A few weeks back I got some tests back saying my immune antibodies have chilled out and are back to normal after three years of being off-the-scale-crazy. My body is no longer eating itself…and is slowly repairing!
The doctor was impressed. How did I do it? It was a bunch of things, most of which I’ve documented on this blog…but if I had to narrow it down to One. Main. Factor. It would be:
I cut out gluten.
I’m going to post on this again soon. But for now, some tips on how to cook other grains…and a guide to which are gluten-free. Feel free to print out and magnetise to your fridge.
|
Water |
Cooking Time |
Contains Gluten? |
| Common grains: | |||
| Brown rice |
2 cups |
45-60 minutes |
no |
| Buckwheat (aka kasha)* |
2 cups |
20-30 minutes |
no |
| Oats (whole groats) |
3 cups |
75-90 minutes |
questionable due to content, contact, or contamination |
| Oatmeal (rolled oats) |
2 cups |
20-30 minutes |
questionable due to content, contact, or contamination |
| Alternative grains: | |||
| Amaranth |
3 cups |
30 minutes |
no |
| Barley (pearled) |
2-3 cups |
60 minutes |
yes |
| Barley (hulled) |
2-3 cups |
90 minutes |
yes |
| Bulgur (cracked wheat) |
2 cups |
20 minutes |
yes |
| Cornmeal (aka polenta) |
3 cups |
20 minutes |
no |
| Couscous** |
1 cup |
5 minutes |
yes |
| Kamut |
3 cups |
90 minutes |
yes |
| Millet |
2 cups |
30 minutes |
no |
| Quinoa |
2 cups |
15-20 minutes |
no |
| Rye berries |
3 cups |
2 hours |
yes |
| Spelt |
3 cups |
2 hours |
yes |
| Wheat berries |
3 cups |
60 minutes |
yes |
| Wild rice |
4 cups |
60 minutes |
no |
Some little extra tricks:
*ALWAYS rinse quinoa before cooking. Here’s why.
* ALWAYS soak brown rice before cooking. Here’s why. Other grains can be soaked, too, to assist digestion.
* I add a pinch of sea salt to grains to help the cooking process, with the exception of kamut, amaranth and spelt (salt interferes with their cooking time).
* I cook grains in bulk and freeze in zip-lock bags in individual portions. They can be heated in a minute, or added to soups etc. (One little thing…if you do this…always wash and reuse the zip-lock bags. Even if you just do it for me so I don’t have to fear I’m encouraging the use of disposable bags).
* Roasting the grains before cooking them makes them more alkaline (an alkaline diet is far more healthful; cancer and autoimmune disease simply can’t exist in an alkaline system). I just toss them around dry (no oil) in a pan for a bit before adding to water. It gives them a lovely toasty flavour, too.
*If you like grains separated (not mushy) – boil the water before adding the grains. But don’t add buckweat to cold water – it won’t cook properly.
* Me, I prefer, mushier, more porridge-like textures , so I boil the grain and liquid together.
* My favourite porridge right now is millet and brown rice… crunchy and mushy all at once!
**Technically not a grain, but a small pasta product made from wheat and does not require soaking.
Feel free to add some extra tips!
