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.

Another Great Grain

4.13

Looking for an all-star grain to add to your pantry? There is a lesser-known cousin to quinoa which has great nutritional density and is affordable and growing in availability. It's amaranth, a very tiny pseudo-grain originally from Mexico and Yucatan Peninsula.

Amaranth is not a seed or grain. It is a tiny grain-like structure from the flowers of the amaranth plant, but it functions much like a grain, and in some ways, even better. Amaranth is a protein powerhouse, and is high in manganese, iron, magnesium, calcium, phosphorus and potassium.

Compared to rice an oats, amaranth is a tremendous source of fiber. About 10 times more fiber than white rice, and 20% more than oats.That makes it a great addition to any meal or recipe.

Amaranth is great cooked like oatmeal, as a porridge, and can be seasoned and cooked like rice or quinoa for addition to a favorite spicy dish or salad. It can also be popped by tossing a tablespoon of amaranth in a dry, hot skillet. Once popped it is a great snack by itself or can be a topping on salads or soups, etc.

So give Amaranth a try as a healthy, nutrient-dense alternative to the usual starchy side dishes. You'll benefit from the great nutrient value of amaranth and will likely enjoy the nutty, slightly malty flavor.

By the Way

Bob's Red Mill packages and distributes Amaranth. If your local market carries other Bob's Red Mill products, but you don't see amaranth, be sure to ask at customer service to see if they could stock amaranth as well.

Still 90/10

4.5

We're surprisingly in the second month of 2017... time flies. How's your power pantry, and what's the quality and condition of the food making it to your table?

I've made some really interesting edits to our pantry in the last several months, and have been really blessed because of it. I'm always learning more about how foods affect our metabolism and digestive health, and how the whole package of wellness rises and falls on what we put in our mouths.

What I've  been learning is that numerous fruits and veggies can be irritants to my gut, and I'm actually much healthier without them. And once those 'primary' irritants are out of the picture, things like gluten and simple dairy don't bother me (at all). I would not have suspected this 3-4 years ago when I found gluten and dairy to be a real pantry problem.

Even with these edits, the fundamentals still stand. If you dig around our fridge and pantry you'll find whole foods, simple ingredients and healthful selections. My goal is still to get 90% of my calories from simple, whole foods (even if these include more dairy and gluten) and 10% can be from less healthful choices.

No artificial colors or preservatives or sweeteners. No highly processed anything. And lots more orgainic selections in our pantry as the market offers affordable healthier choices. We even enjoy ice cream (Turkey Hill makes great all-natural ice creams...) 

How's your pantry? And how about the majority of calories you consume? Are your choices healthful and nutrient-dense? Are you feeding your body with intentionality? It all begins with our pantries and fridges - when we get that right, everything else falls into place. Commit to at least an 80/20 split for healthful pantry selections.

By the Way

I'm still marveling at how well my running and workouts are going even though I've added foods back to my diet which I had previously banned. It reminds me to always be open-minded. My running endurance is great, my joints and muscles are pain free and recovery time is on par. And I'm feeling better in general with these recent improvements... These are the benefits of a wellness lifestyle and staying curious.

Make it Yourself

3.27

I'm not into posting recipes. There are sooo many websites with the latest recipe for something healthy or super-delicious or trendy, I figure I don't need to join the fray. BUT today I made something awesome, so I've decided to share the recipe if you want to try it.

Why the change of heart? Last week I took a fresh look at our pantry choices regarding acid/alkaline balance and noticed that some of our food-stock was coming from the bad side. As I re-evaluated things, I realized that oats and rice were a big part of our starches, and those are solidly on the bad (acid-forming) side side of acid/alkaline balance... hmmm.

So I came around to a renewed interest in ancient grains and finding and stocking some from the good side, and have spent a good bit of time this week doing just that. What resulted is that I simply reminded myself of things I already knew: mass-produced, refined grains (wheat, rice, oats, barley) are not as healthful as popular perspective and government support have us believe. But ancient grains? Those have staying power exactly because they are healthful and nutritious.

What are the ancient grains? Many of them are actually seeds... and I'm focusing on the gluten-free offerings: chia, amanranth, millet, teff, sorghum, quinoa. Technically, all whole grains have ancient roots; our modern versions likely have decades (or centuries) of modifications which have changed the size (bigger) and growth characteristics (drought-resistance) and even GMO changes to resist bugs. Ancient grains like the ones I mentioned often don't have these modifications.

Millet Flax Crackers
Baked fresh today

So what I made was a batch of crackers. Yes, simple crackers. Why? Have you tried to find tasty gluten-free crackers that don't have rice or potato starch as a base? There are expensive specialty crackers that would fit that profile, but nothing simple or readily available and affordable. So I made my own. And the early results are in: they're great!

I chose millet flour (which I ground myself in our Nutri-bullet) and ground flax, with some chia seeds for texture and hemp hearts sprinkled on top for a bit of extra flavor and nutrition. Want to give them a try? See the recipe below - maybe you'll make it yourself.

By the Way

The flour in the recipe below can likely be substituted with teff, sorghum or quinoa flour for a different texture and flavor profile. The millet was simply my first try... 

Millet and flax crackers (I modified this from a recipe online and a little bit of creativity)
(Oven temperature - 375 degrees; total cooking time about 50 minutes)

1 1/2 C ground flax
1 T chia seeds
1 1/2 C water
1 1/2 C millet flour
1 1/2 t salt
3 T olive oil
1 1/2 t baking powder
Additional pinches of salt for topping as well as seeds or other toppings (sesame seeds, hemp hearts, finely chopped nuts, etc.)

In a medium-sized bowl combine ground flax and chia seeds with the water. Stir and let stand about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
After flax and chia have thickened add remaining ingredients, stirring thoroughly to combine.
Divide dough evenly between two cookie sheets and spread to about 1/8" thick with back of a large metal spoon to cover entire sheet. Score dough with a pizza cutter, making initial cracker shapes; pierce the middle of each cracker with a fork (to prevent the centers from bubbling up). Top with pinches of salt (like kosher for visual appeal), various seeds or chopped nuts, etc.
Cook 20 minutes; remove and rescore crackers with pizza cutter; cook additional 15 minutes, remove and rescore a final time. Crackers may be cooked further until browned and crunchy, or can be removed at this time for a bit softer cracker (a lot like a mini flat-bread)
Enjoy!!

Know Your Oats

2.67
I love having some tried and true, versatile power pantry items on hand. I think of pantry staples like raw almonds, apple cider vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, raw honey, brown rice, and oats. Yes, humble, stick-to-your-ribs, great-for-breakfast oats. Maybe oats are worth a closer look.

If you've never thought much about the available kinds of oats, here are some basics. The oats we buy at a grocery store are usually available in four types: groats, steel cut oats, rolled oats (or 'old-fashioned' oats), and quick, or instant, oats. Check out what Wikipedia and the Whole Grain Council have to say about oats...

Groats are simply the whole oat kernel with the hull removed. The head of grain hasn't been cut or pressed or rolled. Steel cut oats, the healthiest of the processed oats, are simply cut into two to three pieces by processing blades, but that's all- no other mechanical manipulation is done. Because of this, steel cut oats retain much of the oat bran, which is lost in more mechanical processing used with other oats.

To get rolled oats, the groat is steamed to make it more tender, and then it is rolled in a coarse roller, and finally toasted a bit to stabilize it. Rolled oats will cook more quickly, and make more of a porridge consistency. Quick oats will cook the quickest of all because they are rolled more finely than old-fashioned oats. Quick oats yield an even creamier texture because of the finer processing.

Which is the best? As always, the one processed the least will give you the greatest benefit, so that's probably the steel cut variety. Don't get me wrong, all oats are a healthy choice, it's just that steel cut oats would retain the most nutritional content because they aren't steamed or toasted.

So give oats another look. I enjoy a great bowl of oatmeal or muesli (uncooked or only slightly cooked oats) most days of the week, and I like throwing in a variety of good additions like raisins, dates, walnuts, raw almonds, chia seeds, ground flax, or even berries. Oats are a great way to start the day because of their low glycemic index and high fiber content which will keep you feeling full longer into your day.

By the Way

Oats are seen as a healthy addition to our nutritional choices for a couple of reasons. Besides being a great source of thiamine, iron and dietary fiber, oats are the only source of avenanthramides, an antioxidant which helps protect the circulatory system from arteriosclerosis.