As you would imagine, we have quite a few oat fanatics around our office. We love our steel cut, rolled, multi-grain… not to mention our Soft Baked Oatmeal Cookies. In fact, we spend a lot of our working hours perfecting new and delicious ways to deliver our organic oats to you. Most recently, we introduced several new products: Quick Cook Steel Cut Oat Pouches, Apple Cinnamon Multigrain Instant Oatmeal and Maple Spice Multigrain Instant Oatmeal. You should see them soon where you buy organic products.

However, we know we aren’t the only ones with “outside the canister” ideas for enjoying Country Choice Organic oats!

So now it’s your turn to get creative! We’d love to hear the delicious ways you make eating organic easy. How do you incorporate organic oats into recipes enjoyed by you and your family? Enter the Outside the Canister Recipe Contest before February 8, 2012, and let us know what you are whipping up in your kitchen. You could win a one-year supply of Country Choice organic products. What better way to start the year?

Enjoy!

Rhubarb Crisp
serves 8

Ingredients
8 large stalks rhubarb, cut into ¼” pieces
1 ½ cups of organic sugar
½ cup organic flour
1 Tbs unsalted organic butter
Organic Topping (recipe follows)

1. Combine cut rhubarb with ¾ cup of sugar and let stand for 1 hour.
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Turn rhubarb into a large bowl and add remaining sugar.  Mix well.  Add flour and mix again.  If mixture is too soupy, add flour to thicken.
3. Butter a 2 ½ quart gratin dish and pour in rhubarb mixture.  Sprinkle with topping.
4. Place dish on middle rack of oven and bake for 1 hour, until rhubarb is tender, juices are bubbling and topping is crisp.

Oatmeal Topping
¾ cup organic flour
8 Tbs (1 stick) cold unsalted organic butter, cut into small pieces
1 Tbs organic ground cinnamon
1 cup organic rolled oats
½ cup organic brown sugar

In a food processor, combine flour, butter and cinnamon.  Pulse until large crumbs form, about 20 seconds.  (If you don’t have a food processor, cut butter into dry ingredients until large crumbs form.)  Pour into bowl with oatmeal and sugar.  Crumble with fingers until well combined.

Rising food prices impact everyone on some level, but there are things you can do to minimize the impact.  It only takes a little forethought to create big savings.  So before your next shopping trip consider…

How you eat.  Meals prepared at home tend to be less expensive than eating out.  Even prepared food from the grocery store is more expensive than do-it-yourself alternatives.  So dig out those old cookbooks and plan a weekly menu.  You’ll save on your overall food bill and spend some quality time with your family.

Where you shop. While food is available nearly everywhere today (Toys R Us …really?!), concentrate your purchases in places that specialize in groceries.  Conventional grocers have the scale to reduce costs and offer regular promotions to lower prices.  Likewise, natural food co-ops work hard to minimize overhead and pass the savings on to their members.  Recently, savvy internet retailers like amazon.com have gotten into the grocery business, offering significant value and free shipping.

What you buy. With over 50,000 choices in the average grocery store, it’s too easy to spend money when shopping.  It helps to start with a list (see “How you eat” above) and stick to it.  Calorie-for-calorie, the best deals are on the perimeter of the store, where the less-processed, calorie-dense whole foods reside.  However, don’t forget to check out the bulk aisles for everything from cereals to snacks.  Finally, look for products with multiple uses in the kitchen.  For example, canister oats are not only an economical breakfast for the whole family, but can also be used in myriad recipes.

So while rising food prices may be inevitable, with a little effort you’ll save big.  Planning ahead allows you to prepare economical, tasty meals for your family and at the same time benefit from eating less processed, healthier meals.  After all, spending any more than necessary is for the birds!

No doubt, your valentine will appreciate the flowers, heart-shaped boxes of chocolate and romantic dinner.  However, nothing shows your love like waking up your special someone with a steaming bowl of oats.  Add a little flax or fresh fruit and you’ll jumpstart your morning, as well as fuel your passion throughout the day.

So, surprise your loved one with oatmeal this Valentine’s Day.  It’s a positive step to a longer lasting love.

Access to better-for-you food matters to us.  That’s why last year, with the help of our Facebook friends, we  delivered more than 5,000 bowls of oatmeal to food shelves.  This year, we’d like to double that number and give the gift of breakfast to thousands of people in need.

As part of our commitment to make organic foods accessible to everyone, we’re asking people to “like” us on Facebook and help us send organic oatmeal to food shelves which desperately need the help.  For each new fan between today and January 5, Country Choice Organic will donate five bowls of organic instant oatmeal to Hope for the City.

Become a Country Choice Organic fan on Facebook today and help others start the new year hunger-free.

Happy holidays,

Your Friends at Country Choice Organic

Most experts agree that less than 3% of the population may have celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder in which consumption of gluten (proteins in wheat, barley, and rye) causes the body’s immune system to attack and damage the small intestine.  Celiac sprue is a nasty disease to be sure, but it sure feels like many manufacturers, like moths to a light, are blindly throwing products into the market with little concern for efficacy or even taste (not unlike the low-carb bubble from a few years ago). 

At Country Choice Organic, we’ve watched this irrational exuberance from the sideline, wondering if we should get in the game or even if the world needs another GF ginger snap.  (For the record, we are all in agreement that the world could use a great tasting GF ginger snap, as current offerings are not very tasty.)  

To date, we remain committed to offering better-for-you organic hot cereals, cookies and bars.  And while we create many wheat-free products, we are aware that oats are sometimes cross-contaminated with wheat and have therefore steered clear of the GF label (although many wheat sensitive customers tell us they have no problems with our organic oats and Soft Baked cookies). 

As for the future, we look forward to the FDA’s long awaited announcement for a GF standard of identity.  Until then, we’ll most likely “ride the pine” and wait for the inevitable market correction.

To participate (and earn a chance to win a year’s supply of Country Choice Organic products), oat fans can submit a picture that shows how oats fuel their active lifestyle.  Whether it’s a photo of a power-packed recipe or a pic of you and your friends refueling with an Oatmeal on the Run bar after a long run, we want to know how oats help you stay active and healthy. 

Submit your photo before September 10 for a chance to win. A panel of Country Choice Organic employees will select the winning entry.  To enter, visit: http://www.facebook.com/CountryChoiceOrganic

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (February 2010)

Country Choice Organic FIT KIDS Instant Oatmeal makes it easy for kids to eat a heart warming breakfast every morning by making whole grain, high fiber cereal taste delicious to the pickiest of children.   “At Country Choice Organic, we constantly review our products to find ways to improve our nutrition profile”, says Sharon Herzog, Research and Development Director at Country Choice Organic. “Reducing the sugar in FIT KIDS Instant Oatmeal is a perfect example of tweaking a formula to improve nutrition while still delivering the great taste kids want at breakfast.” 

Country Choice Organic FIT KIDS Instant Oatmeal is made with whole grain organic oats and fortified with calcium and iron, and available in kid-friendly flavors including, Chocolate Chip/Cinnamon Toast and Caramel Apple/Berry Blast Variety Packs. Found in organic food aisles nationwide, each package contains eight servings for a suggested retail price of $4.29. Every serving is a good source of fiber, protein and iron and contains no trans fat.   Find more information at www.countrychoiceorganic.com

Whether eaten for breakfast, lunch, dinner or as a snack, oatmeal provides a warming, nutritious meal for everyone…male or female, children and adults alike.  Everyday, millions of Americans start their day with some variety of oats: creamy instant oatmeal, traditional old fashioned oats, nutty steel cut oats.  There are even “on the run” options for those who prefer their oats to go.

 You can check out other super foods at Health magazine.  Then download a money saving coupon for Country Choice Organic Oats to help you keep your New Year resolutions.