The Kashi Food Company produces all natural foods. The company's foods are not the same as an organic food, but focus more on using a combination of seven grains to help keep the body healthy. Kashi has flourished in recent years, and owes much of its success to its owners and the principles of a healthy, happy life.
A Brief History of Kashi and Its Beliefs
In 1984, The Kashi Company was started by Philip and Gayle Tauber. In 2000, Kellogg bought out the company. It is now operated as a completely independent company out of La Jolla, California.
The name Kashi combines to words "kashrut," which means kosher, and "Kushi," which is the last name of Michio Kushi. He and his wife Aveline are often credited with introducing the macrobiotic diet to the United States. A macrobiotic diet is broadly defined as a total health and cancer-fighting diet.
More About the Macrobiotic Diet
A macrobiotic diet focuses on using whole grains as the main staple in one's diet. Other sources for a nutritional diet include:
- Beans
- Vegetables
- Soy
The macrobiotic diet principles include avoiding overeating and avoiding all food with refined sugars, nightshade vegetables, and any type of processed foods. But the macrobiotic diet is also a lifestyle.
The Kashi Food Company is based upon this lifestyle. The company believes that a healthy lifestyle will create a happy life. They believe in the benefits of healthy living. This encompasses all areas, including food choices, exercise, stress relief, and meditation.
Kashi Foods Products
Kashi Foods produces nutrition bars, breakfast cereals, and crackers. They also produce a line of frozen foods including waffles, pizzas, and entrees. All of these products contain the blend of seven grains. But that is not the whole concept. These are whole grains and sesame, and there are not any artificial ingredients, at all, in the foods. The seven grains the company uses are:
- Rye
- Oats
- Winter wheat
- Barley
- Buckwheat
- Triticale
- Long grain brown rice
The highlight of Kashi foods is in the high fiber and protein content. Some of the more popular foods include:
- Kashi Foods GOLEAN cereals. The original GOLEAN cereal is made up of rice puffs, soy grahams, fiber twigs. There are also GOLEAN Crunch, which is made up of sweetened clusters of oats, and a line GOLEAN hot cereal.
- Kashi Foods Heart to Heart cereal. This cereal is high in ingredients meant to promote heart health; for example, fiber from oats helps reduce cholesterol. The cereal is also low in sodium.
- Kashi Foods TLC Snacks include crackers, crunchy and chewy granola bars, and cookies.
Kashi Foods is one of the few companies that offer these types of products through a regular grocery store. They now have over 50 food products that are made according to the founding principles. Almost all of them can be found in your local store, or can be ordered directly from the Kashi Food Company website.
A Final Thought
Kashi Foods continues to grow. In 2005, Stretch Island Fruit Company was bought out by Kashi. This company specializes in fruit snacks. In 2007, Bear Naked, a company that specializes in granola, was also purchased. Kashi truly has "7 whole grains on a mission," with many future products being developed as of this writing.
Kashi Food Company offers a distinct alternative to the over processed, over preserved foods typically associated with American culture. The belief that our health directly relates to our happiness in life is quickly becoming another mainstay in American culture, and a healthier one at that.
 |
