Carbohydrates are a wonderful addition to a healthy diet. We must simply be mindful of making healthier carbohydrate choices. Humans have been eating carbohydrates since the beginning of time. We began eating carbohydrates as hunters and gatherers but eventually settled down to create farming communities. This was not the beginning of our problems. We continued to eat healthy whole grains all over the world and have long, lean, and healthy bodies. In America corn was the staple grain. In India and Asia it was rice. In Africa it was sorghum. In the Middle East is was wheat. In Europe people would eat corn, millet, wheat, rice, pasta, dark bread, and even beer. In Scotland oats were eaten. In Russia people would eat buckwheat or kasha.
Whole grains are an excellent source of nutrition. Whole grains are absorbed slowly in the body and provide energy. Some excellent sources of whole grains include brown rice, wild rice, quinoa, millet, barley, steel-cut oats, rye, spelt, kamut, amaranth, whole grain breads, and whole grain pastas. Many of these may be new to some of you, but if you can find them they are fun to try. Walmart carries many of these including quinoa and steel-cut oats.
We need to become label watchers. When looking on the back of "whole grain breads" it is important to make sure that the label reads 100% whole wheat. It is also important to look at the amounts of sugar in the bread. If sugar is in the first four ingredients it contains too much.
We also need to be mindful that white rice is not the same as brown rice. White rice is simply taking the nutrition out of the rice. White rice breaks down faster in the body than brown rice. Brown rice is tastier when cooked in vegetable or chicken broth. Many people need to prepare half brown and half white rice in order to get their family used to the change. Eventually you will grow to love the brown rice!
It is often difficult to find unusual whole grains in small rural towns. There are several excellent websites that have whole grains available. These include:
www.bobsredmill.com
Using 100-year-old stone mills and organic grains to create flours, which are milled to order.
They also offer beans and granola.
Eden Foods - www.edenfoods.com
A great selection of natural foods, including beans, grains, nuts, seeds, Japanese foods,
soymilk, fruits, and juices.
The E - Food Pantry - www.efoodpantry.com
Great for all your special diet needs. Hundreds of organic, sugar -free, wheat, and gluten
free products.
Try some new recipes and experiment with whole grains this week. Make a change to whole grain pasta and brown rice. Read labels carefully and choose whole grain breads. Make this healthy change and follow The Yancey Plan.
Brown Basmati Pilaf -
1 cup brown basmati rice
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup walnut pieces
1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley
2 cups water
pinch of salt
Rinse rice until the water runs clear. Boil the water and add the rice and salt. Cover and reduce the heat. After 15 minutes add the cranberries and walnuts on top. Do not stir. Cook 15 - 25 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat and add parsley - fluffing with a fork!
This is a great fall recipe!
Blessings -
Emmie
No comments:
Post a Comment