Ingrained Ideas (or) Why you should embrace whole grains with open arms

    Ever since recent visit to Austin where my good friend Sirsha introduced me to oats as an alternative substitute for rice, I’ve been hooked to using oats in lunches and dinners more often than not. To make sure I was doing the right thing by making this dietary modification, I figured I wanted to do a more detailed study on oats on the internet. One thing led to another and I realized there’s a fascinating world of whole grains out there. I mean, we all know we should be eating healthier. Grocery store aisles are packed with a million different products that have the buzzwords “multigrain”, “whole wheat”, “low fat”, “organic”, “fortified” etc on their labels that feed into the health hype. Call me paranoid but I don’t always trust those labels. If you read the fine-print, you’ll see that a lot of the multigrain breads have less than 2% of the multiple grains in there apart from the ubiquitous corn syrup and other unpronounceable words. Anyway, that discussion is beyond the scope of this article. To overcome the trust issue and encouraged by the oaty success, I decided to buy more unaltered whole grains and seeds in their raw form and to use these directly as rice / roti substitutes in our daily diets.

Why bother, you ask?

a)      I get bored easily cooking the same stuff

b)      Making rotis is a time-consuming and messy affair

c)      I am not a big fan of rice

d)      I’d rather die of old age than some horrific disease related to dietary lifestyles

e)      As I learnt from my research and experiments below, it’s easy enough to incorporate a greater variety of whole grains in our diets. As is evident from my study, the main complex carbs we consume (wheat/rice) definitely don’t provide all the nutrition/health benefits we could be getting.

Anyway, the more I read about this topic, the more I figured I’ve been living under a rock for the longest time!! Here is a compilation of what I’ve found so far which I thought you guys would find interesting –

1)      Why rice and / or wheat is not enough for you

I am a big follower of The World’s Healthiest Foods (http://www.whfoods.com/). It’s my Food Bible. I like the fact that they provide valid scientific references for any information (very important for a scientist :D). Here is a compilation of the nutritive values of some of the whole grains I’ve experimented with so far (Fig. 1 and Fig. 2). Firstly I want to point out that white rice does not even feature on the website as a healthy food for obvious reasons – the more you process rice, the more you lose nutritive value. You’re better off sticking to brown rice. Personally speaking, Rajat and I are not big fans of brown rice…it’s just not yummy enough ;).

Next, I want to highlight the fact that by sticking to rice and wheat, we’re missing several key nutrients including iron, phosphorus, copper, and calcium as well as protein and amino acids such as lysine AND dietary fiber. A variety of the other whole grains listed here provide these nutrients. I highly recommend reading up on all of these grains on whfoods and you’ll see I’ve barely scratched the surface where it comes to promoting their nutritive goodness and health benefits. Another comparison is provided in Fig. 2. Notice that rice is comparatively low on the scale of nutritive contents compared to other whole grains.

Fig2 : Nutritive content from 200 calories of a bunch of whole grains

Fig. 3 is a compilation of whole grains rated according to their glycemic index (GI). GI and glycemic load are important indices that rank carbohydrates according to their effect on our blood glucose levels. Low GI carbs, i.e the ones that produce only small fluctuations in our blood glucose and insulin levels reduce the risk of developing diabetes and heart disease. Low GI carbs are ones with a rating <60. As you see in Fig. 3, examples of low GI foods are amaranth seeds*, pearled barley, bulgur wheat, oats, rye, buckwheat and quinoa. It’s good to be aware that maize, wheat, some varieties of rice and millet are on the wrong side of 60. Also, I was surprised to learn that Basmati Rice has a lower GI value than other short-grained rice. I always thought it was unhealthier than other rice varieties in every way, but apparently not. Brown Basmati Rice is healthier than short-grained white rice according to several websites. Another thing I learnt was that the GI value can drastically vary according to how much the grain has been processed. In general, the “rawer” the grain, the lower the GI value (grain flours have higher GI values).

2)      This is all fine and good but how much does it cost to make the switch to eating healthier whole grains?

Fig 3 : GI values of a bunch of whole grains

It is obvious that whole grain prices are going to vary according to several factors like where you stay, where you shop etc. Moreover, the prices of the main complex carbs most humans consume, i.e rice and wheat have been fluctuating a lot lately, thanks to shortages worldwide. Here in Atlanta, we’re pretty blessed with the having the Dekalb Farmers Market, a huge international market that has a wide variety of produce and grain products from all over the world at discount prices, a fact that I fully exploit!

You may have to do some scouting around to find these grains in your local stores, but Trader Joes / Whole Foods would be a good start. I know some people who buy these grains cheap and in bulk off websites like Amazon. (Note : For those of you in India / other countries, I’m curious to know how much whole grains like Barley, Oats and Quinoa cost there…let me know!).

Going by the prices from the cheapest sources of these grains within Atlanta, you’ll see that almost all grains apart from Quinoa and Buckwheat, fall within the same price range (Fig. 4). That works out fine, as I don’t really cook Quinoa/Amaranth on its own, it’s always with another cheaper grain as the main base which drives down the price a bit :).

Just to cover my bases, I did another analysis last night to see how much it costs to spend on rice vs oats based on calorie consumption. I estimated that as a couple, we consume about 20lb of rice in a month which is equivalent to ~11800 calories (1oz rice = ~37 cals). Interestingly, 1oz oats provides ~106calories, which means in an ideal world 20lb rice is equivalent to 8lb oats!! Again, in an ideal world that translates to a saving of a couple of bucks per month if you switch to an oaty lifestyle :) My strategy then would obviously be to incorporate a bunch of grains from all ends of the price spectrum, ensuring a better diet at no additional cost :D The verdict: It’s won’t cost you much to incorporate “exotic” whole grains into your diet.

Fig 4 : Cost comparison of a bunch of whole grains

3)      How on earth does one cook these crazy grains?

This is an easy question. All I’ve been doing for lunches and dinners is pouring out some whole grains in a large glass bowl, adding water (appxly 1-1.5 finger width above the level of the grains), and cooking in the microwave for exactly 5 mins. That’s it!! I’ve tried this with oats alone or oats in combination with amaranth, quinoa and bulgur wheat so far and it’s worked great. Pearled barley in the mix tends to increase cooking time by another 5 mins.

Some observations so far: Oats tend to boil over, even within 5 mins so keep an eye out for that happening. I prefer the texture of steelcut oats to rolled oats (nutritionally, I don’t think the two are very different). For whatever reason, I’ve seen that people cook steelcut oats and pearled barley for upto an hour on the stove or in the slow cooker for hours on end. I think that’s a completely a waste of time and energy. In my experience, 5 mins for oats and 10 mins for pearled barley in the microwave is way more than enough! Also, if you let the grains sit in the hot water after cooking, they’ll soak up the excess water on their own.

I’ve used quinoa in a whole range of dishes, including main course accompaniments, soups, salads and upma. There’s no reason to believe the other grains can’t be used the same way…let your imagination run wild!

4)      If these whole grains are so healthy, they’re bound to taste terrible….NOT!!

No way, Jose is all I’ll say! You are not going to know the difference after the first few times of trying these grains. If anything, they taste even better than plain old boring rice. Steel cut oats and pearled barley have a wonderful texture. Quinoa and Amaranth are versatile seeds that can be nutty or soft depending on how you cook them. My favorite way, as mentioned before is doing a mix-and-match of several soft and nutty grains and cooking them minimally to provide a range of textures and nutrients!

5) Disclaimers

            I’m no nutritionist or expert on the aforementioned topic and would gladly value any opinions or corrections to the facts if I’ve got them wrong. I would also LOVE to know if you’ve experimented with these or other whole grains and the outcomes. Write in, please!

Since I started with a rather cheesy title for this article, I’m going to end with an equally cheesy bottomline for this article: Variety is the spice (err..grain) of life :)

*The end*

Coming up in the next issue:

Ingreened ideas (or) why you should embrace green leaves with open arms ;)

*Note: I could not find a trustworthy source for the GI value of amaranth seeds. Many websites list the seeds alone as having a GI value of 25-32, but then foods made with amaranth flour seem to have GI values as high as 95. My take on it is that I’m still going to stick to buying just amaranth seeds because they are unaltered and good for you according to whfoods!

If there's leftover dough..Let them eat cake

Ever so often, I find leftover atta in the fridge, a couple of days old, that's just too hard to roll into rotis (or I'm too lazy to make rotis out of them). And my heart bleeds when I end up throwing the dough down the trash. So I figured I need to use all this dough in a fun easy way that doesn't require too much energy utilization on my part. Here's one tried and tested recipe that worked :

Atta date chocolate brownies

Atta Date Chocolate Brownies
1-1.5 cups leftover atta dough
2 eggs
1 cup milk
8-10 seedless dates
Brown sugar / agave nectar (not sure how much I put, approximate as per your tastes)
Unsweetened chocolate chips
1heaped tsp baking soda
2 tbsp butter

Procedure
Throw all this in  blender and blend away till you get the consistency of cake batter. Pour into a flat greased pan and bake at 400F for about 1/2 an hour or till it smells done. Voila! Have warm with a scoop of vanilla icecream!

Now points to note : Don't expect this to taste like cake, it won't. I've always wondered why no one uses wholewheat flour to bake cakes, it's certainly different but not that bad also! Definitely worth a try and a good way to get rid of leftovers :)

Productive things to do in a snowstorm or Homemade Nutella 101 !

Someone needs to make a Nutellics Anonymous group (I'm sure it exists, too lazy to google it up). A few months ago I would have gladly joined it as would a bunch of other loyal Nutellics I know (by now you should know that Nutellics = Nutella addicts). I'm pretty sure they put banned addictive substances in that stuff...that's the only thing that can explain how its SO DAMN GOOD. Anyway, after a few jars of Nutella, here's what happened -
1) I finally started feeling guilty for eating the bad stuff

Organic Hazelnut butter

2) I figured it has too much processed ingredients in it (we're trying to eat healthier = cutting down on processed stuff if it can be helped)
3) I stumbled upon a jar of Hazelnut chocolate butter in a hippie store

Now the hippie store hazelnut butter was grrreat, but it was so much more expensive than branded Nutella! Sadly, it got over in no time :(

And then...

The great Atlantan snowstorm of 2011 happened...we get 10 inches of snow and the whole city shut down...for 4 DAYS!!! Hotlanta no more, say hello to Icelanta. However, global warming (or cooling) has it's benefits and that's the moral of this story...I finally made Nutella at home!!

Thanks to this fabulous grocery store in town and and Jessica Su's recipe, I discovered I had all the ingredients and more to make homemade Nutella. And yes, it turned out FABULOUS...way cheaper than store bought organic Nutella and way healthier (or so I think :))

Homemade Nutella
2 cups whole raw hazelnuts
1/2 cup agave nectar (or alternatives like sugar, brown sugar, honey...I actually put in a combo of dates and agave nectar)
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (or alternatives like cocoa nibs of unsweetened chocolate chips)
2 tsp Olive oil
1/2 tsp vanilla essence (optional)

Procedure (30 mins)
1) Toast hazelnuts in a single layer in an oven at 350F or on the stovetop in a skillet on medium heat, until the skins are almost black and the meat is dark brown, about 15 minutes. Stir the nuts halfway through baking to ensure an even color.
2) Since the skin is bitter, you’ll want to discard them. Wrap the cooled hazelnuts in a clean kitchen towel or paper towel, and rub until most of the skins have come off. Don’t fret if you can’t get off all the skins.
3) Throw the nuts into a food processor and liquefy them. This takes about 5-7 minutes. First, you will get coarsely chopped nuts, then a fine meal. After a little while, the heat and friction will extract the natural oils, and you will get hazelnut butter! (Steps 1-3 taken verbatim from here..it worked well for me :)
4) When the nuts are liquified, add in the sweetening agent, cocoa/chocolate and vanilla essence and blend well in the mixer.
5) Transfer the yumminess into an airtight container at room temp or in the fridge.

Now one thing I should mention is that when I added the dates into this mixture, the consistency immediately became more solid. So dates may not work too well if you want a more smooth spread. However, I don't mind the gritty texture, in fact I like it, so dates will definitely go in my Nutella again :) Another thing you can do (and I'm going to play around with this when I make my next batch of Nutella) is to add milk for a smoother consistency. The reason I didn't add milk this time is because I wanted something more long lasting that doesn't necessarily have to go in the fridge.

Here's a really terrible pic of my first experiment with Nutella...we immediately dug into it with a box of strawberries...mmm..sooo good! Gosh I need a better camera :(

 And here you it - Organic homemade Nutella with partially natural ingredients! (Not too sure Agave nectar is completely natural, hence the reservation :D)

Tangy Salmon Delight!

I love it when pomegranate season rolls in...can't resist those crunchy tangy red pearls bursting with flavor. I've experimented with pomegranate a lot - in salads, desserts and yogurts but never with a main dish. I finally took the plunge with one of my other most favorite food items - Salmon! I recently bought myself a fabulous skillet with an aluminum base from Sur La Table recently...here's the inaugural recipe that put my skillet to good use, to create a deeelightful meal -

Salmon in Pomegranate Reduction (heavily inspired by this recipe with my modifications)

- 3 Salmon fillets (cut into chunks as shown in the picture)
Dressing ingredients
- Fresh pomegranate seeds (one handful)
- Pomegranate juice if you have some or just pound another handful of pome seeds for fresh juice - 1/2 cup
- Balsamic vinegar - 3 tbsp
- French mustard - 1tsp
- Soy sauce - 2 tsp
- Olive oil - 1tbsp
NOTE : My measurements are a vague approximation...make sure you taste the sauce and let your tastebuds do the talking for your modifications!

Procedure (cook time 30 mins)
1) Whisk all the ingredients for the dressing in a bowl and let the salmon fillets soak in this goodness for a couple of minutes.
2) Drain the dressing into the skillet and let it cook on low heat for a few minutes.
3) Now place the fillets in the skillet and cook them on low heat. Let the flavors soak into the fillets as the cook.Flip the fillets to make sure they cook uniformly on both sides.
4) Serve fresh (or even better..a day later!) with warm bread.

Here's a snapshot of a lovely meal we had last week, perfect dinner for two and some :) On the table - Yam Feta Salad, Ginger Asparagus, Pome glazed Salmon and French Baguette

Yam Feta Salad, Ginger Asparagus, Pome glazed Salmon and bread...quick lovely meal!

Salad or not, that is the question

Sunayana made this fabulous dish over thanksgiving. I'm not sure it qualifies as a salad, but that's what she called it anyway :) Here's the gist with my modifications :

Fabulous Yam Feta Salad!

Garnet Yam Feta Salad
- 2 Garnet Yams - chop into cubes, toss in olive oil and salt, and bake till cooked through but not mushy (about 30 mins at 400F)
- 1 block Feta cheese - chopped / crumbled
- 1 cup Baby arugula leaves
- 1 medium Red onions sliced long - fry lightly to minimize the pungency
- Pomegranate seeds 1/2 a cup


Toss it all in a dish and enjoy warm or cold. Very filling, very healthy, VERY yummy!

Here's another inspired variation of the same
Potato Mushroom Feta Salad
- 1 large potato chopped
- 1 medium onion sliced long
- 1 cup Mushrooms sliced
- 1/2 red pepper julienned
- half a fistful of sunflower seeds
- 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
- 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds
- parsley leaves

Bake the chopped potato and onion with olive oil and salt till the potato is cooked through. Add the sliced mushrooms for about 5 mins in the same baking dish. Allow the mixture to cool, add in the red peppers, sunflower seeds, feta cheese, pome seeds and chopped parsley leaves and toss it all up. You're good to go!

Quinoa goodness!

I was bored of making old-fashioned rotis (traditional Indian bread) the other day and since my latest obsession is Quinoa, I decided to experiment with it in not-so-straighforward ways (my other experiments include quinoa upma, quinoa-fish cutlets...hopefully I'll write those up someday :))
But I had to share this one delightful way to use quinoa (which incidentally is the richest vegetarian source of protein).

Quinoa Rotis (Prep time : 20 mins for 8 rotis which includes kneading the dough)
Whole wheat floor (atta) : 3 cups
Quinoa seeds (rinse well to remove saponins) : 3/4th cup
Water (preferably cold)

Procedure 
Wash the quinoa well in water and cook them damp (add a bit more water if needed, ~ 4tbsp) in the microwave for about 4 mins till the quinoa seeds become translucent-ish (I don't bother cooking them fully, I like the nutty texture in my rotis). Add the quinoa to your wheat flour after it has cooled a bit and add just enough water to knead some nice dough. Incidentally the best consistency for dough is that which doesn't stick to your hands or the bowl / mixer you used to knead it in, but isn't too tough / dry at the same time.

Roll out the dough balls like you would for rotis. The advantages of using quinoa in this are
a) for whatever reason, the rotis roll out much faster and smoother...I don't know how to explain it but it's like the quinoa studs provide the brakes for roti-rolling which are beyond one's control, but it works!
b) the rotis cook much faster than traditional chapatis
b) quinoa-studded rotis look rather pretty ;)
c) nore nutrition-packed power I say, now who wouldn't want that :))

Points to note:
The quinoa-rotis will not rise like traditional chapatis do BUT that doesn't mean they're not cooked...they taste just fine and in fact don't even get hard if you let them sit out for a while (of course, I recommend covering the rotis with foil/cloth if you're going to eat them later).

I'll put up pics later, but believe me y'all, this one makes roti-making so much easier for the body and soul :)

Try it and let me know what you think!

Sirsha's Desi Spinach Enchiladas

Ingredients : 
1 bunch spinach

1 onion

1/4inch ginger

1jalapeno

2 cloves garlic

2 potatoes

4 mushrooms

1/2 tsp jeera-dhania (cumin-coriander powder)

4 wheat tortillas

Goat cheese crumbles

Procedure : (50 mins)

1. Blanch spinach in hot water

2. Make onion/ginger/garlic paste

3. Fry paste till brown. Add spinach

3. Cook spinach and then blend to paste

4. Cube potatoes and boil till cooked (microwave for 5 min)

5. Saute potatoes in jeera-dhania, keep aside

6. Saute chopped mushrooms and halopeneo, mix with potato

7. lay 2 tortillas in a flat baking dish, spread potato-mushroom mix and cover with remaining 2 tortillas

8. Pour spinach paste onto tortillas. Crumble goat cheese on top and bake at 350 for 20 mins till cheese melts.

Options: - Use Paneer (Indian cottage cheese) instead of potatoes & mushrooms, then its Paalak Paneer Enchiladas!