Bonnie: Most might laugh when they hear “bean pizza,” but not me. I’ve been creating pizzas using beans for years … a habit that began when I wrote “Beans” (Harmony Books) about 15 years ago and continued in my syndicated column “Express Lane Cooking,” where I created a recipe a day that appeared in newspapers around the world.
I love beans. And I enjoy adding them to pizzas — which is why I was interested in testing this all-natural Mexicali Black Bean Pizza from Kashi.
I was not disappointed. This is a thin-crust pizza made from Kashi’s signature blend of seven whole grains and sesame with flax seed that provides 11 grams whole grains, or about 3/4 of the recommended daily requirement, in a third-of-a-pie serving, in addition to 340 milligrams of ALA Omega-3 fatty acids.
This nutritious wood-fired crust is first topped with a black bean and tomato sauce blend, and then with a combo of mozzarella and cheddar cheeses, fire-roasted corn, tomatillos, poblano peppers and red peppers for a south-of-the-border flavor.
It’s ready in just eight minutes or less — just don’t overcook it.
Bryan: If you’re not a Kashi-person, the name probably makes you think of a trail-mixy cereal with lots of granola, twigs and fruit in it. While Kashi is best known for its line of natural, healthy cereals, the company has produced a lot more in its 25 years.
Kashi is more than a cereal producer; it is a food company based on the concept of embracing natural health. Kashi is dedicated to improving the health of people through natural ingredients, and the health of the planet through sustainable agriculture. Founded on the belief that when you eat well you feel well, Kashi believes its foods allow you to do well for yourself and therefore your world. This philosophy of the strong connection between food and life has been a strong moral compass at Kashi since its founding in 1984.
Though Kashi is still a bit of a cereal-centric company, it has continued to expand its offerings, and recently introduced a new line of thin-crust frozen pizzas. (Kashi also puts out a line of frozen entrees and pocket sandwiches.)
Kashi makes seven different pizzas, but we found the Mexicali Black Bean to be the standout. True to its roots, the pizza is all natural with a crust made from a signature blend of whole grains with sesame and flax seeds. The Kashi crusts are actually wood-fired (something I have never seen in a frozen pizza!) before being topped with spicy black beans, tomato sauce, mozzarella and cheddar cheeses, as well as fire-roasted corn, tomatillos, poblano and red peppers. I’m not one who usually tends towards the Mexican flavors, but the hearty, crispy crust serves as a wonderful palate for the earthy aromas and textures. A real winner and a great lunch at only 210 calories! The pizza also provides 26 percent of your daily protein and 16 percent of daily fiber.
Another worthy mention in the Kashi pizza family is the Caribbean Carnival. One of the boldest interpretations of a frozen pizza I’ve ever seen, this unique dish combines plantains, mangos and kale with mozzarella cheese and a sweet and spicy guava-infused Jerk sauce… WHAT?! Other pizza flavors include: Mediterranean, Sicilian Veggie, Margherita, Mushroom Trio & Spinach and Roasted Vegetable. Check em out…
Eric: There are a few essential food items that I will always have on hand in my apartment:
1. Bread
2. Peanut butter
3. Eggs
4. Frozen pizza.
Of these items, there is only one that I look forward to at 11 on a weeknight while just getting back to my apartment after an eight-hour shift serving tables. And I can tell you, it’s not the peanut butter. For me, there are few things more satisfying than turning on an oven, opening a box and, in eight minutes, having a bubbling hot, delicious-tasting pizza in front of me. The only thing more satisfying than the preparation of the meal is the cleanup.
Frozen pizza has become the “TV Dinner” of our generation. It is one of the 10 fastest growing supermarket categories, accounting for nearly $2 billion in sales in 2009. It’s no wonder that Kashi, a company that’s been around for 25 years, saw the potential in finally creating a line of natural frozen pizza.
As with most “healthy” attempts at an otherwise unhealthy food (depending on the variety), I was initially skeptical of the Mexicali Black Bean Kashi pizza; and the crust alone had me pre-emptively questioning the taste. It’s flat, crunchy, covered in beans, and it packs an amazing flavor. The mixture of the Mexican flavors with the California thin-crust dough has an original taste not to be found in other varieties.
Are you aware that your contest entry form is all messed up? It doesn’t accept any information, i.e name, email address, etc.
Marzy, I just entered and it went through just fine. The form highlights missing required information — and won’t accept it until that information is included. Try again perhaps from a different browser — or quite your browser and then try it!
try logging in before attempting to enter …
Does anyone know what “natural” means in Kashi’s foods?
I sent the following questions to them, but haven’t heard back yet.
Questions for Kashi:
I enjoy the taste of several Kashi products, and I appreciate the whole grain approach. Thank you.
I do have some questions on what “natural” really means to Kashi. You have mentioned what is not in your food:
“…foods that are free of artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners and preservatives). ”
That’s a good start, but that isn’t good enough to instill confidence in your product as being healthy.
I’d like to know your chain of supply and how your ingredients are grown.
What is your source of chicken? Are they free range? Or are they confined to unhealthy cages? What feed do they eat? Genetically modified corn or grain? Do the chickens get injected with antibiotics and growth hormones or other substances? Are the beaks of the chicks cut off? (the majority of chick beaks are cut off at a young age)
Is your corn GMO? Or is it organic? Corn, soybean and cotton are the biggest GMO crops in the USA. If your corn isn’t organic, then chances are it is GMO.
If none of your food is GMO, that’s another good step. You should say that on your packaging.
What herbicides and ‘natural’ pesticides ARE used on your crops/vegetables and grains?
When you say
“…foods that are free of artificial colors, flavors, sweeteners and preservatives). ”
that doesn’t tell me what kinds of fertilizers ARE used.
What kinds of fertilizers are used? Reclaimed wastewater sludge- full of countless pharmaceuticals and toxins? That’s detrimental to our health.
Petroleum based fertilizers? That is also not good for our ecosystems, nor for the viability of a sustainable lifestyle for much of the world. Just look at the huge dead zones around the world, including in the Gulf of Mexico.
Besides the negative effects of these fertilizers on our environment, who wants to be eating wastewater sludge or petroleum products or byproduct? Not I.
I am sure Kashi puts many safeguards in place to ensure that these toxins don’t enter into their food.
Please give us the chain of supply on your ingredients, so we can have confidence in your products.
Thanks.
I sent a request to Kashi, asking them to respond to respond. Stay tuned for that – but in the meantime I thought you’d like to know that the USDA defines natural as foods without artificial flavors, color preservatives or synthetic ingredients; the FDA currently does not define natural.
Thank you for your interest in Kashi and for your desire to learn more about our foods. Kashi Company defines natural foods as those that are minimally processed and made without artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. It’s not just above avoiding the negatives however, it’s also about adding positives which is why we pack as much positive nutrition into our foods as possible. Through whole grains, fiber and natural goodies like fruits and nuts, Kashi strives to create the best foods we can that are not only natural but healthy and tasty.
We have a lot of products at Kashi – from cereals, crackers, cookies, bars and frozen items – so making our foods means sourcing ingredients from all over the world. In the case of our seven whole grains, we source from a supply of growers located primarily across the northern Midwest, where the climate is perfect for these grains. Another thing that’s great about our grains is that many require only minimal amounts of pesticide and herbicide use, so we are able to minimize the amount of chemicals necessary to protect our ingredients when they are crops.
Specific information about our ingredient suppliers is confidential, but we can tell you that in the case of our turkey and chicken products all of our suppliers meet the USDA, NCC (National Chicken Council) and NTF (National Turkey Federation) standards for humane treatment of animals. All our suppliers must meet stringent quality and food safety standards in order to supply an ingredient to Kashi.
We have a mix of organic and non-organic ingredients in our portfolio. In regard to GMO, we’ve spent a lot of time working internally to understand the facts behind this issue. The reality today is that cross-pollination at the level of the farm and manufacturer has created an environment in North America where GM is not sufficiently controlled in order to guarantee that ingredients are GMO-free. Certified organic products are grown using non-GM seeds, but even organic products face similar challenges when it comes to controlling for contamination. So while we do not intentionally source GM ingredients, we do not believe it’s accurate to say that our products could not contain some amount of GM material.
We wish you the best with your health and wellness goals and hope you’ll visit us at Kashi.com!
Thank you for your response: “…Through whole grains, fiber and natural goodies like fruits and nuts, Kashi strives to create the best foods we can that are not only natural but healthy and tasty.” “So while we do not intentionally source GM ingredients, we do not believe it’s accurate to say that our products could not contain some amount of GM material.”
HOWEVER, I don’t see how you can call a product “healthy” and “natural” when they contain chemical and petro-chemical pesticides. Those toxins aren’t healthy for our farm workers, they aren’t healthy for our bodies and they certainly aren’t healthy for our environment.
Yes, I’m aware of the crime of cross-contamination of GMO crops into organic and non-GMO crops, but you didn’t tell us if the crops you DO source are planted as GMO or non GMO (telling me you do not “intentionally” source or do something tells me nothing of the planting circumstances of the planted crop and its seed). Thank you for a clarification here.
Sadly, I’ll have to quit eating any Kashi food (I never ate their organic breakfasts anyway, just their pesticide dinners). Thanks for the truth of the information in ths forum. I wish your advertising campaigns weren’t so dishonest. Your pesticide-laden whole grain foods aren’t healthy- they’re just not as unhealthy as the pesticide-laden junk food out there.
You say Kashi “Strives to create the best foods”- I think you need to work harder than that to be able to promote your food the way you do.
Thank you so much for your post. I, too have been a loyal consumer of Kashi cereals, buying into their healthy image. However, one day it struck me that I had not even looked at the label on the box and if it said “organic”, and that there was nothing to stop them from using GMO soy, corn and god knows what kind of other ingredients. And guess what, there were only a few boxes that are labeled as USDA Organic, which gives me a better chance of eliminating GMO in my breakfast. I’ve been looking for GMO information on their website and realized that if they did not publicly divulge this information, then they probably do not take the time to protect their consumers from GMO ingedients. All these years, I feel duped into buying their $6 cereals! Until they change their sourcing practices, I am going to stop buying their products.
I also have been hunting high and low for information on Kashi’s GMO policy and the post above confirms my suspicions… I may not boycott Kashi completely from now on but I’m certainly not going to make them a staple part of my healthy diet.
Oh, and just for the record, there are a number of steps which North American farmers and food manufacturers can take to protect themselves against GMO contamination caused by cross-pollination. Sure, non of them are 100% full proof but a growing number of producers and brands out there are proactively practicing GMO avoidance and merit support for doing so. Nature’s Path Organics and Enviro-Kidz Organics, for instance, have both enrolled many of their products for regular GMO testing through the Non-GMO Project, as have many other “healthy” food companies.
All in all, I can highly recommend the Non-GMO Project website to fellow GMO-concerned consumers out there. In fact, I’ve just downloaded their Non-GMO Shopping Guide and look forward to using it as a reference next time I do a big food shop.
I have used Kashi products such as listed above and cereals for years thinking I had made a healthy choice. I recently became aware of the true dangers of GMO’s (See http://www.responsibletechnology.org/GMFree/Home/index.cfm and http://www.seedsofdeception.com/GMFree/MediaCenter/VideoAudio-Interviews/EverythingAboutGMOsVideo/index.cfm as excellent sources for information about GMO’s). The second link is an 84 minute movie about a presentation from the author of “Seeds of Deception”. If you look at these, you will never want to have a GMO in your system again! Many companies in the USA have committed to using non-GMO only food sources. It is not as difficult as Kashi would have us believe. (See Liz’s post above). By the way, Kashi is the separate name and company of the Kellog Corporation. They are supposed to be the “natural” side of Kellogs. Come on Kashi, if you are truly committed to “healthy” products, why don’t you commit to only using non-GMO grains and products. Europe has gotten rid of GMO’s, by people’s backlash against them. The USA needs to do the same. When we realize the genetic dangers of GMO’s and how untested they really are, the US population will DEMAND GMO’s be taken off the market permanently! Kashi, you can be proactive here and be one of the companies leading the way rather than doing so only when mandated. Please show that you are truly committed to health for your customers!
Hey Everybody
LET’S ORGANIZE A BOYCOTT OF KASHI UNTIL WE GET HONEST INFORMATION AND HONEST PACKAGING/LABELING AND ADVERTISING.
I REALLY DON’T THINK THEY CAN CLAIM THEIR FOOD IS’HEALTHY’ (and certainly NOT THE ‘BEST FOODS’) UNTIL THEY:
REGULARLY TEST ALL PRODUCTS FOR GMOS
SHOW US SOURCE CHAIN INFO ON WHAT PETROCHEMICAL AND WASTE WATER SLUDGE FERTILIZERS ARE USED
SHOW US SOURCE CHAIN INFO ON WHAT NATURAL PESTICIDES AND HERBICIDES ARE USED ON THEIR INGREDIENTS
ONLY THROUGH AN ORGANIZED BOYCOTT OF THEIR PRODUCTS WILL THEY LISTEN TO US AND CHANGE.
refuse poison! boycott gmo!boycot kashi and boca and morningstar ect . its time to be honest with your consumers and do the right thing!
I will be boycotting Kashi and Morningstar because of their use of GMO soy and corn.
I don’t want a gut full of round-up.
Sadly, I must also stop buying Kashi until the company explicitly states it does not use gmo ingredients (and ideally starts using only organic ingredients). Long ago I used to eat Post Grape Nuts until I found out it was owned by a huge multinational corporation, and I switched to Kashi, which, of course, was then bought by a huge multinational corporation. I eat cereal every morning, including 7 whole grains, but I may just have to start making my own. This is what comes of being part of such an intentionally opaque industrial food system – ignorance and dis-ease. These big corporations don’t give a damn about the health of their customers or the planet, just the health of this quarter’s bottom line, and so they externalize most of the true costs of chemical farming while giving non-answers to legitimate questions. Bye bye Kashi.
Ciao Kashi….There needs to be NO GMO ingredients. Zero. Start your own farms. I am shocked. As a person who worked at an organic ranch/farm and worked at farmer markets, I can’t believe you do not have complete control over what goes in to your products. You are no better than the double talking politicians, triple talking corporations, dishonest banks and the blood sucking health care insurance companies. Next we will find out that you are testing your products on helpless bunnies. What is really WRONG is that this was never disclosed to the people who trusted you with our food and health. This is a huge problem. I am calling my “Non-Gmo” grocery store to demand your products are taken off the shelves. It seems no matter where I turn these days I see corporate greed.
Hooray Mary and others for standing up for REAL FOOD!
We all deserve *at a bare minimum* honest labeling. We really deserve food that is free from GMOS, pesticides, sludge (human waste) fertilizers and petro-chemical fertilizers.
Kashi has opted not to comment on this forum. Too bad, their chance to turn their policies around is too late.
BOYCOTT KASHI- SPREAD THE WORD ON FACEBOOK AND BEYOND!
BOYCOTT KASHI FOR INCOMPLETE/FALSE INFORMATION AND FOR USING GMOS IN THEIR PRODUCTS:
“It turns out the soy in Kashi cereals comes from genetically modified Roundup-ready soybeans, which have a gene inserted in them that allows the crop to withstand otherwise lethal doses of the weed killer.”
IT IS **NOT** NATURAL TO BE EATING GMOS. PERIOD.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/05/19/kellogs-kashi-brand-with-ge-soy.aspx?e_cid=20120519_DNL_art_1
TELL KASHI NO GMOS!!!! BOYCOTT!