Grains and oats

Here is what I have discovered so far as staples in my GF/ Allergy Free (AF) baking and cooking. I am still learning and discover new things every day. This post may never be complete, but here I go!

First of all, It is much cheaper to grind your own grains, but if that is not an option, there are several brands that sell these. The grinder my mom has is the Wisper Mill. It is wonderful, but is very expensive. Until I have enough money to splurge, I will just have to use hers.






My first staple grain is white rice. Come case lot time I buy a big 50lb bucket of the cheapest white rice I can (usually long grain). This is the grain I use the most for baking. It is mild flavored and can be used for sweet and savory recipes. It is also the cheapest of the rices.

Other rices I use:
-brown rice. Brown rice is very similar to white rice. It bakes up slightly darker because it is the whole grain, unlike the white rice, which has been stripped of the germ and endosperm. I suggest for the new GF user, try brown rice sparingly at first. A lot o f gluten intolerant (GI) or celiacs have a hard time digesting the germ and endosperm. If you tolerate it well, use this in place of your white rice to get your whole grains in. I unfortunately do not tolerate it very well and therefore do not use it quite as frequently.
- sweet brown rice. Some people swear that all your baking needs to be done with a sweet rice, but to be honest it is super expensive and I can't tell a difference. I buy this only when I really want to impress someone. lol. Also, I have only found this at one store and it is not very close, so I rarely invest my time with this grain.

Here is how I store my grains:





Other grains that I use.
-Quinoa; this is a good grain both whole to eat or grind and add to a recipe for added nutrients and flavor. I also use it's flour to bake with. It has a high protein content, making it a nice leavening flour compared to some of the other GF grains. Its flavor is kind of nutty giving your recipe a fun edge.

Oats:
- I was specifically tested for an oat allergy and came back negative, so I use oats when ever I can because I LOVE the flavor it give. I almost can convince myself and others that it tastes too good to be GF. Here is my warning though. Several people who have celiacs or GI are also allergic to oats. And if that isn't enough, oats are usually grown in the same fields and processed on the same equipment at wheat. So I caution you, if you are extremely sensitive to wheat, to purchase oats that are completely grown and processed GF. Also it isn't a bad idea to get tested for an oat allergy too just to be sure!

Now, oats are confusing if you don't know much about them. I will explain briefly here the three stages that you find oat in at the store.
1. oats that have not been processed look very similar to wheat berries. These are called oat groats. I am unsure of the name origin. Here is a pic.



looks like wheat to the untrained eye, eh?

The oat groats are ideal for grinding into a flour. As I mentioned before I love this flour. It also has a nice nutty flavor and is lighter (gives a fluffier airier consistency) to bake with. This is hard to do with GF baking!

-Old fashion oats- rolled oats; this is when the oat groat has been rolled or smashed out into a flat version of its self. Unlike white flour or other processed grains. This is still considered a whole grain. You can grind this into a flour, but a grain grinder won't work. A blender or food processor is best. The end product is not as fine as a four from the grinder, but can be used just the same. Also you can use this whole to bake with such as oatmeal cookies etc. Just know that this oat takes more moisture to break down.




- quick oats or quick rolled oats; these are just one step further processed than the old fashioned oats. these are then run though a processor that chops them up into smaller pieces so that they can cook or breakdown faster. This is what we most commonly see in oatmeal packets such as quaker. I also prefer these for my baking because they seem to bind together better than the old fashioned oats. You can do the same as above to make a flour out of these oats.




-finally my indulgent oat treat is oat bran. It is a flour made specifically out of the bran part of the oat. It makes fabulous muffins etc. I used to love bran muffins or raisin bran cereal so when I discovered that this is just as yummy I jumped on the band wagon. It is also a very common item so every grocery store carries it in the hot cereal isle.




Happy grain and oat baking!
~Krista

Come what may and love it has more meaning than I even knew

Hi blogging world! I am finally back. I have wanted to blog for quite some time about the changes in my life, but was unsure how to begin. So I thought I would start at the beginning, well of my blog any way. I named my blog "come what may and love it". If you look back to this post it describes where the saying come from. I had no idea it would be such an important motto in my life.

As many of you know I had several health problems and was currently seeing several doctors and on several medications. I did a round of HCG with great success, but then started to travel the country with my basketball team. I did the best I could (most of the time) to eat healthy, but, well you know how I like food.

Around November 2010 I noticed my hair starting to fall out. I thought nothing of it because I was stressed with school, traveling, and life in general. I know that hair grows on a 3 month pattern and figured I would wait out the 3 months. Well 3 months came and went and I lost more and more hair. I finally called my doc actually while on a road trip and asked her what she thought. She suggested that my iron was low and the next time I was in town to come get it checked. I did and my results came back with my iron count being extremely low. So low in fact the doctor said she had never seen someone that low that wasn't in a coma. She suggested that the reason my iron was so low was that my body was not getting nutrients from food like it should and the only way that could happen was if my gut was so inflamed that it couldn't work to absorb the nutrients and the only way it would be that inflamed, was if I had food allergies. We ran several allergy tests and waited for the results.

February 16th I met with my doc and got the news that I did have some food allergies, which came as no surprise to anyone. The surprise was the sheer number of allergies I did have.

Confirmed allergies: Wheat, Gluten, milk (dairy), yeast, eggs, potatoes, corn, pineapple, and almonds. I have since discovered a few others: pinto beans, and tree nuts


I left her office completely baffled. I was on one hand so happy for an answer, and on the other hand, completely shocked and scared for my future. I had no idea how to deal with food allergies and what changes I would have to make in my life.

Luckily I have had several wonderful people who have helped me when I was lost.
-First of all my roommate was the biggest help. When I was so overwhelmed she would look at every product on the shelf (and still does) to see if I could have it. She has also recently decided to try the GF lifestyle and see if it will help her health problems.
-Secondly my mom has always been a master in the kitchen and cooking allergy free was no challenge for her. She helped me learn about all different grains and oats and how to substitute them into her recipes (because most GF recipes are yucky). She took me out and bought all the different grains that she liked and took them home and helped me grind them and create my own food storage. More recently she spent the last several months canning everything from apricot jam to mock pineapple to soup base so that I can have food at my finger tips in any situation.
-Thirdly, my dad. I know everyone claims they have the best dad, but did your dad spend his whole summer de-rocking your yard so you could plant a garden with food you could eat? He did. 6-8 hours a day he would come and pick ax his way though our rock quarry of a yard. He is also a master gardener, so even with our rough terrain, we got a bounteous harvest.
- Lastly, I have a cousin-in-law that once he heard of my predicament emailed me his family cookbook created for those with multiple allergies. What a blessing that book has been.

As I continue to blog I will tell about life in general, but will dedicate my blog to mostly GF and allergy friendly living. I want to share my story, my daily struggles, my tips and tricks and anything else that might help my readers. I hope for feedback and suggestions for others so that we can all have an easier time learning a new lifestyle!

~Krista