Ingredients Matter

How often do you really think about the ingredients in your food?

Do phrases like “all natural” make you pause, or do you skim past ingredient lists filled with words you can’t pronounce? That used to be me—five years ago.  

Life on a family farm is wonderfully busy. Between managing a rice mill, living and working on our regenerative farm, raising cattle, and spending time with our kids and grandkids, there’s never a dull moment. But let’s face it—who isn’t busy these days? It’s practically a modern pandemic: this relentless hustle that forces you to prioritize, often at the expense of other things. You want to cook nutritious, homemade meals for your family, and sometimes you do. But other times? It just doesn’t happen.  

At heart, I’m a purist. I love the tactile feel of a good book, turning the pages, savoring every sentence. And I love cooking meals like my favorite dish—risotto made with our family’s Purple rice. Yes, risotto takes time, but there’s something so soothing about ladling warm stock over simmering rice, stirring slowly, and watching it come together. The problem? Like many of you, I don’t always have the time. By the way, Risotto is a technique that you can use with any rice, including Purple.

So, what do you do about the busy issue? On our farm, problem-solving runs in the family. My dad always told me, “Robin, if there’s a problem, there’s a solution.” And for us, the solution came in the form of our new 90-second Heat & Eat rice. I’ll admit, I was skeptical at first. But after speaking with friends of all ages about the idea, the overwhelming positivity surprised me. With those “yeses” ringing in our ears, my family and I moved forward to make our Heat & Eat rice a reality.

Health has become a high priority for us, so we knew the ingredients had to be as clean as they were delicious. To achieve this, we partnered with talented Arkansas chefs, including the talented Arkansas Chef Ken Dempsey, who worked tirelessly to develop recipes using only real, wholesome ingredients.  

After researching all of the different heat-and-eat options on the market, one of the most important lessons I learned during this process was that when a label says, “natural ingredients,” one cannot take it at face value. There’s often a hidden cost to making artificial ingredients seem “natural”—both in taste and in quality. That’s why we worked hard as a family, alongside Chef Ken, to create something we’re proud of: healthy, tasty, and honest.  

In fact, we’re so committed to transparency that we list every single ingredient right on the front of our Heat & Eat packaging. No surprises. No fine print. Just the real deal. We do this not just for our family, but for yours, too.  

Remember, we’re not some faceless corporation. We’re a family, and we care deeply about the people we serve. If you ever have questions, I’d love to hear from you. Feel free to call me at the mill (479-641-1403) or you can email me at robin@ralstonfamilyfarms.com. Farming isn’t easy, but thanks to you and your support, we’re able to keep doing what we love.  

You matter to us, and we’re profoundly grateful for you. If there’s a topic you’d like me to write about, just let me know!  

Until next time…

Blessings,  

Robin