Spring has arrived! Okay, I know that some of you on the
East Coast are still feeling Old Man Winter. Out here, “Sunny CA” is living up
to its name. We could certainly use some of the wet weather you are getting
back there. I’m not sure I’ll be able to have much of a garden this year
without it!
So, an increasing number of individuals are turning to a
grain-free diet. Reasons for this can vary, but are due to a range of issues.
Some may be mild gastro-intestinal symptoms, like bloating, or may be more serious
problems like irritable bowel syndrome, Celiac’s disease, Crohn’s disease, and
ulcerative colitis. Even anxiety attacks and diabetes are causing people to
take grains, gluten and gluten-free
out of the picture.
. When I first decided on doing this blog, I
envisioned it merely to be a way to introduce some alternatives for grain
flour. With a number of friends having to go grain-free, I thought sharing some
of their knowledge would be helpful. I hadn’t realized that filtering through
all the, sometimes conflicting, information would be as time consuming as it
was. However, I found the process to be quite interesting and hope the
information I gleaned will be helpful to you as well.
My friend Ruth recently had to switch her families’ diet to
grain-free and starch-free after her daughter’s Crohn’s disease diagnosis.
Already gluten-free, this has been quite an adjustment for them. She was kind
enough to let me borrow a recommended cookbook she uses, entitled Cooking
for the Specific Carbohydrate Diet by Erica Kerwien. The book is based on
the diet developed by Dr. Sydney Haas and then researched by Elaine Gottschall.
Elaine’s book, Breaking the Vicious Cycle: Intestinal Health Through Diet
was instrumental in helping Erica understand her son’s struggle with Crohn’s
disease. This diet seeks to control many digestive disorders by eating only
certain carbohydrates to help restore an injured intestinal lining and improve
nutrition absorption. This diet does not remove all carbohydrates, but severely
limits them to monosaccharides, or simple sugars, that are more easily
digested.
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| Cinnamon Bun Muffins |
I really enjoyed reading the information, but will say that
the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD) is not for everyone. Even Elaine herself quotes,
“We also know that no single lifestyle, diet or food pyramid fits all people.
No two people are genetically the same, so it makes perfect sense that each
person should eat food that works well for his or her body.” So true! Her
recipes rely heavily on nut flours and nut butters that will not work for
someone who has a nut allergy, and although it uses dairy-free milk, it does use
yogurt and certain cheeses (both lower in lactose), and quite a bit of dairy
butter. There is also a high reliance on eggs as a “binder” and for leavening
purposes (those of us used to a gluten-free diet will often use xanthan gum and
guar gum to help “hold” and thicken; both are polysaccharides). So, the recipe
for the “No-Corn Cornbread” I tried contains about 93 grams of fat alone in the
small 8 X 8 pan batch. When cut into 9 pieces, it means each portion contains
about 10 grams of fat; 4 grams of which are saturated. Sure, you could reduce
some of the fat by using olive or canola oil and egg whites, but for those
watching fat intake this still may be too high. My husband, who has a genetic
cholesterol condition, has to watch his overall fat intake, bad and good. From his perspective, if he is
going to eat something with that much fat, it better have chocolate in it! Plus,
without the egg yolk you will have a reduced nutritional content.
Okay, stop. Let me take a moment to address eggs...
Once a regular, and considered healthy part of a diet, they
have been reduced in recent years to something akin to evil due to their high
fat and cholesterol content. However, the newest research coming out is
removing the bad rap. One large egg on average contains: 5 grams of fat, most
of which is in the yolk. Only up to ½ grams of fat is in the egg white. The
yolk of an egg contains about 215-220 mg of cholesterol. Livestrong.com sites a
study done at Yale
that has data confirming that eating up to 2 (hard
boiled) eggs each morning did not lead to higher blood pressure, cholesterol
levels or weight gain, even in patients diagnosed with heart disease.
Other studies are showing this as well. The cholesterol in
one egg remains below the limits of daily allowance, and the latest research is
finding the saturated fat plays the greater role in increasing a persons LDL levels,
rather than consuming dietary cholesterol. Not that this is a license to eat
cholesterol laden foods, but it is painting a more accurate picture than we had
before. Here is another link (this is just one, but there are many) talking
specifically about the nutritional content of an egg.
So, let’s get back to the SCD. Coconut flour plays a pivotal
role in her recipes as well. Many gluten-free eaters are familiar with this flour
and may already be incorporating it in their diet. A few facts include: Coconut
flour is high in fiber, which is great, but can be a problem for some
individuals with intestinal issues (leaky gut, IBS, SIBO). It has a high fat
content like the nut flours, but unlike other nut and seed flours, the majority
is saturated. Let’s Do Organic Coconut flour for 2 Tbsp (15g) has 2.5 g fat; 2g
saturated fat. Coconut is a “fruit,” even though the FDA recognizes it as a
tree nut, so most individuals with tree nut allergies are able to consume
coconut products, but should check with their doctor first. Coconut flour is
like a sponge and it takes a ratio of flour to liquid of about 1:3, more than
for other nut, seed or gf grain flours. Plus, it tends to lend a coconut flavor
to everything you make with it. I personally don’t use it quite as much, more
like a fiber and coconut flavor additive, but I know individuals that have
found benefits to its use.
So, before you think I am against this diet, let me make it
clear; I’m not! It has been a
blessing for many people in helping to control a variety of issues. It just
boils down to utilizing what works best for an individual person. For instance,
what do you do if you have a nut allergy, but still need to go grain free? As long
as you can tolerate some starches you will still have a number of items in your
arsenal. There is coconut flour, of course, but also arrowroot flour, which is
the most easily digested starch and has been used for centuries in healing of
digestive problems. I have really come to like arrowroot and now use it most of
the time in replacement of cornstarch. I researched it a bit when trying to
come up with a gluten-free and allergen-free communion cracker and was
impressed (I will go into more details in the next blog post). Tapioca or
potato starch are two others, as well as seed flours such as sunflower or
pumpkin (you might want to be careful of sesame as it is the 9th
most common allergen). Better yet, you could create a unique blend using a
combination of these options above.
Below are a couple of recipes from the SCD
recipe book.
Link: SCD
The first directly “as is” from the book, the
other adapted a bit by me to cut back on the coconut flour:
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| Morning tea |
No-Corn Cornbread
½ cup blanched almond flour
¼ cup coconut flour
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp baking soda
3 eggs
¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
2 Tbsp honey
½ cup almond milk (or other dairy-free milk or SCD yogurt)
1.
Preheat your oven to 325°F/165°V*. Line the
bottom of a baking pan (8 x 8 size or smaller) with parchment paper or other
nonstick material, or grease well.
2.
Blend the almond and coconut flours, salt, and
baking soda in a bowl.
3.
Add the eggs, butter, honey and almond milk.
Blend well.
4.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake
for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
5.
Let cool briefly on a wire rack and the cut into
squares. The bread can be sealed and stored in the refrigerator for a week or
so, or frozen for a few months.
*I baked it at 350°F.
Makes 9 or 12 servings
This makes a nice little cake. I preferred it completely
cool as opposed to just warm out of the oven. It had a bit of a quiche texture
to it, till it cooled and “condensed” a bit. Slightly rewarmed with a generous
drizzle of honey was good as well. It was met, however, with a lukewarm
reception from my kids, and like I said above, it is quite high in fat. You
could reduce fat content by substituting olive or canola oil for the butter and
using 4 eggs whites for the 3 eggs.
I don’t think this the type of cornbread you
would readily put chili over, but has virtues in its own right.
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| No-Corn Cornbread |
The next recipe is for the cinnamon muffins. These were met
with a bit better reception, but even still, my kids felt the “cake” part was
too “spongy” and didn’t have much flavor. My youngest told me I needed to
“work” on it a bit more! This version is a not only altered from the original,
but also changed to try and satisfy the criticisms of my children.
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| Cinnamon Bun Muffins #1 |
Cinnamon Bun Muffins (reduced coconut flour, grain-free, but
not SCD)
¼ cup arrowroot flour
¼ cup coconut flour
½ cup sugar or honey
¼ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
2 eggs or 1 egg + ¼
tsp xanthan gum or guar gum
1 tsp Ener-G egg replacer (dry)
¼ - ½ tsp vanilla depending on taste
1/3 cup milk or dairy-free milk
1 Tbsp canola oil (optional)
Topping:
2 Tbsp arrowroot flour
2 Tbsp sugar, brown sugar or honey
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp butter
1.
Preheat your oven to 350°F/175°C. Insert
nonstick muffin lines in muffin tins (I found that they stuck to ordinary
liners and preferred to just grease the pan).
2.
For the muffins, combine the flours, baking
soda, salt, egg replacer, binder mix and sugar (if using sugar instead of
honey) in a bowl.
3.
Add the egg, and milk (and honey if using it
instead of sugar). Blend well, getting rid of all the clumps.
4.
Fill muffin tins about ½ to ¾ full with batter.
5.
In small bowl, blend topping ingredients
together. Sprinkle over each muffin and then using a toothpick, poke some into
the batter.
6.
Bake about 20 minutes, or until a toothpick
inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Serve warm or let cool. Sore at room
temperature or for a week or so in the refrigerator.
Makes 6 muffins
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| Cinnamon Bun Muffins #2 |
The kids liked these better, but they still were
a bit spongy for our tastes. Apparently coconut flour tends to make things
rather sponge cake like. Next time, I might try adding some type of ground seed
flour (so to keep it nut free) to the coconut and arrowroot mixture above to
see if that would add a bit more firmness to the texture. The topping tends to
descend into the batter, which I didn’t think was necessarily a bad thing. But,
you would need to have a firmer batter if you didn’t want that to happen.
SOME FINALLY THOUGHTS…
Since we are talking about a “one size does not fit all”
approach, I want to take a moment to address the fact that everyone should be
mindful of the pros and cons of the types of ingredients they are using and how
the might affect you. For example, millet flour is touted on the gluten-free
sites as a great gluten-free alternative, an ancient grain with lots of vitamin
and minerals, heart-healthy, and easily digestible. Switch over to the thyroid
issue sites and you get a different picture. Besides the fact that millet flour
often is found to be contaminated with gluten, it contains goitrogens.
Goitrogens are substances that affect the thyroid, and as the name suggests can
lead to goiter or enlargement of the thyroid gland. This would not be good for
my daughter who has hypothyroidism (Hashimoto’s thyroiditis) in addition to
Celiac’s disease. I avoid cooking with it, although she probably eats some
millet in prepared/packaged gluten free foods. Most Celiacs and other
autoimmune patients are warned that if you have one type of autoimmune disease
you can be at risk for getting another. So, I would warn of the Celiacs to be
careful of how much millet they consume to keep the risk factor for thyroid
problems lower. I am not saying don’t use it at all, just be aware of the issue
and mindful of how it may affect you.
Another issue that many individuals on a gluten-free may not
be aware of, but is quite well known in the Paleo diet circles, is the debate
over coconut and almond flour. High fiber, low nutrition density and high
saturated fat content verses high inflammatory PUFAS, oxalates, and cyanogenic
gylcosides. Which is better? Should you be using almond flour at all? I think
one of the best sources of information I saw on it was from The PaleoMom.com
website; a non-biased, scientific approach to the issue. I loved her fact-based
way of talking about it.
Link:
Pros and Cons of Almond Flour
If you don’t read the whole thing, at least read what she has
to say in the last “Final thoughts…” section.
Sarah says in part, “…like everything in our diets, I think
variety is important. You get different nutrients in different quantities from
different foods.”
The best way to avoid problems is not to think of any one particular
food source as the answer to all your nutrition needs. Too often we are looking
to the next great super-berry, nut flour or leafy green plant to be the magic
pill that makes us healthier. I don’t believe that exists. Eating a variety of
foods in moderation, with the exception of what you know won’t work for your
body (such as an autoimmune reaction, allergy, ect..) always seems to be the
better, healthier approach. Yes, I will still be eating and using both almond
and coconut flour, I just won’t be switching over them as the only flour source
in our diet. For those on a more restrictive diet like Ruth’s daughter, options
may be limited, but keeping a balance and providing as much variety as possible
is still the best way to go.
In the end, like I said before, the best thing is to know
your body and what works for you/your family and tailor your diet to fit those
needs.
Happy Spring, Everyone!
