Wild rice is a whole grain variety of rice that’s even more nutritious than brown rice. It’s super high in protein– a standard serving (1/4 cup dry) has 6g of protein—ranking it right up there with king quinoa as far as protein content goes. Most people don’t like to bother with it once they learn of its 50-minute cooking time, but it’s not like you have to stand there and stir it while it cooks.  Just bring the water and rice to a boil, lower the heat to a simmer, cover, and go bake a Thanksgiving pie or something.  Or watch someone else bake a Thanksgiving pie on the Food Network.   Of course, if you feel like being productive during that 50-minute cooking time, get going on this addictive recipe for Koshari for dinner and put that wild rice to good use.

Since Chef George never did get around to detailing the exact quantities of the ingredients in his recipe for me, I was forced to play around with the inputs a bit until I landed on the proportions that suited my tastes.  By all means, add more or less of any ingredient to your liking.  However you put them together, the recipe is a cinch.

A Thanksgiving-worthy side dish that's a little bit chewy, a little bit sweet and a little bit tangy.

Recipe: Chef George’s Wild Rice Salad (serves 6)

1 cup wild rice/wild rice blend  (I used Lundberg’s Wild Blend)

2 scallions, thinly sliced (~1/3 to 1/2 cup)

1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped

1/2 cup chopped pecans (if you have the time or inclination to toast the pecans before chopping, all the better)

1/3 cup dried cranberries

1/4 cup raspberry vinegar

2 TBSP olive oil

1. Prepare the wild rice according to package instructions (probably 2 cups water to 1 cup rice).  When finished, set cooked rice aside to cool.
2. Add the remaining ingredients to the cooked rice and mix until well-blended.
3. Salt to taste.
4. Serve warm, room temperature or cold.

Note: You can make the rice up to a day in advance and keep refrigerated in a sealed container.  Don’t mix in the rest of the ingredients until just before serving.

Nutrition info per serving: 225 calories, 29g carbohydrate (of which 3g are fiber), 5g protein, 11g (healthy, mostly monounsaturated) fat.

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Thai-inspired Black Rice Pudding with Mango

After last year’s unfortunate Halloween candy bender (guess who methodically worked her way through an entire 200-count econo-size bag of mini York Peppermint Patties when not a single Trick-or-Treater showed up?), I vowed not to let a single “fun-sized” candy anything pass through the doorway into my home this year.  And if the costumed neighborhood kids show up this year begging for treats, I will do what any self-respecting candyless nutritonist would do: dim the lights, ignore the doorbell, and be prepared to clean the eggs and toilet paper off my house in the morning.

Of course, this necessary act of self-preservation doesn’t mean that I won’t be treating myself to anything sweet, sticky and seasonably black-and-orange this week.  It’s just that my sweet treat of choice this year will be made from ingredients decidedly more wholesome than high-fructose corn syrup and partially-hydrogenated oils: I’m making a Thai-inspired dessert that’s part Black Rice Pudding, part Mango Sticky Rice.

Traditionally, Black Rice Pudding is made with Thai Black Rice (which is sort of more purple-brown than black); however, Chinese Black “Forbidden” Rice is easier to come by in mainstream supermarkets, so I used that.  (Bonus: it’s non-GMO and an heirloom rice variety to boot.)  Purists will argue that Forbidden Rice isn’t sticky enough to produce the proper effect, but my experience created a perfectly rice-puddingy texture just fine.  Black rice pudding is usually served with a savory-sweet coconut cream and toasted sesame seed topping, which is fine if you’re not going for a Halloween motif.  Which I am.  So I decided to take some liberties and borrow some taste (and color) inspiration from another popular Thai dessert, Mango Sticky Rice.  I also reduced the amount of sugar typically found in this recipe and swapped Lite Coconut Milk for regular.  The result is a delicious, sweet-enough treat that I will enjoy thoroughly as I sit in my darkened house with the blinds drawn on October 31st hoping the Trick-or-Treaters pass me by.

And if I may be so bold to suggest a pairing: since rice is the main event in this carb-centric dessert, I think it makes an excellent and satisfying finish to a light meal that’s more protein-and-vegetable-centric. Like an entree-sized bowl of soup.  How about: a tangy Thai Tom Yum soup, Rick Bayless’ Classic Tortilla Soup (swap the chicken out with baked tofu cubes and add a heap of baby spinach leaves to make it vegetarian), or a classic Miso soup with Tofu?

Recipe: Thai Black Rice Pudding with Mango (serves 6)

1 cup black rice

3 cups water

Salt

1/3 cup sugar

1 can unsweetened Light Coconut Milk (shaken before use to blend)

2 cups fresh mango, cut into cubes (Fresh papaya makes a fine substitute if you can’t find a ripe mango this time of year)

1. In a large saucepan (3-4 qts), mix black rice, 3 cups water and 1/4 tsp salt.  Bring to boil, then simmer covered for 45 minutes until rice is cooked.  There will still be some liquid in the pot.
2. Stir in the sugar, another 1/4 tsp salt and 1 1/2 cups of the coconut milk.  Increase heat to bring mixture to a boil again, then reduce to a simmer.  Simmer uncovered for 30 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Mixture should be thick and gooey and chewy
3. Remove pudding from heat and let cool for at least 30 minutes, stirring occasionally during cooling.
4. Serve in small dessert bowls drizzled with the remaining Light Coconut Milk (stirred to ensure well blended) and topped with 1/4 cup fresh mango cubes.

Approximate nutrition information per serving: 220 calories, 43g carbohydrate (of which ~2g are fiber), 3.5g protein and 4.5g fat.

…which is the caloric equivalent of 4 mini York Peppermint Patties, with decidedly more nutritional merit.  The black color of Forbidden Rice derives from phytochemicals called anthocyanins, which are natural plant pigments with strong antioxidant properties. In fact, there’s a bunch of research out of Asia investigating the promising cancer-quashing effects of these black rice-derived anthocyanins.  Which sadly, my beloved York Peppermint Patties can’t claim.  Sigh.  Not even the Pink ones.

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A soup worthy of my wedding china: It looks and tastes like Mushroom Barley soup, but it's gluten free!

Nothing heralds soup season like an early Noreaster, and the cold, rainy assault of ghastly unpleasantness it brings with it.

In weather like last week’s, I miss barley.  More specifically, I miss me a bowl of warming, filling and comforting mushroom barley soup in all of its earthy, satisfying glory.  I’ve come to terms with the fact that wheat has gluten, but et tu, barley?

As fate would have it, I was walking through a health food store last weekend and I spotted an unusual vaccuum-packed bag of some strangely named grain-looking product called “Job’s Tears.”  Immediately, I notice this grain looks exactly like pearled barley. I read the label.  It reveals frustratingly little about this unusually-named food, except to confirm that it is, indeed a grain.  From Japan.  And it is best used to add some heft to slow-cooking soups.  Cautiously optimistic (I’ve been hurt by grains before), I buy these so-called Job’s Tears and promptly return home to start the research.

My own eyes welled up with tears when the grain list on the Celiac Sprue Foundation website confirmed what I had been hoping: the grain called “Job’s Tears”  (aka: Coix seed, Hato Mugi, or Adlay) is not only gluten-free, but it serves as a perfect substitute for pearled barley in recipes.

What are Job’s Tears?

Job’s Tears, like other cereal grains, is a grass. In this case, it is a tropical grass native to parts of Asia (but since transplanted to some parts of the U.S.) that got its nickname from the tear-like shape of the grain it produces.  The ones I bought are white, meaning that they have already been hulled.  Apparently, however, one can readily find the brown (unhulled) version sold in Japan.

From what limited information I could gather,  Job’s Tears are not nearly as high in fiber as an equivalent

Pearled barley (top left) cooks up to look just like Job's Tears (bottom right)

amount of pearled barley, but are significantly higher in protein and iron for roughly the same number of calories and net carbohydrates. They also contain an equivalent amount of B-vitamins.  According to my analysis of an unpublished report posted on the website of Purdue University’s Center for New Crops & Plants products, a 50g portion (1/3 cup) of uncooked Job’s Tears contains 190 calories, 33g of carbohydrate (of which a negligible amount is fiber), 7.5g protein, 2.5 mg iron.  Compare that to an equivalent 50g portion of pearled barley (1/4 cup; its grains are smaller than Job’s Tears), which would contain 175 calories, 39g of carbohydrate (of which 8 huge grams are fiber, leaving 31g of actual energy-producing carbohydrate), 5g protein and 1.25g iron.

As I continued my research into Job’s Tears, I learned that its extract is used as a dietary supplement in Chinese Medicine to treat inflammatory conditions, like rheumatoid arthritis.   I further noted that several sources warn that women who are pregnant or breastfeeding should avoid taking Job’s Tears supplements. I dug deeper into this warning and found some studies in pregnant rats fed extracts of Job’s Tears which showed an increased rate of miscarriages.  Apparently, there are some compounds in the grain that increase uterine contractility, and these compounds appear to be much more biologically active in the hull (and, by definition, any extracts made from the hull) than the de-hulled seed.  (Most Job’s Tears sold in the US will be de-hulled; hence the flashy white color and low fiber content.)  Of course, the doses in these studies tend to be significantly higher than in any amount you’d reasonably ingest from eating a physiologically normal food serving, but I thought I’d mention it in case any pregnant celiac readers of mine decide go on a pickles/ice cream/Job’s Tears bender and start devouring it 3 meals a day in copious amounts. My advice, based on this albeit limited research, would be not to do that.

Where to buy Job’s Tears

Your best bet is online.  The cheapest one I could find was from an online store called Simply Natural for $4.50/lb.  (If my math serves me correctly, that’s the equivalent of about nine 1/4 cup raw servings, or nine 1 cup cooked servings.)

Recipe: Mushroom Barley/J.T. Soup for all (Ok, well for four.  Double the recipe if you wish).

Of course, the beauty of pairing Job’s Tears with mushrooms in a soup is that the high-fiber mushrooms will help make up for JT’s  fiber shortfall.  If you can eat barley, then this soup is a major-league fiber powerhouse, which explains why a bowl at lunchtime will keep you set until dinner, easily.  This recipe is only slightly adapted from a near-perfect old favorite from my dog-eared copy of the Daily Soup Cookbook.

2 TBSP olive oil

1 1/4 lbs mixed mushrooms of your choice, stems removed and reserved and caps sliced (For reasons of economy, I use mostly cremini or button and then top them off with a few exotic species for sex appeal.  Adding some reconstituted dried shiitakes adds nice texture, too.)

5 cups cold water if using barley, 6 cups if using Job’s Tears

1/4 cup white wine

1 onion, chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

1 tsp dried thyme leaves

1 bay leaf

1 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

3/4 cup Job’s Tears (gluten-free) OR 1/2 cup pearled barley (gluten-full)

2 tsp balsamic or red wine vinegar

1 tsp minced fresh garlic

1. Heat 1 TBSP oil in a soup pot over medium heat.  Add mushroom stems and sweat 5 minutes until soft and releasing liquid.
2. Add water and wine and bring mixture to boil.  Reduce heat, cover, simmer for 20 minutes.  Fish out the stems with a slotted spoon and set the stock aside in a separate pot.
3. Using the original soup pot, heat remaining 1 TBSP oil.  Add onion, celery and carrot and sweat until soft, 4 minutes or so.
4. Add thyme, bay leaf, salt and pepper.  Stir to coat veggies.
5. Add sliced mushroom caps and saute 5 minutes until soft and releasing liquid.
6. Add the stock and the Job’s Tears OR barley.  Bring to boil, reduce heat, simmer for 1 hour until the grain is tender.
7. Remove from heat and stir in vinegar and garlic.
8. Fish out the bay leaf and serve!

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The most commonly-used gluten-free flours and starches (like rice flour and tapioca starch) offer little by way of protein or fiber.  In fact, the starchy qualities of these flours–which tend to comprise most GF breads, pizza crusts and other commercially-prepared baked goods– help account for the fact that gluten-free baked goods often have up to twice the calories and up to 50% more carbohydrate compared to their conventional counterparts.

In contrast, bean flours offer a delicious and nutritious (gluten-free) alternative to these starchy staples, and are versatile enough to star as center-of-plate foods… or play a supporting role in a meal as bread’s gluten-free understudy.   Take chickpea (garbanzo bean) flour for example: 1/4 cup contains 110 calories, 6g protein, 18g of carbohydrate (of which a hefty 5g is fiber) and an impressive 10% of the daily value for iron. Compare that to 1/4 cup of (whole) brown rice flour, which contains 140 calories, 3g of protein, 31g of carbohydrate (of which only 1g is fiber) and 4% of the daily value for iron.

Humble chickpea flour even edges out whole wheat flour in a nutritional tête à tête:  it has 2g more protein and 1g more fiber in that same 110 calorie, 1/4 cup serving. Which makes it a lovely stand-in for plain wheat flour in recipes for breaded fish or chicken that call for a bit of a flour-and-egg dredging.

Contributing to the high total fiber content in raw bean flours–particularly white bean, lentil and chickpea flours–is a unique type of fiber called “resistant starch.” And lest you fixate on the word “starch” and worry that bean flours will spike your blood sugar like white potatoes or refined flours, I draw your attention to the “resistant” part, instead.  This unique type of starch resists digestion in your small intestine, and therefore it can’t be absorbed for energy like a normal “starch.” As a result, it does not produce a glycemic (blood sugar) response;  in fact, research shows that eating the type of resistant starch found in beans will actually blunt the blood sugar and insulin response after a meal.   Since it is not digested and absorbed, resistant starch travels on to your colon, intact, where the resident bacteria break it down (ferment it) to meet their own energy needs.  One of the byproducts of this fermentation process is a family of very beneficial (to you) compounds called short chain fatty acids (SCFAs), which, among their many contributions to your health, help prevent colon cancer by reducing the absorption of certain dietary carcinogens. Whole grains and beans are the primary sources of resistant starch in our diets, and raw bean flours are an excellent source of this beneficial type of fiber.

So now that you’re standing on line at the grocery store with a bag of chickpea flour in hand, what to do with it?  Here are two ideas road-tested in my kitchen this past week:

Idea #1: Make “Chickpea-zza”

I’ve spent a lot of time trying to find acceptable GF pizza-crust substitutes.  Most frozen varieties fall somewhere along the scale of cardboard to passable, but certainly not objectively “good.”   Of the mixes, I’ve found the Bob’s Red Mill GF Pizza Crust mix to be the best

Chickpea skillet bread with thyme, here served as an accompaniment to a homemade Soupe au Pistou (vegetable soup with pesto)

from both a taste, texture and nutritional perspective, but even it has its drawbacks: waiting for the dough to rise, dealing with the sticky batter and–especially in the summer–having to turn on the oven to bake it.

For all of these reasons, I was more than delighted to discover the world of chickpea-flour pizzas, inspired by the crepe-like “Socca” from Nice and a similar Italian dish called “Farinata.” You can make these pizza crusts from scratch from chickpea flour, water and salt; they don’t require any yeast; they cook very fast; and they’re made in a non-stick frying pan, so when they’re done, they slide right out onto your serving plate.  They are SO very easy.  And tasty!

According to Madhur Jaffrey in her cookbook entitled “World Vegetarian” (Clarkson Potter, 1999), these chickpea breads are traditionally made like pizzas in a brick oven and eaten by workmen as a morning snack.  I’m guessing that this was the inspiration behind actually topping it with some fresh vegetables and cheese to turn them into bona-fide pizzas.  Jaffrey’s super-simple batter and clever stovetop-to-broiler method made for the easiest and pizza-iest version of the several recipes I consulted.  You can click here to get her original recipe for Chickpea Pizza with Tomato and Parmesan; don’t worry about the broiler part, as most countertop toaster oven/broilers will accommodate a 12″ frying pan (just leave the oven door open for the few minutes while the pizza cooks and turn the pan as necessary during cooking to make sure its cooking evenly), so you need not turn on the kitchen oven and heat up the whole house.   Once you make this pizza for the first time, you’ll no doubt realize how flexible the recipe can be to accommodate the herbs, vegetables and cheeses of your choosing.  (Fresh thyme leaves are lovely in the crust, too; and thinly-sliced zucchini is a delicious topping as well…)  Alternatively, you can just prepare the batter plain–no herbs and no toppings–and make it into a simple gluten-free skillet bread for breakfast or lunch.  Also note that when you make this batter for the first time, it will seem too thin and liquidy.  Just trust the recipe; it firms up perfectly in the frying pan, and will proceed to become nice and brown under the broiler.

When life hands you chickpea flour, make falafel tacos.

Idea #2: Make Falafel

Let’s debunk some myths about falafel, shall we?  It need not be made only from cooked beans, and it need not be deep-fried.   You can whip up a fantastic, authentic version of falafel at home, making a fast batter out of chickpea flour and a few other dry pantry staples, which can then be fried in a non-stick pan using a modest amount (2 TBSP) of olive oil.  This terrific recipe for falafel from Bob’s Red Mill produces a creamy batter that resembles hummus and results in a delicious batch of 12 lovely falafel balls with just 60 calories a pop.  I served my falafel balls (pucks?) taco-style, in gluten-free organic corn tortillas lined with my favorite cilantro chutney, a romaine lettuce leaf for crunch and drizzled with a touch of hot sauce.  Two such tacos (pictured) served with a simple chopped salad of cucumber or red peppers makes for a fast and healthy 400-calorie lunch.

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I've been dreaming about eating an egg salad sandwich on soft, squishy bread for over two years now.

I’ve come to regard my gluten intolerance as a blessing in disguise.  After all, it forced me to diversify my diet in ways that have been both healthful and delicious and led me to fabulous new foods that may never have crossed my radar otherwise.  My friendships with Teff, Mochi, Millet, Polenta,  Buckwheat, Quinoa and Amaranth have flourished since I broke up with wheat, and we’ve spent countless happy meals together over the years.   Plus, gluten intolerance keeps the bread basket from spoiling my appetite when I go out to eat… and in so doing, leaves me a couple hundred calories in my budget for a few bites of dessert.  (I’d take a bite or three of Flourless Chocolate Cake or Creme Brulee over a half-stale baguette any day…)  With the ever-increasing number of gluten-free products available these days–and the ever-improving quality of these products–what’s to miss?

Still, I will admit to having the *occasional* wistful moment, where a glutinous vestige of my previous life comes back to haunt me.  Catching a whiff of the aroma as I pass by a pizza parlor… encountering a brunch platter of heaving, hot NYC bagels… and, much to my own surprise, encountering something as simple as an egg salad sandwich with lettuce and tomato on two pieces of squishy sandwich bread.

It turns out that I’ve really missed squishy sandwich bread. While my freezer is always stocked with acceptable gluten-free bread options (most recently, Whole Foods’ Gluten Free Bakehouse Prairie Bread and Kinnikinnick Many Wonder Multigrain Rice Bread, these breads have two major drawbacks.

1. If you want them to taste good, they absolutely have to be toasted.
2. They can be quite dense, and results in their having twice the number of calories per slice as a ‘normal’ piece of wheat bread.  Case in point: one slice of the Gluten Free Bakehouse Prairie Bread has 150 calories, 23g of carbohydrate and 5g of fat, compared with a standard piece of wheat bread, which has about 80 calories, 15g of carbohydrate and 0-1g of fat. That’s an extra 140 calories per day if you’re having a 2-slice sandwich every day.   Furthermore, the carbohydrate difference is significant if you have diabetes and are following a carbohydrate-controlled diet.  (The Kinnikinnick product only has 90 calories per slice, but it still really needs to be toasted in order to taste good.)

But I dared not complain about these drawbacks for fear of being accused of wanting to have my bread… and eat it, too.  So I just took sandwiches out of my regular rotation, saving that frozen bread for the very occasional grilled cheese or tuna sandwich where its toastiness would be an asset.

Then along came a man named Udi.  And I am happy to report that his tasty, squishy, airy, gluten-free sandwich bread is on its way to a supermarket near you. How do I know this?  Because I had the chance to sample my very own piece this past weekend at the New York Fancy Food Show, where Udi’s, previously known outside their home state of Colorado only for their best-selling (but not yet gluten-free, hint, hint…) granola, was launching a whole new line of gluten-free baked goods.

The new Udi’s GF Sandwich bread comes in two varieties: white and whole-grain.  The white variety is made with tapioca starch, brown rice flour and potato starch; the whole grain version has those same flours/starches with additional teff flour and flax seed meal.  Like most other GF baked goods, the breads are not particularly good sources of fiber (0.5g per slice).   Nonetheless, having tasted both varieties, read the

Sinking my teeth into a squishy piece of sandwich bread with Udi's CEO (shown here hawking the company's new GF pizza crusts)

nutrition label and spoken to the company’s CEO, I think these breads have a few things going for them:

1. Taste and Texture.  The Udi’s GF breads are the first ones I’m aware of that don’t need to be toasted for best flavor/texture.  In fact, they suggest that you just thaw it and eat it soft. Because Udi’s has its roots as a conventional bread bakery, their standards as far as acceptable taste and texture are based on conventional, wheat breads.  The breads aren’t designed to be “good enough”; they’re designed to be just plain good.  As a result, the slices are airy, soft and spongy when thawed… not dense or heavy like many other GF breads.
2. Calories.  Each slice has a much more reasonable 70-80 calories and 11-12g of carbohydrate (depending on the variety), which is the same  (or less) than a standard 1 oz slice of wheat bread. To compensate for the relatively low fiber, serve your sandwich with a side of jicama sticks or baby carrots or chase it with a cup of fresh berries.

You can check the company’s website to see where the breads are distributed; apparently, they are expected to be in wide distribution on the East Coast by the end of this year.  If you live in Denver, please stop by their GF bakery to pester them to get their products distributed Jersey City, NJ as soon as possible.  I’ve had a hankering for an egg salad sandwich for about 2 years now…

Update: March, 2010:  Udi’s Gluten Free sandwich breads have finally arrived in my local NJ Whole Foods.  Look for them in the regular BREAD aisle (remember where that is?), not the frozen foods section.

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Designing your own cereal online is way more fun than internet dating. And it has more fiber, too.

Cereal has always held a special place in my life.  Growing up, my father established “The Empty Bowl Club” to which my sisters and I could only gain admittance if we finished our cereal.  Our pantry always held multiple varieties, which I loved to mix and match in the same bowl.  And during our courtship, my husband tracked down a beloved cereal from my childhood– a hard-to-find box of Quaker Corn Bran– and presented it to me as a gift.  Swoon.

As a nutritionist, I think cereal is a very easy way for most people to get a bunch of nutrients into their daily diets that they often have a hard time fitting in otherwise.  I’m especially referring to fiber here, as the average American only eats 13g of it per day: that’s about 50% of the average woman’s daily requirement and a paltry 30% of the average man’s.  Shame on us! Fiber is key to lowering cholesterol, helping protect our beloved colons from developing cancer, and keeping us feeling full until lunchtime.  Cereal is also an important dietary source of B-vitamins (most cereals are fortified with them, and whole grain cereals contain them naturally) and iron (most cereal is also fortified). For women of childbearing age, breakfast cereal is often an important dietary source of folic acid and iron, both of which are needed to maintain healthy pregnancies; and for strict vegetarians, some cereals can be an important source of iron and vitamins B12–both of which are needed to prevent anemia. As you can see, I’m a big fan of cereal, and will be the first to admit to eating it for dinner when life gets hectic and I don’t have time to cook.  

But the cereal aisle is packed with choices, each box touting its ability to improve our health with whole grains, heart disease, soy protein or fiber.  For those of us with gluten intolerance, our choices are disappointingly few and often lacking in the basics: fiber and vitamins.  (You can read about my favorite supermarket wheat and gluten-free cereal picks here). Despite the multitude of choices, it’s rare that I find a “perfect” cereal that meets my criteria of having at least 5g of fiber per serving and less than 10g of sugar.  Those that have enough fiber often don’t have a very interesting flavor or texture.  Most gluten-free ones lack fiber altogether.  Most all cereals have too much sugar.  

Am I dreaming?  I can really design my own cereal from scratch?

As it turns out, in this age of customized internet everything, we now have the opportunity to build our own organic breakfast cereals and granolas.  The democratization of breakfast cereal has arrived courtesy of a nifty website called Me & Goji.  I will allow you the pleasure of exploring the site on your own, but will point out some of the features I liked the best:

1. Choices!  7 cereal “bases”, 18 base “enhancers”, 15 dried fruits and 15 nut/seed selections from which to choose.
2. The nutrition information panel updates in real-time as you build your own cereal so you can see how each ingredient impacts your cereal’s calories, fat, fiber and more.  This may seem corny to you, but to a nutritionist, it’s more uproarious fun than playing Guitar Hero.  
3. A shout-out to the gluten-free crowd: they have one GF cereal base (which looks to me to be Nature’s Path Mesa Sunrise cereal–one of my top GF cereal picks, as it turns out!), and all of the fruits, nuts and seeds are GF as well.
4. A blog that shares the 5 best cereal names each week.  Which is way more entertaining than reading the back of a Wheaties box.

One cylindrical container (called a “cereal capsule”), contains almost twice as much cereal as a standard cereal box, or about 15 standard servings.  Your cost will depend on what you put into it, but the cereal I just designed for my mom as a Mother’s Day gift cost me about $10, not including shipping.  (Hope you’re not reading this, mom.)  True, it’s steep compared to a box of Kashi, but each bowl still comes out to less than the cost of an average daily Starbuck’s habit.  Plus, the container is reusable.  I think of it as a gift-with-purchase.  Am I saying these things to make myself feel better about spending $10 on a box of cereal? Absolutely.  But it doesn’t make them less true.

Food for thought: some morning cereal prescriptions

The fun part about designing your own cereal is letting your tastes guide you.  But if the choices leave you bewildered–or if you’re designing a gift for someone else– here’s some nutrition inspiration for you to consider…

• Cereal Rx to promote heart-health: Start with the whole grain, high fiber base of your choice (the Samurai wheat, perchance?) and enhance it with oat bran to help keep cholesterol in check.  Add some cacao nibs, whose flavonoids help reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, and top with antioxidant-rich blueberries.
• Cereal Rx for breakfasters with diabetes:   Start with a whole grain cereal base (like the Artisanal one) and spike it with some oat bran: the soluble fiber will help slow the carbohydrates passing through your digestive system and prevent your blood sugar from spiking dramatically.  Enhance the base with two or three servings of cinnamon: in larger doses, it’s been shown in studies to help improve blood sugar levels in people with diabetes.  Stay away from the dried fruits, as they are a concentrated source of sugar (the cereal itself is enough carbohydrate, since presumably we need to leave room for the carbs in your milk, yes?), and opt instead  for a nut or seed selection that’s rich in anti-inflammatory omega-3 fats, like walnuts, flax or chia seeds.  If you have room in your carb budget to top this masterpiece with a small portion of fresh (not dried), high-fiber berries, though, I’d go for it.
• Cereal Rx for vegans: Aim to include ingredients that can be elusive in a fully plant-based diet: To the base of your choice, add quinoa flakes to provide a complete source of protein, iron-rich pumpkin seeds and some Vitamin C-rich strawberries to help you absorb the iron.  Finish with a sprinkle of walnuts to get in your daily dose of omega-3 fatty acids from a vegetarian source.
• Cereal Rx for sugary-cereal addicted kids: Let them have at the site and make whatever they want.  Between the fun of dragging and dropping (healthy, whole grain) ingredients into a virtual cereal bowl and getting to name their own cereal, there’s no way they won’t partake of their masterful creation when it arrives at your doorstep.  They’ll hardly notice that there’s no option to add sugar or red food coloring to the base. 

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