I suppose normal people don’t get all excited to go to a company store of….flour, grains and beans. I do though! Last summer I was too tired to check out Bob’s Red Mill on our way back from Portland, Oregon (being that I was pregnant). Kirk had a couple of days off this past week so on Friday he said he would drive me down to Portland. It is a shy 400 miles round trip, not cheap on gas but it was fun.
If you love Bob’s products you have to treat yourself to a couple of hours there! And not only all that but Bob was there as well – he was coming in while Walker ran around on the lawn by the water wheel and said good morning to us 😉
Walker and I:
Our visit to Bob’s is part of my goal/project I am working on – to remove nearly all processed foods out of our diets. I am not going for 100% but trying to keep up my pattern of cooking nearly all our meals and instead of using commercial shortcuts, I cook from scratch. I can’t see myself making bread daily but I have no issues making my own condensed cream of soups if I get the desire. Going to Bob’s allowed me to see every product they make/sell – and they sell quite a bit! I bought a number of items in small bags so I could see if I wanted to try later on with grinding my own (which I have done with my Vitamix). I also stocked up on 25 lb bags of beans, white wheat berries, Lundberg brown rice and so much more. By the time I checked out the grocery cart was over flowing and I had come within $6 of my spending limit. The minivan was well loaded down for the drive home!
Dave’s Killer Bread company store is across the street so it is a 2 for 2 shopping event. Before we left I went over and picked up a couple of loaves of bread we hadn’t had before. The Robust Raisin is so good!
We had lunch at the café in Bob’s – yum!
So on my newest project? I bought quite a few canning jars – wide mouth quarts, wide mouth pints, 4 ounce, etc over the past week and slowly moved all my bulk item into them, labeling each container.
I was very frustrated with my pantry. It was a pile of bags of flours and grains that I had no idea of what I had. So they didn’t get used or worse, got spilled. Now I can see everything I have and they stay tidy and well sealed. But more so, I know what I have and I am actually using them! It is encouraging me to cook/bake with new ingredients daily. Sure buying nearly 8 dozen canning jars isn’t cheap but they last a very long time (and can always be used for canning later!)
I put everything in the mason jars, from beans to flours, to grains and even items like cream of tartar, baking powder, etc. No boxes flopping over, bags ripping. Just tidy rows of clear jars! I noted down everything in the pantry and am making lists of it, to post on the pantry doors inside so I have a quick reference.
In all honesty I should have done this a long time ago. When I did a similar project with my spices/herbs in baby food jars I found I was using so many new flavors. If one wants to cook from scratch and use as whole of food as they can, this is the way to go! Don’t let your food hide!
So far here is my list:
Baking Items –
Arrowroot
Baking Powder
Baking Soda
Cocoa Pearls
Cocoa Powder
Cornstarch
Cream of Tartar
Dry Milk
Potato Starch
Meringue Powder
Nutritional Yeast Flakes
Nutritional Yeast Powder
Rock Sugar
Sprinkelz
Beans/Legumes –
Anasazi Beans
Black Turtle Beans
Black Bean Flakes
Brown Lentils
Cannellini Beans
Cranberry Beans
French Green Lentils
Garbanzo Beans
Small White Beans
Yellow Split Peas
Flours/Meals –
Almond Meal
Black Bean Flour
Brown Rice Flour
Buckwheat Flour
Coconut Flour
Blue Cornmeal
Cornmeal
Garbanzo Bean Flour
Garbanzo-Fava Bean Flour
Green Pea Flour
Hazelnut Meal
Peanut Flour
Polenta Corn Grits
Potato Flour
Quinoa Flour
Semolina Flour
Vital Wheat Gluten
Wheat Germ
Fruits and Vegetables –
Bell Peppers
Carrots
Cherries
Cranberries
Date Crumbles
Just Veggies Blend
Raisins
Shiitake Mushrooms
Sun-dried Tomatoes
Grains –
Amarath
Barley
Barley Flakes
Brown Rice
Oat Groats
Oats, Scottish
Old-fashioned Oats
Quinoa
Nuts and Seeds –
Almonds
Brazil Nuts
Cashews
Chia Seeds
Flaxseed Meal
Hemp Seeds
Pecans
Pepitas
Black Sesame Seeds
Brown Sesame Seeds
Sesame Seeds
Sunflower Seeds
Walnuts
~Sarah