5 ways to make whole-grains tastier

Abysmal US nutrition statistic:  

Ninety-three percent of Americans fail to eat the recommended amount of whole-grains, a measly 3 ounces everyday (1).  This is according to a 2007 Economic Research Report published by the USDA.

Not surprising as Americans are also deficient in fiber (2), fruit and veggies (3) and whole plant foods.  No matter what type of diet you're on, Americans need to eat more fruits, veggies, whole-grains and beans.  Period.

But back to whole-grains.  What are they and how can you make them taste good?

Whole-grains are grains that still have 100% of their original nutrients and edible parts.  You could literally cut whole-grains down in the field, bring them into your kitchen, clean off the inedible parts, cook them in a pot and eat them.  Or, you could grind 100% whole-grains into flour and then use it to make bread or pasta.

The whole-grains that aren't turned into flour are called intact whole grains.  All of their original nutrients and edible parts are still packaged the same way in your kitchen as they were in the field.  

Examples of intact whole-grains include oats, whole wheat, quinoa, brown or wild rice, popcorn, buckwheat, rye and barley.  

Intact whole-grains are less calorie dense than whole-grain flours because intact whole-grains absorb water or liquid into themselves as they cook.  This makes intact whole-grains more filling than flours without adding extra calories (when using water).  Plus, your body has to work a little harder to digest intact whole grains, which provides you an a longer, more sustained amount of energy.  Flour products (even 100% whole-grain ones) absorb more quickly because they've been slightly pre-digested for you... a machine has ground up the grain instead of your gastrointestinal tract.  

Now the question becomes, how can you eat intact whole-grains and have them taste good? Well, why not just buy them pre-seasoned in a box and not have to worry about it?

Your grains will be healthier if you "doctor them up" yourself instead of buying them pre-seasoned in the grocery store.  Why?  Because food producers generally add fat, sugar and salt to make things taste better.  Buy the grains plain and then you dress them up.

5 Ways to Make Intact Whole-Grains Tastier

1.  Cook in them veg stock.

Cook quinoa or brown rice in veg stock.  Not only does it make the grain more flavorful, but it adds a beautiful golden color to the grain as well.

Brown rice cooked in vegetable stock with spices.

Be sure to keep the liquid to grain ratio the same when cooking.  You can make half of your liquid veg stock or all of it veg stock as long as the overall liquid to grain ratio is correct.

Buy veg stock or broth in the store, or make it yourself.  Here's my husband's, Chef Erik Hoffman (Trisha's Healthy Table Executive Chef) vegetable stock recipe.

2.  Cook whole-grains in coconut milk.

Whether it's quinoa, rice for a curry or with oats in the morning, adding coconut milk will add a lot of flavor to grains.  Coconut milk is almost all fat though, so I try to use a small amount of coconut milk and mix it with water when adding it to my grains.

Need a recipe?  Try our coconut infused quinoa.

3.  Cook in plant milk.

This is especially great for breakfast grains.  You can add almond milk or any plant milk to raw oats or cooked rice or quinoa in the morning and pop it in the microwave for a yummy morning start.  Then, add fruit, raisins or dates and cinnamon and you're good to go. 

4.  Add spices.

When you're not relying on fat and sugar to add flavor to your whole-grains, spices are where it's at for intense flavor.  If you don't know what spices taste good with what grains, google it! Google knows everything.  

Or, you can buy pre-blended spice mixes so you don't have to guess what spices compliment other spices.  For example, buy taco spice mix, cajun or Italian spice mixes.  Add a heavy sprinkle to your pot when you add the grains to your liquid.

5.  Add herbs.

Herbs also flavor food while adding a mega-boost of nutrition, just like spices.  Certain herbs can be added during the cooking process, while other should be added just before eating.  

Soft herbs (think of delicate leaves) such as basil, parsley and cilantro, should be added once the cooking is finished and then mixed in, or added to whole-grains as an edible garnish or topping.  

Hard herbs are thicker and usually have a tough stem.  Rosemary, thyme, bay leaf, lemongrass and lavender are great examples.  Add these herbs while cooking for a robust flavor profile.

Take Control Now

Which of these tips will you try in your kitchen to make whole-grains tastier?  Have a different go-to method to share?  I'd love to hear it.

Answer by clicking 'comment' below the references.

References

1.  Lin, B-H and Yen, ST, The U.S. Grain Consumption Landscape: Who Eats Grain, in What Form, Where, and How Much?, Economic Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, November 2007.  Accessed online August 2016 at http://www.ers.usda.gov/media/216644/err50_reportsummary_1_.pdf

2.  South Carolina Nutrition, Obesity and Physical Activity and Obesity Fact Sheets for Youth and Adults, 2011.  Department of Health and Environmental Control.  Accessed online, May 2016 at: http://www.scdhec.gov/library/cr-009958.pdf

3.  Mobley, AR et al. Identifying Practical Solutions to Meet America’s Fiber Needs: Proceedings from the Food & Fiber Summit. Nutrients. 2014 Jul; 6(7): 2540–2551.

How to make coconut infused quinoa

Erik and I were recently interviewed by The State newspaper in Columbia, SC.  Why?  To share with the world how we're working on creating your dream dinner and health help solution right here in Columbia, SC -- Trisha's Table, Healthy Meals To Go (want to know more?  Click here).

For the article, which comes out tomorrow, we were asked to include a recipe.  Instead of choosing an intensive recipe that Erik spends hours on in the kitchen, we thought we'd share something simple, versatile and quick that you could easily replicate at home (we know you're busy and cooking can be a bi-atch sometimes.  Again, Trisha's Table, here we come!).  

One reason this recipe is awesome is because you can make a batch and then use it to make a more exciting breakfast, lunch or dinner.  In the notes below, I share breakfast and dinner quinoa ideas so be sure to scroll down.

Coconut Infused Quinoa

By Trisha’s Table, inspired by Chef Toby Leeuw 

• Total “I have to do something time”: 5 minutes
• Total cook time: 25 minutes
• Yields: 3 cups

Quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) is considered a whole-grain, but it’s actually a seed.  It tastes like rice, but nuttier, with a light, fluffy texture.  And best of all, you only have to put 5 minutes of work in for this yummy, breakfast, lunch or dinner staple.  Thank you quick dinner Gods!  Be sure to buy it pre-rinsed if you’re looking to save time feeding the fam.  Quinoa has a natural bitter coating so the birds don’t eat it.  If you don’t buy it pre-rinsed or rinse it yourself, your kids won’t eat it either.  But, if you follow this recipe, the kiddos might just flock for seconds.  And if they don’t, you’ll have tropical leftovers to eat with sliced bananas, dates and crushed walnuts for breakfast. 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup white quinoa rinsed
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/2 cup canned coconut milk or cream

Directions:  

Mix water and coconut milk in a medium pot using a mixing spoon or whisk.  Bring mixture to a boil.  Once boiling, add quinoa, stir 2 times then cover with the lid.  Immediately turn the stove setting to low (as low as it will go without turning it off).  Set the timer for 15 minutes.  Don’t lift the lid off the pot until the timer goes off.  If you do, you’ll release the heat.  Once the timer beeps, remove from heat, and let sit for another 5 minutes.  Remove the lid and “fluff” with a fork (scoop the bottom of the quinoa to the top a few times).  Serve and enjoy.  

Notes:

• Find canned coconut milk or cream in the Asian or international section of almost all grocery stores.
• This coconut infused quinoa also tastes great as a salad base or topping.  Try mixing it with spring mix, diced mango, pineapple or papaya and topping with a squeeze of fresh lime juice and cilantro for an edible garnish.
• You can always cook quinoa in water or veggie broth for an even healthier, low-fat meal ingredient.  Cooking it in veggie broth will give it more flavor and a different taste.  Try mixing it with baked sweet potato, and a black bean, onion and yellow pepper sauté, with sliced tomatoes and fresh corn.  Top it off with cashew sour cream and salsa and you’ll have yourself a deliciously, filling and healthy Trisha’s Table style meal. 

Let us know how it goes!  How did your quinoa come out?  What did you pair it with? Share your voice by clicking 'comment' below.

Why You Don't Need Animal Foods for Protein

The funniest things happen when I eat lunch in my university's cafeteria.  My plate is normally filled with potatoes, rice or pasta with an abundance vegetables on-top.  This can be quite intriguing for some people... I'm not eating hot dogs, meatballs, cheesy pasta and washing it down with a glass of milk.  Naturally, people ask me questions about my diet.  

The most common question I get... yes, you guessed it… “where do I get my protein?”  If you're eating a plant-based diet, where do you get your protein from?  Well, plants!  

What I'm about to say is very important and I never want you to forget it so please really 'listen.' "You do not need animal foods to get enough protein in your diet."  I'm going to 'say it' again because it is that important... "you do not need to eat animal foods to get enough protein in your diet."

Before I give your examples of plant protein, we have to answer one very important question and that is…  how much protein do we actually need?  

According to the Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences, we fulfill our protein needs with 10% of our total calories coming from protein (1). Just 10%!  

Now that we know how much protein we need in our diet, lets see how much protein is in some common plant foods.

                          Percentage of calories coming from protein (2)         Source

Kale:                                                35%                                                             (3)

Broccoli:                                         33%                                                             (4)

Black beans:                                  27%                                                             (5)

Wild rice:                                        16%                                                             (6)

Quinoa:                                          15%                                                             (7)

Potato:                                           11%                                                              (8)

Sweet potato:                                 9%                                                             (9)

It's important to understand that all plant foods have protein.  All of them!  Some, not as much as others, but when we eat a variety of different plant foods, the total amount of protein we consume balances itself out in the body.  You will get an adequate amount of protein as long as you're eating enough food (not starving) and varied types.  

So again, I want you to say this to yourself... “I do not need animal food to get enough protein.  Plant foods fulfill all my protein needs” and exhale.  Aww.  Much better.

Know that there can be harmful consequences from eating too much protein, especially animal protein.  If you want to learn more about the risks from eating too much protein, here is a well-referenced PDF from the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine titled 'The Protein Myth.'

And because Easter is coming up, here are two mouth-watering recipes for your holiday feast (if you're celebrating). Thank you Cathy Fisher for these great recipes!

Creamy Mushroom Gravy

Roasted Carrot and Fennel Soup

I want to challenge you to think about this protein information more. To get you started, I want you to answer this Take Control Now question and post your answer in the comments section at the end of this article.

Take Control Now Question

Do you know anyone with a protein deficiency?  

Are you concerned about getting enough protein in your diet?  If so, why?
 

If you liked this article (and I hope that you did!) please email and share it with your friends and family.  Send them www.TrishaMandes.com so they can get my Free Resource Guide for the best books, recipe websites etc. for disease reversal and permanent weight-loss.  

Thanks for joining me. Get educated, get support and take control. You can get the healthy body of your dreams.

References

1.  Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids. Institute of Medicine and the National Academy of Sciences. 2002. Last updated online September, 2013. Accessed online, April 2014.

2. United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference. Accessed online April, 2014.  

Kale (3), Broccoli (4) Black beans (5), Wild Rice (6), Quinoa (7), Potato (8), Sweet Potato (9).

* How I calculated the percentage of calories from protein from the USDA nutrient management system (2-9)... #protein g per serving x 4 kcal/g / #kcals per serving x 100 = % of calories from protein