Tag Archives: gluten-free snack

At Lundberg Family Farms, Rice Is Always Nice

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Lundberg Family Farms combine corn and rice to make tortilla chips that taste like cheese pizza.

Lundberg Family Farms combine corn and rice to make tortilla chips that taste like cheese pizza.

 

For three generations since 1937, the Lundberg Family has been synonymous with premium rice.

On 6,000 acres in the Sacramento Valley, it grows 18 varieties of rice — all non-GMO, and all certified gluten-free. It was also only the second farm in California to be certified organic.

Over the years, “The family has had many offers for both the land or the company, but they have a legacy they want to continue,” says Janet Souza, public relations and design manager for the farm. “They have never entertained any of those offers.”

Fortunately, for consumers, they just keep looking for new rice varieties to grow and new products to make. I had a chance recently to try samples of some of Lundberg’s newer products.

Bold Bites are small organic tortilla chips — that have the addition of rice in them. That makes them denser in texture. They are not as shatteringly crisp, but still plenty crunchy. They’re also gluten-free.

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Sprogs — A Fun-To-Eat, On-The-Go Snack

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Front to Back: Bacon & Egg, Kale & Kimchee, and Coconut Red Lentil Sprogs.

Front to Back: Bacon & Egg, Kale & Kimchee, and Coconut Red Lentil Sprogs.

 

Are you a fan of onigiri — the Japanese rice balls wrapped around centers of pickled plum, cooked seafood, veggies, and pretty much anything else the imagination can come up with?

Then, you’ll love Sprogs, the small “rice scooters,” that take them to the next level.

The San Francisco company was created by Ching-Yee Hu, a busy mom who was looking for the perfect snack for her kids, as well as herself. When she couldn’t find exactly what she was craving, she decided to make it, herself.

It’s such a brilliant concept that you wonder why someone didn’t come up with it sooner. Hu was already making pressed fresh brown-rice squares for her kids when she decided to expand on the idea with more inventive flavorings.

She uses Northern California haiga brown rice that is partially milled to remove the tough outer bran to make it easier to digest yet retains the nutritious germ inside. Then, she created both “Veggie” (vegan) and “Meatie” varieties.

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