Recipes REDUX: Amazing Oat Risotto

Amazing risotto without the rice! Can't wait to try this Oat Risotto, featured in the Wall Street Journal this week. It's a recipe from chef Sean Brock of Charleston, S.C., who works some magic at locavore/heritage-focused eateries Husk and McGrady's.

THEMATIC Thursdays: Going With the Grain

Some NERC dieters also eschew grains of all kinds; I do not, but I am very careful about what grains I will allow. At a minimum, I want the whole grains that I eat to be either low-gluten, or gluten-free, and very low-carbohydrate. Oats-both regular oatmeal flakes and steel-cut oats, along with oat bran--are something I rely on for fiber--in crusts, stuffings and as a yogurt parfait garnish. Only in the case of the stuffing are the oats heated-up. Recently, I bought some buckwheat groats (from which you can make kasha, when soaked and cooked); they look and taste a little like steel-cut oats. True buckwheat is not a wheat product, by the way. I'm hoping to also sample some kamut and amaranth, as well, at some point.

As always, I look for uses and recipes in which I do not have to cook the grains, to preserve vitamins and fiber.

It's really unclear whether my allowance of corn tortilla chips (not Frito's, but actual tortilla chips) in this diet constitutes eating refined carbs or not. It's true that tortilla chips at their most simple are made with corn meal, oil and lime juice, and then baked, broiled or fried. However, corn is not glutinous in the way that wheat is...more as this story develops.

SATIATED Saturdays: Recipe #6 - Fruit Parfait with Yogurt or Soft Tofu

It's simple, yes, and also cheap. It's also really easy to make, and you can make it with dairy, or non-dairy, products. I'm talking about a fruit-parfait.

You will need: a small bowl or large ramekin (there's no rule that says you must put this in a parfait glass, so that you can see the layers--do so if you want, but it's not required); a knife; a spoon, a sharp knife; roasted flaxseeds; chopped nuts or almond slivers; honey or agave; two types of fruits from (roughly) the same family (.e.g. berries or citrus); perhaps one kind of dried fruit, like golden raisins or figs or dates;  plain yogurt or silky (soft) tofu; oats (either steel-cut or raw flakes).


I like to chop up the fruit first (so for instance, strawberries and apples go nicely together (leave the apple skins on), add either plain yogurt or silky tofu -- enough to cover the fruit at the bottom. Then, I add another layer of fruit, a little more yogurt or tofu, top with the nuts, oats, flaxseed and a few teaspoonfuls of either honey or agave (or real natural maple syrup with no added sugar). Mix-up and serve. It's especially good for a hot summer's day, when cooking is out of the question.

NEWS Tuesdays: Carbs....Unsafe at Any Feed?

Everyone has something to sell; however, I'm not adverse to promoting good content when, and where, I find it--regardless of the source. Instant oatmeal, corn flakes, whole grain chips? What's the nutritional reality?

A company called Precision Nutrition ,takes a stab at explaining the links, good and bad, between "whole grains" and "carbs." Not all carbs are bad, but understanding which ones are "safe" and which ones are not, is important for your health. There's a lot of confusion about the phrase "whole grains," because it's now used everywhere, by every kind of packaged-food company, and yet, depending upon what those "whole grains" are combined with, may or may not be, good for you. Read more here.