Meatless Monday Giveaway ~ Einkorn Pasta

This may be the most fascinating Meatless Monday to date! While I normally reserve pasta for the Mondays when I don't have time to cook, I was actually anxious to try Jovial's Einkorn pasta.

Einkorn is the world's most ancient wheat, extinct for thousands of years until scientists discovered the body of Otzi, the Bronze Age man who was found perfectly preserved in a glacier in the Italian Alps in 1991. Otzi had eaten einkorn for his last meal.

Intrigued by the grain, the folks at Jovial worked with scientists to bring the supply of it back to life.

Nutritional Information

"Ancient grains are inherently more nutritious than modern varieties. Einkorn is the most ancient wheat. It is more nutritious on many levels than modern organic wheat, and even outperforms other “superfoods” including the blueberry in its nutritional value.  Although Einkorn is a healthy source of dietary fiber, it does not have a grainy or gritty texture. Packed with protein, B vitamins and minerals, a meal with Einkorn pasta is very sustaining."

Environmental Impact

"Einkorn is innately rustic, with a hardy root system that overpowers weeds, eliminating the need for herbicides. It grows well without fertilization, making it ideally suitable to small-scale, organic agriculture.  Jovial works with a growing network of organic farmers in rural areas of Italy and other parts of Europe to grow 100% certified organic einkorn.

The First Ever™ trademark on Jovial products is the company’s guarantee of the purest Einkorn product and the purity commitment extends from “Seed to Shelf.”  Jovial Einkorn Pasta is packaged in a carton made from 80% recycled cardboard and is 100% recyclable. The window is certified 100% compostable, made from FSC certified wood pulp."

We made our einkorn pasta with a simple red sauce and broccoli, which went well together. Mr. Greenhab, who is not a fan of wheat anything said, "Eh, it's not bad." (On a side note, he did come home the next day and look in the recycle bin for the box. He said he'd been telling people about it all day but couldn't remember the name. He's a history geek buff, so he found the story behind the pasta fascinating...as did I.) The kids and I thought the taste was great - they didn't notice any difference between the einkorn and what we normally eat. I found the texture to be less gritty than average wheat pasta.

If you're looking for Jovial's Einkorn pasta, you can find it at Whole Foods in the Rigatoni, Penne Rigate, Fusilli, Spaghetti and Linguine varieties. OR...you can win a box here! Just leave me a comment telling me what your favorite meatless meal is. It doesn't have to be fancy, or even homemade. I'll pick a winner on Friday morning, October 22nd.

{Required disclosure: Jovial provided me with a sample of their einkorn pasta to review. They did not compensate me in any way to write this review, nor was I required to write a positive review.}