Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. They are. The benefits of incorporating flax into your diet has been widely documented. Flax continues to top the list as one of nature’s original superfoods. The following links can take you directly to websites that reveal how eating flax can actually help prevent cancer, alzheimers and irritable bowel, inflammation and better cognitive skills with the clinical research that proves it…

Cancer prevention…

http://www.aicr.org/foods-that-fight-cancer/flaxseed.html http://www.cancer.org/cancer/prostatecancer/detailedguide/prostate-cancer-new-research

Alzheimer's prevention...

http://www.webmd.com/alzheimers/news/20120502/fish-flaxseed-may-lower-alzheimers-risk

Inflammation and other digestive benefits...

http://www.onegreenplanet.org/natural-health/flax-seeds-and-health-ailments/

Brain health (this is mostly about fish oil, but it talks about omega 3s):

http://www.naturalnews.com/016353_omega-3_fatty_acids_mental_health.html

Not only is this NOT true, it’s actually a terrible idea. Flax is packed with anti-oxidants and inflammation-fighting omega 3 fatty acids. Though incredibly beneficial, the nutrients in flax degrade rapidly once ground or milled which renders most every product containing ground or milled flax seed as offering little to no benefit from flax’s natural nutrient density. We say, the best way to grind or mill flax is with your teeth. Chew your flax granola thoroughly and you will get the maximum benefit of all that flax has to offer.

We are big proponents of preparing seeds and grains for digestion. This is why we make our breads with sprouted grain, forgoing flour and yeast. With flax, we soak the flax seeds 24 hours, long enough to signal to the seed that it is ready to germinate (come to life). In another 18 to 24 hours, the seed would sprout, sending a visible if tiny root structure out into the world. We do not want to wait for the flax seed to sprout, we simply want the seed to “activate” because this means that all the anti-nutrients contained in flax and all others seeds, nuts and grains, are neutralized and this maximizes the bio-availability of the nutrients the seed needs to grow and that we want for our bodies.

I imagine there are good, reputable companies who are in business of certifying NON-GMO status for food manKeep it tightly sealed in the foil lined bag. This is absolutely the best package we could find to protect our granola. Store your granola in a dry, cool place - your cupboard is fine. We do not recommend freezing nor refrigerating our flax granola as this will cause any moisture in the bag to condense and that can affect the freshness.

Yes. Our private stock flax granola allows you to tailor your choice of granola to your very specific wants. Let's say, for instance, that you want to order the 42 ounce Fruit & Berry Flax Granola but the mere sight of raisins makes you ill. No problem. Go to the private stock ordering page, order currants, craisins, sunflower seeds and you will have Fruit & Berry without the raisins. Let's say you love our flax granola but it has to be jam-packed with blueberrries. With our double and triple pick options you can double or triple the amount of each individual add-in. But remember, no matter how many add-ins you select, the bag must weigh no more than 42 ounces so whatever add-in goes in the bag, a little more flax-granola must go out.

GRANOLA.... Our PLAN FRIENDLY Flax Granola is certified grain free. We do NOT certify gluten free because we bake our granola in a facility where whole grains, including wheat, are sprouted. PLEASE NOTE: our Baker's choice varieties of Flax Granola contain rolled oats that are certified organic but NOT certified gluten-free.

From the dawn of agriculture, ancient peoples knew that grains should be prepared for digestion either thru sprouting or fermentation (a natural leavening agent). We do both. Sprouting transforms grain to a vegetable - wheat grass / rye grass or spelt grass. This process not only works to ferment the grain, it neutralizes anti-nutrients found in all grains, seeds and many vegetables. Further, by sprouting and mashing the whole grain, we maintain the bran. Bran integrity is critical to gut health and colon health and our process ensures a favorable ratio of soluble to insoluble fiber. We also sprout to verify that the grain we buy is viable - that the grain is capable of coming to life. This is important because, while there is no variety of GMO wheat on the market, many farmers engage in a practice known as "pre-harvest burndown." This means that they spray their fields with round up (glyphosate) or other herbicides prior to harvest. This not only kills all the weeds in the field, it also kills the wheat. This is why we know wheat is not GMO - if it were, the glyphoste would not harm the genetically modified crop. However, by killing the wheat plant, they are killing the grains. For farmers who engage in this practice, they have to reserve a portion of their crop that they do NOT spray with glyphosate or they will not have any grain for planting next season. Sprouting verifies that the wheat we buy has not been sprayed prior to harvest.

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We make our breads without flour. We sprout the whole grain and then grind it right into our dough. Therefore, there's no flour sifting about, coating everything. We really do hate flour.

Simple; flour is a euphemism for wheat starch. Wheat starch is not much different from corn starch, rice starch, tapioca starch, etc. They are all long chain polysaccharides that spike high on the glycemic index. In other words, they are difficult for the body to digest. Besides, flour is really terrible to work with. It clouds up in the air and settles into all the tiny cracks and crevices which makes clean up a real chore. Worse still, it gets in your lungs. Work around flour long enough and you just might come down with something bakers refer to as "White Lung". Perhaps even worse, is that, once flour disperses into the air, it is extremely flammable. Some of the biggest and deadliest industrial catastrophe's in American history involve massive flour explosions in mills and bakeries. Seriously, flour is a menace. And the fact is, you don't need it to make bread.

No. We ferment our breads with a natural leaven, our unique "sprouted sourdough starter." This is what distinguishes our sprouted bread from any other sprouted bread on the market today. We ferment our dough with a sprouted wheat starter and we do NOT add gluten nor any other dough enhancers, stabilizers nor preservatives. Just sprouted wheat, water and 1% salt.

We sprout our grains. Once sprouted, we grind the grains into a wet "mash" then go right to our sprouted dough that same day. The idea that we would sprout the grain, dry it out, mill it into a flour then rehydrate it (add water) to make a dough is absurd. The ONLY reason someone would do that is because flour (sprouted or otherwise) can be packaged in a bag and sit on a store shelf oxidizing for however long the expiration date permits. The very best, most nutritious sprouted breads utilize a wet mash - Alverado Street, Ezekial and Angel Bakehouse and Columbia County Bread & Granola all work with a wet, sprouted wheat mash. But what sets our bread apart even from these excellent sprouted bread bakers is that we don't add vital wheat gluten and work with natural leavens meaning we don't add yeast.

We sprout our grains. Once sprouted, we grind the grains into a wet "mash" then go right to our sprouted dough. We recommend freezing our bread or pita. Take the bread out of the freezer the night before you want to get into it and it will thaw nicely overnight. The pita thaws in minutes and we recommend toasting the pita (and the bread) as the pita will pocket all over again. But be careful, it is filled with hot steam.

As with most small businesses we struggle with shipping. Costs to ship keep going up and everyone hates to pay for shipping. We blame Amazon - or, at least, we used to. We recently adopted the attitude that "if you can't beat them, join them." So now, if you absolutely insist on free shipping, you can order our products on Amazon and if you have Prime you can get your granola in 12 or 42 ounce sized bags, flat bread and variety packs shipped fast, and, if you meet their minimums, for free. If you do purchase from us on our website, we will strive to make the best shipping option available to get your order to you as soon as possible. This usually means USPS two day priority but might also mean FedEx home delivery - a one day service for much of our region in the mid Atlantic states. In some cases -- large orders of granola shipping to California, for instance -- we may opt for FedEx ground. It takes two or three days longer but USPS priority can get very costly on large orders over long distances. On large orders, Amazon Prime might be your best option.

Generally speaking, if you place your order before noon, there's a very good chance it will ship that same day provided USPS or the FedEx driver doesn't arrive to pick up earlier than expected. On occasion we run into supply problems or extreme weather and this can delay your order from being shipped as much as a day or two. The exception is bread and pita. Bread and pita are baked Monday night. We ship on Tuesday and we strive to get your order to you in two to three days, sometimes overnight if you are in our region.