Why we love our sprouted Grawnola and why you should too!
To celebrate 10 years of Little Bird Organics we are going behind the scenes to share more of how our products differ from others in the pack and why we spend 3 days to hand make our bags of grawnola! This blog focuses on our amazing grawnola products and its hero ingredients sprouted buckwheat.
Megan first created our grawnola 11 years ago when she was fed up with having GF breakfast options that didn’t leave her feeling satisfied. Most GF breakfasts, (even the ‘healthy ones’), were full of puffed grains and refined ingredients that don’t fill you up for long and lack any wholefoods substance. Other heavier wholefoods options were dense and hard to digest.
Discovering sprouted buckwheat, (our grawnolas’ hero ingredient), transformed her breakfast into a delicious, nutritious, easily digestible breakfast experience and she wanted to share that with everyone.
Making nutrient-rich food is rarely a quick process at the Little Bird factory – like many of our products our grawnola takes 3- 4 days to make from start to finish. First, we soak (or ‘activate’) the organic buckwheat, rinsing it regularly for up to 24 hours until we have buckwheat sprouts. Next, we mix it with organic activated nuts and seeds and dehydrate with our favourite flavours and superfoods to give you a delicious and highly nutritious breakfast experience.
Why we should all be eating sprouted buckwheat
While many of us think of buckwheat as a grain, it is actually a fruit seed that is closely related to rhubarb and sorrel. A perfect substitute for traditional cereals, we use buckwheat as our superfood base across our Grawnola range — sprouted for enhanced digestibility and bioavailability of the life-force minerals and vitamins found within the seed.
Sprouting or germination is the only form of food processing which provides a significant increase in the nutritional value by enhancing nutrient bioavailability. Sprouted buckwheat contains more zinc, copper, potassium and manganese, more phytochemicals — which all help to create a healthier more vibrant you.
While not present in the dormant buckwheat seed, Vitamin C, (ascorbic acid - a powerful antioxidant), makes an appearance as sprouting progresses. Likewise, Rutin, (a bioflavonoid and potent antioxidant that helps your body produce collagen and utilise Vitamin C), also increases in sprouted buckwheat.
Sprouting is also the key to breaking down phytic acid and tannins - both anti-nutrients that inhibit the absorption and bioavailability of minerals and nutrients most often lacking in plant-based diets — iron, zinc, calcium and the B vitamins.
More than buckwheat
At Little Bird Organics we are committed to only using the highest quality, organic ingredients, but it is not enough to just mix these up in a bag. We know what it takes to maximise the health potential of our ingredients — and that is why we sprout.
This natural process enhances antioxidant power, creating a functional food — foods that contain biologically active components and have potential in reducing the risk of disease. Functional foods are like overachievers, and each variety of our grawnolas is packed with a base of highly functional ingredients, like sprouted sunflower seeds (containing minerals, and Vitamin E, a potent anti-oxidant), activated (and delicious) nuts and other seeds. All this delivers unparalleled nutrient density in every grawnola cluster.
Locally made so we can all EAT HAPPY
When we consider all the energy, the resource that goes into growing and producing the ingredients we use at our factory, food preparation deserves our utmost care and respect. And so all Little Bird Organics products are made by hand, here — locally.
It’s also incredibly rewarding to create 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’re providing local jobs, supporting our community, creating a more resilient local economy!
How to enjoy a bag of grawnola. Or several!
There are many ways to enjoy our grawnola; the simplest is to eat straight from the bag — which we often do! Small portions are equally ideal for little hands, packed into school lunchboxes, a wonderful alternative to refined carbohydrate-centred snacks.
Our favourite ways:
— Far better than a bowl of conventional cereal, grab a bowl of grawnola, nut milk (or your fave plant-based milk) and whatever fresh fruit you have on hand for a bowl of nourishment.
— For an on the go superfood breakfast or work-out fuel up, prepare our Cacao Superfoods Smoothie with Cacao & Superfoods grawnola for a dose of antioxidants to leave you feeling full and ready to take on the day! We also love adding our SuperFeast powders and Seleno health maca for even more of a boost.
— Love making smoothie bowls? Our grawnola is the perfect topping to your favourite bowl and you have 4 different flavour options to choose from so there is always one to match. We top our famous antioxidant-rich acai bowl at our café Little bird kitchen with our original Fig & Ginger grawnola.
— To recharge your afternoons, place some coconut yoghurt and berries in a bowl and top with grawnola for an in-between energy boost that’s delicious and easy on your digestion. Megan loves having this for dessert using organic frozen berries.
— Healthy desserts – make a simple coconut chia pudding or avocado cacao mousse and top with a handful of Macadamia & Berries grawnola clusters to make a delicious dessert that also provides you with healthful fats and protein.
To see more behind the scenes action and our team eating grawnola, check out our Instagram highlights!
Can’t decide? Grab yourself a Grawnola taster pack
