Grains or Seeds?

6.5 

Stocking a power pantry can be a challenge. There is plenty of great nutritional information available on the internet, but knowing what to trust, and better yet, what to follow, can be difficult. One ongoing debate is understanding the difference between grains and seeds, and how these affect our bodies nutritionally.

Grains are, technically, from some form of grass. So wheat, corn, barley, oats, rye, rice... all these are a form of 'grass' where there is no formal fruit beyond the head of grain itself. That head of grain will often have a starchy mass with it, which will serve as fuel for the growing plant in the future.

Seeds, on the other hand, are found in or with a formal fruit of some kind. The fuel for the seed to grow is in the mass surrounding the seed (think apple, tomato, pumpkin, berries, etc.) The seed does't have a starchy mass with the seed itself. Nuts are also a form of seed, that specifically come from trees.

Why the concern and distinction? Grains can create irritating gut sensitivities for some people because of the constituents in the grain (like gluten, germ, bran, etc.). Yes, there are nutritional benefits from the grain, but the irritation created turns out to be not worth the benefit.

Seeds tend to be less irritating to a majority of people, and are packed with nutritional benefits as well. We get protein, great minerals like potassium, magnesium and calcium, beneficial Omega-3 oils, and more. Tree nuts are very beneficial as well, although some individuals can have allergic reactions to tree nuts, and need to avoid them.

What kinds of seeds can we enjoy and benefit from? Ancient pseudo-grains like quinoa, amaranth, buckwheat, and teff (these are actually seeds). Healthful seeds like sunflower, pumpkin and sesame seeds, and tree nuts like almonds, pecans, and walnuts.

So take a look at your pantry today, and think about reducing (or replacing altogether) the grains you have stocked, and instead focus on nutritionally valuable seeds and nuts.

By the Way

Refined grains (ie, wheat flour, white rice, and ALL the processed foods with corn ingredients like corn starch and corn sweeteners) can be detrimental to our health, if we don't control our portions. The best thing is to stock seeds and nuts instead.

Unique Nutritional Snacks

3.16

Until about six years ago our family ate a standard american diet. Corn and wheat products, artificial colors and sweeteners, flavor enhancers, sugar and salt were all normal. We weren't especially unhealthy compared to American expectations, but the truth is, my health was a mess, and Jen's was headed for a train wreck.

We've committed recent years to peeling back layers of nutritional revelation, and we're now significantly healthy...maybe even exceptionally healthy. It hasn't been an easy journey, and what we needed along the way were beneficial co-conspirators, especially in the form of great nutrient-dense food providers.

One of these I am thankful for is Mary Waldner, founder of Mary's Gone Crackers. She has a great story , and I really resonate with her journey. She turned away from standard american foods toward ancient, gluten-free grains, seeds and vegan recipes, and grew her home-made cracker business into a thriving enterprise. Now we all can benefit from the crackers, pretzels, cookies and treats Mary and her bakers create.

I love that Mary has gone to great strides to not only be gluten-free, non-GMO, and vegan, but they use low-glycemic sweeteners like palm sugar, and support local farmers and fair wages. Her crackers and snacks taste great, they're unique, and they are good, nutritional foods.

You won't find saltines and Ritz crackers in our pantry anymore, but you definitely find sweet potato chips, rice cakes and Mary's crackers among our snacks. Those are small changes, but they have proven to be much better choices for our health. How about you? Have you purged some poor choices from your pantry lately? Today is a good day to do just that. Your life and health are worth it.

By the Way

Mary's crackers and snacks are distributed nation-wide through a network of distributors, and if you can't find them, either ask the store manager to get some on the shelves, or order online.

What Do You Notice?

2.50
I think we often fail to see what is right in front of us. Because we think one day naturally melds into the next with no change of norms and outcomes, much of what is happening to us goes unnoticed. I think our body's interactions with food can be a lot like this.

We want life faster, more convenient, with less cost and definitely with no need to engage our brains. And some of life will flow to us, and right past us, in that manner. A truth I have learned over the past 4-5 years is that in order to not slide into suffering caused by poor diet and food-related ills, we need to engage our brains.


Simple observation of cause and effect in my life has clearly shown me this: my body doesn't like dairy and gluten! I've researched all sorts of information on sensitivity to dairy and gluten, and I can unquestionably say that these two foods cause my body significant distress.


The thing which causes us to not connect consumption of a food to the pain or suffering we feel, is time. It takes about two weeks to get the offending dairy or gluten proteins out of my system, and that can be a long time to patiently observe.

So if I splurge on pizza and ice cream, I'm going to suffer a couple weeks of joint, neck and back aches (sometimes it's intense), skin irritation, and sometimes schedule-altering migraines. This will continue for 10 days or so, before my health gets back to the pain-free baseline I've grown used to for four years.

The key to recognizing the connection is observation. But not the casual, speculative kind; it needs to be more deliberate and thoughtful. And the key question is: "what do you notice?" Simply asking that question in relation to a food we eat can change everything. If you have aches and pains and sluggishness, instead of relating it to old-age, try reducing and then eliminating gluten and dairy for two weeks and see what happens. You may be very glad you did.

By the Way

The top list of distressing foods is (unfortunately) common and very much at hand. I had posted about A Sensitive Issue last year recounting these sensitivity triggers as: dairy, gluten, corn, soy, peanuts and eggs. Check out that post to learn more.

A Simple, Delicious Choice

2.44
Power pantry pick-of-the-week: today's post offers a terrific addition to your snacking choices. While carrot sticks and a nutty, dried fruit trail mix might be great, we've recently become fans of Van's. Van's International Foods, that is.

We first found their multigrain crackers some months ago, and with them being not only gluten-free, but corn free, they were an instant hit around our house. And they taste great and have a crisp, light texture... perfect for the latest hummus or guac recipe.

Then I saw more of their stuff at the local super-store, shopping emporium: cereals, granola, snack bars...wow! The thing I love is their ingredient list, and that they have a basic grain mix which shows up in almost all of their offerings (here are the ingredients for their 'Lots of Everything' crackers):

Van's Gluten Free Whole Grain Blend (Oats, Brown Rice Flour, Millet, Quinoa And Amaranth), Potato Starch, non-GMO Expeller Pressed Sunflower And/Or Safflower Oil, Brown Sugar, Rice Flour, Sesame Seeds, Salt, Poppy Seeds, Dried Onion, Dried Garlic, Yeast Extract, Sunflower Lecithin, Caraway Seeds, Mixed Tocopherols For Freshness.

Maybe you'd enjoy something from the Van's Foods family. Check them out online here:
http://www.vansfoods.com/, and look for Van's in the cracker aisle at your supermarket. If you don't find them, be sure to ask, because there may be a gluten-free section, or it's possible your grocer's purchasing folks aren't yet enlightened to the great products from Van's. Happy snacking.

By the Way

Van's doesn't have a huge product line, simply crackers, cereals, pastas, etc. Their tag line is "Simply Delicious" and their offering supports that profile. Check out their full product line here: http://www.vansfoods.com/our-products

Where's the Gluten?

1.22
Have you noticed the common dialog on diet-related issue in recent years? Prior to 5 or 6 years ago, almost no one talked about gluten or peanut allergies or the concerns that went with them. Now these are in regular usage and becoming topics for general discussion. I've shared in previous posts that it was in 2012 that Jennifer and I became aware of gluten and dairy as triggers for joint and muscle pain, and eliminating these from both of our diets has been an incredible relief and blessing. Literally, dairy and gluten free equals pain free; add these back in and back come the aches and pains.

While dairy is fairly easy to understand and control or eliminate in our food choices, gluten may be more difficult. So what is gluten, where does it come from, and if I limit or stop gluten-containing foods altogether, what can I eat?

Gluten is "a protein composite found in wheat and related grains, including barley, rye and spelt..." according to Wikipedia; and 'gluten' is from the Latin root that literally means glue. The proteins in gluten are what bind together in strands in dough to give bread its shape and texture. With air pockets created by yeast activity in dough, the dough rises, takes shape, and through baking, becomes bread. To avoid gluten, then, you need to avoid anything which has wheat, rye, barley, spelt, or any of their by-products or derivatives... and that can be a tall order.

Here is a comprehensive listing of sources of gluten from the Celiac Disease Foundation:

sources of gluten

It is reported that 1 in 133 people in developed nations has a sensitivity to gluten (and it should be noted that gluten issues are defined as a sensitivity, or intolerance to the proteins that form gluten, not an allergy.

If you decide to avoid gluten, you may be wondering what you will be able to eat, because it seems like wheat and gluten-containing foods are everywhere. Here are some grains you can eat which don't contain gluten proteins: corn, soy, millet, rice (white, brown, wild), some oats (there are trace amounts of gluten in plain rolled oats, so gluten-free oats must be sought to totally avoid gluten). Note well, though, that many multi-grain products contain wheat and/ or wheat derivatives, so you need to read labels carefully and be ready for corn, oat or rice products to also contain forms of wheat gluten.

Limiting or eliminating gluten from our diets may seem like a difficult process and a tall order. It is very doable, though, and when the creation of pain or elimination of pain is on the line, it is much easier to invest the effort in going gluten-free.

By the Way

If you're going to take on this challenge, I'd suggest doing it with a buddy. Have an interested friend or family member track progress with you, and go through the gluten-reduction or elimination as well. You'll have accountability to the process, and who knows, maybe you'll both find relief from joint pain and aches.