Just because they're delicious, doesn't mean they have to be bad for you.

Yesterday was National Pancake Day and to celebrate we asked everyone their favorite pancake toppings. We got some pretty traditional answers with pure maple syrup and real butter topping the list, but we also got some pretty fun answers that I wanted to share with you.

Amy (@playknice) likes to top her pancakes with a fried egg and maple syrup for a “nice savory sweet mix.”

John Cave told us that he “likes to sandwich cream cheese between two pancakes and cover with walnuts and maple syrup.”

Brittany Mullarkey told us “chocolate chips, strawberries and whipped cream” were her toppings of choice.

Some people go above and beyond for their pancakes— Nicole (@Oregon_SuNsHiNe) says her favorite is banana walnut pancakes with homemade caramel sauce and several people told us about their sweet homemade fruit compotes and fruit butters. We actually got quite a few people who said “peanut butter and jelly” (my personal fav) or “peanut butter and bananas” were their favorite toppings.

No matter how you like to top ‘em, pancakes are a great way to start the day and show your family how much you care. Contrary to logic, pancakes don’t have to be a an over-indulgence and can actually be a healthy start to the day if you follow these tips.

1. Dump the gummy mix that comes in that yellow box (you know the one) and reach for a mix made with whole grains (not to brag, but all of our conventional pancake mixes use high quality, whole grain flours). You don’t have to sacrifice fluffy for the sake of whole grains, either. To get fluffier pancakes out of a whole grain mix you can whip the egg whites separately or try using some sparkling water in place of the regular water called for in the directions.

2. Make your own from scratch. Really, the ingredients for pancakes are pretty darn simple- flour (we recommend whole wheat pastry flour), leavening, egg,  a little sugar and a little salt. The nice thing about making them from scratch is that it’s cheaper than buying a mix, you can control what ingredients go in and therefore create a perfect blend just for your family.

3. Add in some healthy ingredients like flaxseed meal, hemp seed, bran (wheat, oat, rice) to boost the nutritional benefits.

Of course we’d love if you tried one of our healthy pancake mixes, but just in case you like making your own we found some superb pancake recipes from our favorite sites.

Here is our collection of pancake recipes (Our favorites are Crunchy Double-Grain Pancakes and Gluten Free Fluffy Pancakes)
Whole Grain Pancakes recipe from 101 Cookbooks.com
Gluten Free Pancakes from Gluten Free Girl.com
Lemon-Blueberry-Ricotta-Buttermilk Pancakes from Bobby Flay
The Best Chocolate Whole Wheat Waffles Ever (ok, so they’re not pancakes, whatever) from Food52.com
Easy Weekend Pancakes (Vegan) from VeganYumYum.com
Savory Vegetable Pancakes from GlutenFreeGoddess.com (they look so good, we couldn’t resist including them- even if they are not true pancakes)

ABC World News with Diane Sawyer

In case you missed the segment on ABC World News with Diane Sawyer last night, you can view the clip with Bob here: http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/boss-company-workers-9882190

If you missed the NPR segment, you can listen to Bob’s interview on Markplace here: http://marketplace.publicradio.org/www_publicradio/tools/media_player/popup.php?name=marketplace/pm/2010/02/18/marketplace_cast1_20100218_64&starttime=00:07:24.0&endtime=00:11:15.0

Bob's vanilla cake featuring Charlee and him.

We celebrated Bob’s 81st birthday on Monday with cake, cake and more cake. It takes a lot of cake to share with 209 employees. In addition to sharing his cake, Bob announced that he, along with his partners in business,  is passing ownership of this company into the hands of his employees. This ensures the future of Bob’s Red Mill will be managed by employees who care passionately about the company’s success.

Employees were overwhelmed with the announcement and heartened to hear that their future is secure with this new development. For years, Bob has declined offers to buy the company or take the company public. Most of my coworkers have been uncertain about what will happen in five, ten years. Bob’s gift to us has ensured that the employees and the company will have a future together.

What does this mean for you? Really, nothing much. The company will continue to produce high quality whole grains and gluten free foods as we always have. Don’t worry, Bob isn’t going anywhere. Possibly my favorite quote from all of his interviews this week is this one from The Oregonian, “I may have given them the company,” he said, chuckling, “but the boss part is still mine.”

Partners Bob Moore, Robert Agnew, Dennis Gilliam and John Wagner sign over ownership of the company Tuesday morning.

Want more info?

Read the article on the front page of The Oregonian. Read the press release.

Thank you to everyone who participated in our chia seed contest. I have contacted all of the winners. If you did not win this time, keep trying! we have lots of great giveaways and chances to win coming up in the next few months!

A new gluten free mill is being constructed in the gluten free facility.

We have a lot of exciting things happening here at the mill, so I thought I’d give a recap of what’s going on. Probably the most exciting thing happening for us right now is the addition of a new mill to our gluten free facility. The shop is busily constructing the structure to be ready when the new millstones arrive from Denmark (I hear they’re on a ship somewhere in the Atlantic right now). This new mill will allow us to keep up with the demand for delicious, whole grain gluten free flour. Some of the flour that will be ground on this new set of stones include teff flour, garbanzo bean flour, sorghum flour and—coming soon—oat flour! We’ll keep you informed as our new gluten free products reach completion.

Bob's display for the Golden Spurtle win... I personally like the flags!

Bob has been gushing about our Golden Spurtle victory since we got back from Scotland last fall. To help tell our story, he had this great display installed in our lobby. Not only does it document the competition, but it showcases our personal version of the Golden Spurtle. The REAL Golden Spurtle is on display at the store and will travel back to Scotland this fall for the 2010 competition. The one shown here is ours to keep as a reminder of our win over the Scots. The display also shows the new packaging of our steel cut oats. The packaging tells our story and includes both the winning recipe and our recipe for the specialty category, Oregon Orchard Oat Brûlée. I’ve found the beautiful packaging on store shelves here, so look for it next time you’re shopping for your steel cut oats.

There is even more exciting stuff coming down the line- new products, really big news for our mill and Bob’s big 8-1! I’m not at liberty to spill all the beans and grains just yet. Cheers!

The new packaging for Steel Cut Oats- check out the ribbon!

Chia is a good source of protein and dietary fiber.

Over the years, we have received many requests for chia seed and we are happy to announce that we are now producing black chia seed. Chia has been recognized by health professionals worldwide for being an excellent source of Omega-3 essential fatty acids. Chia contains the same amount of Omega-3 as Flaxseed Meal, but does not need to be ground before consuming to reap the benefits.

The seeds of the Chia plant are small, about the size of poppy seeds, and range in color from silvery white to black. Our chia seed is mostly black, but contains some white seeds throughout. They make a great addition to salads, breads, hot cereal, and yogurt. A traditional staple of the Inca and Mayan peoples, chia was consumed by mixing the seeds with agua fresca or juice and taken as a ritual in the morning to power them through the day.

The soluble fiber in  chia seed produces a gel-like substance when combined with water. This gel takes longer to digest in the stomach, which keeps you feeling full longer. We’ve done some experimenting with chia seed here and have found the gel works well as an egg replacer in baked goods. Chia seed is naturally gluten free, but is not being packaged in our gluten free facility.

Giveaway:

To celebrate chia, I’m giving away 30 packages of chia seed to my lucky readers.

There are 30 chances to win and three ways to enter,  so here’s how to increase your odds:

Blog: In the comment section below, tell me what you’d like to know about chia and we’ll not only enter you in the contest, but try our best to get an answer for you.  I’ll select 10 winners randomly from all those who post on our blog by Monday, 02/08 at 5 pm Pacific Time. Winners will be announced on Tuesday!

Facebook: Post a comment/question  on our Facebook page (to make sure you don’t get missed, please use “Chia Contest” somewhere in your comment), 10 winners will be randomly selected from all Facebook entrants. I’ll select 10 winners randomly from all those who post on our facebook page by Monday, 02/08 at 5 pm Pacific Time. Winners will be announced on Tuesday!

Twitter: Tweet a comment/question to us: @bobs_red_mill (use #chia to tag it), 10 winners will be randomly selected from all Twitter entrants. I’ll select 10 winners randomly from all those who send us a tweet by Monday, 02/08 at 5 pm Pacific Time. Winners will be announced on Tuesday!

(photo by Mark Luinenburg via Artisanbreadinfive.com)

I regret deeply that I do not have any photos to share of the awesome pizza crust I made using the rest of my master dough from last week. The pizza crust was enough to make the whole process worth it. Unlike the bread dough, when you’re making pizza using the HB in 5 method, you simply get out your dough and go to work… no rising or resting period. The crust came out crisp and delightfully light, much better than my personal attempts at pizza dough. Even if you didn’t win the book, I think it’s one worth checking out if you’re looking for a way to bring freshly baked bread into your life.

Now for the winner… Karen Jordan was randomly selected as our winner of the signed edition of Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day. Karen will also receive a bag of our Organic Hard White Whole Wheat Flour (a personal favorite of mine) and Vital Wheat Gluten.

Months ago, when Zoe and I first started talking about her new book she mentioned that many people were not familiar with Vital Wheat Gluten, what it was and where to find it. Vital Wheat Gluten (aka Gluten or Gluten Flour) is a flour that is almost entirely protein. Our vital wheat gluten is approximately 75-80% protein. This protein (found in wheat, rye, barley, among others) is what helps give bread its elasticity and texture. The springy-ness of dough and the air pockets in bread, are both the result of gluten. Gluten acts like a balloon and traps the air bubbles produced by yeast, helping the dough to rise and giving it that delectable texture we all love. To use gluten in your yeast-risen baking, the general rule of thumb is 1 Tbsp per cup of flour. Gluten can also be used to make the meat-substitute seitan, a common food in many vegetarian and vegan diets.

On the flip side, gluten is also the protein that must be avoided by those with celiac disease and gluten intolerance. Much like casein in milk, gluten causes intestinal discomfort for some and life-threatening intestinal damage in others. The only ‘cure’ for celiac disease is to avoid gluten. Gluten can be found in everything from baked goods to  sauces, ice cream, soups and even shampoo, lotion and make up. While every person’s reaction to gluten can be different, the majority of people avoiding gluten cannot tolerate even the tiniest amount. Thus, the Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free product line was born.

Our gluten free products are produced in a completely separate facility with its own ventilation and strict guidelines for what goes in and out of the facility. All gluten free products are tested for gluten contact in our dedicated gluten free lab before they are shipped out. Each product must test lower than 20 parts per million to leave our facility. While no government guidelines have yet been released regulating gluten free labeling, we feel confident that our practices are in line with what will become government-mandated requirements.

Here is what’s on the docket for February: Carol Fenster has kindly sent us 10 copies of 1000 Gluten Free Recipes to be given away to our readers. I’ll have details about this giveaway next week. We are releasing some new products this month (Chia, among others) and I’ll have more information to share this week and some chances to win.

Happy Groundhog Day!

One of my favorite movies... Groundhog Day with Bill Murray.

For more information about gluten intolerance and celiac disease, please visit these sites:

University of Chicago Celiac Disease Center
Gluten Intolerance Group of North America (GIG)
Celiac Disease Foundation
Gluten and Autism: The GF/CF Diet