Raw Food Explained: Life Science
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4. Selection And Storage Of Dried Grains And Legumes
Cooked grains and legumes may be used in the transitional diet but should be phased out as soon as possible. They are acid forming and difficult to digest.
A large variety of dried grains is available. Rice is the most popular but, unfortunately, most people use the bleached variety. Brown rice is of much greater nutritive value and does not contain poisonous bleach residues. It also is a better value, because a cup of raw brown rice will produce considerably more cooked rice by volume than will a cup of raw white rice. Long grain rice cooks up light and fluffy; medium grain rice is slightly more starchy and moist; short grain is even stickier.
Other whole grains are available (particularly in health food stores), such as millet, barley, wheat and rye. Triticale is a hybrid between wheat and rye. Cornmeal made from corn which has not been denatured is available in health food stores, but corn and other foods which have been ground into flour or meal are not recommended, because such products are subject to rapid rancidity.
Buckwheat groats are grouped with the grains, although not really a grain, and not a “wheat.” They are actually the fruit, rather than the seed (as most grains are ) of the buckwheat plant.
Wild rice is the aristocrat of grains. It is very expensive. I watch for ads in Organic Gardening magazine and buy it directly from producers in Wisconsin or Minnesota. Wild rice is higher in protein than brown rice.
Brown rice is probably the best of the grains (except, possibly, wild rice) and is the staple article of food in the diet of more than half of the world’s people.
But all grains are excessively acid-forming and require much time and energy for digestion. Wheat, rye and buckwheat may be sprouted and eaten raw. Lesson 26 will discuss methods of cooking the various dried grains.
Jaffe Brothers carries organic brown rice, organic millet, organic whole kernel wheat, organic whole kernel rye, organic whole kernel buckwheat for sprouting, organic buckwheat groats for cooking and organic popcorn (not high in nutritional value, but relatively harmless when unsalted and not buttered).
The variety of dried legumes is large. Beans: lima, white beans (marrow, great northern, navy, pea and peanut bean), kidney, pinto, garbanzo, cranberry, azuki, black turtle, fava. Soy and mung beans are not usually found in supermarkets, but are available in health food stores. Peas: whole or split green or yellow, black-eyed, chick peas (another name for garbanzo beans). Lentils are legumes which are similar to peas.
Organically-grown unfumigated green split peas, soy beans, mung beans and lentils are available from Jaffe Brothers.
It is better to use fresh beans and peas, when available, since they have an alkaline rather than an acid reaction. Fresh legumes are easier to digest than those that have been dried, and their nutrients are more easily assimilable by the human digestive system. Dried beans become more digestible when they are sprouted. Bean sprouts may be eaten raw. Lentils seem to be tolerated somewhat better than beans by most people, but it is best to use them sprouted and eat them raw. Lesson 26 will discuss methods of cooking dried legumes.
Store grains in moisture-proof containers or bags in the refrigerator where they can be stored for a long time. It is never a good idea to store any food for longer than six months to a year. Buy supplies as available and needed and try not to buy more than you will use in a few months. Use
grains intermittently, rather than regularly; their keeping qualities are an important factor, so that several varieties can be on hand.
We prefer to use fresh lima or cranberry beans, when they are available, and of course we use fresh peas in the pod regularly, and sometimes, fresh edible podded peas.
- 1. Vegetables
- 2. Storage Of Fresh Vegetables
- 3. Purchasing And Storing Seeds For Sprouting And Ready-To-Eat Sprouts
- 4. Selection And Storage Of Dried Grains And Legumes
- 5. Bread—General Information
- 6. Butter And Oil—General Information
- 7. Sweeteners
- 8. Packaged, Frozen And Canned Foods—General Information And Storage
- 9. Questions & Answers
- Article #1: Well! You Wanted To Know By V.V. Vetrano, B.S., D.C.
Raw Food Explained: Life Science
Today only $37 (discounted from $197)