Puffed Cereal is Toxic The typical North American breakfast consists of a cold bowl of cereal – those little flakes, O's, other shapes and puffed grains are produced via high temperatures and pressures in a process called extrusion. Boxed cereal is toxic because of the processing it undergoes to become “puffed”. Unfortunately, organic whole grain varieties are potentially the most toxic because there is more protein (proteins are rendered toxic in extrusion). So if you are buying puffed organic cereals because you think they are healthier than their conventional counterparts, please reconsider it. “The scientific literature does contain one study on extruded grains, which investigated changes in protein body, shape and release of encapsulated alpha-zeins as a result of the extrusion processing.3 Researchers found that during extrusion, the protein bodies are completely disrupted and the alpha-zeins dispersed. The results suggest that the zeins in cornflakes are not confined to rigid protein bodies but can interact with each other and other components of the system, forming new compounds that are foreign to the human body. The extrusion process breaks down the organelles and disperses the proteins, which then become toxic. When the proteins are disrupted in this way, it can adversely affect the nervous system, as indicated by the cornflake experiment.” Additionally the processing involved in puffed cereals destroys much of the nutrition. Simply because these cereals are fortified with synthetic nutrients, the USDA can claim that they are as healthy as the grains from which they are made (but by now you know that synthetic nutrients are not the same as their natural counterparts). According to Paul Stitt author of Fighting the Food Giants, unpublished research indicates that the extrusion process turns the proteins in grains into neurotoxins. “Stitt describes an experiment, conducted in 1942 by a cereal company but locked away in the company's file cabinet, in which four sets of rats were given special diets.1 One group received plain whole wheat grains, water and synthetic vitamins and minerals. A second group received puffed wheat (an extruded cereal), water and the same nutrient solution. A third set was given water and white sugar. A fourth set was given nothing but water and synthetic nutrients. The rats that received the whole wheat lived over a year on this diet. The rats that got nothing but water and vitamins lived about two months. The animals on a white sugar and water diet lived about a month. The study showed that the rats given the vitamins, water and all the puffed wheat they wanted died within two weeks—even before the rats that got no food at all.” © 2013 Nourish Mama. All rights reserved. Certified Nutritional Wisdom for the Childbearing Years® Practitioner These results suggest that the puffed wheat is toxic! Extrusion may produce chemical changes that turn a nutritious grain into a poisonous substance (proteins are very similar to certain toxins in molecularly). Another unpublished experiment described in Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon was undertaken in1960 by researchers at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Eighteen laboratory rats were divided into three groups. “One group received cornflakes and water; a second group was given the cardboard box that the cornflakes came in and water; the control group received rat chow and water. The rats in the control group remained in good health throughout the experiment. The rats eating the box became lethargic and eventually died of malnutrition. The rats receiving the cornflakes and water died before the rats that were eating the box! (The first box rat died the day the last cornflake rat died.) Furthermore, before death, the cornflakes-eating rats developed aberrant behavior, threw fits, bit each other and finally went into convulsions. Autopsy revealed dysfunction of the pancreas, liver and kidneys and degeneration of the nerves of the spine, all signs of insulin shock.2 The startling conclusion of this study was that there was more nourishment in the box than in the cornflakes. This experiment was designed as a joke, but the results were far from funny.” In conclusion it is suggested that either the box is more nutritious than the cornflakes or the cornflakes are toxic as suggested in the first unpublished study- we have to wonder what effect this has on our children. Quotes excerpted from: http://www.westonaprice.org/modern-foods/dirty-secrets-of-the-food-processingindustry © 2013 Nourish Mama. All rights reserved. Certified Nutritional Wisdom for the Childbearing Years® Practitioner Commercial Cereals that Are A ok □ Oatmeal and Oat Groats □ Holy Crap Cereal □ Weeds and Seeds □ Helens Seeds for Cereal □ Ruth’s Chia Goodness □ Q’ia □ The Granola King © 2013 Nourish Mama. All rights reserved. Certified Nutritional Wisdom for the Childbearing Years® Practitioner What Else Can I eat for Breakfast Then? Eggs: Omelette Quiche Frittata Egg Muffins Poached Eggs Hardboiled Eggs Toad in A Hole Custard Soufflé Raw Egg Smoothie Scrambled Eggs Eggs Benedict French Toast Pancakes: Spelt/Coconut or Almond Flour Potatoe Pancakes *Add ins to make them more nutritious: gravy nutritional yeast sauce shredded cheese butter coconut oil sour cream/crème fraiche yogurt cottage cheese maple syrup # 3 (the most minerals) bananas, squash, pumpkin chia/flax and other seeds nut and seed butters protein powder leftover grains Oats: Oatmeal Oat Groats Leftover Oatmeal Cakes Sauteed in Butter Homemade Granola *Add ins to make them more nutritious: butter coconut oil unrefined salt cinnamon flax oil/hemp oil chia/hemp etc. seeds nut and seed butters yogurt Meat: Green Eggs and Ham Bacon & Eggs Liver pate or patties Sausage Turkey Patties Steak and Potatoes Other: Vegan Pate on Crackers Hummous on Crackers Vegetable Hash Scrambled Tofu (use tofu made with fermented and/or sprouted soy) Dragon Bowl Miso or other soup Millet Cheesecake Sandwiches Porridge, Crockpot or Cream of Seed Cereal: Oats Millet Amaranth Buckwheat Quinoa Barley Smoothies Fruit Protein Green *Add ins to make them more nutritious: coconut oil Udo’s Oil flax oil/hemp oil chia/hemp etc. seeds nut and seed butters yogurt raw eggs spirulina Homemade Cereals: Seed Granola Chia Cereal Puffed Amaranth Yogurt parfaits © 2013 Nourish Mama. All rights reserved. Certified Nutritional Wisdom for the Childbearing Years® Practitioner How to Bake With Alternative Flours You might imagine that living without wheat would make for a pretty limited diet, but what we’ve found is - that the foods we make with the alternative flours we recommend, are actually just as good as, if not more enjoyable than their wheat counterpart! Spelt –Replace it cup for cup in baking (plus an extra ¼ cup for bread making). Spelt is an ancient grain related to wheat, yet it is moister and tastes sweeter. Many people who don’t digest wheat well, do fine with spelt (but it does have gluten). Spelt is not hybridized and is much easier to digest, not to mention being higher in both protein and B-Vitamins, than wheat. In our experience, you can you use it 1:1 in cookies, cake and muffins that call for wheat. Almond Flour – use about 1cup to 1 ½ cups more (seem to need to use even more when using Bob’s Red Mill brand than others). Almond flour is a super nutrition alternative to cooking with grains. In many recipes, you can hardly tell that it isn’t wheat! Unlike coconut flour, you don’t have to use a lot of eggs and sometimes none at all. Almond flour has 6 - 7 times more minerals than wheat flour and 3 times more iron. In order to use almond flour, it really helps to have a recipe, but you can always take a conventional recipe and simply mix up your wet ingredients first and then stir in the almond flour until it is the consistency you would usually expect in your wheat version. Coconut Flour –use way less coconut flour than wheat flour and add plenty more eggs. Coconut flour is 14% oil and 58% digestible fiber, with the remaining portion a combination of water protein and carbohydrate. It is gluten free. Coconut flour absorbs A LOT of water so you only need to use a little. For example for a whole cake you would only need ¾ cup of coconut flour and about 9 eggs. © 2013 Nourish Mama. All rights reserved. Certified Nutritional Wisdom for the Childbearing Years® Practitioner How to Cook Seed Grains Amaranth (Aztec) High in protein, Iron and Zinc. Contains more of the beneficial amino acids lysine and methionine. Cook 1 cup grain & ½ tsp salt to 2 ½ cups water/broth (or 3 cups for a more porridge like texture) or Pop like popcorn and enjoy as a snack with butter or as a breakfast cereal served with hemp milk. Pop 2 Tbsp at a time (makes about ½ cup). Buckwheat (not part of the wheat family, it is from a seed bearing herb related to rhubarb & sorrel) Rich in Lysine. High levels of protein, calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, B-vitamins & iron. Rinse 3 times in water or roast (Kasha). Method 1: 1 cup buckwheat & ½ tsp salt, to 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, add 1 Tbsp butter, then add buckwheat and cook for 15 min. Then let sit for 10 min. Alternate: To firm it`s texture, slowly cook the buckwheat in a shallow sauce pan. This will cause the buckwheat to absorb less liquid. Buckwheat are soft even when raw, so overcooking the grain could turn it to mush. Method 2: Whisk 1 egg. Coat a large pan with butter or coconut oil and heat to med. Add 1 cup toasted buckwheat. Add the beaten egg to the pan and stir it quickly into the groats to prevent the egg from congealing into a large mass (egg helps to keep the buckwheat groats from sticking together). Stir until the mixture is dry and the grains are well separated. © 2013 Nourish Mama. All rights reserved. Certified Nutritional Wisdom for the Childbearing Years® Practitioner Add two cups of water, stock, or broth. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for fifteen minutes (or until the buckwheat has absorbed all of the liquid). Remove from the heat and allow it stand (covered) for five minutes. Fluff it with a fork and season it with salt, pepper and spice of your choice. Millet (easy to digest and considered one of the least allergenic grains) High in iron and magnesium. It is also high in calcium, phosphorus, manganese, zinc, and B vitamins. Toast first for firmer texture. ½ cup millet & 1/4 tsp salt to 1 ½ cups liquid. Bring to a boil and simmer for 25 min. Add 2 Tbsp millet to muffins for a nice crunchy texture. Quinoa (Incas) Loaded with protein and lysine. Also high in iron, calcium, zinc, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus and copper. Rinse quinoa vigorously in a mesh strainer. Toasting quinoa in a skillet with a little bit of coconut oil or butter over low heat for a few minutes before adding it to boiling water to give quinoa a nutty flavor. Stir it constantly for 6-8 minutes (so that it doesn’t burn) but turns golden. Bring 1 cup of quinoa & ½ tsp salt to 2 cups water to a boil and simmer for approximately 20min. © 2013 Nourish Mama. All rights reserved. Certified Nutritional Wisdom for the Childbearing Years® Practitioner