Here are a few ideas on how to increase the variety of grains that you enjoy in your diet.
Play with your porridge
Breakfast is the one meal where many of us are happy to eat the same thing day in, day out. While this may provide us with a sense of comfort and security (useful first thing in the morning), it does not do anything for the variety of our diet. As well as different imaginative toppings for your porridge (dried fruits soaked with it overnight, banana and a square of grated dark chocolate, baked apple, raisins and cinnamon) try different grains. Oatmeal, buckwheat, maize meal, wheat berries, millet, quinoa, amaranth or sweet rice can all make tasty and nourishing breakfast porridges.
Try barlott
Barley is a much underused grain because it takes a while to cook, and so is consigned to filling out stews and the occasional soup. This is a shame as it is incredibly nutritious with a lovely chewy texture. For a change, try using it as an alternative in your risotto. Pre-cook the barley for half an hour by simmering it in water, and then simply use it in place of the rice in your favourite risotto recipe. It will take another 15 minutes or so to cook. Pearl barley works better than pot barley for a “barlotto” as it is slightly lighter.
Throw in some of the wild stuff
Wild rice is one of the most recent grains to be cultivated, and up until 300 years ago it was still collected from wild marshes in canoes. Consequently it is still virtually a wild crop, with the vitality and nutritional qualities that implies. As a side dish it is perhaps best mixed in with brown rice, although it needs slightly longer to cook. Owing to its delicious individual taste, it also goes very well with a plain vegetable stir fry.
Live like an Aztec
Quinoa and amaranth are members of the goosefoot family, and strictly speaking are seeds, not grains. Together they form a fourth family of “wholegrains” in addition to the three most of us already consume – the western grains of wheat, oats, barley and rye; the rices, and maize. Introducing quinoa into your diet will consequently have much more impact on the breadth of your nutritional intake than swapping some of the wheat for rye, for example. They contain complete proteins, are easily digested and are very versatile. Try traditional cakes made simply from popped amaranth and honey, quinoa flakes in a breakfast cereal or the whole seeds in a salad or cooked in a vegetarian chilli.
Replace your mash
Polenta is rarely cooked in the UK, at least partially because we have mashed potato. In Italy polenta would be used in much the same way, to soak up saucy stews or casseroles. Left-overs are even fried the next day, reminiscent of bubble and squeak. It is easy to cook, can be flavoured with anything from simple stock to chopped olives and parmesan, and is a nutritionally wise alternative to the high GL, peeled mashed potatoes. Polenta is also available precooked to be grilled or fried as slices.
Go old school with wheat
Kamut and spelt are both members of the wheat family, but are ancient varieties closer to the wild grasses that cultivated cereals were bred from. They can both easily be used as wheat replacements in breads or pasta to provide an alternative nutritional spectrum, which is particularly beneficial given the dependence of modern wheat in our diets. They may also be more suitable for those who have developed wheat sensitivities.
Eat what you knead
Baking your own bread is easier than you think, not as time consuming as you suppose and far more satisfying than you can possibly imagine. For many of us bread is our staple food, and there are few better ways to nourish your body and soul than by kneading, shaping and baking it by hand.
Tags: amaranth, buckwheat, grains, kamut, millet, oatmeal, polenta, quinoa, rice, spelt
Loading...