Ancient Grains for Breakfast, Wheat Berries Recipe

Ancient Grains for Breakfast

I had already decided that this week I would play around with breakfast grains when I noticed that food manufacturers are also coming up with new ideas. I rarely look at the breakfast cereals on the shelves in the supermarket or at Trader Joe’s, as it’s easier and cheaper for me to put together my own combos. But this week, as I reached for a container of steel-cut oats, I noticed several prepared mixes of grains and seeds like oats, quinoa and flax, mostly for hot cereal, that I hadn’t seen before.

I wanted to use up some of the ancient grains and seeds I have on hand — amaranth, teff and chia seeds. I tried making a porridge with teff alone, and I wasn’t crazy about the flavor, so I combined these tiny seeds with oatmeal. I did the same thing with oats, amaranth and chia seeds. The combinations were pleasing, with the little seeds contributing texture to the porridges as well as bumping up the nutritional value considerably.

When I’m planning on porridge for breakfast on a weekday morning I begin the process the night before. I pour boiling water over the grains and cover the bowl with a plate. The next morning all I need to do is heat the mixture in the microwave for two to four minutes. I might also grate in some apple, but basically, hot cereal made this way requires no more fuss than a bowl of cold cereal with milk.

Two of the week’s breakfast Recipes for Health required longer cooking, so they’re more suitable for a leisurely weekend morning. One is a grits/millet combo that I bake in the oven like polenta. It’s not cheese grits; this one is sweet, topped with maple syrup and toasted pecans. The other is a hearty bowl of wheat berries (such as farro, spelt, or wheat berries), cooked with dried fruit and sweetened and spiced with cinnamon, anise and rose water. These I cook for an hour the night before, then let sit overnight off the heat, and if necessary simmer for a while again the next morning until they are tender and splayed. My favorite way to serve the wheat berries is stirred into a bowl of yogurt along with some of the sweet broth left in the pot.

Breakfast Wheat Berries

Wheat berries sweetened with honey and perfumed with rose water and spices make a delicious breakfast on their own or stirred into yogurt (that’s the way I prefer to serve this). Whether you use farro, kamut, spelt or wheat berries (and whether you are cooking them for breakfast or for dinner) the trick here is to cook the grains for as long as it takes for them to really soften and to splay (that is, to burst at one end).

Total time: About 1 1/2 hours, mostly unsupervised simmering (plus overnight soaking)

1 cup wheat berries

5 cups water

Salt to taste

1/4 cup honey, agave syrup or brown sugar, or more to taste

1/2 to 1 teaspoon rose water, to taste

1 teaspoon ground anise or fennel seeds

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 cup raisins or other chopped dried fruit of choice

1/3 cup chopped walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, or a mixture for garnish

2 cups plain low-fat yogurt (optional)

Pomegranate seeds for garnish (optional)

1. The night before, combine wheat berries, 1 quart of the water and salt and bring to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 1 hour. Remove from heat, stir in the honey, agave syrup or sugar, rose water, anise or fennel seeds, cinnamon, nutmeg and raisins or dried fruit. Cover and leave overnight (or for 5 to 6 hours).

2. In the morning, add remaining cup of water to the wheat berries and bring to a simmer. Cook 30 to 45 minutes, stirring often, until berries are soft and splayed at one end. There should be some liquid surrounding the wheat berries (add more water if necessary). Taste and add more sweetener if desired.

3. Serve on their own with some of the liquid in the saucepan (stir in some milk if desired), or spoon about 1/3 cup yogurt into bowls and top with a generous spoonful of the berries, with some of the sweet broth. Top with a handful of chopped nuts and a few pomegranate seeds if desired.

Yield: Serves 4 to 6

Advance preparation: The cooked wheat berries will keep for 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator. The dried fruit will continue to swell and will lose flavor, but it will be captured in the broth.

Nutritional information per serving (4 servings): 358 calories; 7 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 5 grams polyunsaturated fat; 1 gram monounsaturated fat; 0 milligrams cholesterol; 75 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams dietary fiber; 9 milligrams sodium (does not include salt to taste); 6 grams protein

Autism, Vaccine, Hollywood, Anti-Vaccine Truthers(?)

Parents whose beloved children have autism would not stop thinking of what they could have done differently. More important, they won’t stop looking for what can cure their beloved children. A possible correlation between Autism and Vaccine has not been a scientifically proven matter. Still, modern medical science has not figured out about the exact causes of many chronic pain and illnesses.

Jenny McCarthy: Report of new stance on autism, vaccines ‘irresponsible and inaccurate’

Jenny McCarthy says she plans to take legal action following a report claiming she had changed her controversial anti-vaccination stance.

McCarthy is an outspoken advocate for autism research and treatment whose views on vaccination have put her at odds with health experts.

Kristin Cavallari: ‘I’ve Read Too Many Books’ To Vaccinate My Child

“Vaccines are not something I wanted to publicly come out and speak on. I sort of got bombarded in this interview and thrown off-guard,” said the celeb, who is married to Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler.

“There’s really scary statistics out there, and to each their own. Autism wasn’t prevalent — like it is now — years ago, so something is going on, whether it’s the chemicals in our food or the vaccines,” she continued. “Something is happening, and we can’t really ignore that. I choose to believe that I think it’s in the vaccines but, again, to each their own and that’s where I stand on it.”

The topic of vaccination came up during Cavallari’s interview on Fox with “The Independents” host and former MTV VJ Kennedy, who brought up their fellow MTV alum, Jenny McCarthy. McCarthy has been vocal in her opposition to vaccinations, claiming that they cause autism despite a multitude of scientific studies to the contrary.

Cavallari told Kennedy she has not vaccinated her young son, Camden, and that she does not plan to vaccinate her new son after he’s born, either.

“You know what? I have read too many books about autism,” Cavallari said on Fox, where the comment was met with immediate skepticism from Kennedy.

“There is a pediatric group called Homestead, or Home First? Pregnancy brain, I’ve got it confused,” she continued on Thursday. “They’ve never vaccinated any of their children and they haven’t had one case of autism. And now, 1 in 88 boys is autistic, which is a really scary statistic … The vaccinations have changed over the years, there’s more mercury and other…”

Anti-Vaccine Truthers Are Becoming a Scary Epidemic in the United States

It might seem incomprehensible that parents would intentionally keep their children from receiving vaccines that prevent serious illnesses. Measles, for example, causes serious complications in one in 20 children. The measles vaccine causes serious complications in justone or two children for every million that receive it. But thanks to a discredited and formally retracted study submitted by Dr. A.J. Wakefield that linked vaccines to autism, millions of parents believe that they’re protecting their children from developing a psychological condition. Every single major public health organization in the world has denied the vaccine-autism link, but that’s just not good enough for some people.

Celebrities, Natural Medicine, Jenny McCarthy, Autism

21 Celebs Who Embraced Natural Medicine

We do not recommend scientifically unproven medicine, but it should be separated from the fact that scientifically unproven methods yet does not necessarily mean it doesn’t help heal people. Simply, we do not possess all necessary pieces of knowledge yet. We should wisely choose the appropriate one for each occasion. We prefer natural healthy food approach among natural medicine.

Andrew Weil: Of course Andrew Weil, MD, an integrative-medicine specialist, digs herbs and tinctures. But he sees the wisdom in conventional medicine as well. He surprised some when he famously said, “If I’m in a car accident, don’t take me to an herbalist. If I have bacterial pneumonia, give me antibiotics. But when it comes to maximizing the body’s natural healing potential, a mix of conventional and alternative procedures seems like the only answer.”

Steve Jobs: Although pancreatic cancer is often life-threatening, Jobs actually had a rare, treatable form of the disease. But the tech visionary, a practicing Buddhist and strict vegetarian, pursued alternative therapies for nine months before eventually electing to follow a more conventional path. Although he had hoped to avoid an operation, Jobs had surgery in 2004, but by then the cancer had already spread.

Farrah Fawcett: The Charlie’s Angels bombshell was diagnosed with anal cancer in 2006. To complement her chemotherapy treatments, she reportedly traveled to Germany for “natural supplements and also immune treatments” that aren’t approved in the United States

Gwyneth Paltrow: A regular proponent of various too-good-to-be-true-sounding cleanses, Paltrow is no stranger to natural remedies. In 2004, the actress showed up to a premiere with circular spots across her back, the telltale signs of a procedure called cupping.

Jenny McCarthy: When the actress’s son was diagnosed with autism in 2005, she went looking for answers and came across Generation Rescue, a community of families who believe vaccines and antibiotics are to blame for their children’s autism.

Oprah Winfrey: The media mogul has drawn criticism for her promotion of unapproved treatments and alternative therapies. Several natural-medicine proponents have appeared on her TV show, including Jenny McCarthy.

Dr. Oz: No surprise here, given that Mehmet Oz, MD, was a frequent guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show. The cardiologist-turned-TV-host has integrated alternative treatments into his conventional practice. He has taken flack from the mainstream media for his methods, but he says he continues to use alternative therapies both in his practice and at home.

Princess Diana: The Princess of Wales was a regular at an alternative-medicine treatment facility called Chinese Clinic,according to People magazine. She is said to have taken part in reflexology treatments, a stimulation of the feet, hands, and ears that aims to impact other, more troublesome parts of the body. Some of the clinic’s most popular alternative treatments included colonic hydrotherapy, electrical stimulation of the facial muscles for an instant “lift,” and Australian herbal remedies.

Elle Macpherson: Nicknamed “The Body,” supermodel Macpherson spoke with U.K. magazine Fabulous in 2010 about her “Chinese medicine perspective” on health, which she said “promotes and maintains wellness rather than treats illness.”

Tom Cruise: In 2005, the actor publicly criticized Brooke Shields’s treatment for postpartum depression after the 2003 birth of her daughter. Cruise spoke out against the use ofantidepressants, saying Shields didn’t understand “the history of psychiatry.”

Christy Turlington Burns: The supermodel-turned-documentary-filmmaker told Psychology Today that she started practicing yoga at age 18, and was eventually introduced to Ayurveda, a 5,000-year-old Indian holistic science about discovering individual balance. This ancient theory of medicine emphasizes healthy habits such as massage, meditation, and healthy eating to prevent and treat illness.

Kate Moss: After checking into rehab for cocaine addiction, her career on the line, the supermodel was photographed leaving a friend’s house with two bandages on her right ear, thought to be covering the marks of acupuncture treatment, according to the BBC.

Richard Gere: One of Hollywood’s most famous Buddhists, Gere started meditating at age 24 and continues to do so daily.He told PBS that it’s a creative process involving finding “the space between thoughts” and that it’s different for him every time.

Olivia Newton-John: Along with chemotherapy, the singer and actress used complementary treatments such as herbal supplements, acupuncture, meditation, and visualization to battle breast cancer. When she was first diagnosed in 1992, she even considered forgoing chemotherapy entirely in favor of homeopathic treatments and acupuncture, but eventually “common sense prevailed,”she told CNN.

Russell Simmons: The hip-hop mogul may not seem like the typical meditation practitioner, but he’s been getting his om on for over a decade.

Madonna: After claiming that urinating on your feet is a cure for athlete’s foot on The Late Show With David Letterman in 1994, it’s not surprising that Madonna has ascribed to some strange natural cures. Today, the buff performer is a fan of more mainstream alternative practices, such as yoga.

James Hetfield: A sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll-loving guitarist and singer isn’t the typical poster boy for natural remedies. But in 2008, Metallica’s Hetfield told the Houston Chronicle in order to get through the band’s tour to promote that year’s Death Magnetic album, he was trying out some alternative treatments, including reflexology, acupuncture, and drinking a “secret vegetable concoction.”

Steve McQueen: The bad-boy actor was diagnosed with mesothelioma, a deadly cancer of the lung lining, in 1979. He traveled to Mexico in July 1980 to be treated with pancreatic enzymes, a controversial therapy developed by a dentist who had since been “blacklisted” by the American Cancer Society, the New York Times reported.

Suzanne Somers: The actress is no stranger to alternative treatments, having cited unregulated hormone creams, around 60 vitamins and supplements, and estrogen injections directly into her vagina as her personal fountain of youth.

Nick Nolte: In a 2000 visit to Larry King Live, the Oscar nominee sat down with well-known alternative-medicine practitioners Dr. Weil and Eric Braverman, MD, to discuss the hormonal injections Nolte was receiving.

Sarah Ferguson: The former Duchess of York (and her daughters, princesses Beatrice and Eugenie, now famous Stateside thanks to those unforgettable royal-wedding hats) are said to have undergone bioenergy treatments from a Russian energy healer.