I love love love quinoa - and it is very different from grains, which (as you all know) are essentially grasses. Quinoa is related to amaranth, and they are both in the same family as beets and spinach - they have broad leaves, not grassy ones, and the very nature of the seed is different (dicots vs. monocots). It seems to me that anyone with reason to be concerned about oxalates should approach quinoa cautiously. It does contain some, like its cousins, but I don't know enough to understand the implications of oxalates generally for myself or others, or whether quinoa is low on the scale. There are lots of colors (red, white, black - which I rarely see), and they have subtly different flavors.
I haven't had it since my early days of this recurrence, when it didn't sit well with me - but it might just have been that critical period when nothing works. I am going through the info from the site Tex posted earlier today, glutenfreesociety.org, and I must have said "I didn't know that!" about 300 times so far. So quinoa is looking good to me for another test soon - and ahead of rice.
Like Mary Beth, I have made it in a tabbouli variant, and also in a pilaf style, and as a breakfast cereal. It does have not only a good amount of protein, but an unusually complete amino acid profile for the plant world, and my husband has found it more satisfying than most hot cereals.
I hope you love it, Joe. It's a reasonable substitute for rice in meal-planning - sort of occupies the same place on the plate. And it's becoming more widely available all the time.
Sara
Paging Pat, our newest "LEAPER"
Moderators: Rosie, JFR, Gabes-Apg, grannyh, Gloria, Mars, starfire, Polly, Joefnh, mbeezie
Joe,
Quinoa tested very low green on my MRT score card, so I bought the flour, as well as the grain, very early on in my LEAP program. I tried the flour in the tortilla recipe featured in the MRT booklet, and had an immediate reaction. Since I ate too many of them, I thought it could be a portion issue, so I tested them again 3 days later - this time with half of one small tortilla. Same thing, instant gurgling and discomfort. So the quinoa flour and grains are sitting in my pantry with crossed legs :).
I have wondered, like Polly, if there is something about "flour" that's inherently disagreeable, and am tempted to try the quinoa grain, but so far I haven't worked up the courage. The only other "flour" I've tried is garbanzo, which is a legume, not a grain, and so far I seem to be fine with it.
Fortunately, our reactions are so very individual so
that it agrees with you - just wanted to issue a little warning, so you don't load up on "everything quinoa" before testing it 
.
Love,
Kari
Quinoa tested very low green on my MRT score card, so I bought the flour, as well as the grain, very early on in my LEAP program. I tried the flour in the tortilla recipe featured in the MRT booklet, and had an immediate reaction. Since I ate too many of them, I thought it could be a portion issue, so I tested them again 3 days later - this time with half of one small tortilla. Same thing, instant gurgling and discomfort. So the quinoa flour and grains are sitting in my pantry with crossed legs :).
I have wondered, like Polly, if there is something about "flour" that's inherently disagreeable, and am tempted to try the quinoa grain, but so far I haven't worked up the courage. The only other "flour" I've tried is garbanzo, which is a legume, not a grain, and so far I seem to be fine with it.
Fortunately, our reactions are so very individual so
that it agrees with you - just wanted to issue a little warning, so you don't load up on "everything quinoa" before testing it . Love,
Kari
"My mouth waters whenever I pass a bakery shop and sniff the aroma of fresh bread, but I am also grateful simply to be alive and sniffing." Dr. Bernstein
Kari,
I think you're wise to wait to try the whole quinoa. I would! So many safer ways to have a food adventure. Quinoa really isn't a grain, much as it resembles one - so if you can tolerate the garbanzo flour (which I adore!), then the fault isn't in the nature of flour, but in the quinoa itself. Oh, wait - unless quinoa is more likely to get contaminated than garbanzo.
Joe, we will all be glad to know how this goes. Even if you take a very cautious approach in the short term, it seems like great progress toward a long-term answer. I hope to be following in your footsteps in a few weeks,
Sara
I think you're wise to wait to try the whole quinoa. I would! So many safer ways to have a food adventure. Quinoa really isn't a grain, much as it resembles one - so if you can tolerate the garbanzo flour (which I adore!), then the fault isn't in the nature of flour, but in the quinoa itself. Oh, wait - unless quinoa is more likely to get contaminated than garbanzo.
Joe, we will all be glad to know how this goes. Even if you take a very cautious approach in the short term, it seems like great progress toward a long-term answer. I hope to be following in your footsteps in a few weeks,
Sara
Kari,
You've inspired me. I bought some garbanzo flour today to try in the oil biscuits.
The rice flour ones didn't sit quite right although I did not have a major reaction.
I still believe I am best off with no grains, so I am getting up the courage to try some legumes again - I will avoid soy and peanuts indefinitely. But I did make some pea soup recently and seemed to tolerate it. I always avoided garbanzo beans because hummus made me sick, but MRT showed me that I am highly reactive (red) for sesame, which is in the tahini used to make hummus. So maybe I can do garbanzo beans. Stay tuned.
Has anyone ever seen a listing of the amount of lectins per food? Maybe grains have more than legumes? Who knows?
Anyway, I am enjoying adding different foods into my diet. Tonight I had soba (buckwheat, a seed) noodles with pecan sauce and red chard along with my salmon. I am eating foods that I haven't in years. It's fun. You'll have to teach Joe to enjoy fish for breakfast! TeeHee.
Love,
Polly
You've inspired me. I bought some garbanzo flour today to try in the oil biscuits.
The rice flour ones didn't sit quite right although I did not have a major reaction.
I still believe I am best off with no grains, so I am getting up the courage to try some legumes again - I will avoid soy and peanuts indefinitely. But I did make some pea soup recently and seemed to tolerate it. I always avoided garbanzo beans because hummus made me sick, but MRT showed me that I am highly reactive (red) for sesame, which is in the tahini used to make hummus. So maybe I can do garbanzo beans. Stay tuned.
Has anyone ever seen a listing of the amount of lectins per food? Maybe grains have more than legumes? Who knows?
Anyway, I am enjoying adding different foods into my diet. Tonight I had soba (buckwheat, a seed) noodles with pecan sauce and red chard along with my salmon. I am eating foods that I haven't in years. It's fun. You'll have to teach Joe to enjoy fish for breakfast! TeeHee.
Love,
Polly
Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves, for they shall never cease to be amused.
Sara - yes, as has been discussed from time to time, quinoa is not a true grain - it's referred to as a "grain like crop" in Wikipedia, so I got lazy and called it a "grain" . Thanks for correcting me, I should be more careful about my choice of words. The issue of flour contamination is quite fascinating - who knows - perhaps the quinoa flour I purchased was from a highly contaminated batch .
Polly - good for you that you're trying all kinds of interesting things. I feel that the MRT/LEAP plan pushes us out of our food "comfort zone", which can be so much fun when approached from a positive stand-point. Good luck with the garbanzo biscuits - if you like the flavor of garbanzo beans, you'll hopefully enjoy them and they won't cause you problems .
Love,
Kari
P.S. I've never been a fish lover, but now that tilapia has become part of my diet (and I have actually grown to enjoy it), I can easily have it for breakfast
.
. Thanks for correcting me, I should be more careful about my choice of words. The issue of flour contamination is quite fascinating - who knows - perhaps the quinoa flour I purchased was from a highly contaminated batch . Polly - good for you that you're trying all kinds of interesting things. I feel that the MRT/LEAP plan pushes us out of our food "comfort zone", which can be so much fun when approached from a positive stand-point. Good luck with the garbanzo biscuits - if you like the flavor of garbanzo beans, you'll hopefully enjoy them and they won't cause you problems
.Love,
Kari
P.S. I've never been a fish lover, but now that tilapia has become part of my diet (and I have actually grown to enjoy it), I can easily have it for breakfast
."My mouth waters whenever I pass a bakery shop and sniff the aroma of fresh bread, but I am also grateful simply to be alive and sniffing." Dr. Bernstein
Kari - sorry, of course I should have realized you know a grain from a something-else... but it really is interesting trying to grasp why quinoa flour would give you trouble, and garbanzo flour not. So many variables - is it the grinding machine, the manufacturer, the bins they move the whole products around in, does it just happen outdoors in the field? Or maybe, just because garbanzos are so huge, they're less likely to have teensy gluten-containing remnants than lil' old quinoa?
I look forward to the time when I can do a chickpea flour experiment. I wonder what would happen if you put your 'whole' quinoa through something like a turkish-coffee grinder. (Not saying you should do that! though it is the kind of thing I would do, if I weren't so busy avoiding the kinds of things I typically used to do...)
Sara
I look forward to the time when I can do a chickpea flour experiment. I wonder what would happen if you put your 'whole' quinoa through something like a turkish-coffee grinder. (Not saying you should do that! though it is the kind of thing I would do, if I weren't so busy avoiding the kinds of things I typically used to do...)
Sara
Polly, was there a brand-name on the soba noodles? That meals sounds fabulous! My heart leaped up when I saw soba/buckwheat noodles recently in a store, but they had wheat as an ingredient.
The not-really-hummus version of chickpeas (without tahini, I mean) used to be a big favorite around here! I hope it's back soon, and I hope you find your own version (and share some tips...)
Sara
The not-really-hummus version of chickpeas (without tahini, I mean) used to be a big favorite around here! I hope it's back soon, and I hope you find your own version (and share some tips...)
Sara
Sara, that's what I do with my quinoa - I never eat it whole grain. I think it would be too hard on my gut right now. I grind it both into a fine flour and also into a coarse grain, about the texture of coarse salt. I have no problems with it in those forms.Sara wrote:I wonder what would happen if you put your 'whole' quinoa through something like a turkish-coffee grinder.
Gloria
You never know what you can do until you have to do it.
All hail Gloria, grandmaster of all things flour!
I will totally try this - I have this pantry full of healthy things that I'm not eating right now, but I think I can do a safe experiment with this, pretty soon. Not now.
Thanks!
Do you use a food processor or spice grinder, or do you have a special grinder to turn granular-ish things into flour?
(I used to have more than one coffee grinder just for coffee! So I think I can upgrade the equipment here, if need be.)
Best,
Sara
I will totally try this - I have this pantry full of healthy things that I'm not eating right now, but I think I can do a safe experiment with this, pretty soon. Not now.
Thanks!
Do you use a food processor or spice grinder, or do you have a special grinder to turn granular-ish things into flour?
(I used to have more than one coffee grinder just for coffee! So I think I can upgrade the equipment here, if need be.)
Best,
Sara
Sara,
It surprises me that people here consider me to be a flour expert. I have just been desperate to find things I can eat. I think it would be more accurate to say that I'm pretty resourceful.
I own both an electric grinder and a manual grinder and I use them both. I paid just over $200 for my electric grinder. It was called a Whisper Mill when I bought it, but it goes by a different name now. My religion believes that we should be prepared to be self-sufficient in the event of an emergency such as a power failure, unemployment, natural disasters, etc. For that reason, I have always had more food items and devices on hand than most people. I have a pressure cooker and do canning, a food dehydrator to dehydrate food, a large freezer and other unusual supplies. We even have two 55-gallon drums of water in our crawl space in case the municipal water ever gets polluted. My husband lived in post-war Germany and agrees 100% with the preparedness plan. Such preparation wouldn't do much good in a disaster the scale of Japan's, however.
It's also my nature to prepare things from scratch. I used to sew all of my children's clothes, suits for DH, and even a coat for myself. I derive a lot of satisfaction from making things. Once I began teaching, I didn't have time and also had more money so I didn't need to make things from scratch. I retired three years ago and have the time again.
Gloria
It surprises me that people here consider me to be a flour expert. I have just been desperate to find things I can eat. I think it would be more accurate to say that I'm pretty resourceful.
I own both an electric grinder and a manual grinder and I use them both. I paid just over $200 for my electric grinder. It was called a Whisper Mill when I bought it, but it goes by a different name now. My religion believes that we should be prepared to be self-sufficient in the event of an emergency such as a power failure, unemployment, natural disasters, etc. For that reason, I have always had more food items and devices on hand than most people. I have a pressure cooker and do canning, a food dehydrator to dehydrate food, a large freezer and other unusual supplies. We even have two 55-gallon drums of water in our crawl space in case the municipal water ever gets polluted. My husband lived in post-war Germany and agrees 100% with the preparedness plan. Such preparation wouldn't do much good in a disaster the scale of Japan's, however.
It's also my nature to prepare things from scratch. I used to sew all of my children's clothes, suits for DH, and even a coat for myself. I derive a lot of satisfaction from making things. Once I began teaching, I didn't have time and also had more money so I didn't need to make things from scratch. I retired three years ago and have the time again.
Gloria
You never know what you can do until you have to do it.
Sara,
The soba noodles were distributed by Mitoku, a company in Japan. On the label it says it is the only buckwheat pasta made without any wheat flour or other binding agents. The only ingredients are whole buckwheat flour and water. I found them at the health food store. I am thinking I'd better start hoarding them if the buckwheat is actually grown in Japan - the radiation will certainly affect many of the crops.
Gloria,
You ARE the Queen of the Flours! No contest! Very interesting about your disaster preparedness skills. Several years ago when the experts were worrying about a bird flu pandemic, etc. I stocked up about 2 mo. worth of food, water, medicines, even pet food. It was a challenge to figure out what foods I would be able to safely eat. I'm sure you have the same problem. It's not like we can open a can of ravoli, like most people. Sigh. Anyway, I enjoyed the planning and preparations. Are you prepared for not having electricity for freezing/cooking?
Love,
Polly
The soba noodles were distributed by Mitoku, a company in Japan. On the label it says it is the only buckwheat pasta made without any wheat flour or other binding agents. The only ingredients are whole buckwheat flour and water. I found them at the health food store. I am thinking I'd better start hoarding them if the buckwheat is actually grown in Japan - the radiation will certainly affect many of the crops.
Gloria,
You ARE the Queen of the Flours! No contest! Very interesting about your disaster preparedness skills. Several years ago when the experts were worrying about a bird flu pandemic, etc. I stocked up about 2 mo. worth of food, water, medicines, even pet food. It was a challenge to figure out what foods I would be able to safely eat. I'm sure you have the same problem. It's not like we can open a can of ravoli, like most people. Sigh. Anyway, I enjoyed the planning and preparations. Are you prepared for not having electricity for freezing/cooking?
Love,
Polly
Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves, for they shall never cease to be amused.
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TooManyHats
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Gloria,
Though it wasn't your intent to become the queen of flour awareness, your extraordinary thoughtfulness and attention to the details as you've done your research, both general and personal, are truly gifts - even to those of us who are keeping all baked goods in the "not now thanks" file. And yes, you sure are resourceful!
I have always been a "from scratch" cooker. My husband came home a few weeks ago and said, "I bought you a convenience food." I must have looked wild-eyed, because we both burst out laughing when he pulled out the butternut squash he'd gotten at the greenmarket, already peeled and cut in large chunks.
I admire self-reliance, and thanks for the info on the grinders. I will hold that thought, though for now I think I'll be a Paleo eater. It's easy to keep the rules in my head.
I have some sewing to finish up myself ;) It baffles me when people (especially in NYC?) seem proud that they can't sew on a button or repair a hem. Self-reliance is a pretty good deal. Luckily people seem to be embracing the pleasures of making things. When I went back to this little project, I knew I was feeling better.
Polly - thanks for the buckwheat noodle info. I'm sure you're right to be concerned about your supply; it would seem to me that those plants would be at risk in the same way as spinach, though perhaps they're not in the same stage of growth at this time of year.
Sara
Though it wasn't your intent to become the queen of flour awareness, your extraordinary thoughtfulness and attention to the details as you've done your research, both general and personal, are truly gifts - even to those of us who are keeping all baked goods in the "not now thanks" file. And yes, you sure are resourceful!
I have always been a "from scratch" cooker. My husband came home a few weeks ago and said, "I bought you a convenience food." I must have looked wild-eyed, because we both burst out laughing when he pulled out the butternut squash he'd gotten at the greenmarket, already peeled and cut in large chunks.
I admire self-reliance, and thanks for the info on the grinders. I will hold that thought, though for now I think I'll be a Paleo eater. It's easy to keep the rules in my head.
I have some sewing to finish up myself ;) It baffles me when people (especially in NYC?) seem proud that they can't sew on a button or repair a hem. Self-reliance is a pretty good deal. Luckily people seem to be embracing the pleasures of making things. When I went back to this little project, I knew I was feeling better.
Polly - thanks for the buckwheat noodle info. I'm sure you're right to be concerned about your supply; it would seem to me that those plants would be at risk in the same way as spinach, though perhaps they're not in the same stage of growth at this time of year.
Sara
I used to sew, knit, crochet, cross stitch, hang wallpaper, paint, and have used some power tools and done OK with them, Done some carpentry. In other words, I did what I needed to do or wanted to do...... and I still do but some interests have changed. However, cooking has never been my greatest interest. Sometimes I wish it were. 
I think it's great that you have done so much experimenting with different flours, Gloria, and have learned so much and are willing to share your knowledge.
I also vote for Queen.
Love, Shirley
I think it's great that you have done so much experimenting with different flours, Gloria, and have learned so much and are willing to share your knowledge.
I also vote for Queen.
Love, Shirley
When the eagles are silent, the parrots begin to jabber"
-- Winston Churchill
-- Winston Churchill
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TooManyHats
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I'm still searching for the "like button" on this site! LOL!