Thank you to Simple Mills for sponsoring this post! Matt and I loved their products so much I already bought more of everything they sent us for this review. 🙂
Hello my friends! Over the past few weeks, I’ve been sharing pictures of muffins and pancakes that Matt and I have been enjoying and saying the recipes were coming. Well, get pumped, because the time is now and you’ll be excited to know they couldn’t be easier. 🙂
As you guys know, Matt is gluten free right now per doctor’s orders (more on that in this post in case you missed it), and the two things he’s missed the most are pancakes and banana muffins. So when Simple Mills reached out to me about a partnership for the new year, I was really excited as they make high quality baking mixes that are all gluten free and made without any artificial preservatives or additives. Three cheers for making nutritious eating simpler!
Before saying yes to working together, I of course took a look at their ingredient lists online to make sure it was a good fit, and was really excited by what I saw. All whole, real food – and quality ones at that! How had I not heard of this company before?! Their products are all gluten free, grain free, corn free, soy free, and non-GMO.
Could we make muffins and pancakes without a mix? Yes, of course. But to be honest, I LOVE having a fast and easy solution that either of us can throw together without spending hours in the kitchen. True story: the day the box with our samples arrived I came home one night to find Matt had already busted into it to make a batch of muffins using their banana muffin mix. He was so excited!
Making the muffins using their mix is really easy – all you have to add is water (or milk), eggs, and a little oil. Matt and I have now made 4 batches of these muffins (no, seriously – we ate our way through them so quickly!) in the past few weeks and in our opinion we have perfected the add-ins, so I wanted to share. 🙂
Here’s what we added to the banana muffin mix per the package instructions:
- 1 cup whole milk (instead of the suggested water – milk adds more protein to the mix, and makes them tastier in our opinion. A non-dairy alternative would also work here)
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil (melted butter or another oil would also work here)
- 2 eggs
You can leave it at that or add in some fun extra additions! Here was our favorite combination:
- 1/3 cup walnuts (for crunch and more healthy fat! slivered almonds would also be good here)
- 1/3 cup rolled oats (for fiber and chewy texture)
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds (nutrition powerhouses, holla)
- an additional 1/3 cup of whole milk to make up for all the additions
Plus some extra rolled oats to sprinkle on top because it makes the muffins look pretty. 🙂 Long time readers will remember I started doing this to my muffins way back in 2010 and haven’t stopped since!
Et voila! Nutritious and delicious muffins, at your service.
As I said at the start of the post, we loved the banana muffin mix so much that I already bought 3 more boxes of it on Amazon! We need to make another batch this week – it was so nice having the muffins on hand for an easy portable breakfast or healthy snack that both of us really enjoyed.
As for the pancake & waffle mix, it’s also awesome! Pancakes are one thing we almost never make from scratch at our house for whatever reason – seems like a lot of work for just one meal, maybe? We followed the instructions on the box except for using whole milk again instead of water, and also throwing some chia seeds in the mix (about 2 tablespoons)!
Matt and I both thought these were better than normal pancakes – so flavorful! We made a big batch of them and I’ve been enjoying the leftovers topped with a little nut butter as my pre-run/workout fuel. Perfect!
So – regardless of whether you are gluten free, give Simple Mills a shot! I think you’ll love their nutritious products just as much as we do. In addition to the Banana Muffin Mix and the Pancake & Waffle Mix, they also offer a Pumpkin Muffin Mix, Artisan Bread Mix, Pizza Dough Mix, Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix, Vanilla Cake Mix, Chocolate Muffin & Cake Mix, an assortment of almond flour-based gluten free crackers (already made for you – I’m excited to try the cheddar crackers)! AND they have frosting for the cake mixes, too, made from organic coconut oil, organic & sustainably sourced palm shortening, and monk fruit extract (a sweetener that is made from the subtropical melon). Whew! So much goodness! When I bought us more of the banana muffin mix and the pancake mix I also picked up a box of the regular bread mix, pumpkin muffin mix, and cheddar crackers – excited to try those too!
You can find Simple Mills products on Amazon or at Whole Foods, Target, Sprouts, and SimpleMills.com. For more, see their store locator!
And lastly, Simple Mills is hosting a #SimpleStart giveaway this month to encourage everyone to kick their days off in a healthy way – but simply. 🙂 One winner will receive one of each of their products plus a Fitbit Charge 2. Head to their blog to learn how to enter!
Have you tried Simple Mills before? And if not, which product would you most like to try?
