We try to enjoy nutrition-packed chia seeds every day by adding them to beverages, sprinkling them on cereal or yogurt, or just chomping on them by the teaspoonful. But did you know that chia seeds are also completely sproutable? The process for sprouting chia seeds is just a bit different than sprouting other seeds and grains, but the result is tiny, tender greens that are great on salads and sandwiches.

Before you begin, you’ll need to pick up a few supplies. You’ll need two shallow clay dishes (the type you put beneath potted plants) as well as a spray bottle and a cloth growing medium.

Because a slippery gel forms around chia seeds when you soak them, you have to be careful not to get them too wet while you’re growing them. It’s best to place them on a damp growing surface made of cheesecloth or hemp as opposed to directly in water.

Place one of the dishes right-side up on a flat surface and cut the growing medium to fit flat in the bottom of the dish. Soak the cloth and wring it out so it’s moist and spread it out in the dish. Spread several teaspoons of chia seeds around on the cloth so that there’s a bit of space surrounding each seed. Place the pan in a warm spot that gets pretty regular direct sunlight, such as in front of a window.

After about 24 hours, you should notice that some of the seeds have burst open. Fill a spray bottle with cool water and spritz the seeds with a small amount of water to keep them moist. Do this once a day, preferably in the morning.

For a few hours each day, cover the seeds by inverting the second clay dish over the first. If the dish has a hole drilled in the center, cover it with duct tape. This creates a greenhouse effect in the container, which helps the chia seeds sprout more quickly.

After about a week, the chia seed sprouts will be nearly an inch tall, with bright green tips and willowy white stems. Snip them away from the roots with a sharp knife, rinse them off and consume them immediately. These slightly spicy greens are yet another delicious, nutritious way to reap the benefits of chia!

Want to see a step-by-step outline of the process with pictures? This blog post at The Happy Raw Kitchen offers an exceptional look at sprouting chia seeds (as well as some absolutely gorgeous photos). Give it a shot, and tell us how it turns out!

National Milk Chocolate Day always falls on July 28. Hey, that’s today! Smooth, creamy milk chocolate is one of our very favorite sweets because we think it goes well with just about anything. It’s true! We offer some unique chocolate-dipped treats that are truly delicious if you give ‘em a chance.

Chocolate covered potato chips are one of the most unique offerings we have at NutsOnline. They’re the perfect combination of sweet and salty, much like our famous chocolate covered pretzels.

For those who like their sweets dipped in sweets, we have milk chocolate gummy bears, chocolate animal crackers and chocolate covered vanilla sandwich cookies. All these treats are designed to please your sweet tooth. Additionally, our bright, candy-coated chocolate covered sunflower seeds are an ever-popular item with customers and NutsOnline employees.

If you prefer your chocolate in bar form, we have some products that fit the bill. For fans of gourmet fare, we offer Godiva Milk Chocolate Bars. If your tastes run a bit wackier, the Wonka Scrumdiddlyumptious Chocolate Bar is definitely for you! This rich milk chocolate bar is packed with toffee, crunch and roasted peanuts.

Of course, those of you who are in love with the classics won’t want to miss some of our most timeless chocolates. Our smooth, creamy milk chocolate fudge is always a favorite, especially among those who prefer their fudge to be a bit more mellow. Sweet mini peanut butter cups are the perfect size to snack on, and mini milk chocolate peanut butter buckeyes are delicious (not to mention a fabulous gift for Ohio State fans)! Milk chocolate graham crackers are best topped with toasted marshmallows. Instant smore!

What are some of your favorite milk chocolate treats?

Baby Hope munches on some NutsOnline pecans. Photo courtesy of the North American Bear Center and the Wildlife Research Institute.

At NutsOnline, we’re devoted to using our business to promote a better world for everyone. Because of that, we’ve teamed up with several nonprofits throughout the country, giving our customers the chance to help us help others. One of those very special organizations is the North American Bear Center in Ely, Minnesota.

The North American Bear Center is devoted to promoting the long-term survival of bears by helping people move past their misconceptions about these creatures. They also work to preserve increasingly endangered bear habitats, halt bear poaching and rehabilitate injured and orphaned bears so that they can be released into the wild.

We offer 3-pound snack packs for purchase that are shipped directly to the North American Bear Center. The snack packs, which contain 1 lb. each of raw pecans, hazelnuts and Brazil nuts, are used by researchers at the center as treats while they’re working with the bears, including a cub in their care, Hope. You’ve sent more than 2,000 lbs. of nuts to the bear center already. Stupendous support, all!

These snack packs really do make a difference at the North American Bear center. In a recent research update, biologists at the center said: “The nuts you’ve been sending have been a godsend.  We’ve never had such fresh pecans and hazelnuts to coax bears into letting us adjust their radio-collars and change their GPS batteries (which we have to do every 10 days).  The bears strongly prefer your nuts over anything else we can offer.  You’ve made our job easier than ever, and little Hope loves them.”

And that isn’t the only way our customers have shown their spirit of giving! A few weeks ago, we reached out to you, urging you to vote for the North American Bear Center in the Chase Community Giving grant program. We’re so pleased to announce that the center came in third and will receive a $100,000 grant from the organization.

We really want to take this moment to thank all of our customers from the bottom of our hearts. Without your generous help, it wouldn’t be possible for us to as extensively help the North American Bear Center, as well as the other worthy causes we support. You all are top-notch!

How sweet it is to be National Ice Cream Day! Whether you love traditional ice cream or are more of a soft-serve or frozen-yogurt kinda person, we have the toppings that’ll make you flip. In fact, we offer so many that it can be tough to make up your mind! Here’s a list of our top five favorite ice cream toppings, just in case you’re looking for a way to make this day extra-special!

1)  Mochi rice cakes: These soft, chewy rice cakes pair smashingly with frozen desserts, and are especially popular in the frozen yogurt crowd. Choose from original mochi rice cakes, rainbow mochi rice cakes or black sesame mochi rice cakes to give your ice cream a gourmet Asian touch!

2) Baking chips: We offer a wide variety of baking chips that beautifully complement all flavors of ice cream. If you’re having trouble deciding, we highly recommend giving some of our more unique varieties a whirl! Our ice cream chips are a perfect sundae topping, and rainbow candy coated chocolate chips will give your dessert some pizzazz. If you love all flavors, try the assorted chocolate chips. This mixture of milk chocolate, dark chocolate, raspberry chocolate, white chocolate and peanut butter chips will never do ya wrong!

3)  Nuts: What can we say? We are nuts for nuts here at NutsOnline! In our opinion, some of the best nuts to use on top of ice cream include macadamia nut pieces, black walnuts and roasted pistachios.

4)  Sweets: Oh yes, we know ice cream already has plenty of sugar. But once-in-awhile, we like to dress it up with a sweet surprise. Try crushed Hydrox cookies, mini M&M’s and Skor bits to give your treat an authentic, ice-cream-parlor touch.

5)  Granola: This one may surprise you, but granola isn’t just for breakfast! It makes a surprisingly delicious topping on vanilla ice cream and frozen yogurt. Some of our favorites include organic banana crunch granola and vanilla light and crunchy granola.

What are some of your favorite ice cream toppings? Whatever they are, we know they’re just fabulous! Have fun and help yourself to some cooling ice cream on this steamy July day!

Though summer’s more than half over, your little ones may have a few weeks left at home before heading back to school. With temperatures soaring and boredom waxing, what’s a parent to do? If you’re up for a project, you can try passing the afternoon by mixing up one of our favorite kids’ recipes. All of these dishes are simple and customizable for individual tastes. Perfect!

1)      Mix up a batch of trail mix. Little ones love making and eating trail mix because they can add whatever they want! Allow them to choose from selections of dried fruit, nuts, baking chips and cereal to create their own custom mix. Portion out the trail mix into individual containers and store it in the refrigerator to keep it fresh. It makes a great on-the-go snack for day camp, play group or even errand-running.

2)      Give peanut butter play dough a go! You might remember this sticky-sweet mixture of peanut butter, honey and powdered milk from your childhood. It’s delicious as well as entertaining! To make a batch, mix 2 cups of peanut butter with 3 tbsp. of honey and about 1 cup of powdered milk. Use it to make sculptures on wax paper, but be sure to set some aside to snack on. If your child is allergic to peanut butter, you can substitute other types of nut butters such as soy, sunflower or almond butter.

3)      Try your hand at no-bake cookies. No-bake cookies, which are set in the refrigerator instead of baked in the oven, are a special sweet dessert that are easy enough for even little hands to mix up (with a bit of help if the stove is involved). We highly recommend this Food Network recipe for Chocolate Peanut Butter No Bake Cookies. If you want, you can throw in a little something extra, such as a handful of salty roasted peanuts or some sweet dark raisins.

There are a few food holidays we love so much that we just can’t wait for them to roll around. Today, we’re in luck! It’s National Pecan Pie Day. Sweet, rich pecan pie is one of our favorite nutty desserts, and we just can’t wait to help ourselves to a warm wedge topped with vanilla ice cream. Yummy!

When we make homemade pecan pies, we love unusual variations just as much as the sinfully delicious original. If you’re a purist, we recommend the tried-and-true Karo Syrup recipe for classic pecan pie. However, if you have an adventurous streak, you can’t go wrong with celebrity chef Paula Deen’s sinfully rich chocolate pecan pie. We love them both equally, and often find ourselves having to toss a coin to decide between the two (or just making double the pie we originally intended).

Whether you decide to stick with a tried-and-true classic recipe or stray a bit from the original formula, we’ve got the pecans that can make your pie the most delicious! Our fresh, sweet Georgia pecans are the finest pecan halves for baking. If you prefer to go the organic route, give our huge organic pecans a whirl.

If you aren’t much of a baker or just don’t feel like heating up your kitchen on a warm July day, we’ve also got your back. Our Oh My! Pecan Pie, made with our premium pecans and a gooey sweet center, is out of this world. The pies, which can be served warm or at room temperature, are baked in small batches and speedily shipped to ensure they arrive fresh and ready to enjoy. If you want to hang onto your fully cooked 6-inch pie for a special occasion, go right ahead! They stay fresh at room temperature for two weeks, and in the freezer for three months.

No matter how you choose to procure your pecan pie, we hope you’ll join us by digging into a slice of this amazing treat. You won’t be sorry!

We recently hosted a summer picnic for the entire NutsOnline family, and did we ever have a blast! Barbecue, soccer…who could ask for anything more?

Here are a few shots of us enjoying the sweet summer day. Have a nutty weekend, all!

Testing out new recipes to find ways to incorporate our delicious, healthful ingredients into yummy treats is a passion of ours. And, hey, if it tastes good and it’s good for you, it’s a win-win situation!

These carrot-apple muffins were adapted from this fabulous recipe and are packed with fruit, veggie and fiber goodness! Plus, they include the incredibly nutritious boost that only chia seeds can offer. They’re also vegan, which is good news for our fans who don’t consume animal products. If you’re an omnivore, don’t fret! These muffins are so incredibly moist and flavorful that you’d never know they don’t include eggs or milk.

To make the muffins, combine 1 cup of whole-wheat flour, 3/4 cup of fine oat bran and 1/4 cup of chia seeds. Add 1 tbsp. of cornstarch, 1 tsp. of ground allspice, 1 tsp. of ground cinnamon, 1 tsp. of baking powder and 1 tsp. of baking soda. Stir the dry ingredients well and set them aside.

Peel one apple and one to two carrots. Finely grate the apple and carrots, so that you have approximately 1/3 cup of each. Stir the grated apple and carrots into the dry ingredients. Add 1/3 cup of real maple syrup (or 3 tbsp. to 1/3 of a cup of organic agave syrup, depending on how sweet you like it). Mix in 1 cup of water and 1/4 cup of neutral-tasting oil, such as vegetable or canola.

Line a muffin tin with paper muffin cups, then divide the batter among six to eight compartments. If you prefer, you can also coat a mini-muffin tin with oil or cooking spray and spoon about 1 tbsp. of the batter into each of the compartments. The mini muffins are a bit easier to eat, but the large muffins freeze better.

Bake the carrot-apple muffins at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 20 to 25 minutes for regular-sized muffins and 10 to 15 minutes for mini muffins (until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean). Let them cool in the pan for a few minutes before gently transferring them to a cooling rack or plate. These muffins are very moist and tender, so take care not to break them when removing them from the pan.

Allow the muffins to cool completely before serving them. They’ll develop a richer flavor and firmer texture as they cool down to room temperature. Store the leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer.

Popcorn is the perfect crisp, crunchy treat for family movie nights, afternoon snacks and more. We’re just wild about it! So wild, in fact, that we offer quite a few varieties of wholesome popcorn kernels for your munching pleasure.

To start, we’ve just added organic popcorn kernels to our product line. These all-natural, organic, fresh unpopped popcorn kernels from the Midwest have a purity of flavor that’s sure to punch up your usual snack.

We also offer a wide range of non-organic kernels, such as regular popcorn kernels (perfect for movie theater-style treats) and fluffy white popcorn kernels. If you want something a bit more unusual, be sure to check out our blue popcorn kernels, red popcorn kernels and midnight blue popcorn kernels. Though these all-natural varieties of popcorn are vibrantly colored in their unpopped state, once popped they burst into bright white mounds of fluffy kernels.

Our specialty line of popcorn doesn’t stop there! Ladyfinger popcorn kernels pop up much smaller than most mainstream kernels. Mushroom popcorn kernels burst into huge, beautifully fluffy mushroom shapes.

Making popcorn is a breeze. All of our kernels are suited to use in an air popper or popcorn machine. However, all you really need to make a heaping bowl of crunchy, delicious popcorn is a large pot with a tight-fitting lid, some oil and some seasonings.

Coat the bottom of the pot with a layer of canola oil, vegetable oil or any other oil that has a high smoke point. Heat the oil over medium heat until it rolls around easily when you shift the pot. Pour a single layer of kernels into the pot, cover it with the lid and turn the heat up to medium-high. Gently shift the pot in a left-right motion on top of the burner to agitate the kernels. When the popping sounds slow to several seconds between pops, remove the popcorn from the stove, pour it into a large bowl and season it with salt and melted butter.

Of course, there are many ways to brighten up plain popcorn. You could try shaking on some curry powder, ranch seasoning, oregano, cheddar cheese powder or BBQ seasoning, or even mixing some M&Ms into the bowl for a salty, rich treat. And, of course, the plain popcorn makes stupendous popcorn balls!

What are some of your favorite ways to enjoy this crisp snack?

Need to kick your energy level up a notch? We offer a wide range of snacks that give you the nutrition you need, whether it be to get through a long afternoon or to finish a cross-country run. However, the items that so many of our customers turn to when they need a healthy source of fuel are our fantastically delicious energy squares!

These snack-sized squares are packed with whole, healthy ingredients, and some varieties are even raw and organic. They’re perfect on the go, and are ideal for athletes. And during the summer, when the heat can cause you to burn more calories than you might in cooler weather, energy squares are just what the doctor ordered. They’re never sticky sweet like energy bars that contain artificial sweeteners, and they’re filling without being overwhelming.

One of our favorite varieties is our original Organic Chia Energy Squares. Developed specially for NutsOnline, these 100 percent raw energy squares harness the power of chia seeds to give you a boost. Chia seeds, which are known to increase energy and aid in hydration, are fantastic for athletes in particular. These energy squares, which are loaded with organic ingredients, truly are something special!

Of course, our other varieties of energy squares are pretty fabulous as well. Our Organic Raw Cacao Goji Energy Squares are incredibly popular, as they pack in the unique benefits of chunks of cacao and dried goji berries. The Honey Pistachio Energy Squares and Gorp Energy Squares are great choices for those who love the nutty, sweet flavor of more traditional granola bars. Fruit enthusiasts will go wild for Mixed Berry Blast Energy Squares and Organic Lemon Pop Energy Squares.

If you’re having trouble making up your mind, believe us, we understand! That’s why we’ve developed sampler packs that allow you to taste a variety of energy square flavors and select your favorites. The Assorted Energy Squares sampler contains a variety of treats that are packed with nuts, dried fruit and seeds, such as Carob Spirulina Energy Squares and Honey Vanilla Energy Squares. The Organic Assorted Energy Squares offers up an assortment of our popular organic varieties, including Organic Carob Super Green Energy Squares and Organic Chocolate Paradise Energy Squares.

Do our energy squares provide you with the fuel you need to get through a workout (or just your afternoon slump)? We’d love to hear about it! No matter the flavor, we’re positive that these tasty tidbits are just the thing for a full-body pick-me-up!