Your mission, if you choose to accept, is to try soaking grains in one recipe this week. You’re right: it’s controversial. But it can’t hurt.
Level of Commitment: Making Strides
First, if you have no idea what I mean when I say “soaking grains”, you’ll want to read this post on Why Soak Whole Grains? for the basics. The bottom line is that those who subscribe to the soaking grains theory claim that properly soaked grains are more digestible and have more vitamins and minerals available for assimilation.
The challengers are lining up on all sides to debate the issue this week:
- Researcher who says phytates are no good and definitely reduced by proper soaking
- Scientist who says phytates are no good and can’t be touched by anything other than hydrochloric acid in the stomach, and by then it’s too late
- Christians who say soaking is not biblically based
- Christians who say soaking is the way God intended us to eat grains
- Authors who say soaking is the only safe way to eat whole grains and that without it, you should just eat white flour or none
- Folks who claim that grains aren’t a part of humankind’s traditional diet at all and that they should simply be eliminated in all forms
- And of course, folks who claim the opposite
If you missed last week’s posts or didn’t see the comments, there’s some incredible information gathering going on there: Eat Fewer Grains and Eat Fewer Grains…Or Just Fix ‘Em?
**See all the Grains info here.**
Last week’s Food for Thought covered The Nutritional Value of Whole Grains and some challenging information on why we should cut down on (or out) breakfast cereals, even whole grain ones. I’m working on two pretty in-depth Food for Thought posts for you to start unraveling the tangled web of soaking grains which will focus on:
- What are phytates? Phytic acid?
- Are they harmful, helpful or neutral?
- Can they be reduced or neutralized in edible grains?
- If so, what is the effective process?
- What is the history of soaking or baking with grains?
- What do Scriptures say about grains?
UPDATE: FFT no.1: Is Soaking Grains Traditional?
I’ll be honest: I’m still not exactly sure what I believe. With all the research and claims piling up on either side, it really comes down to a leap of faith: who and what do you believe is correct when it comes to grains? My gut, which I pray is guided by my God, says this for now:
- Phytates are a real compound.
- They really do bind to certain minerals and may cause constipation or mineral deficiencies.
- Soaking in an acidic medium may not be based on perfect science, but that doesn’t mean it’s wrong. It really needs to BE researched. Anyone?
- Even those who are against it don’t claim that soaking can actually harm you.
- The anecdotal evidence is pretty compelling that there is SOMEthing going on.
- It’s easy, most of the time, so why not?
Soaking Stories
My mother and I both notice the difference in the end result (pun intended) when whole grains are eaten soaked vs. unsoaked. Shannon and Laura concur. The GNOWFGLINS family actually reversed food allergies through nourishing foods. Some of their children can eat soaked whole grains without problem but have a terrible reaction to unsoaked grains. I’m really interested to see what happens this Lent as I avoid all unsoaked whole grains for six weeks.
How to Soak Whole Grains
Soaking is really quite easy. It takes pre-planning, but if you’re menu planning already anyway (like you should be, hint hint!), it’s not a big deal. It really doesn’t take much if any extra time. Here are some places to start:
- You can soak your oatmeal and end up with less work in the morning.
- You can soak whole grains like rice, quinoa, barley, etc. by just adding 1 Tbs whey, lemon juice or vinegar per cup of water and leaving on the counter overnight.
- You can soak bread recipes with flour with just a few adjustments. Try these recipes for starters:
Here’s my successful soaked adaptation of the famous pumpkin muffins.
You can learn to adapt any recipe for soaking and try favorites from dozens of other bloggers in the free eBook “Is Your Flour Wet?” Get it HERE.
Are you ready for Lent? Link up here if you’re blogging about it and check these posts out for Lenten Sacrifice Ideas and How to Decorate for Lent.
If you’re planning some fish meals for the next 40 days, be sure to see my fishy update to St. Peter’s Spicy Fish Recipe: info on safe and sustainable fish.
For more in-depth teaching on soaking grains and all the Nourishing Traditions new-to-us traditional foods preparation methods, GNOWFGLINS has a brand new eCourse that will walk you through the process, baby step by baby step. Learn more here.
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If you missed the last Monday Mission, click here.
Kitchen Stewardship is dedicated to balancing God’s gifts of time, health, earth and money. If you feel called to such a mission, read more at Mission, Method, and Mary and Martha Moments.
Photo sources by StarbuckGuy and anthro_aya.
I’ll tell you something, since I started soaking whole wheat before baking breads, my loaves don’t sink or taste like a brick. The same goes for brown rice. What used to take 40 minutes or so now only takes 15-20 minutes took, regular white rice time. Oatmeal and grits cook up in minutes rather than a 1/2 an hour. While I believe that soaking is good for your gut, it’s amazing for time management!
.-= Paula´s last blog ..46/365 Feburary Snow =-.
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Katie, I am so glad someone has taken the challenge to figure this all out. My family & I have for the last seven years eaten fewer grains and soak all that we eat. We have reversed allergies here as well.
I was at my food coop meeting and we were talking that night about soaking grains. We made two indentical completly organic pizzas. The only differences were we had soaked the flour for the one pizza crust. Even though I had been soaking for many years. I was shocked at the difference in taste. The soaked had a mellow,tasty flavor and the nonsoaked had a bitter taste to it. I would have never believed if I had not tried them side by side.
.-= Amy´s last blog ..Breast Health =-.
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Katie Reply:
February 16th, 2010 at 12:30 am
Amy,
Katie
Ditto, I am surprised! What a neat taste test – I just did it with brownies, to mixed reviews.
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Thank you so much, mama, for issuing this challenge.
I’ve been reading about and knowing I wanted to look into soaking grains for a LONG time, but I get overwhelmed easily. Thank you for the challenge of trying it with just ONE recipe this week. I think I can handle one.
I’m going to be reading and following along as your discussions on this play out.
I’m curious – no one in my family seems to have any food allergies. No grain issues or anything else that I can think of. Do you think people who seem to have fairly healthy guts need to give up grains?
.-= Megan@SortaCrunchy´s last blog ..Little Life Lessons (learned at the mall) =-.
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Katie Reply:
February 16th, 2010 at 12:32 am
Megan,
Katie
In my professional (not!) opinion? Nope. I don’t think anyone needs to give up grains, unless they’re having a reaction of some sort. I do want to figure out the healthiest way to serve them, though. Such controversy!
You can do it! Try oatmeal – so simple.
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A couple of questions:
I read one source, there are probably more, that phytates are destroyed during baking and food processing, so is the soaking still necessary?
I use store bought quinoa pasta, would you soak the pasta before preparing or is it too late at that point?
I have soaked my oatmeal several times and it is quicker to make and bit more heartier tasting than not soaking.
Thanks for the info.
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emily Reply:
February 15th, 2010 at 4:59 pm
i am under the impression this is true about baking/cooking reducing phytates just as much as sprouting or soaking grains. i think if it is a prepared product the processing makes it weird to soak but i could be wrong.
.-= emily´s last blog ..Double Book Giveaway- gluten-free AND gluten-filled! =-.
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Katie Reply:
February 16th, 2010 at 12:34 am
Libby,
Katie
Follow this week’s post for more on phytates. I do believe that once the pasta is dried, you probably wouldn’t be able to soak it, but I really don’t know. I think you’d have pretty soggy pasta!
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I have not tried soaking. But I have tried sprouting. It did not make a difference for my daughter, who is allergic to gluten. I am hoping in a few months when she is healed it will. But I am interested in hearing from people who have used soaked/sprouted grains to heal their allergic children.
.-= Kate´s last blog ..Happy Valentine’s Day! =-.
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Jen Reply:
February 16th, 2010 at 4:08 am
I don’t have any personal experience, but check out this post:
http://gnowfglins.com/2009/09/11/reverse-allergies-through-nourishing-foods/
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if a person is actually allergic to gluten can they “grow’ or “heal” out of this?
.-= emily´s last blog ..Double Book Giveaway- gluten-free AND gluten-filled! =-.
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I’ve been consuming soaked whole grains for the most part for about 9 months-ish? I wasn’t sure i could tell a difference in how I felt… then one day i didn’t plan ahead but really wanted to make pancakes, so i just went ahead and used whole wheat flour, no soaking. That day I also the most painful gas I’ve had in months. I also failed to drink my kefir and other supplements until very late in the day. I don’t know for sure if these things had anything to do with each other… but i am also reluctant to test the theory!
I am very interested to hear what he “experts” have to say!!
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There is some confusion about how we healed our families’ allergies in my above comments. It was not just soaking our grains. It was a complete change in lifestyle. My youngest daughter is pretty much free of all grains. But in response to Emily, you can heal your gut and overcome many different allegeries including grains. She can occasionally now have grains properly prepared with no reaction just not more then one or twice a week. We hope that will continue to improve. She can have no processed dairy unless it is raw or fermented. She does very good on raw milk, yogurt, raw cheese, etc. We followed the GAPS diet to get to this point. We also detoxed her and that was a big help. I have decided to post my family’s entire story of our success in gaining true health at my blog, http://www.amysmamaonamission.blogspot.com.
.-= Amy´s last blog ..Breast Health =-.
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I am very interested in this issue. I am so proud of you for taking on such a challenging issue. There is so much confusion around it, that its hard to make heads or tails.
I personally do not mind soaking grains, and feel it saves me time in the long run and makes the texture so much better.
I just don’t want to be soaking, if the phytates are still in the food, and robbing my body of all those nutrients anyway.
Also, if we’re using whey to soak the grains, aren’t we killing all the lactobacilli by cooking the grain?
I have so many questions!
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Katie Reply:
February 16th, 2010 at 12:39 am
Heather,
re: questions = me too!!
re: whey = yes, you’d kill the probiotics, but the acidity has done its job already.
Katie
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I made some meat loaf last night (used milk instead of a tomato base — except for ketchup) and oatmeal for my grain. Now I’m wondering if I should have soaked the oatmeal. Except for having hamburger on hand which I needed to use up, I hadn’t planned ahead for my other ingredients, or rather, didn’t feel like going to the grocery store at the last minute. The meat loaf turned out fine, but would be interesting to see if the oatmeal would have “puffed up” more if soaked.
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We have started soaking out grains and beans, and I can tell a big difference in my kids digestion. I think that it is important, so I am really excited about this week’s posts!
.-= Rene @BudgetSavingMom´s last blog ..Why Our Kids Share A Bedroom =-.
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I usually soak oats and rice. I’ll soak the oats overnight and the rice usually only for an hour or so, because Japanese rice tends to become too sticky if it is soaked for too long.
.-= kanmuri´s last blog ..Post Vacation Blues =-.
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I linked to your eHow article in my weekly roundup, post is below. Thanks for all you do, Katie!
.-= Lenetta @ Nettacow´s last blog ..Link Roundup – No Nap XIX Edition =-.
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28-day Real Food Challenge week 3 recap « Local Nourishment // Mar 15, 2010 at 10:23 am
[...] We use nuts and seeds very sparingly here. I do soak and dehydrate them because even though the jury is still out on the phytic acid debate, we have a history of the dental problems that Rami Nagel says can be [...]
Just in case anyone is subscribed to this old soaking grains post, I wanted to let you know that I’ve reopened the issue with the goal of closing it at KS this Friday. There’s also a little Nutrimill grain mill giveaway going on.
Last fall we tested our grains, I did a recap post on soaking grains, measured pH, and have a soaked recipe ebook coming out for free in about a month.
If you’ve been away, come on back to the party!
Katie
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New Additions to Our Real Food Diet | This Crazy, Messy Life // Feb 16, 2012 at 1:51 pm
[...] Soaking my grains. There are so many benefits of soaking grains. The process breaks down the phytic acid which helps with digestion and prevents tooth decay, among other benefits. I had read about this for years and never tried it… but I think it’s time! Lindsay at Passionate Homemaking has an easy-to-understand explanation: The Value of Soaking Grains. Other great resources are Sue Gregg , Weston A. Price foundation, and Kitchen Stewardship. [...]