The past few weeks I’ve been buried under design work. Which is a good thing; it helps pay the bills, you know? But now I’ve caught up on most of my projects, and I feel like I’m finally surfacing to take a breath. Of course, that happened right about the same time I came down with this nightmare of a head cold, so I’m not being as productive as I should be, but I’ve been using the last few days to catch up on Wardeh’s eCourse on cooking traditional foods.
I took the course mainly because I wanted instruction on soaking grains and nuts and seeds, and that’s what the first few weeks are about. Given my digestive issues along with my fondness for carbs, it seems like it might be wise to learn to prepare them in the most easily digestible way, which seems to be soaking and/or sprouting the grains before cooking.
Here’s the thing. Soaking your grains requires forethought, preparation, planning. You see my quandary? I am so NOT a planner. I am a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pantser. When I decide to make bread, I want to make it right away. I do not want to soak the flour and wait 7 hours to put it together. Besides being spontaneous, I’m a procrastinator. I often wait until we’re down to one slice of bread and the granola container is crumbs to make more.
So I’m going to have to learn to think ahead. Tonight, for instance, I’m already thinking about breakfast in the morning, which is the last thing on my mind when I’m still digesting my spaghetti and meatballs. But before I go to bed I plan to set some grains to soaking so we can have homemade soaked pancakes in the morning.
The really nice thing about soaking your grains — other than the fact that it’s kinder to your digestive system — is that it makes things made with whole wheat flour taste a lot lighter and a lot more like things made with white flour, which makes the kids a whole lot friendlier to whole grains. I highly recommend it for that reason alone.
You may be wondering why soaked grains are easier to digest. (What, didn’t I tell you that mind-reading was one of my many talents?) This morning, I just so happened to come across this post by Shannon at Nourishing Days called What is Phytic Acid? where she researches the topic. I’ll just let you read that instead of trying to reinvent the wheel.
Here are some soaked grain recipes for your convenience:
Soaked Waffles/Pancakes
Baked Soaked Oatmeal
Soaked Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread
11 Responses
Grains grains yada yada. Hey! Cool Print Friendly button. I need to get me one. 😉
Some friends of mine are all about soaking grains! They would love this page. That’s a great idea about the print button, too.
I sent someone over here from another message board. She was interested in raw milk. Said she got a lot of good info!
I totally hear ya on the advance planning thing. So not me. But like you, I’ve made the soaked pancakes a few times and really, it only takes a second for me to set the flour to soak before bed. I don’t know why I make such a big deal out of it. I guess it feels like just one more thing to do when I’m already tired. Guess I just gotta put my big girl panties on and deal with it already! 😉
I use this recipe for oatmeal pancakes a lot. It soaks the oatmeal overnight but I didn’t know that was good for you. I thought soaking was only for whole berries/kernels…
I’ll have to check out the why article for soaking…
Soaking grains is my next baby step in our whole/real food conversion. I started grinding grains and making bread for our lunches last year. It did take some extra planning, but once we got into a groove, it became a habit and really doesn’t feel like it takes much “extra” time now. I’m hoping this will happen with sprouting too since most of the time involved is when the grains are, “working.” Thanks for the recipes. Blessings on your endeavors!
Thank you so much for the print friendly button. I try to share some of these with my mother (not techie) so this is great!
Without being TOO indelicate, I can imagine this diet “keeps things moving” in the digestive tract!
Happy Mothers Day from Ireland – we get a head start on you!
I’m not a planner either. I’m not a to do list kind of gal. I don’t like that kind of stuff. And it really does take a lot from me to cook traditional and from scratch. I don’t really have any options right now, as just about anything premade hurts my middle sons tummy, though.
Nell
I love that put a printer button on here! I love so many of your recipes and now must go back and print…lol
As a fellow pantser, I can agree with your last minute premise. But I love the IDEA of this grain soaking, so I might have to give it a try.
Can you speed it up in the microwave? … kidding. 🙂