I’ve been hinting and teasing and getting excited for a while about tackling grains in February. It’s February! Next week’s Monday Mission will be the first about grains, and we’ll continue exploring them all month. This week and weekend, I want you to pay attention to your meals and snacks and consider:
- What percentage of your total food is taken up by grains?
- What kind of grains do you eat? (Whole, white, processed or not, etc.)
- What role do grains play in your meals? For example, central focus, mixed with other things, as a delivery system for meat and vegetables, an essential side, the only thing you eat as a snack, etc.
- What do you know about gluten? Which grains do you think have high/low/no gluten?
- Do you “soak” your grains? How often? Why or why not? (If you have no idea what soaking is, see a short why and how-to on soaking grains.)
- Where do your grains come from? That is, are the products you’re eating made in a factory, bakery, or your kitchen?
- Do you or would you ever bake your own bread?
- What is the healthiest kind of grain to eat?
That ought to give you PLENTY to ponder over the next 5 days! Don’t worry, we’ll still take baby steps all through February, but this is just an introductory mental mission for the whole series. I have some fun giveaways lined up, too, just to keep you salivating! 
Some Random Notes
- If you missed my blog talk radio spot, you can listen to it down in the right sidebar. The first 8 minutes or so consists of the host talking about what he does, and then I get to talk!
- I’m totally honored to have been invited to be a contributor to Simple Mom‘s new endeavor, Simple Organic. Tsh is also launching Simple Homeschool and Simple Bites to join Simple Kids as Simple Living Media’s publishing offerings. We start publishing next Monday!
- I don’t mention much my involvement with CatholicMom.com, but I’m also a contributor there. I usually repost favorites from Kitchen Stewardship, so my writing might not be anything new for you all, but there are some other absolutely amazing writers there. Lisa Hendey, the founder of CatholicMom, just published her first book, Handbook for Catholic Moms. I hope to review it soon!
- Be sure to check out Kate of Modern Alternative Mama‘s guest post today, and be on the lookout for her 30 Day Eat More Fat Challenge!
- How cool is this? My cousin snagged an old, old cookbook for me from the huntin’ camp that he though I would like. Upon a first skim, it is AWEsome – no better place to learn about traditional foods than from a cookbook from a time when they still used butter and lard and weren’t afraid of organ meats! Love it!
- I wonder what the health food store employees thought yesterday when I wrote down all the ingredients on a bunch of Larabars so I can reverse engineer some snack on the go for you all! I have dates ordered in bulk and can’t wait to try experimenting in prep for my eBook on Healthy Desserts and Snacks to Go!
- Do you have any homemade salad dressing recipes? You can still link up until the end of today!
- I’m serving liver tomorrow for dinner. Hubby doesn’t know yet. I’m also making brownies as a peace offering!! Pray for me!
There are affiliate links in this post.
Here is a link for someone who has some larabar remake recipes. I haven’t actually tried a larabar, so I can’t really compare but thought this might help you a little. Thanks for all you do!
http://www.cleaneatingonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=59:larabar-recipe&catid=39:snack-recipes&Itemid=59
I love whole grains and almost everything comes out for my own kitchen. The best appliance I ever bought was a kitchen grain mill. I use it several times a week. The second is a great mixer, but I would rather go without a mixer and have my grain mill for freshly ground grains.
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Pretty cool you got that old recipe book, Katie! I have an old recipe book like that, too – “Wilderness Cooking” – same one?
I worked up a Larabar recipe not too long ago:
http://gnowfglins.com/2009/12/04/enzyme-rich-homemade-larabar/
It might offer you a springboard for your own creations. How exciting that you’re working on an ebook.
.-= Wardeh @ GNOWFGLINS´s last blog ..Recipe Binders =-.
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Katie Reply:
February 3rd, 2010 at 5:29 pm
Wardeh,
Katie
Funny, I already made my first batch last week using your recipe and it was totally the “springboard” for my remake amounts that I wrote out last night! Glad you don’t mind that I’m using it!
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I am soooo thankful that you are doing grains this month! Just what I need help in tackling! I have been trying to tackle it for a while, but it seems just when I think I am doing something right–I am actually doing it wrong.
That is a reuccuring theme in my real food journey, but I have been reading that I am not the only one that happens to!
Anyhow…looking forward to it–and I love your blog!!
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Oh this is so awesome! I love whole grains and have some great recipes to share for breads, rolls, pizza, etc! And I know a LOT about gluten. Having a grandson who is gluten intolerant, I have some pretty amazing recipes for that too! Can’t wait!!!!
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My brain is a mess! I replied to this post on another blog. I miss my brain. And i “cheated” with gluten this week, so that may be why.
Gluten containing grains are all forms of wheat, barley, & rye. Oats were considered having gluten for a long time, tho it has been discovered that oats themselves don’t have gluten but are often contaminated with gluten because of the way they are raised & processed.
I sometimes soak grains. I don’t really do bread any more as i’m kind of out of the habit. My mother has made Bob’s Redmill gluten free bread for me a couple of times & it is awesome!
But i’m not sure i want to get back into eating bread. The more research i do, the more i’m convinced that a low-carb diet is the healthiest way to eat.
.-= Kathryn´s last blog ..Hodgepodge =-.
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I have a question about soaking grains that I haven’t had the time to look into. Maybe you could address it in the next month? Why does the medium that the grains are soaked in have to be acidic? As I understand, the enzymes that prohibit sprouting are the same that inbibit mineral digestion, but aren’t those enzymes neutalized just by soaking in water? Water is enough to star any seed sprouting…so is water enough to soak my grains in? Maybe I’m missing something…
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Katie Reply:
February 5th, 2010 at 4:51 pm
Naomi,
I will do my best! I copied your Q into my soaking grains info and will check it out.
Thank you!
Katie
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