Looking to work more whole-grain goodness into your diet? We highly recommend that you give bulgur wheat a try!

Bulgur wheat is a low-calorie whole grain that’s a snap to cook with! In fact, we love bulgar wheat (as it’s also sometimes spelled) so much that we can’t stop singing its praises. It’s packed with fiber, protein, vitamins and minerals, and it’s fat-free!

Bulgur wheat starts as whole-wheat kernels. These kernels are parboiled, debranned, drained and ground up into medium-sized grains. Bulgar wheat is easy to digest because it lacks the hard outer shell that whole-wheat kernels have in their most natural form. However, its medium grind lends a satisfying texture and flavor to many different types of recipes! And, as a huge bonus, bulgur retains almost all of its whole-wheat nutrition content, even after it has been processed.

Many people like to eat bulgur wheat in pilaf-style side dishes. However, it’s also absolutely delicious as a substitute for bread crumbs in dishes such as meatballs, meatloaf and casseroles. It also works well as a substitute for rice, couscous and quinoa in many dishes. You can even make a cold salad with it by tossing cold, cooked bulgur with vinaigrette dressing and chopped raw vegetables.

One of the  things we love about bulgur wheat is how easy it is to prepare! Just combine 1 cup of bulgur with 2-1/2 cups of water or broth in a medium-sized saucepan and boil the mixture for 30 minutes. After it’s cooked, add spices, fresh chopped herbs and cheese to the bulgur. It couldn’t be simpler!

Have you ever tried bulgur wheat? What are some of your favorite recipes using this grand grain?

Looking for a new treat? One of our favorite sweets is mochi rice cakes! This sweet, light Japanese dessert is sure to make a splash in your house!

Mochi rice cakes are small cakes made from a mixture of ground glutinous rice, which is a sticky and sweet variety of rice. The mixture is pounded and molded into small, round cakes. Mochi rice cakes are a popular dessert in Hawaii, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia and Cambodia, but they are perhaps most well-known in Japan. In fact, these yummy treats are often eaten during Japanese New Year festivities. (But we enjoy them year-round!)

The soft, chewy texture of mochi rice cakes makes them an excellent topping for ice cream and frozen yogurt. They’re also fantastic in cereal with milk!

Be sure to store your mochi in the refrigerator to keep them fresh and delicious. Fresh mochi rice cakes tend to harden or mold fairly quickly if exposed to the open air for an extended period of time.

Besides our regular mochi rice cakes, we also offer rainbow mochi rice cakes and black sesame mochi rice cakes. All three are delicious!

Have you ever tried mochi rice cakes? What are some of your favorite ways to enjoy this unique treat?

We get a lot of questions about the best way to store our nuts, and rightfully so! Nuts can go stale or rancid fairly quickly, especially during the summer months when the heat and humidity can really get to them. Luckily, storing your nuts in a way that keeps them fresh and delicious is super simple!

First of all, no matter what kind of nuts you have on hand, it’s important to keep them in an airtight bag or container at all times. Our resealable NutsOnline product pouches do the trick, most of the time. However, if they get a tear or hole in them, it’s best to transfer the nuts to a glass or plastic container with a tightly fitting lid.

You can store roasted nuts and nuts in the shell in a cool, dry place, such as your kitchen pantry, for one to three months. Make sure you keep them tucked away when you’re not eating them! Sunlight can really speed up the spoiling process.

Both roasted and raw nuts can be stored in the refrigerator for up to six months. In fact, this is the storage method we recommend for our raw nuts. Because they have excess oils, they tend to spoil more quickly than their roasted and in-shell counterparts if they’re exposed to warm air.

Finally, if you want to keep your nuts on hand for longer than six months, you can freeze them for up to a year. Though they will lose some freshness, they will not go rancid in the freezer. To keep the nuts from growing stale or freezer burned, it’s best to store them in a vacuum-sealed bag and use them immediately after removing them from the freezer. Re-freezing nuts after thawing them decreases their freshness.

How do you store nuts to keep them fresh and delicious? Got any tricks or secrets? We’d love to hear all about them!

We don’t know about you, but our gardens are just starting to yield some tender greens and veggies that are begging to be eaten up. That can only mean one thing: It’s salad season!

Once we’ve got our bowl of leafy goodness fixed just the way we like it, we always give it a little nutrient and flavor boost using some delicious dried fruits, nuts and seeds. Here’s a list of our favorite salad toppers!

1)      Organic pepitas: Pepitas, also known as pumpkin seeds, have a delicious nutty flavor and an almost buttery texture. They’re packed with phosphorus, protein and iron, and are wonderful on salads that are loaded with veggies and goat cheese.

2)      Raw sunflower seeds: These protein-rich seeds may help lower your blood pressure, and they taste great, too! We like the raw sunflower seeds on spinach salads. They go great with balsamic vinaigrette or poppyseed salad dressing.

3)      Natural cranberries: These dried cranberries are sweetened with apple juice instead of sugar, and we love their tart bite on spinach salads. Fresh and moist, these berries are a fantastic source of vitamin C!

4)      Dried blueberries: Dried blueberries are a fantastic source of fiber, vitamin C and antioxidants. We love to add them to homemade chicken salad, then place a big scoop on a bed of fresh greens and tomatoes. You’ve gotta try it!

5)      English walnuts: Walnuts are as tasty as they are healthy, and that’s a very, very good thing! They’re packed with omega-3 fatty acids and have been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease. Try sprinkling them on your favorite salad greens, along with fresh-sliced strawberries and a little feta or gorgonzola cheese. You’ll never go back once you’ve tasted this amazing salad!

What are some of your favorite salad toppings?

If there’s one thing the Braverman family loves, it’s a new way to enjoy our favorite treat: nuts! After years of hunting, we’re pleased to report that we’ve added to our product line the most perfectly delicious almonds we’ve ever tasted.

Our brand-new roasted almonds, which are salted and roasted in the shell, are amazing. (In fact, we have to force ourselves to stay away from the shipments so that we have enough left to send to our nutty customers!) The almonds are roasted and salted to perfection, and the crisp, thin shell easily cracks in your hand. No need for nutcrackers!

These almonds are perfect for picnics, which we think makes them the ultimate snack for summer. Just throw some in your bag and go! And, if you have family members and friends who are allergic to peanuts, these roasted almonds are a great treat that they can enjoy right along with you at baseball games and other outdoor events.

We highly recommend that you give these almonds a whirl today. But, you’d better hurry. We’re not sure how much longer we can resist the temptation!

Quinoa, that fluffy seed with a nutty flavor, is a pretty popular food these days. We can see why! This scrumptious (and gluten-free) treat packs in the nutrition, with lots of protein and fiber. It’s also a good source of magnesium, iron and phosphorus, and it contains all nine essential amino acids.

Quinoa is delicious in all four seasons but, as this New York Times article points out, it’s especially good during the spring and summer. Why? Quinoa is an excellent base for salads starring all those veggies that pop up in stores and farmers markets during the warmer months. Try tossing cooked quinoa with a light vinaigrette, fresh chopped vegetables and herbs for a cool, healthy lunch or side dish.

We love our organic white quinoa, organic red quinoa and organic black quinoa. In fact, we make sure we have a little of each in our kitchens at all times. (Variety is the spice of life, after all!) The red and black quinoas are a little chewier and taste a bit earthier than their fluffy white counterpart. That’s why we love to mix all three when we’re making a recipe, just as the New York Times author suggests. It looks beautiful, and it invigorates the texture and flavor of the dish.

The article points out that while quinoa lends itself to many types of recipes, it’s not a great substitute for rice in creamy dishes like risotto. However, besides being yummy in salads, it’s also delicious in pilafs, hot cereal, baked goods and stuffing (or dressing, for our Southern fans). We’ve even known people to substitute cooked quinoa for rice or tapioca balls in pudding. Use your imagination, and it’s likely that you’ll come up with something just fabulous!

Want more ideas for cooking with quinoa? Check out our blog post “Five Tasty Ways to Cook With Quinoa,” as well as the list of recipes in the bottom left corner of the product pages. We guarantee you’ll find dishes that are as delicious as they are nutritious!

We have to admit that we’re partial to gummy candy, but you probably already knew that just from looking at the long list of chewy sweets we offer on NutsOnline.com! We’ve added even more gummy treats to our product line, and we’re not limiting ourselves to bears and worms. We’ve got some truly wacky candy that should satisfy even the pickiest gummy fan in your life.

Some of our super new treats are a bit silly, but they’re great! Gummy bananas are one of our favorites.  They look (and taste) just like the real thing! The gummy lunch, with chewy candies shaped like hot dogs and hamburgers, is truly unique. The freedom gummy bears are a delicious combination of red, white and blue.

We’ve also picked up some more sophisticated candy for true connoisseurs. Our milk chocolate gummy bear clusters are fantastically rich and delicious. Our chocolate covered cinnamon bears have just a hint of spice. Our organic sour gummy worms have a puckery sweetness, with no artificial sweeteners or colors.

We’ve added a couple of sugar-free options to our product line as well. Sink your teeth into our amazing sugar free gummy fruit salad and sugar free gummy butterflies. You’l think you’re munching the regular version!

Are you nuts for gummies? What are some of your favorites?

Recently, a study found that eating freeze dried strawberries may prevent esophageal cancer. We also love this crunchy, sweet treat because it’s packed with vitamin C, which some studies have shown is a great immune-system booster and can reduce the symptoms of allergies. In addition to traditional freeze dried strawberries, we also offer an organic strawberry powder made from freeze dried strawberries that’s incredibly delicious in smoothies. In fact, these days a smoothie made with organic strawberry powder is one of our favorite breakfasts! Want to know more about this yummy treat? Here’s the recipe we use. It makes two smoothies (or one really big one).

Start out by putting about 1 cup of frozen fruit in the bottom of a blender pitcher. We like to use frozen mango and blueberries, but pretty much any berry, melon or tropical fruit is delicious. Top the frozen fruit with 1 cup of fresh green or red grapes. Add in 1 cup of plain yogurt; ½ cup of regular, soy or almond milk; and ½ cup of apple, white grape or orange juice. Top the mixture with 2 tbsp. of honey and 4 tbsp. of organic strawberry powder.

Blend the smoothie for about one minute, or until it’s completely liquefied. The mixture will be a bit thick. However, if it looks to thick to drink easily, add up to an additional ¼ cup each of juice and milk to thin it out.

The best part about this recipe is that you can experiment with the ingredients until you find a combo you really enjoy! The delicious organic strawberry powder pairs well with just about any fruit or juice. Try using vanilla yogurt for a smoothie that tastes more like a milkshake, or Greek yogurt for a protein boost and an extra-creamy consistency. It’s all good!

Do you like to sprinkle freeze dried strawberries on your cereal or keep some on hand to munch as a snack? Well, you’re in luck! A recent study, the results of which have been reported in The Wall Street Journal, has found that eating this crunchy treat may help prevent esophageal cancer. Added health benefits from snacking on naturally sweet and delicious freeze dried strawberries? Sounds fantastic to us!

“Researchers, led by Ohio State University, were able to show that freeze-dried strawberries slowed the growth of dysplastic, or precancerous, lesions in about 30 people who consumed the fruit for six months. The study’s lead researcher, Tong Chen, an assistant professor in the oncology division of Ohio State University, presented the study at the American Association for Cancer Research’s annual meeting.”

Right now, we’re working as quickly as we can to fill the huge demand for this delicious treat. We have thousands of pounds coming in next week, and we will be able to ship cases on Monday (4/11) or Tuesday (4/12), so get your order in if you want to give ‘em a whirl!

While we like our yummy treats here at NutsOnline, we’re also all about superfoods that help us feel great and keep active. One of our favorites these days has to be buckwheat. We didn’t know a whole lot about buckwheat’s fantastic benefits until we started researching it, and what we discovered was enough to make us fans for life!

Buckwheat is one powerfully nutritious food. Buckwheat, which is actually a fruit as opposed to a grain, is the most concentrated source of biological protein in the plant kingdom. In fact, it offers up 80 percent of the protein value of whole egg solids and 90 percent of the protein value of milk solids. For that reason alone, it’s fantastic for those who are looking for plant-based ways to get more protein, such as vegetarians and vegans.

Buckwheat also contains quite a bit of potassium, magnesium and phosphorus, as well as fiber. It has 50 percent more vitamin B than whole wheat. Pretty excellent!

We offer several different varieties of buckwheat, including whole brown toasted buckwheat, raw white buckwheat, organic buckwheat and organic raw white buckwheat. All of the types make delicious hot breakfast cereal and side dishes, but one of our favorite recipes to make with this delicious food is cold buckwheat salad.

Cook your favorite variety of buckwheat according to the package instructions. Let it cool, then toss it with several tablespoons of olive oil, a dash of balsamic vinegar, some salt and pepper, and a handful of sliced fresh basil. Add some diced fresh tomatoes, cubed mozzarella or feta cheese, chopped roasted red peppers and a bit of diced red onion. Let the buckwheat salad chill for about an hour to let the flavors develop, then enjoy it on its own or on top of a bed of fresh greens. It’s deliciously healthy!