Suggestions on Crackers, Bread, Cereals, etc.
BREADS: These days, breads comprise less than 5% of my diet. I sometimes like to make my own gluten free, cultured, quick breads with my grain mill. And, because I can tolerate wheat, if I ever buy bread, I’m sure to get a sprouted grain bread, or a true sourdough. As far as packaged, gluten-free breads, I think Canyon House Bakery does the best job. Udi’s & Rudi’s are good brands too.
CEREALS: As far as cereals, I quit buying packaged cereals years ago, as even the brands at natural food stores are usually ultra processed and pretty high glycemic. The shorter the ingredient list and less grams of sugar per serving, the better. For my morning cereal these days, I like to scoop some of my leftover short grain brown rice or millet or quinoa into a bowl and then add fresh raw nuts and diced seasonal fruit. Warming the grain with a bit of water, butter or coconut oil, ground spices like nutmeg and/or cinnamon, and maybe a bit of maple syrup or stevia with diced fruit and nuts is a whole other level of awesomeness. Here’s a fantastic recipe I call “Apple Pie Rice”.
APPLE PIE DELIGHT RECIPE
This is a low-glycemic treat – better for you than apple pie, and tastes twice as good! In a small saucepan over low heat add 1/2 cup water and 2 cups brown rice (or ANY pre-cooked whole grain), 2Tbsp butter or coconut oil, ½tsp whole sea salt, 1tsp pumpkin pie spice and ½ tsp allspice. Simmer & stir for 3 minutes or so, adding more water if it’s too thick for you). Turn off heat & add 12 drops Sweet Leaf brand English Toffee stevia (1 tsp grade B maple syrup or raw honey if not using stevia). Stir until mixed well & add 1 medium diced fresh apple. Enjoy warm, and top individual servings with pecans, walnuts or almonds and possibly….raspberry drizzle! Here’s how to whip it up: in a small bowl mix the juice of 1 ripe lemon (Meyer lemon is best), 8 drops Nu Naturals vanilla stevia & 1 cup mashed raspberries from fresh or frozen. Wow! That tastes like apple pie with a raspberry drizzle!
TORTILLAS: Making handmade corn tortillas is easy with a tortilla press. Using an organic cornmeal that’s as freshly ground as possible is ideal. I’ve found that making tortillas with other types of gluten free grains is totally complicated and not worth the effort. Getting them in packages is affordable and quick. Here’s the brands with no hydrogenated oils or refined salt, etc: I like the Ezekiel multi-grain sprouted tortillas, but they do have sprouted wheat. Sprouted wheat actually doesn’t bother many wheat-sensitive people because it’s sprouted. For totally non-wheat and non-corn tortillas, Rudi’s and Canyon House Bakery brands make great products. My favorite packaged corn tortillas are the Ezekiel organic sprouted corn tortillas. They have very simple ingredients, they hold together well (unlike Beau Natural brand) and they stay soft for a while after heating (they don’t turn into a tough frisby immediately like the rice flour tortillas do).
CRACKERS: There are all kinds of whole food crackers and raw crackers like flax crackers which can be found online and made in a food-dehydrator. They don’t have a classic cracker taste or crunch though. For packaged, gluten-free crackers with decent flavor, texture, and are satisfying, I like Mary’s Gone Crackers. Sunshine Health Foods in Morro Bay has them for under $5.