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I don't know why the use of sorghum hasn't really caught on in the celiac community. It is my flour of choice. I use it to bread fish and chicken for baking or frying, I've made cookies with it, I make bars with it with pulp from my juicer. It tastes like wheat flour. Now I learn it's good for you too!? Yay!!
Paola Pontieri of the Institute of Genetics and Biophysics in Naples, Italy, led a team of researchers in analyzing the recently published sorghum genome in order to confirm that the grain contains no gluten proteins. Their results, published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, confirm that the gluten protein is absent in different varieties of sorghum.
They also find a variety of other sorghum health benefits, even for people without gluten intolerance. Sorghum has high nutritional value, with high levels of unsaturated fats, protein, fiber, and minerals like phosphorus, potassium, calcium, and iron. It also has more antioxidants than blueberries and pomegranates.
Recent research suggests that certain phytochemicals allow sorghum consumption to reduce the risk of colon and skin cancer more than other grains, and that other properties can promote cardiovascular health and lower cholesterol.
Wow, I didn't realize it had such a high antioxidant content! I've only used it as a supplemental flour (1/4 of total flour our less) due to its grittiness, but it might be worth trying more.
Still, the protein/starch in some sorghum varieties can be difficult for some to digest and its poor digestibility means at least some folks aren't able to absorb all those healthy components.
Properly preparing grains and pseudograins by soaking/sprouting/fermenting increases nutrient availability and digestibility. I've heard some say that cooking sorghum actually makes it less digestible but this study seems to find that fermenting and cooking are the most effective prep methods. If cooking alone is effective then I guess most of my post is a moot point. I would still recommend soaking and fermenting prior to cooking just to be safe. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1924184
Very interesting to hear about making bars from the juicer pulp!
Thanks Z. for that! Had no idea. For coating I use corn flakes crumbs which I find too gritty but I put them through my coffee grinder and they come out real fine.
Maybe post your recipe for using the pulp from your juicer. I sure throw a lot of that everyday.
Thanks Eric. Good info and links there...
Monique
Diagnosed 2011 with LC. Currently on Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN)
My juice pulp bar recipe. I think I posted before but I've improved it since then. Nothing is measured particularly well, but you can't really screw it up.
Ingredients:
2 cups organic carrot and beet pulp from juicer (apple or greens would be fine too. Avoid citrus pulp). I usually juice 8 carrots and one large beet.
1/2 cup sorghum flour (more if it gets too wet)
1/2 cup GF oats
1/2 cup raisins and/or dried cranberries
1/2 cup green pumpkin seeds (pepitas) or other nuts
2 tablespoons coconut oil (melted)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup almond or coconut milk (more if it's too dry)
1 egg (totally optional)
1/2 cup maple syrup or combined sweeteners of choice (I've used coconut sugar, agave and honey). My bars are not very sweet, so adjust to your liking.
Mix wet ingredients. Add to dry ingredients and fold together with a spatula, forming a thick paste. Grease a square pyrex with coconut oil and press mixture into pan to look like brownies. Sprinkle extra GF oats on top. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour. Cut into brownie-sized bars. Refrigerate unused portions.
The nuts are totally optional. I made it with cashew pieces once and it seemed weird, because the nuts come out soggy, although the pepitas held up well. The raisins and/or cranberries are a must.
Let me know howyou like it. I find them totally addictive and my kids don't like them at all!! My husband likes them now, although he toasts them with extra sweetener on top.
Is is a lot of fiber. I've been on prednisone so I need lots of fiber to prevent C. I've eaten several of these bars in one sitting and it hasn't loosened things up at all, it just adds bulk to the stool. But I would not advise these if you are actively flaring with watery D.
I hardly eat any fiber at all...and when I do eat anything like it, it would be like one small piece and ONLY when I am doing REAL good. I don't indulge in hadly anything. Certainly not when I have problems. Right now I am still on soft foods (very well cooked grits for lunch today) and probably mashed potatoes tonight. And you're right, they are loaded with fiber...
Z. do you refrigerate them after so they'd last longer?
Thanks,
Monique
Diagnosed 2011 with LC. Currently on Low Dose Naltrexone (LDN)
Yes, they come out rather moist and I envision fungi and bacteria growth if I just leave them out, so I refrigerate, but I''m not sure if it's truly needed. I eat the whole thing within 7 days max.
Zizzle, your recipe caused a light bulb to come on in my brain.
I don't juice so don't have the carrot or beet pulp on hand. You think canned pumpkin would be suitable substitute? I have been wanting to make something portable for breakfast (or snack if needed) that contained fruit but need to balance the fruit with a protein (the egg & almond flour maybe) because I'm diabetic. I would also use almond milk. Will put my version in a nutritional calculator to see if carbs & protein are balanced.
I currently prepare a protein shake when I need something on the go but the above would be a nice change. Thanks.
