Eating should be easy, shouldn’t it?
After all, it’s one of our innate human instincts, something most of us do effortlessly minutes after being born (along with breathing and pooping, of course).
For some, though, eating is not simple at all. We’ve got a plethora of experts touting the ‘perfect’ diet and constantly hear about nutritional philosophies that directly oppose one another.
Depending on the diet, we’re told to avoid gluten, dairy, soy, corn, beans, eggs, yeast, sugar, starchy vegetables, saturated fats, grains, or rainbows. (I made that last one up.)
I recently experimented with a grain-free diet. I’ve been told countless times that grains are a poor choice for people with Crohn’s, along with a number of other ‘baddies’ outlined in this diet.
Grains have never appeared to bother me, yet I thought I’d give it a try to see what happened. I didn’t notice a difference in my body, but what I did feel in my mind was deprived.
I don’t eat an abundance of grains in the first place. When I told myself I wasn’t allowed to have them, they suddenly became all I wanted.
An enormous part of my struggle to heal has been letting go of the idea of a ‘perfect’ diet to cure Crohn’s. There is no such thing – there’s just been a heck of a lot of trial and error to discover what works uniquely for me.
I don’t want to deprive myself of a food my body wants, as long as that food has health-promoting properties. So for the moment, grains are back in.
But that doesn’t mean I can’t have some fun with grain-free recipes.
I’ve had a bag of quinoa flakes sitting in my cupboard for ages. I think I bought them to make these cookies, but haven’t used them since.
They are the perfect replacement for rolled oats, and when paired with nuts and honey, they create unreal granola goodness. My husband liked eating his with coconut milk for breakfast, while I just enjoy scooping spoonfuls as a snack.
You can substitute other nuts or seeds in here if you’d like, and if you want to make this vegan, simply use maple syrup instead of honey.
Is eating stressful for you? How do you find balance in your eating life?
Quinoa Honey Nut Granola
gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, grain-free
1 1/2 cups quinoa flakes
1/2 cup pecans
1/2 cup walnuts
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/2 tsp vanilla
pinch of Himalayan sea salt
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
In a food processor, pulse the pecans and walnuts until they are finely chopped (you could also do this by hand).
Put the nuts in a bowl along with the quinoa flakes, coconut and salt.
Gently melt the honey, coconut oil and vanilla, then pour over the rest of the quinoa-nut mixture. Stir until everything is coated.
Spread the granola on a baking sheet lined with a silpat or parchment paper. Bake for 28-30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes or so, until the granola is nicely golden.
Cool the granola completely, then store in an airtight container.
That is so interesting! I have recently been stressing about grain consumption as well. Women diagnosed with PCOS are told to stay off of grains until they heal, although my doctor/naturopath have not told me that directly. I, like you, don’t eat a lot of grains either (or as much as some) but I feel deprived as well. So I’ve now decided to make a concious effort to not rely on it for every single meal, so it makes for much more creative dishes that’s for sure!
I guess it really goes to show that you really need to just listen to what your own body is telling you. No one person is the same, no one method to control disease/diet is the same either.
Just my two cents! (oh dear, what do we say now that the penny is gone!!)
The granola looks delicious! Maple syrup is a great sub, I used to use brown rice syrup as well as it’s much thicker.
Thanks for your thoughts, Christa. It can be so hard to know what to eat sometimes, right? From what I know, the important thing with PCOS is a low-glycemic diet, so eating high-fibre whole grains along with complex carbs and protein are a good choice.
You’re right that we all just need to tune in and listen, and not feel guilty about what we decide to eat.
Good idea to use brown rice syrup, it gives granola that thickness and sticky, clumpy quality.
I’ve made granola with quinoa flakes. It has a different flavor than oats but is very good just the same. Your recipe looks good.
I tried making granola our of regular cooked quinoa. I would not advise it! Your version looks much better. I will have to see if I can find the flakes in my local grocery store.
I considered that! Good to know it doesn’t work.
I’ve been reading more and more about going grain-free recently..I’ll admit I’ve kind of been skeptical as a lot of it is coming from the paleo crowd. Nevertheless, it does seem to make some sense and I suppose is worth trying if it makes a difference to how you feel. I haven’t used quinoa flakes before but as well as this yummy looking granola recipe and other sweet recipes I don’t see why you couldn’t use them in savoury dishes too- maybe bean burgers or a lentil loaf?
Regarding the above comment about regular quinoa not working for granola, although I can’t vouch for it personally I thought this recipe looked good…
http://www.edibleperspective.com/home/2010/3/24/three-recipes-justforyou.html
Thanks for supplying the link to those recipes – I love that blog and they do look good!
I think one reason why people feel better on grain-free diets is they’ve cut out a lot of refined, processed carbs like cereals, breads, cookies, pastries, pasta, etc. and focus more on veggies. So is it the lack of grains, or that they are eating a more healthful, nutrient-rich diet?