buckwheat, millet & oatmeal bowl (low-gluten, gluten free option)

Earlier this week, I posted a recipe for the breakfast I ate on the anti-candida diet. Though, at first I mourned the loss of the creamy texture and subtle sweetness of the oatmeal I ate for years, my taste buds gradually adjusted to the new flavor of the buckwheat and millet.

They adjusted so well in fact that by the time I could eat just the oats again, I found them to be lacking in flavor! LOL

Nowadays, my staple breakfast is a mostly buckwheat/millet mixture with just a couple spoonfuls of cooked oat groats to smooth out the texture and my favorite mix-ins. Though my body can tolerate gluten, I like looking for ways to reduce my intake of it.

If you are celiac and can tolerate oats, you can use gluten-free oat groats in your bowl. As with the other recipe, I cook up more than I will eat in one meal so that I can store the leftovers and reheat them.


Buckwheat, Millet & Oatmeal Bowl (recipe notes follow)  
dairy free, gluten free option, nut free option, peanut free, soy free, sugar free, vegan

1/2 c. raw buckwheat groats
1/2 c. millet
1 c. oat groats (gluten free if needed)
water

Mix-ins:
favorite dairy free milk
raisins
unsweetened coconut
cinnamon

1. In one pot combine buckwheat and millet with 1 1/4 cups of water, bring to a boil, then simmer for 15-20 minutes or until all the water is absorbed.*
2. In a separate pot, combine the oat groats with 3 cups of water, bring to a boil, then simmer for 50-60 minutes or until all the water is absorbed.**
3. Spoon desired amount of the cooked buckwheat/millet into a bowl and add in desired amount of the cook oats (I usually add 2-3 spoonfuls).
4. Add your favorite mix-ins.
5. Store the leftovers in the fridge for 3-5 days.

Recipe Notes & Money Saving Tip
*I posted here, how you can save money and energy by cooking the buckwheat and millet the night before.
**Oat groats are the best form of oats you can eat since they are unprocessed. As my doctor explained it, the longer it takes to cook, the longer it takes for your body to break it down which is optimal for avoiding spikes in insulin - key for diabetics (though I am not diabetic). It also sticks with you longer, staving off hunger for a longer time period. I also discovered that oat groats are more economical than buying steel cut or rolled oats because it has a higher water to oat ratio and therefore a higher yield. The only downside is its cooking time. However, God was gracious to show me a time and money saving tip by accident...the night before you want to eat them, bring the groats to a boil, simmer about 5 minutes, then turn off the burner and leave overnight. By morning, most of the water is absorbed. When you reheat them, it takes care of finishing the cooking process. Sure it takes a little planning, but it reaps huge time, energy and money savings.

anti-candida noatmeal (gluten free)

Earlier this year, I felt God was leading me to do a three-month sugar fast. It's one I'd resisted for some time because, well, how do you do life without sugar? It's in everything.

However, based on symptoms I was having, I strongly suspected a candida (yeast) overgrowth in my system and couldn't ignore it any longer. In this days of high antibiotic and high sugar use combined with high stress, it's quite easy to go from having some yeast in your body to one where the yeast takes over and causes all sorts of unpleasant side effects - many of which we put down to just feeling under the weather. If you google yeast overgrowth and/or anti-candida diet (ACD), you can learn more for the sake of keeping this post brief and because I'm not an expert*.

What I do know, however, is that 1) It is possible to live without sugar 2) The most annoying of my symptoms went away 3) I felt a lot better. 

One of the biggest challenges of the diet, especially during the very restrictive first month, was enjoying breakfast.

Before the ACD, I would look forward to the same fuss-free breakfast every morning: oatmeal with raisins, cinnamon, non-dairy milk, unsweetened shredded coconut and, occasionally, blueberries or almonds.

On the ACD which cuts out gluten, oats were out :( ,  so buckwheat was in.

It was hard to get used to. Especially without raisins (forbidden). And the coconut (allowed, but I chose not to).

So I experimented a little and threw some millet in there for good measure and by the end of the first month, I found my taste buds had adjusted to both the flavor and texture of this new breakfast.

If you are considering changing your diet, please be encouraged that the first month is the hardest. However, if you stick with it, your taste buds will adapt to the new palette of food you are eating.

Here's the recipe I ate for the majority of the ACD which I call "Noatmeal." As in "no oatmeal."

Anti-candida Noatmeal (recipe notes follow)
candida diet friendly, dairy free, gluten free, peanut-free, soy free, sugar free, vegan

1 cup raw buckwheat groats
1 cup millet
2.5 cups water

Suggested mix-ins (strict phase):
cinnamon
almond, hemp, coconut or rice milk (no soy)
almonds
flax seeds
coconut oil

Suggested mix-ins (post strict phase):
unsweetened, shredded coconut 
berries
raisins

Combine all the ingredients in a pot, bring to a boil, then simmer for 15-20 minutes until all the water is absorbed. Spoon into bowls and store any leftovers in the fridge for 3-5 days.

Recipe notes:

• One way of saving energy, it requires a little planning, is to prepare the noatmeal the night before. Bring the mixture a boil, then turn off the heat and let it sit overnight. By the morning, the water is absorbed and you've saved on your energy bill. 
• I always make more noatmeal than I need so I can reheat the leftovers
• During the strict phase I increased the fats in the noatmeal by adding almonds and coconut oil to prevent weight loss as I already shed some pounds when I changed to a vegan diet. If you're also looking to lose weight, leave out the coconut oil and maybe the almonds.

*It's often recommended to see a doctor before you make dietary changes, which is sound advice especially if you have existing medical conditions.

snack happy: raw apple crisp

Last week, I shared this recipe on raw granola.

It's the foundation for several recipes I'll share over the next couple of weeks. Recipes designed to help fight the temptation to reach for something sugary and to fill you up with whole food, God-given goodness.

First up: an apple crisp makeover.

As desserts go, traditional apple crisp is on the healthier end of the scale. After all, it's chock full of the fruit that claims to keep the doctor away. However, the topping, and sometimes the filling, contains a lot of sugar.

In this raw version, the raw granola mimics the flavors and sweetness of the crisp topping and the cinnamon and raisins in the filling add extra zing and sweetness. It's so good, I've started eating it at breakfast.As a snack, it's filling and sweet-tooth satisfying - crunching your way through all that apply goodness should convince your brain and belly that you've had plenty to eat. 

Hungry? Here's the recipe for a single serving but it's easily doubled, tripled, quadrupled...

Raw Apple Crisp
1 apple(your favorite variety)
1-2 heaping spoonfuls raw granola (recipe here)
cinnamon to taste
raisins (optional)

Roughly dice apple and sprinkle with cinnamon. Add raisins to taste and spoon on the raw granola.

3-ingredient raw granola with gluten-free option

I remember going grocery shopping with my Nan in my younger adult years. I reached for granola and she commented on the sugar content in said box of granola. My response?

"It doesn't matter."

Oh, the folly of youth! And how our elders must smile when we begin to preach their wisdom right back at 'em.

Because I'm learning how much sugar does indeed matter and how it adversely affects our bodies, I'm looking for tasty ways to cut it out of my diet as much as possible. Doing a sugar fast for at least one month is one sure way of breaking the sugar addiction, but at some point, sugar begins to creep back into a diet, especially during holidays, special occasions, when you are with other people...I've concluded that unless you are a hermit, interact exclusively with fellow sugar-shunners, or delivered of the sugar-temptation by God, the desire to eat something sweet will, at some point, present itself.
 
So how to resist the urge to incorporate sugar back into your daily diet? Find sweet alternatives (although if you really struggle with sugar addiction, asking God for help is the only sure-fire way to beat it).

I created the following recipe for raw granola as part of a snack experiment (snack recipes to follow next week). It's quick, easy and versatile and I've included some ideas for flavor alternatives which I've not tested yet, so you're on your own there.

Without further ado...

1-2-3 Raw Granola
1 c raw pecans
1/2 c. date paste
1 c. old fashioned oats, organic is best, gluten-free if needed

Yield: About 2 cups
 
1. Place pecans in a food processor and blend until the nuts stick together (it becomes pecan butter). This may take about 5 minutes.
2. Add date paste and process until combined.
3. Add oats and process until just combined. Store in an airtight jar in the fridge for up to one week.    

Taste options: While processing, add cinnamon or another favorite spice (start with 1/4 tsp and add more to taste) or try vanilla. After processing, stir in coconut, raisins, sunflower seeds, cranberries, raw pumpkin seeds or other dried fruit or nuts.

chocolate birthday pancakes with peanut butter maple syrup

In the past, birthday breakfasts consisted of waffles. But I'm not sure how waffles without egg whites would work out. So a new breakfast treat was in order. Because food + gifts = birthdays, right?

Here's what I came up with:

Yummy!

Here's the recipe, adapted from the oatmeal pancake recipe I got from my mom.

Chocolate Pancakes
1 c. milk substitute (soy, almond, oat)
3/4 c. quick oats
3/4 c. oat flour
2-3 T pure maple syrup
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder (fair trade if possible)
1 T applesauce
1 tsp apple cider vinegar (optional)

Heat milk until hot, add oatmeal, remove from heat and let it stand for 5 minutes (I forgot this step in making these and kind of liked how the oat flakes were visible). Combine the rest of the ingredients. For fluffier pancakes add the apple cider vinegar. Using a 1/4 c. measure, scoop onto a hot not-stick griddle, or lightly grease a pan with coconut oil. Cook about 2-3 minutes each side, or until lightly browned. Makes 8-10 pancakes.

Peanut Butter Maple Syrup

Mix together equal parts unsweetened, unsalted natural peanut butter and pure maple syrup. (I used 1/4 c. of each, but would bump it up to 1/3 c. of each next time for a single batch of the pancakes.)