Dietary limitations are a recurring theme in my life -- and that of many who read this. There's little self-pity left in me for it, because my world of food has opened up in magnificent new ways. I hardly miss wheat, for instance, because I have so many other wonderful things to wrap my teeth around.
This attitude is essential to a bearable life. Admittedly, it's an adjustment to learn not to think in terms of "not"... Wait, let me rephrase that...
Since it's hard to get started with food changes, and my energy and attention are limited, it helps to have people show me alternatives.The past decade or so has been filled with people who do things -- like eating -- differently from how I did, and that has been a huge help. I've mentioned the Brain Food shakes (once or twice) but the blender is only one of the arrows I have in my dietary quiver.
I've also had the advantage of living in "foodie" areas where it's not that hard to find alternative sources of nutrition:
- heritage and heirloom strains of vegetables abound (a good way to reduce exposure to problematic proteins is to eat unmodified strains),
- gluten-free mixes of several different brands let me figure out what works for me (I do best with sorghum/tapioca based blends), and
- it's easy to find foreign foods like quinoa (a quick-cooking grain which is extremely high in protein and tastes fantastic with a little butter) and English cucumbers (which are more digestible than the US kind).
It also helps to experiment with different forms of cookery. For instance, I loved discovering sprouting, because it creates lots of food from very little outlay, it's mechanically easy, and it takes only a few seconds of effort at a time -- perfect for CRPS-induced ADD!
There's a lot of, well, let's call it culture, around sprouting. Don't be fooled by the complex gear and the long lists of instructions. Those complications are for those who find it satisfying to work out the details.
That's fine. It's also optional.
Sprouting
It's really very simple. There are only 3 things you need to have and 3 things you need to do.
Have
1. Clean jar,
2. organic (or close) sproutees,
3. safe water.
That's all you need. A mesh top for the jar is handy, but you can make one with cotton gauze and a canning band, or by drilling the original lid. Toss the used gauze in the washer and reuse, or just toss it and cut off more.
Do
1. Water them.
a. Soak sproutees overnight, covered +2" with water, in the fridge. Pour out water in the morning.
b. Then rinse 2-3 times a day, more if it starts smelling anything other than fresh and bright. Just stagger to sink, pour water in over gauze/mesh, give it a gentle slosh around, and pour it out. Repeat.
c. Park aslant, head down, in a clean drainer or in a lip of the sink. Drains excess moisture.
No fussing.
2. Grow them until the tails are at least 1/4" or 60mm long, for best nutrition; up to 2", if you like greenery. Takes 1-3 days to get to 1/4".
3. Eat them fresh; keep a couple jars going so you always have something coming up. It's very encouraging. As soon as I empty a jar, I set it back up.
Whatever I sprout, I buy it fresh enough to have its proper color and scent, and that yields 80% or more of sprouted germs. Less yield with older product.
I've discovered that tiny red lentils sprout quickly and have a subtle sweetness that's wonderfully satisfying and goes with soup, salad, on sandwiches, in rollups, and (usually) straight out of the jar.
Sprout amaranth to just over 1/4", add half and half or cream, sweeten with a touch of brown sugar ... it's halfway between Cream of Wheat and Malt-O-Meal. I was stunned. Had to try it a couple more times just to be sure.
If you're inspired, please let me know if you discover any real gems, like amaranth cream of wheat :-)
This attitude is essential to a bearable life. Admittedly, it's an adjustment to learn not to think in terms of "not"... Wait, let me rephrase that...
Since it's hard to get started with food changes, and my energy and attention are limited, it helps to have people show me alternatives.The past decade or so has been filled with people who do things -- like eating -- differently from how I did, and that has been a huge help. I've mentioned the Brain Food shakes (once or twice) but the blender is only one of the arrows I have in my dietary quiver.
I've also had the advantage of living in "foodie" areas where it's not that hard to find alternative sources of nutrition:
- heritage and heirloom strains of vegetables abound (a good way to reduce exposure to problematic proteins is to eat unmodified strains),
- gluten-free mixes of several different brands let me figure out what works for me (I do best with sorghum/tapioca based blends), and
- it's easy to find foreign foods like quinoa (a quick-cooking grain which is extremely high in protein and tastes fantastic with a little butter) and English cucumbers (which are more digestible than the US kind).
It also helps to experiment with different forms of cookery. For instance, I loved discovering sprouting, because it creates lots of food from very little outlay, it's mechanically easy, and it takes only a few seconds of effort at a time -- perfect for CRPS-induced ADD!
There's a lot of, well, let's call it culture, around sprouting. Don't be fooled by the complex gear and the long lists of instructions. Those complications are for those who find it satisfying to work out the details.
That's fine. It's also optional.
Sprouting
It's really very simple. There are only 3 things you need to have and 3 things you need to do.
Have
1. Clean jar,
2. organic (or close) sproutees,
3. safe water.
That's all you need. A mesh top for the jar is handy, but you can make one with cotton gauze and a canning band, or by drilling the original lid. Toss the used gauze in the washer and reuse, or just toss it and cut off more.
Do
1. Water them.
a. Soak sproutees overnight, covered +2" with water, in the fridge. Pour out water in the morning.
b. Then rinse 2-3 times a day, more if it starts smelling anything other than fresh and bright. Just stagger to sink, pour water in over gauze/mesh, give it a gentle slosh around, and pour it out. Repeat.
c. Park aslant, head down, in a clean drainer or in a lip of the sink. Drains excess moisture.
No fussing.
2. Grow them until the tails are at least 1/4" or 60mm long, for best nutrition; up to 2", if you like greenery. Takes 1-3 days to get to 1/4".
3. Eat them fresh; keep a couple jars going so you always have something coming up. It's very encouraging. As soon as I empty a jar, I set it back up.
Whatever I sprout, I buy it fresh enough to have its proper color and scent, and that yields 80% or more of sprouted germs. Less yield with older product.
I've discovered that tiny red lentils sprout quickly and have a subtle sweetness that's wonderfully satisfying and goes with soup, salad, on sandwiches, in rollups, and (usually) straight out of the jar.
Sprout amaranth to just over 1/4", add half and half or cream, sweeten with a touch of brown sugar ... it's halfway between Cream of Wheat and Malt-O-Meal. I was stunned. Had to try it a couple more times just to be sure.
If you're inspired, please let me know if you discover any real gems, like amaranth cream of wheat :-)
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