Tag Archives: worms

Crickets Make Your Trail Mix a Hopping Experience

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Pack some protein in your trail mix by adding in some insects

What do you put in your trail mix? Nuts? Dried Fruit? Crickets?

Yup. That’s right, I said ‘crickets’.

Nick Hiebert, Founder of Ecotone Foods out of Manitoba, has created a delicious twist on an old trail tradition. He has popped roasted crickets, mealworms and super worms into a trailmix along with dried fruit like cranberries and blueberries, and an assortment of nuts and seeds.

Those who are curious and adventurous tasted the crunchy mix and quickly discovered that the bug laden power food is as delicious as it is nutritious. Cheryl Holmes, the reporter for CTV News in Winnipeg, happily crunched a big spoonful of the super snack.

So, what does Ecotone Foods have to do with Next Millennium Farms? Good question.

Next Millennium Farms supplies Ecotone Foods with their scrumptious insects for their trail mix. Click on the video in the article and check out 1:26-1:50 to hear Ryan Goldin, co-founder of Next Millennium Farms, talk about part of the process that is used to provide us with our crunchy critters.

I love trail mix. It is actually one of my daily standards, especially now that I’m making a concerted effort to eliminate unhealthy snacks from my diet (those that are the culprits know who they are!).

I blend in some raw sliced almonds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, unsweetened coconut, and cranberries. So, after this article came out, I asked some other Next Millennium Farms team members how long they think it will be until food made with insects is the norm- not ‘specialty’ or ‘niche’ or ‘novelty’.

I say 1-2 years.

Hopeful? Maybe… Anyone care to make a wager?

#InsectProtein #CricketFlour #Entomophagy

“The Next Bug Thing”, on The Lang and O’Leary Exchange

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Darren Goldin talks to Dianne Buckner of The CBC’s Lang and O’Leary Exchange

Have you ever been in a studio’s Green Room? If you haven’t, the Green Room is where you wait before you go on the air, and if you are a guest on a show, there will typically be some kind of refreshments for you.

Well, today on The Lang and O’Leary Exchange on the CBC, Next Millennium Farms’ own Co-Founder, Darren Goldin, brought the refreshments to them instead of the other way around. What snacks were those, you might ask? Well, chocolate covered mealworms, of course!

The 5-minute interview with Dianne Buckner was wonderfully executed. The responses flowed from one into the other seamlessly, allowing Darren to showcase the exciting growth that has been taking place at Next Millennium Farms at a rapid pace; they have already outgrown their newly acquired 9000 square foot facility!

The mission and vision statements of Next Millennium Farms were organically brought to the forefront through the interview; producing great tasting and highly nutritional insects for human consumption, which are beneficial for people, but also for the globe, as the carbon footprint produced by raising and producing insect protein is much lower compared with other protein sources like beef or chicken.

Before you know it, eating insects WILL BE mainstream in our society. It will be common to see someone snacking on crispy crickets on the subway, or pulling out a pack of sea salt and pepper mealworms from their lunch bags. Just yesterday, City News aired a spot shot in Norwood, Ontario at Next Millennium Farms’ headquarters, where news reporter, Audra Brown was given some wax worms from one of Goldin’s daughters, and she remarked, quite surprised I’d like to add, “These are GOOD!”

Check out our new Bug Bistro to get your own!

 

 

Moroccan Summer Salad with Citrus Ento-Dressing and Roasted Wax Worms

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Summer Moroccan Salad with Citrus Ento-Dressing and Crispy Wax Worms

This perfect summer salad and its bright citrus ento-dressing made with cricket flour, is easy, fresh and delish for any occasion. The roasted wax worms From Next Millennium Farms add wonderful crunch and bring all the flavor needed with no extra spicing necessary. A great salad to add zip and zing to those family bbq’s and potlucks we all love!

Makes 8-10 servings

Ingredients:

Citrus Ento-Dressing with Cricket Flour

Makes approx 8 oz dressing

  • 1 large navel orange
  • 1 lime
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp cider vinegar or rice vinegar
  • 1 tbsp minced ginger
  • 1 tsp honey
  • ½ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
  • ½ tsp Moroccan spice
  • 1 tbsp cricket flour

Chopped Moroccan Salad

  • 2 cups chick peas, cooked and cooled, or canned and rinsed
  • 2 cups grape tomatoes, sliced in half
  • 2 cups cucumber, seeded and diced
  • ½ cup red onion, minced
  • 1 yellow pepper, diced
  • 4 cups shredded cabbage, red or yellow or a mix of both.
  • ¼ to ½ cup roasted Wax Worms

Directions

  1. Using a knife, remove outer peel from both the navel orange and lime leaving the flesh exposed and no pith (the white stuff). Carefully segment and remove each section of orange and lime flesh and place into a blender.
  2. Add the remaining dressing ingredients to the blender and blend on high for 15-20 seconds. Set aside.
  3. Combine chick peas, tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, pepper and cabbage in large bowl.
  4. Pour Citrus Ento-Dressing over salad and mix. Place in refrigerator to marinade until ready to serve.
  5. When serving, place plain roasted wax worms in a small dish on the side for adding to each salad served and sprinkle a few on top of your main dish.
  6. Enjoy!

 

Eating Insects in Capetown, South Africa

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Photo by Esa Alexander

Bianca Capazorio of Capetown, South Africa wrote a fantastic article about a display at the Good Food and Wine show that took place in Capetown last week.

The company, Rentokil, which is known as a pest control company, set up a tasting table that they called the “Pestaurant”, where they served ‘crackers with cream cheese and sweet chilli topped with a locust, chocolate-covered ants, meal worms and several other six- legged and slithery taste treats.’

Capazorio reported that at first many people were very reserved and were wary about trying the insects, but as the show wore on, those who were more ento-curious and adventurous were excited to try the different insects that were being offered.

Those who tried eating insects at the show were pleasantly surprised, and commented that the insects didn’t taste anything different from anything else they had eaten.

Are you ento-curious? Even just a little bit? Check out the Next Millennium Farms store and start with something like cricket flour that you can add to some great recipes!

Finally! A Local Spot to Buy Edible Insects!

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Silk Worm Larvae

I would like to congratulate Next Millennium Farms on being forward thinking and pioneering in this particular field. I have eaten superb silkworm larvae in Dalian China. The Chinese also serve delicious fried scorpions on a stick or crunchy shrimp chip. In South Africa I snacked on Mopane worms which are served dried and taste similar to jerky. Someone should open a restaurant specializing in bugs, they would clean up!!! I now look forward to ordering an abundance and variety of insects from Next Millennium Farms. Good luck in your endeavor, brilliant idea.

Steve Soskin

Mexican Mole Wax Worm Snacks and Salad Toppers

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Mexican Mole Wax Worms

This is a great technique for crisping up some frozen insects and then adding some zing and either consuming hot from the pan or tossing on top of your favorite salad. I personally love these atop the Black Bean Salad recipe that can also be found on the Next Millennium Farms Culinary section. Are you a fan of Moroccan? Jerk? Any spice will do for the final sauté, it is just a matter of which country you feel like tasting for that particular meal or snack!

Ingredients

Directions

  1. Pre-heat oven to 350 F
  2. Place frozen wax worms on a parchment-lined cookie tray.
  3. Bake for approximately 8-10 minutes until moisture-free and warmed but not completely golden or cooked.
  4. Heat small amount of oil in sauté pan to medium and add wax worms. Dust with spices but not salt. Sauté another few minutes until golden and crispy. Adjust spicing to personal preference.
  5. Remove from heat, add a pinch of sea salt and either devour or place on top of your favorite salad or dish.

 

Lamb Shank Mole with Mealworms on Top Chef Canada Finale

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lamb shank mole with mealworms

Whether you’re a foodie or not, the Season 4 Finale of Top Chef Canada was an edge-of-your-seat experience! And whether you’re an entomophagist (someone who eats bugs) or not, things got mighty interesting around the 28:25 mark.

The three remaining chefs, Rene Rodriguez, Terry Salmond, and Rich Francis, were first tasked with the Quickfire Challenge by judges Mark McEwan, Shereen Arazm, Lisa Ray, and guest judge Ruth Reichl.

After canoeing in Lake Ontario with their ingredients in their knapsacks, the chefs ran to their open fires and prepared the “Catch of the Day: Camp-side Fish fry” for the Quickfire Challenge.

Rene Rodriguez won the challenge with his Lake Trout and Enoki Mushroom Salad, and was honoured with first pick of sous chef.

For the four-dish finale, the chefs were flown by helicopter to Taboo Resort and Spa in the Muskokas in Ontario.

The first dish included wonderful starters by all the chefs. Chef Rodriguez, who stated at the onset that he wanted to combine his Mexican, Spanish and Canadian roots in his dishes, started with Steak Tartare with Blue Corn Tortillas. Chef Salmond prepped a gorgeous Fish and Chips Mille Feuille with Cress Salad and Quail Egg, and Chef Francis prepped a fabulous Maple Salmon with Pickled Blueberries and Seared Scallop with Caviar and Vanilla Cream Sauce.

The second dish featured Chef Rodriguez’s Coriander Crusted Tuna with Mushroom Ragout and Pickled Chayote, Chef Salmond’s Lemon Ricotta Tortellini with Corn Puree and Poached Tomotoes, and Chef Francis’ Quail Two Ways with Peaches.

But it’s during the third course that things start to get very interesting for everyone, especially for those of us who see insects as a normal, healthy, nutritious part of the human diet.

At about the 28:25 time mark of the episode, Chef Rodriguez brings out a Roasted Poblano Bisque with Walnuts and Pomegranates that the panel absolutely adored, followed by a Lamb Shank Mole (pronounced mo-lay) with Mealworms. The mole was prepared with over 25 different ingredients, and the mealworms were deep fried and layered on top for extra crunch and flavor. Upon seeing the dish, Mark McEwan called it, “Fun, adventurous (and) really gutsy to throw them on the plate.”

The episode continues, with the rest of the chefs’ third dishes, and with the fourth course, but of course all I wanted to see was the final judging, and to see how the Lamb Shank Mole fared with the judges. If you’re like me, fast forward to the 37:00 time mark where judge Shereen Arazm says to Chef Rodriguez, “Serving your mole was a brave, bold thing to do.” Guest judge Ruth Reichl adds, “Did you think twice about the worms?”

Spoiler Alert! Rene Rodriguez ends up winning the title of Top Chef Canada! I have a few things to say about this:

1- It is so cool of Top Chef Canada to have a dish that featured mealworms.

2- it is amazingly awesome of Chef Rene Rodriguez to include mealworms in his mole.

3- the four judges ate Chef Rene Rodriguez’s Lamb Shank with Mole and Mealworms happily without “ew” and “gross”. Rather we hear sounds of pleasure coming out of their mouths!

4- for those of you who aren’t sold on eating bugs as part of your protein diet, taste them. They’re delicious, and nutritious, and yes, they are food.

5- if you’re looking to try your own mealworms, you can find them at Next Millennium Farms!

 

 

 

 

Bugs for Breakfast

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Adding a bit of crunch to every bite!

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, right? This little guy has a pack of crunchy wax worms at his house. Not only does he love them, but he uses every opportunity to sprinkle them on his food, or just eat them by the handful.

This morning he starts his day off right with some cereal, enhanced with a handful of crispy wax worms- adding crunch, a nutty roasted flavour, and a power punch of iron, protein and amino acids that will give him the energy that he needs to play and be happy all morning long!

It took zero convincing to get this cutie-pie to eat healthy foods this morning.

For those of you who still need a bit of convincing, and can’t imagine being as brave and daring as our friend here, start with some of the cricket flour or mealworm flour, then visit our recipe section, and make yourself a delicious dish that incorporates the flour into cuisine that you are more familiar with. Start small if you have to. Just start.

Ya, I Eat Bugs, So What?

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Eat bugs, save the world- healthy, nutritious and delicious

Let me start by saying that I never thought those words would ever come out of my mouth- EVER! Most westerners would agree with me, right?

There were times when I’d be jogging, and a little fly would fly into my mouth (because for some reason it gapes while I’m expending lots of energy), and I would freak out, and ‘patooey’ onto the ground, rub my tongue, and do whatever I could to get it out of my mouth.

Now, I deliberately put them in my mouth. The difference is though, they aren’t flying into my mouth, I am placing them in there- baked and seasoned, crunchy and delicious.

Trust me, I get it. If you are not currently into entomophagy I understand your apprehension towards it. It sounds foreign, strange, and pretty gross to most.

But, once you learn about how trading in some of your beef and chicken protein consumption for insect protein can save water, reduce our carbon footprint, emit less greenhouse gases, and provide food, actual healthy, nutrient rich food to our food insecure, you too will want to give it a try. it’s time for us westerners to be part of the global package, and to take a look at what is going on in the world around us. Entomphagy is the norm in Asia, South America and Africa. There are over 1000 different species of insects that are edible!

My personal favorites are the worms. They are baked and seasoned with sea salt and pepper, and are crispy and crunchy.

You don’t have to take my word for it. You can try them for yourself!

 

 

 

Fire up the BBQ! Eat a Shish-kaBUG!

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Donghuamen Night Market- Beijing

Ah! The season of the “Q”. This is the time of year that we’ve been waiting for here in most parts of Canada. Burgers, hotdogs, versht, chicken, chops…I could go on and on.

We salivate thinking of it.

But at what cost? And I’m not just talking about the bills you’re taking out of your wallet.

I’m talking about the costs affiliated with producing that meat, that protein, that gets slathered with barbecue sauce, left to marinate for hours on end, and seared or slow-cooked on your outdoor grill.

Have you actually thought about it? Well I’m going to tell you. Actually, I’m going to show you. (click on the infographic to zoom in)

Eat Bugs, Help Heal the Planet

The Benefits of raising insects for food:

  • Saves water
  • Takes less grain/feed
  • Produces less toxins
  • Releases less greenhouse gases into the environment

So, this is what you need to try this season on your barbecue.

Step 1: Buy some crickets or mealworms from Next Millennium Farms

Step 2: Get some skinny skewers and your favorite marinade

Step 3: Get those bugs on the grill

Step 4: Invite some friends over!

Step 5: Write to us and tell us how awesome your bugs tasted!

#eatbugs #eatcrickets #entomophagy #nextmillenniumfarms