MACAROON MAGIC
Our macaroons, along with the grawnola, were the first products Megan created 14 years back when the raw food movement in NZ — even the plant-based movement was pretty fresh.
Fast forward 14 years, Little Bird Organics might have grown up on the outside but inside the integrity of the making process remains the same. Every one of those macaroons is still lovingly hand made by our team with the same high-quality organic ingredients and dehydrated at 46 degrees C to retain all the nutritional goodness (which also preserves, without preservatives).
For this blog, we go a little into what it takes to make these good macaroons so good! It's as much about what we put in as what we leave out.
WHY WE USE RAW ORGANIC INGREDIENTS
Megan grew up on an organic market garden, this was where she came to understand whats and whys of the importance of growing organic food. We are only as healthy as the soil our food is grown in and the environment we live in.
Most of our foods grown today and that you subsequently find in the grocery aisle is grown with, fertiliser, herbicides and pesticides and a great number of other chemicals. These chemicals have long terms effects on the soil, our environment, and don’t forget the negative health impacts on our bodies and in particular those who administer these chemicals and are at the front line doing the hard work of growing our food.
Something you might not know about the whole foods ingredients used in our macaroons is that they are not only organic but they are raw meaning they have not been heated above 46 degrees C while being extracted, making them extra special. The reason we care about this is we want to retain as much of the nutrition in the ingredient as possible. Heating during processing destroys some of the amazing vitamins and enzymes (think about that Ribena debacle that some high school students uncovered that there was little to no vitamin c left in the drink after processing however the raw ingredient black currants is abundant in it and which the drink was being promoted on).
While many ingredients are naturally raw others like cacao powder, cacao butter, coconut oil and desiccated coconut are usually exposed to high heats during processing, so to maintain our original values we not only source organic whole foods ingredients for our macaroons we also go the extra kilometre to source premium for raw ingredients to delivers you more nutrients and life force in your food not to mention flavour.
To keep all the goodness and integrity in the final delicious product we use one of the original preservative and additive-free way to preserve food - dehydration. This process takes 12-24 hours at 46degrees C.
When we support organic growers—where we can, our decisions affect far more than just the quality of the food we are putting in our body. Supporting organics is a health move for the environment, the people working on the land and individual health. We are proud as punch that when you eat one of our macaroons like all of our Little Bird Organics range you are eating a locally made food crafted from organic whole food ingredients which shifts us all towards a happier healthier planet and people.
WHY WHOLE FOODS ARE THE BEST FOODS
Most of us are aware now that processed foods, convenience foods and long ingredients lists are not the best for our bodies. When we start processing, refining food, we begin to get into trouble. Our bodies were not designed to function on a diet of highly processed food. You will only find the highest quality organic whole food ingredients in our macaroons. No weird stuff and definitely no numbers.
Coconut is the hero ingredient providing satiating fats and vital minerals combined with other whole foods like cacao butter, cacao and raw agave to deliver incredible flavours and dense nutritional value. With sugars, there tends to be controversy, though as above we know white sugar is not a whole food, not one our body thrives on and therefore one ingredient we should avoid.
Whole food sugars on the other hand often still contain some goodness we use, organic maple and organic raw agave as our sweetener. Raw agave is 1.4 times sweeter than sugar so you can use a lot less of it, agaves are not all created equal and many of them are highly refined, we use a minimally processed raw agave which is the best of the bunch and provides a low GI option for people. Don’t get us wrong were not claiming that even the less refined wholefoods sugars are health foods that you should eat more of but they certainly have less of a negative impact on the body than their highly refined counterparts and in moderation provide that hit of sweetness so many of us crave without the downside.
Our Macaroons were designed to be the perfect wholefoods sweet treat indulgence combining delicious flavours from raw cacao, freeze-dried berries and fruits with a hint of sweetness and nutrient-dense whole foods like coconut, activated almonds and macadamias to satisfy your sweet treat needs in a few mouthfuls.
LOCALLY MADE SO WE CAN ALL EAT HAPPY
Little Bird Organics products are made by hand, here — locally. Everything is hand-mixed, shaped and then placed in a dehydrator for 12-24 hours. So really, we’re going back full circle and bypassing that whole “industrial revolution” to celebrate slow, real whole foods.
Being a local producer also means that we are creating products that make a positive difference to people’s lives, not only to those who buy them but to those who make them. When we buy from small, local businesses we are providing local jobs, supporting our community, creating a more resilient local economy!
WHAT’S YOUR FLAVOUR?
Cacao Raspberry Chocolate and berries, bites of bliss. Rich raw cacao and tart freeze-dried raspberry mixed with chewy coconut— melt in your mouth kind of decadence.
Passionfruit & Macadamia Brilliantly tangy passionfruit paired with creamy macadamias and chewy coconut provides a juicy taste of the tropics!
Vanilla & Almond We mix aromatic vanilla, crunchy activated almonds and chewy coconut for a classic flavour combination. Light, delicate and simply perfect.
Strawberry & White Cacao Delicately sweet organic strawberries, creamy white cacao and chewy coconut combine to bring you the taste of summer all year round.
Chocolate & Coconut Satisfying the chocolate lover in all of us. Premium, organic raw cacao mixed with chewy coconut—utterly delicious! Share with friends or keep them where only you can find them.