Whole grains challenge
I've just joined the whole grains challenge:
To spend the month of June practising eating more whole grains. To eat whole grains at every meal. To choose whole grains over refined, processed grains.
Not sure I'm going to manage this exactly as stated (whole grains at every meal?), but I'm going to try to improve the range of wholegrains in my/our diet, and I'm going to try to eat whole grains daily.
Have you any favourite recipes you'd like to share? I'm definitely going to need a bit of help here. Oh yes, and does anyone have any tips they'd like to share about wholemeal pasta (which is an idea that fills me with gloom, not to say dread)?
Links to related posts
Ballymaloe brown bread
Poached barley with herbs
Quick oat loaf
Oatmeal bread
Stuffed butternut
Oatcakes (with smoked trout paté)
A plain spelt loaf
"Instant" spelt loaf from Gilchesters farm, Northumberland
Links to the whole grain challenge
Culinate - where it all began
How to eat more whole grains - also at Culinate
Posts
9 comments:
I too shared your dread about wholemeal pasta but I PROMISE that once you start you will consider white pasta the equivalent of MothersPride bread. Wholewheat pasta can take really strong flavours, lots of garlic, anchovy, strong tomato sauces, your lentil sauce. A good compromise is "semiwhole" which is good for much lighter sauces or salads.
Tabbouleh (bulgar) is very easy, fab with fish and a good salad to keep for a few days in the fridge. Millet, super grain, good as porridge, also makes a good "loaf" or burger (lightly fry onion, garlic, then grated courgette, carrot, cumin, corriander, toasted sunflower seeds, add to cooked millet,place in cake or bread tin, bake in moderate oven then serve hot or cold with tahini sauce). If you would like more specifics I would happily E mail them to you.
Another book recommendation!...."Healing with Whole Foods" - Paul Pritchford, a HUGE tome, the recipes can be a little austere and the eastern medicine bent may not be your thing but, it is the most fantastic reference book if you interested in food, nutrition and health.
Thank you SO MUCH for this ... I am going to buy some wholemeal pasta today, and we'll have it with anchovies and the broccoli which is piling up here. The Millet loaf sounds fanstastic, just my kind of thing. I'll go off to the library to find the Paul Pritchford - it's so good to get a recommendation, because so many of these books turn out to be hopeless, just a rehash of half-digested bits of better books. I feel much more cheerful now ... especially as we had 100% wholegrain toast at breakfast this morning, rather than white for the young and 50-80% for us, and NO-ONE COMPLAINED!
Joanna
Joanna
We dont know a whole lot about whole grain (terrible pun) but we prefer for example whole grain tortilla wraps over plain white ones - and wholewheat spaghetti is rather nice - its just a matter of getting used to it and then you prefer it after a while.
We made quesadillas with whole grain tortilla last night which were lovely and had a better texture. ( post on the blog if you want to try it out)
Hi Joanna
I was just browsing my favourite blogs and found a well timed post on whole grain for you from a favourite blog of mine by Meg Woolf.
here is the link - hope it helps!
http://www.becomingwhole.typepad.com/my_weblog/2008/06/whole-cracked-grains-i-eat.html?cid=118881418
PS if you are any good at biscuit baking - any tips on watercress biscuits as that is what I am struggling with over on the blog!
Hi Joanna,
Charlotte sent me over as I just did a post on whole grains. For ten years I have been eating a macrobiotic diet which is centered on whole grains ( but of course vegetables and beans are included).
And I do eat some cracked grain such as whole wheat or rice pasta (Tinkyada is the tastiest brand of rice pasta!).
Broccoli and anchovies with the pasta sound delicious. Great that you changed to wholemeal pasta and nobody complained ... that is half the battle!
I read about what you are eating and it sounds very similar to what I eat. I'll add you to my blog roll.
I adore wholemeal pasta and use it all the time. It works really well with tomato based sauces. I'd stick to white pasta for creamy sauces though.
Here are a few of the wholegrain recipes from my blog:
http://teach77.wordpress.com/2007/11/06/grains-part-1/
http://teach77.wordpress.com/2007/05/20/cherry-tomato-rocket-basil-spaghetti/
http://teach77.wordpress.com/2007/11/10/grains-part-2/
Thanks for this Joanna.
Ever one to jump on a bandwagon I have signed up for this.
I coincidently bought buckwheat the other day for a recipe to make this week.
I already eat lots of bulgar and quinoa (mix in with rice whenever you cook it) and have started baking with spelt.
H
I always substitute a mixed grains dish wherever I used to make white rice or couscous, and just wrote about it for the Daily Tiffin. There are some ideas for grains that compliment each other and a basic method for cooking them, which assumes a savory dish.
Good luck!
I have become very fond of whole wheat pasta. I like it especially with walnut sauce.
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