Oh Manna. This ain’t your ordinary bread. I like to think of Manna Bread as the healthiest, most wholesome, nutty delicious flour-less vegan cake-like organic bread you can possible devour. Except it’s not cake. This is 100% “bread” because Manna breads have no grease, no sweeteners, no eggs, and no salt.
Intrigued?
What is Manna bread? It is a line of 100% sprouted high-protein whole-grain bread (so moist and dense it’s like cake, the way I see it.)
Manna bread does NOT contain: No salt, yeast, oils, sweeteners, leaving agents, anything artificial!
Manna Bread comes in 9 flavors: Banana Walnut Hemp, Carrot Raisin, Cinnamon Date, Fig Fennel Flax, Fruit & Nut, Millet Rice, Multigrain, Sunseed, and Whole Rye.
Manna Sourdough bread comes in 3 flavors: Multi-grain Flax sourdough, Bavarian Rye sourdough, Sunny sourdough
The Pros: The breads really are delicious (read: addicting), filling, high in protein, high in fiber, all-natural, nutrient dense, nutty, in short, WORTH every penny!!
The (Only) Cons: These loaves come smaller than your average loaf of bread and are NOT pre-sliced. I have difficulty stopping at a single piece or two because they taste so good!! For those a little afraid of portion control, make sure you slice it or weight it or stash it away once you’re satisfied!
The Sourdoughs…
Multi-grain Flax Sourdough
Stats (per slice/50g): 130 cals, 2.5g fat, 200mg sod, 24g Carbs, 6g Fiber, 5g Protein
Ingredients: Filtered water, organic whole wheat flour, organic rye flour, organic multigrain blend (organic whole wheat, organic rye, organic barley, organic oats, organic flax, organic millet, organic buckwheat), organic flaxseeds, sea salt.
Tastiness: 7.5/10. This exceeded my expectations for both a sourdough bread and a multi-grain bread. Obviously, the stats are great, but after toasting, this bread gave off a lovely nutty yet sour doughy smell that
Bavarian Whole Rye Sourdough
Stats (per slice/50g): 120 cals, 1g fat, 220mg sod, 25g Carbs, 8g Fiber, 5g Protein
Ingredients: Organic rye flour, filtered water, sea salt, organic caraway seeds, organic fennel seeds, organic coriander seeds.
Tastiness: 9/10. This was one of the best savory, smooth, hearty sourdough breads I’d ever tasted. The flavor was not too tart like sourdough bread can be with a deep rye aroma. Wonderful when topped with hummus!
The Non-Sourdoughs…
Cinnamon Date
Stats (per 2oz slice/56g): 150 Cals, 0g fat, 15mg sodium, 29g carbs, 5g fiber, 6g sugar, 8g protein
Ingredients: Sprouted organic wheat kernels, filtered water, organic dates, organic cinnamon, organic oatmeal
Tastiness: 9/10. This is everything I wanted in a nutty, sweet bread that is high on chew and doughy factor. It is definitely not as cinnamon-y or date-filled as I would like, but paired with some pumpkin butter and your own sprinkling of dried fruit, this is wonderful dessert bread. Perfect for an after dinner treat!
Banana Walnut Hemp Manna Bread
Stats (per 2oz slice/56g): 140 Cals, 4.5g fat, 5mg sodium, 27g carbs, 2g fiber, 12g sugar, 5g protein
Ingredients: Sprouted organic wheat kernels, filtered water, organic dried banana, organic walnuts, organic flax seeds, organic hemp seeds
Tastiness: 6/10. This bread fell short of my expectations because it wasn’t half as banana-flavored as I’d like. However, the bread was still tasty and studded with lots of walnut pieces. This flavor isn’t as succulent and sweet as several other flavors, such as the fruit and nut or the cinnamon date. If you’re craving some real banana flavor, try topping the loaf with some fresh banana slices!
Fig Fennel Flax
Stats (per 2oz slice/56g): 120 Cals, 1.5g fat, 10mg sodium, 26g carbs, 5g fiber, 8g sugar, 4g protein
Ingredients: Sprouted organic wheat kernels, filtered water, organic black mission figs (diced figs, organic out flour), organic flax seeds, organic fennel seeds, organic poppy seeds, organic pumpkin seeds, organic sunflower seeds, organic sesame seeds
Tastiness: 7/10. A textural PARTY in my mouth! Ultra moist, dense, and absolutely loaded with crunchy pumpkin and sunflower seeds over the top while the inside is studded with crunchy flax seeds. Initially, it doesn’t seem as sweet as the name promises and I didn’t feel the fig represented in the loaf, but the next couple bites sealed the sweet deal. However, I’m not a fan of the fennel in sweet bread so the heavy fennel flavor was a no-go for me.
Fruit and Nut
Stats (per 2oz slice/56g): 140 Cals, 1g fat, 7mg sodium, 27g carbs, 6g fiber, 16g sugar, 6g protein
Ingredients: Sprouted organic wheat kernels, filtered water, organic raisins, organic dates, organic almonds, organic cashews, organic hazelnuts, organic cinnamon, organic nutmeg, organic oatmeal
Tastiness: 8/10. This loaf has the most sugar nutritionally out of all Manna bread flavors, mainly coming from the organic raisins and dates. However, being someone with a sweet tooth, this bread was perfect as a dessert, sweet snack, or breakfast. PERFECT when topped with peanut butter!
Millet Rice
Stats (per 2oz slice/56g): 130 Cals, 0g fat, 10mg sodium, 28g carbs, 5g fiber, 9g sugar, 5g protein
Ingredients: Sprouted organic wheat kernels, filtered water, organic millet, organic brown rice
Tastiness: 8/10. Flavor-wise, this had a hint of sweetness, was nutty and mild. The versatile bread could use a topping or two in order to play up either its sweet or savory characteristics, but it is also delicious on its own. Texturally, the millet rice provided a ton of crunch to it, almost to the point where I felt like the millets were designed to get stuck in between my teeth.
Other Manna Bread FAQ’s (in case you were wondering)…
1. You can buy Manna breads in the frozen section at Whole Foods, or online. Here is Manna’s product catalog. http://www.mannaorganicbakery.com/ver.php?mod=categories_product_catalog
2. How long can Manna Bread keep for?
Frozen (-10 F) – up to 1 year
Refrigerated (35 F) – 2-3 weeks
Room Temp (65 F) – up to 5 days
3. Why is the bread so sweet if Manna doesn’t use sweeteners?
The sweetness of Manna Bread® is solely due to their unique sprouting process, which converts starches into maltose and other complex carbohydrates. There is no added sugar, no yeast, no salt, or preservatives.
For all other questions, please visit Manna Organics for information! 🙂
Lucky Taste Buds! 