New Grains in 7 Grain Menu: Amaranth

Amaranth grain has an interesting long history. It was grown in Central and South America between 6000 and 8000 years ago by Aztecs. But they didn’t eat the grain, they used it in religious ceremonies mixing it with honey and making images of their deity. When the worship ceremonies were over the sculptures were broken to pieces and distributed among worshippers to eat.

After the Spanish landed in the New World they outlawed all heathen ceremonies including planting amaranth. Natives were given severe punishments for growing or possessing a forbidden grain. But of course they couldn’t destroy all plants, because amaranth is highly adaptive. It can grow well in moist, loose soil with good drainage at almost any elevation and in just about any temperate climate.  Once established, amaranth can continue to thrive in low-water conditions. That makes it a very valuable grain in Africa.

Today, you can find it growing in small amounts in some pretty surprising locations, including Iowa, Nebraska, Missouri, North Dakota, and even Long Island, NY!

Amaranth is rich in lysine and calcium, its protein content is high quality. And it’s gluten free. It makes a highly nutritious hot cereal and can be cooked like any other grain, but becomes sticky when cooked. Can be mixed with corn, onions, and pinto beans. It goes well with buckwheat, millet and brown rice.

Now 7 Grains offers Gluten Free Homemade Pasta made out of amaranth.  You still can enjoy pasta and your favorite sauces even if you can’t tolerate wheat.

Nutrition Facts on Amaranth

Serving Size: 1/2 cup cooked

Nutrient Amount

Calories 129   

Fat 1.5 g  

Carbohydrate 22 g   

Dietary Fiber 2 g   

Sodium 14 mg  

Protein 5 g   

Calcium 60 mg

Healthy Homemade Granola

Our homemade granola is getting more and more popular among our friends and customers. And that’s the only gluten free product we make. Granola is organic oat-based cereal. There are sunflower seeds, flax seeds, pecan nuts, coconut flakes, raisins, cranberries, honey, oil, sea salt and vanilla. You can have for breakfast or as a healthy snack during a day. Eat it plain or with your milk or yogurt.

Why our granola is healthy?

First of all it’s a whole grain cereal. Oats are whole grains, and that means they retain all the nutrition that are contained in bran, germ and endosperm of the kernel. According to the Dietary Guidelines from the US Department of Health and Human Services whole grains such as granola might lower your risk for type 2 diabetes and heart disease.

Second, granola provides you with a much needed dietary fiber, which you can find only in veggies, fruits, beans and whole grains. Dietary fiber helps you to fight constipation and type 2 diabetes. It also lowers the level of bad cholesterol. All this seeds and dried fruits we add to our granola increase the total volume of fiber.

Third, granola provides you with essential nutrients such as iron and potassium, vitamin E and healthy omega-3 fatty acids.

Fourth, our granola is completely sugar free. We use honey to sweeten it. Most of the commercial brands are loaded with sugar. They can have as much as 17 g of sugar for a serving size. It’s more than a tablespoon of sugar! It’s way too much.

Eating homemade granola for breakfast will help you to start your morning with a fulfilling and delicious meal, boosting your energy and concentration without extra sugar or caffeine.

It’s great for kids, weight watchers, athletes and all other people who want to stay healthy, look and feel just great. 

Is Gluten Bad for You?

Let’s talk about gluten and gluten free diet today. There is a lot of misunderstanding around this issue. You and I became witnesses of a new myth that was born right before our eyes. And the myth is GLUTEN IS BAD for you. So let’s explore it and think if it’s true or false.

First of all, what is gluten after all? Gluten is a complex of two proteins, gliadin and glutein. found in seeds of most grasses and most of the grains like wheat, spelt, barley and even rye. The gluten makes the dough stretch and rise. It gives the bread spongy texture and thickens sauces.

Some people have an autoimmune inflammatory disease of small intestine, commonly known as celiac disease. That means their bodies treat gluten as an invader and starts a immune response or allergic reaction. It affects approximately 1 in every 250 people. There is no doubt that these folks have to stay away from gluten completely. Let’s call them gluten intolerant, eating gluten is potentially dangerous for them.

Some other people, let’s call them gluten-sensitive. It’s not the same as celiac disease, because the body of gluten sensitive person doesn’t develop antibodies. But eating gluten develops all kinds of problems from headaches to bloating and cramps. It’s like with any other food allergy. For example my brother-in-law can not eat egg whites and my sister is sensitive to honey and oranges.

Doctors have been using a gluten free diet to treat those individuals for over 40 years already. So it’s nothing new.

There is no scientific evidence that gluten can be problematic for average gluten tolerant person. Dr. David Katz, director of the Yale Prevention Research Center says, “The potential adverse health effects of gluten in those sensitive to it have reverberated in cyberspace, creating the impression that gluten is a bona fide toxin, harmful to all. This is false; gluten is not ‘bad’ for those tolerant of it, any more than peanuts are ‘bad’ for people free of peanut allergy.”

Therefore, gluten-free diet is justified for some people, but unnecessary for most. “The effort is well-justified for those who are truly gluten-sensitive, but potentially much ado about nothing for others just caught up in the trend. In addition, the exclusion of whole grain wheat, rye, barley and potentially oats from the diet might reduce overall diet quality and fiber intake. Again, a price worth paying when gluten avoidance is clearly necessary, but cost without benefit for others,” Dr. Katz says.

If you think you might have celiac disease or gluten sensitivity, it’s best to see your practitioner before starting a gluten-free diet. Because it will be difficult to establish if you have a special condition or not after you go on a gluten-free diet.

And in the end I’d like you to think about the words of Alessio Fasano, director of the University of Maryland’s Center for Celiac Research. “The bottom line for gluten-sensitivity,” Fasano says, “is there are very little facts and a lot of fantasy.”

Louisiana Style Corn Grits

Well, last Saturday in Covington, LA many of you asked for the recipe of our corn grits.

Here it is. Yields 6 servings.

1 Tsp oil

1/2 pound smoked sausage, diced

 1/2 onion, finely chopped

1 cup sun dried tomatoes or ½ cup fresh tomatoes, chopped

 1 teaspoon garlic powder

 4 cups water (or 2 cups water and 2 cups milk)

 1 teaspoon ground black pepper (or Chipotle)

 1 teaspoon salt

 1 tablespoon Louisiana hot pepper sauce (or Tabasco™)

 1 cup organic corn grits with chives and flax seeds

 1 cup shredded cheese

Directions

Heat a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add oil, sausage and onions; cook and stir until browned. Add tomatoes and garlic powder. Cook and stir until onion is tender. Pour in the water (or water and milk) and season with pepper, salt and hot pepper sauce; bring to a boil.

Gradually stir in the grits, cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer, stirring frequently, until the mixture is thick, 5 to 10 minutes. Stir in cheese. Heat through until cheese is melted.

Of course you can play around with it. Tweak this and that, add your favorite seasoning or exclude some ingredients. Anyway, you can always find Organic Corn Grits with chives and flax seeds at our stands at the Farmers Markets.

Whole truth about whole grains

According to survey conducted by the American Dietetic Association in 2011 about 48% of asked consumers indicated that they started eating more whole grain foods. It’s sounds like a great news isn’t it? Whole grains are hot these days. Healthy food awareness is rising. We are reading labels when buying food and chose the ones that has words like “good source”, “multigrain”, “made with the whole wheat” etc.

But what does these words really mean? Let’s examine them.

First of all, we have to understand that regulations about using such words are pretty loose in US. The producers can put claim their product as whole grain if it contains at least 51% of whole grain, which is by the way, considered to be 8g per serving.

Would you buy the same bread if it would say “51% whole grain bread” or even “64% whole grain pasta”? The truth is that the producers don’t have to show the numbers on a package. And in our mind “whole grain” sounds like “100% whole grain, when in reality it’s far from it. In most cases other 49% are filled with not very healthy stuff like refined, enriched or unbleached wheat or rice flour, soy products, dough conditioners, extra gluten, lecithin, emulsifiers just to name few.

It’s also true of products that have “the good source of whole grain” and “rich in whole grain” on the box. Usually a serving of many foods weights 30 to 55g (1-2 ounces). Let’s do simple math. 8g out of 55g are just 15%. That means that “good source” “whole grain” foods could be as much as 85% refined grain! So, unless it says 100% whole grain, you have to really check what the product consists of.

And by the way “100% whole grain” according to contemporary regulations means that serving has 16g of whole grains.

What about “multigrain” and “whole grain blends” claims?

“Multi” just mean “many” and it also can be replaced with the number like 5-grains, 7 or even 12. The product can even have traces of all this different grains, but that doesn’t necessary mean that they are whole. It doesn’t matter if you are getting 5, 7, 12 or even 32 grains, because they are mostly refined.

Now to the blends. It’s a very smart move in the marketing strategies. Because usually “Whole grain” is written in a big print and “blend” in a small one. And you get what you get a blend. It can consist of refined flour and some wheat bran or wheat fiber tossed in. And really a blend can be anything in the range from mostly refined flour to half and half. If you look hard you can probably find the percentage of whole grains in small print on the back of the box.

It feels like unless you make your own food you can't be sure that it's really wholesome and healthy. It’s kinda sad. Isn’t it?

Hot Cereals for Healthy Breakfast: Whole Grain Cream of Wheat

For many of us when we were kids a hot cereal for breakfast was a must. So my mom used to get up earlier to make us a cream of whet. She was saying it is especially good breakfast for a cold winter morning. I have to admit I hated it. And now being a mom myself I understand that she was right. Low-fat, low-sugar options like oatmeal and cream of wheat are excellent choices, both for overall health contrary to what many people think. And may be I have to thank my mom for not having weight problems.

  

Wholegrain Cream of Wheat

Wheat farina, or cream of wheat is a coarsely ground wheat grain. It is a good source of calcium and iron (45% of DV), vitamin A (20-30%) and contains other minerals including copper, magnesium and selenium. It’s completely fat free. So if you wish to add some fat and flavor, you can add low fat milk (which is 20-40% of calcium) to your bowl or sprinkle your favorite nuts on the top.

One serving of whole grain cream of wheat contains 4g of protein, 19 g of carbohydrates, including 3g of dietary fiber. While 19 g doesn't sound like a lot, it does provide your body with a boost of energy that can be crucial to get you moving in the morning. One serving is about 100 calories (150 if you use fat free milk). It doesn’t seem like a lot but it can easily get you through the morning providing a needed boost of energy.

For 1 serving use:

3 Tbsp. of whole grain cream of wheat

1/2 – 3/4 cups of water or milk,

1/8 tsp. salt (optional)

Cooking Directions

For a stovetop:

1. bring water or milk and salt to a boil in sauce pan.

2. gradually add whole grain cream of wheat, stirring constantly, with wire whisk until well blended.

3. return to a boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer, uncovered, 2-1/2 minutes or until thickened, stirringfrequently. Cool slightly.

For a microwave:

1. mix whole grain cream of wheat, water or milk and a dash of salt in1-quart microwaveable bowl or measuring cup.

2. microwave on high 1 minute. Stir with wire whisk. Cook an additional 1 to 2 minutes or untilthickened, stirring every 30 seconds. Stir. Cool slightly.

Caution: bowl will be hot; carefully remove from microwave using pot holders. Note: microwave ovens vary. Cooking times are approximate. Overheating can cause cereal to boil over.

Additional ideas

It looks, well, humble. To make it more appealing for my kids I added butter and sweetened it with raw honey, cinnamon and fresh or dried fruits, such as apples, raisins, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, banana etc. They seemed to like it much more then I did in the past.

Sounds like a good idea? So, next time you come to Covington Farmers Market or Camellia City Farmers Market get your whole grain cream of wheat from 7 Grain Bakery. 

Whole Grain Healthy Breakfast Ideas Under 400 Calories

Today I am starting the series of blog posts on healthy breakfasts.

7 Grain Bread with Homemade Pesto

The nutritionists say that a breakfast is an important part of healthy dieting. It’s giving a body a necessary fuel for the morning and somehow programs the body to consume less fat and overall fewer calories during the rest of the day. So those of us who have a habit to skip the breakfast in the morning have to realize it won’t help us to get slimmer and stay in shape. Why? Because the energy we hoped to get with the coffee will disappear in an hour or so. Very soon we will feel tired and hungry and start munching on junk snacks.

As for me, I love a good breakfast. I’d rather skip on lunch than on delicious and healthy breakfast. And whole grains can provide you with a nutritious 400 calorie starter in the morning.

So let’s look at few breakfast options the 7 Grain is more than happy to offer you.

Blueberry Muffin

Along with wholegrain it already has a fruit. You can eat the muffin as is or split it and toast it. Spread 1 Tbsp of peanut butter on it. Add half a banana and 1 cup of fat free milk or yogurt for a well balanced breakfast.

Raisi’n’Shine Energy Bread

It’s already full of raisins, cranberries, pecans, flax seeds, almonds and pumpkin seeds. Toast two slices and spread 1 Tbsp. of your favorite non-fat cheese spread.

Wholegrain Pancakes or Waffles

It’s easier to make them than you think. We offer two versions now: wholegrain wheat with flax seeds and wholegrain BOB (barley, oat, buckwheat) with flax seeds. You can make a whole batch ahead. In the morning just toast 2 pancakes or waffles. Sprinkle with berries and nuts of your choice. You can also eat them with plain yogurt.

Homemade Granola

Instead of commercial cereals eat our homemade granola. If you like it crunchy just add 1 cup of skim milk. Some find it more interesting when they soak it in 1 cup of yogurt overnight.

Wholegrain Sandwich

That’s what my children can live on and I don’t mind, ‘cos they fix it themselves (ha-ha!) Toast 1-2 slices of 7 Grain Bread (or half of the 7 Grain Sandwich Flat) or Sprouted Bread. Spread 1 tbsp. low-fat cream cheese or pesto over it. Place few slices of lean ham or turkey on the cream cheese sandwich. Add 1/4 cup fresh spinach leaves and two slices of tomato for a delicious wholegrain sandwich. It’s so good it can even serve as a lunch. 

Breakfast Pizza

Get our pre-baked pizza crust. Top it with spaghetti sauce, mixed chopped vegetables and shredded cheese and throw it in the oven until the cheese melts and voila! Fiber and complex carbohydrates from the crust and vegetables along with the protein and calcium from the cheese make this a well-balanced choice.

Healthy breakfast though will make it easier to meet the requirements for daily vitamins and minerals and keep our energy level till lunch. According to “Obesity Research” published in 2002, 78% of those who successfully lost weight and were able to maintain it ate breakfast at least four times a week.

So, don’t you think it’s time to start a new habit? And next time I’ll tell more about hot cereals for breakfast.

NEW! Raisi’n’Shine Energy Bread

For a long time we wanted to develop a new specialty bread recipe for our friends who lead an active lifestyle, who love sports and fitness and watch what the eat. And here it is!

Raisi'nShine Energy Bread

It’s packed with raisins. They are soaked overnight along with the organic flax seeds, then pureed and serve as the basis for 100% whole grain wheat dough. 

Raisins contain phytochemical compound resveratrol. Resveratrol, a polyphenol anti-oxidant, has anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, blood cholesterol lowering activities. Studies suggest that resveratrol has been found to have protective action against cancers like melanoma, colon and prostate, and diseases such as coronary heart disease (CHD), degenerative nerve disease, Alzheimer's disease and viral/ fungal infections.

The raisins are giving this bread its color, sweetness and the distinct flavor along with apples, organic carrots, cranberries, honey and molasses. Raisi'n'Shine Bread is also full of organic sunflower seeds, organic pumpkin seeds, almonds and pecan nuts. They are high in energy and are incredible source of health benefiting nutrients.

Pumpkin and sunflower seeds contain fatty acids, which help to prevent coronary artery disease and strokes. The are also great source of good quality protein, vitamin E and vitamin B group such as thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, B-6 and folate. 

It has absolutely no oil, no eggs and no dairy products.

You can eat it for a breakfast or as a absolutely healthy and delicious snack, when you need to boost your  energy and help you shine all day long.

And as with all our breads it has to be refrigerated because we don't use any preservatives. Enjoy!

Monster Bread vs. Real Bread

Well, it’s not a secret that most of my life I lived in the different side of the globe. So one thing that really stroke me when I came to US was the bread. Guys, I’ve been in many countries, but bread here, well.. uhh… I don’t want to offend anybody, but it doesn’t taste like a real bread. It’s different than everywhere else in the world. It’s different than in Europe, Middle East, Russia or Central Asia. It’s squishy, too soft, too sweet, too processed. It feels unnatural and even artificial.

Monster Bread

I couldn’t find a good substitute. And it was easy for me to understand why so many people would go on gluten-free diet here and ditch the bread from their menu altogether. So what’s wrong with the flour and bread here?

I ran across an article on the claims of William Davis, MD, author of famous Wheat Belly book. He was saying that modern wheat is toxic and addictive. He calls it “Frankenwheat”. It’s catchy word that indicates that modern wheat is an ugly baby of happily married Mr. Gene Hacking and Ms. Biochemistry Science. So really it’s a monster. It’s dead and dangerous. Monster seeds grown in synthetic soil, fed by pesticides and fertilizers, bathed in chemicals. I guess anyone would grow mutant that way.

According to Dr. Davis it’s has zero nutritional value, packed with extra gluten, bad carbs, so it elevates blood sugar levels, leading to inflammation diseases, all kinds of allergies, heart diseases, fatigue and belly fat. But to make bad thing even worse it’s getting processed. Couple days ago I stopped at the grocery store and tried to find some decent normal flour. I could’t, guys. It’s all bleached, enriched, fortified, fast rising etc. I found one brand that said it’s whole grain flour. But it was nothing “whole” about it, just white flour with bran added to it.

And as monsters usually do that kind of bread leaves you hungry, unsatisfied and craving for more. Considering what written above, “Don’t eat bread at all” seems like a good advice.

So is BREAD that was grown and cultivated by mankind for 6000 years dead?

No. It’s alive. But it was shunned, bad mouthed, forgotten. It’s very hard to find it. But small farms that grow 100% organic grain still exist. There are small artisan bakeries like 7 Grain that stone grind real grain and bake bread in small quantities just as our great grandmothers did before the industrial revolution.

I was thrilled to find out that my friend Lena at 7 Grain bakes a REAL bread. So I couldn’t help but join her.

7 Grain Bread

Just by comparing these two images you'll see the difference. That's how the real bread should look like.

We start out with high quality natural grains and seeds that have been produced without conventional pesticides and fertilizers. We buy only the freshest, organic vegetables we can find.

We guarantee that all our products are certified 100% organic whole grain.

All our bread, pizza, pasta and cereal are handmade product, that’s why sometimes it doesn’t look as commercial products from the store. We don’t use any stabilizers or emulsifiers, like maltodextrin, soy products, flavor enhancers, like MSG, dough conditioners or any modified foods. Because they do not produce clean, healthy and delicious foods like 7Grain’s.

True artisan bread, made by hand, is absolutely different,  incredibly delicious and is nutritious. And I love it!

Dietary recommendations for whole grain

I personally like taste of whole grain bread, so I can eat it all day long. But how much is enough for maintaining a healthy diet. The US Dietary Guidance recommends different amount of whole grains daily according to your age and sex.

For children: age 2-3 — 1.5-3 servings; age 4-13 — 2-4 servings.

For women: age 14 to 50 — 3-6 servings; 50 + — 3-5 servings.

For men: age 14 to 50 — 3.5-7 servings; 50+ — 3-6 servings.

But what counts as a serving? In 100% whole grain products as 7 Grain offers to you that would be:

1 slice of 7 Grain, Rye or Sprouted bread

1/2 of 7 Grain sandwich flat

1/2 of a cinnamon bun
1 muffin

1 pack of biscotti
1 cup ready-to-eat homemade granola (there are 3 cups in our granola packs)

1/2 cup cooked homemade pasta or 1 ounce dry pasta (there are 6 ounces in our pasta packs)

1/4 of 8” pizza crust or 1/6 of 12” crust

1/2 of focaccia

You see how easy it is to start eating right at every meal with 7 Grain? Health experts agree that every bit of whole grain you eat contribute to your good health. So if you are never before ate the whole grain bread, you can start with as small as 1 serving a day and look for opportunities to get a little more here and there. After a while you will fall in love with the taste of whole grains and will be surprised that some of you old tie favorites may taste strangely bland and unappealing!