considered an effective remedy for prematurely gray hair.

Proof enough for ya? Toss a few mulberries in your next batch of Mojamix and see if you don’t agree–their taste is just as impressive as their health benefits!

mulberries

By Elisabeth | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged fruit, health, mulberries, nutrition, taste | Comments (0)

Cereal Style

Monday, October 18, 2010

Let’s say you’re giving your favorite wife, son, boss, client, teacher, neighbor, or friend their very own personalized cereal gift certificate for the holidays. Excellent idea! But if you’re making a big gift of it, you might want to package it with a cereal accoutrement. Lucky for you, we’ve done a little research. Check out these options for going the extra mile:

1. The original EZcrunchbowl to keep the cereal crunchy until the perfect moment!

2. And another option for optimal crunchiness.

3. The spork: great for Mojamix and anything else in the lunch bucket. Stylish, too!

4. Do you know a spoon-loser? With this lego set, cutlery will stick together as long as you need it to.

5. Fun, quirky, and child-friendly, this bowl works for kids of all ages.

6. Pack your Mojamix and cereal in one attractive container for school, work, or anywhere you want to show off your style.

7. Elegance and simplicity in a cereal bowl–a perfect match for the Epicurian?

8. Simply gorgeous bowls for cereal, soup, and everything else.

9. A plastic-free bowl worthy of a high quality cereal with organic ingredients–show them that quality is your number one concern.

10. To truly impress, a personalized bowl to match a personalized cereal!

11. A pretty spoon to transport each bite? It will make your recipient’s meal that much brighter.

12. Okay, this cereal spoon USB port is not technically a cereal gift–it just looks like it! Still, it’s a perfect gift to match with Mojamix for your technically inclined.

By Elisabeth | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged cereal bowl, cereal spoon, gift, holidays | Comments (0)

Cranalot

Thursday, September 30, 2010

*Note: Listen to this Crantastic song while reading the following post*

We’re particularly proud to offer cranberries among our many cereal ingredients here at Mojamix. After all, we’re a unique American company, and the cranberry, as one of only three popular fruits with origins solely in North America, is a unique American food!

The North American cranberry has a long and distinguished history. Native peoples used cranberries as food, in ceremonies, and medicinally. They were used especially for pemmican, wound medicine, and dye. Yukon River residents recommend eating cranberries and drinking cranberry juice for colds and for bleeding gums.

Revolutionary War veteran Henry Hall planted the first commercial cranberry beds in Dennis, Massachusetts in 1816. The name cranberry is probably derived from “craneberry”—early European settlers thought that the plant’s long, trailing stem and nodding-head berry and flower resembled the neck and head of a crane.Today cranberries are farmed on approximately 40,000 acres across the northern United States and Canada.

Nutritionally the cranberry has great street cred. It is a top food on the Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity scale with moderate levels of Vitamin C, dietary fiber, Vitamin K, and manganese. Cranberries are also rich in both antioxidants and fiber. Oh, and taste–did we mention taste? There’s a reason the cranberry has been consistently popular for, well, centuries. But maybe you’d just better try them in your next batch of Mojamix–it’s easier to show you than tell you.

cranberry

By Elisabeth | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged cranberries, history, nutrition | Comments (0)

Magna Cum Crunchy

Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Has your little chickie flown the coop? Late September is when empty nest syndrome hits the hardest for many parents, especially those who have just seen a child off to college for the first time.

According to the New York Times, college days are cereal days. Over three quarters of college students eat cereal on a regular basis—many of them every day. Cereal can be breakfast, brunch, lunch, diner, dessert, and midnight snack. Like it or not, it’s the primary source of nutrition in many college student’s diet. Nostalgia for childhood, a disinclination to cook, and a bit of something that gives kids the munchies (um…. We mean studying hard!) all contribute to cereal’s popularity.

While most commercial cereals make you pick between sugary (Cap’n Crunch! Cocoa Puffs!) or healthy (Bran Attack! Chilly groats!) Mojamix gives you the option of combining the best of both worlds. Chocolate can harmonize with strawberries and pecans; a sweet and fruity trail mix can deliver a protein boost that grocery store cereals just can’t offer.

High quality grains, nuts, seeds, and fruits are an excellent way to keep your child eating a nutritious diet on campus. Affirm their independence with a Mojamix gift certificate–your money, their choice. (Sound familiar? Welcome to college!)

By Elisabeth | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments (0)

Perfectly Sprouted

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Some of our customers are picky eaters, who want exactly what they want and nothing else in their breakfast bowls. And some of our customers are foodies who want the best in flavorful, top-quality fruits and grains. And some are health-focused folks who want the most concentrated sources of nutrition they can find.

And then some of them (and some of the best!) are all three. It is especially for these customers that we developed our Purity Buckwheat Granola base. Not only does it have a fresh, delicious taste that appeals to our foodies, it’s made with raw, sprouted sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and buckwheat. The act of sprouting intensifies the nutritional value of seeds and grains, and not just vitamins and minerals—it can even increase fiber content!

Add your favourite fruits, nuts, and other treats to the Purity base to make the perfect cereal for you. It can be as healthy as you want (Brazil nuts, goji berries, and flax seeds!) or as decadent as you like (Chocolate chips, strawberries, and chocolate covered espresso beans!) We won’t judge you, promise. We just want you to be happy. And eat Mojamix.

sprouted-buckwheat

By Elisabeth | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged grains, granola, health, sprouted buckwheat, sprouted seeds | Comments (0)

Ain’t Nothin’ “Vanilla” about Vanilla

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Vanilla gets a bad rap in our culture—it’s used to describe something bland, boring, or just bad–be it food, music, or sex. That’s a shame, because in fact the vanilla bean is the sex organ of a tropical orchid. Spicy, exotic, flavorful, worshipped–it’s pretty much the opposite of bland!

The Totonaco people of the Vera Cruz region in Mexico were the first to cultivate vanilla, which they believed to be a gift from the gods. Their mythology told of a pair of fallen lovers, whose sacred blood marked the spot where a vigorous vine and beautiful flowers grew to fill the air with the aroma of true love and beauty.

The Aztecs, who learned about vanilla from the Totonaco, called it tlixochitl, “black flower”. Tlixochitl was served with cacao, ground corn, and honey in the drink of the Gods, aka the original hot chocolate! When Cortes came to the New World, he drank this brew and was suitably impressed. Had the Aztec not mistaken him for a god, who knows when Europe would have learned about vanilla?

They did, however, and Cortes took vanilla back to Spain. The word “vanilla” comes from the Spanish word for “vagina” (see—they knew it was sexy!) It quickly caught on all over Europe. The sexy French loved it, although it took them three hundred years to figure out how to cultivate it successfully!

Today we build on their success with our French Vanilla Almond Granola base. It’s lots of things, (especially delicious!) but definitely NOT boring. Try it for yourself and revel in the magnificent and mysterious taste of vanilla!

vanilla beans

By Elisabeth | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged history, taste, vanilla | Comments (0)

Essential Mix

Friday, July 23, 2010

We’ve been getting a lot of love recently from all our fans (thanks, y’all!) It’s always great to know we’re appreciated. We know that a lot of people are feeling the pinch in this economy, though, and some of you have been tempted to downgrade your cereal options. Even though you looooove the taste of Mojamix (and our personalized packaging which is just, well, cool) you’ve been asking yourselves: “are cereals really all THAT different?” The short answer is simply this: yes.

Here at Mojamix, we pride ourselves on the high quality and purity of our ingredients and cereal-making processes. Unfortunately, not everyone who manufactures cereal can say the same. The industrial processes used to make most supermarket shelf cereals destroy the nutritional content of the grains, which are then replaced with artificially manufactured nutrients. We’d like to say that works… but the proof is in the pudding. Or in this case, the rats.

Let’s look at a couple studies about run-of-the-mill breakfast cereals that will send your running. The first study worth noting contained four sets of rats:

The first group was fed plain whole wheat, water and synthetic vitamins and minerals. Even though this is far from a complete or healthy diet for rats or any other mammal, these rats lived about a year.

The second group of rats consumed a diet of only water and proceeded to live about a month.

A third group was fed only water and chemical nutrients; they lived about 2 months.

The fourth group of rats was fed as much cereal as they wanted, along with water and the same vitamins and minerals as the first group. This group lived only 2 weeks.

Let’s look at another example. This fascinating (and terrifying!) study split rats into 3 groups:

The first group ate rat chow. They were all healthy at the end of the experiment.
The second group ate corn flakes. They all… died.
The third group ate the cardboard box the cornflakes came in. They all died too… after the rats that ate the corn flakes.

So there you have it. Eating absolutely nothing is healthier than eating run-of-the-mill processed cereal. Eating the box that cereal comes in—also healthier than eating the cereal inside.

Long story short? If you don’t have Mojamix, you’re better off going without.

By Elisabeth | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged cereal, nutrition, science | Comments (0)

Buck the Wheat

Monday, July 5, 2010

As some of you may have noticed, we feature buckwheat in our granola. Why? For one reason, it’s gluten-free—making it a great choice for people with celiac and others who have difficulty with gluten. But what’s more, it has a unique and delicious taste of its own that has been described as part wild greens, part green tea, and part dark earth, with a toasty nuttiness in the back palate. Now that’s what we call a gourmet cereal!

Despite having a name that sounds, well, an awful lot like wheat, buckwheat doesn’t have much in common with it. The name ‘buckwheat’ or ‘beech wheat’ comes from its triangular seeds, which look like the much larger seeds of the beech tree, and the fact that it is used like wheat. It’s neither a grass nor a grain. Instead, the part we eat is the fruit of a shrub related to rhubarb and sorrel. It has made its way into the diets of some of the major cultures on earth, from Romania to Brittany to Japan, since at least 4000 BCE.

Buckwheat is a terrifically healthy food. It’s an excellent plant source of easily digestive protein and contains all eight essential amino acids. Buckwheat is also high in fiber (a big bonus for celiacs), B vitamins and, according to a USDA study, keeps glucose levels in check better than other carbohydrates — which is great news for celiacs who also have diabetes.

In traditional farming, buckwheat has held the important role of a rotational crop—planting buckwheat in the spring enriched the nutrients in the soil, preparing it to grow summer corn or fall wheat. The shrub grows quickly, creating a ground canopy that chokes out weeds. Today buckwheat is making a comeback on the land and on the public’s palate, as more farmers switch from chemical fertilizers back to natural methods of enriching the land. We at Mojamix say, “Three cheers for buckwheat!” Because we’re big fans of doing it Mother Earth-style.

buckwheat

By Elisabeth | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged buckwheat, farming, granola, history, nutrition, taste | Comments (0)

Summer Treats

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

We’ve noticed that a lot of our customers like their Mojamix SOOOOOOO much that in addition to enjoying it for breakfast and snacks, many of you are finding ways to work it into dessert. Well, duh. Is it any big surprise that folks consider their favorite fruits, nuts, and spices to be a special treat? We’re all for it! To encourage this trend, we thought we’d share a couple favorite recipes for sweet, seasonal treats that go especially well with all kinds of Mojamix.

Frozen Peach Whip

2 cups fresh peaches, peeled and sliced
6 dates, pitted

Place the peach slices on a non-stick cookie sheet and freeze. When the fruit is thoroughly frozen, place 2 cups of frozen peach slices and 6 pitted dates in a blender. Blend at high speed, tamping down as necessary, until smooth and creamy. Spoon the peach cream into dishes and top with Mojamix for a crunchy, creamy treat!

Summer Fruit Compote

1 cup fresh peaches, peeled and sliced
1 cup hulled fresh strawberries, sliced

Combine all ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes, or until fruit just becomes soft. Use liberally as a Mojamix topper.

mojakitty Even kitties love Mojamix!

By Elisabeth | Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged dates, dessert, peaches, recipes, strawberries, treat | Comments (0)

Moja Dad

Monday, June 7, 2010

Father’s Day is about thanking the man who put aside other pleasures to raise you. If your Dad wanted another power saw or drill, he’d probably buy it himself. Instead, why not look for a way to thank him for all the work he did in the past? What did your Dad do for you while you were growing up? What skills did he teach you? Where would you be today without him?

Perhaps he showed you everything you ever needed to know about wood glue. Or he took you to the links to hit a few around—which has turned into an indispensable business skill in your adult life. Or maybe he simply modeled hard work, as he earned the money you needed to get to college so you could enjoy the life you have today.

Dads like to save money on cereal. So even if he loves a good bowl of Happy Camper or Runner’s Fuel, he might be hesitant to shell out for his own package of Mojamix. But good news: Father’s Day is just around the corner! So pony up with the gift certificate and let him get exactly what he wants. Happy Father’s Day, y’all.

moja dad