Makeover your pantry with wholegrains & ancient grains – you’ll freekeh over the health benefits
Food Flash, Kitchen Klinic — By Emma Stirling on August 31, 2010 at 3:27 pmFor my article in September GI News I’ve written about health halos. Those foods that appear to have a saintly, healthy glow if you look at the front of pack message, but in fact have a deeper, often devlish story, when you read the nutrition information panel or ingredient list. You can read my full article here from 1 September.
And it got me thinking about the best ways to avoid health halos? Well you can study for 5 years at university for a Masters Degree in Nutrition & Dietetics. Or you can become an avid label reader and learn to decipher the numbers and codes (stay tuned for our how-to guide). But by far the easiest solution is to go for more whole foods. More foods close to their natural state. More foods without a loooong ingredient list full of non-food sounding names. And there’s no better place to start than with wholegrains. Especially those ancient grains like freekeh (free-ka) and quinoa (keen-wa) that are the buzz around town.
If you want more on scientific research on wholegrains, check out this latest research review – The Grains And Legumes Health Report. And for tips on how to reach your daily wholegrain target visit www.gograins.com.au You may also like to read more about chia seeds here in our archive post.
There are a whole field full of recipes if you google around that use ancient grains in place of rice, pasta, oats, couscous and more. Australian grown, Greenwheat Freekeh has some for inspiration in the recipe booklet in-pack and also on their website.
So how about it? Is it time to makeover your pantry for more wholegrain goodness? Are you keen on quinoa? Freaking out over freekeh? Love to hear your comments and tips below:
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8 Comments
Hey Emma
I just found your blog for the first time and happened to have cooked Freekah for the first time tonight by coincidence. I was quite surprised by its flavour and really liked the texture. It was deliciously creamy, nutty and malty. I basically followed the packet’s instructions but put a lid on after most of the water had evaporated and tried to let it puff up a bit in the steam. Not sure that happened though (as it was still quite sticky) but it went well with some baked veggies (beet, pumpkin, fennel and zucchini) with some toasted slivered almonds and a tahini/ miso dressing. The best thing was that I don’t feel gluggy and full like I would with couscous or brown rice etc. I think me and the Freekah are going to be sharing more meals together yet. Thanks for your great blog. Lx
Hi Emma, haven’t been freaked out by freekah yet (in fact, I’m yet to try it – haven’t seen it in Switzerland!) but I am DEFINITELY keen on quinoa! I like to prepare a batch that I can keep in the fridge over a few days. Then for each lunch, I just grab whatever fresh vegies I’ve got, with perhaps some tuna or smoked fish and mix it into some quinoa, with some lemon juice and cracked pepper for flavour. It’s SO delicious and you can almost feel the good it’s doing you! Thanks for the article – we would all be SO much healthier if we just focussed on eating what nature gives us!
Hi Emma,
Great post, thanks! I’ve made a salad with quinoa similar to tabouleh -I simply replaced the cracked wheat with quinoa and added a few pomegranate seeds- delicious. For people with kids (and grown ups) who don’t like ‘bits’ in their bread it’s good to know there is still wholegrain goodness in 100% wholemeal bread. All the 3 grain components are there, they’ve just been ground to a fine texture. Another trick I do with fusspots is to mix half brown,half white rice (and pasta too) which helps the wholegrain go down with no complaints!
Thanks everyone for the tips and hints. Nicole makes an important point that wholemeal products are still technically wholegrain when all 3 layers of the grain are still present…they’re just finely ground, so a great choice for kids or big kids who don’t like ‘bits’. I love Dietitian Karen Kingham’s name for 1/2 brown 1/2 white rice…”sneaky rice” as her kids will go for it, without complaining. You just start off cooking brown rice and add the white granules to the pot when the appropriate minutes are left to cook.
Emma -
This the most informative article on grains and thanks for the links to ‘go grain’ website. I live in the United States and do you know how I can buy Greenwheat Freekeh? (Ordering from Australia is not economical) I am going to subscribe to your newsletter so I can keep on top of the latest nurtrition information. Enjoy your Spring as ‘we’ head into Autumn!
For US readers, September is Wholegrain Month. You can check out activities by the Wholegrain Council http://wholegrainscouncil.org/get-involved/celebrate-whole-grains-month-in-september
And look for products with the wholegrain stamp. Calli I know my US Colleagues have tried Greenwheat Freekeh so it is available….particularly where you buy Middle Eastern groceries. Here is another review by Janet Helm RD of Nutriiton Unplugged. http://nutritionunplugged.com/2010/02/freekeh-the-new-quinoa-this-ancient-middle-eastern-green-grain-is-red-hot/
Hi Emma,
Thanks for such a fantastic video post. All those yummy grains… Just one small comment… In Australia, the barley we commonly purchase in the supermarket raw or in soup mixes is usually in the form of pearled barley and is not technically wholegrain. ‘Pearling’ is an abrasive process which causes some loss of the outer bran layer, which means unfortunately ‘pearled barley’ is not a wholegrain. But don’t stop buying it – pearled barley it is very good for you and contains load of fibre as you say. Wholegrain barley does exist, it can be found in products labelled as ‘wholegrain’ barley – in which the grain undergoes a different process to pearling to ensure all of the bran, germ and endosperm is maintained.