How to Properly Prepare Grains

How to Properly Prepare White Rice on the GAPS Diet:

On the transition to the GAPS Intro diet, or at any time during the GAPS Intro diet, if you or your practitioner feel that your body is in need of some carbohydrates, this is a simple carbohydrate that many of us relate to. While it’s  not a whole grain, which generally we prefer, the husk of a whole grain can be harder to digest. White rice that’s been soaked is fairly easy to digest and fairly untroublesome for the gut.

Soak your rice overnight before using it in any recipe. Place in warm filtered water with 4 tbsp of yogurt or whey. Put a lid on the bowl and place on the counter overnight.

How to Properly Prepare Quinoa on the GAPS Diet:

As a non gluten grain, quinoa is one of the first grains we can try in coming off the GAPS Diet. It is a seed so as with all other seeds it should be properly prepared. Quinoa has never been my favorite, but most of the times I have eaten it in the past were before I understood about anti-nutrients. I wonder if quinoa used to give me a stomach ache and that’s why I didn’t care for it. This quinoa can be used as an exact substitution for any other quinoa recipe, including a cold quinoa salad or a quinoa pudding. 

Soak and sprout your quinoa 24 hours in advance. To sprout the quinoa, put the quinoa in filtered water (2 cups of quinoa to 4 cups of water.) Add in 2 tbsp of yogurt or whey. Leave on the counter covered for 24 hours.

How to Properly Prepare Wild Rice on the GAPS Diet:

Wild rice is not actually a grain. It’s actually the seed of a marsh growing plant. It’s pretty low in fat so it should be eaten with lots of fat. Because it falls into the seed family, wild rice can be eaten on the GAPS Diet. Of course, you should properly prepare it before eating it. I would serve it in place of white rice in many dishes, like in this fried rice recipe.

At least 7 hours before:

Rinse rice well.

Add 1.5 cups of wild rice to 3 cups of warm filtered water. Add 2-3 tbsp of whey or yogurt to the mix. Let sit in a warm place for at least seven hours.

When You’re Ready to Cook

Add water to cover, about half a liter. Cover and place in the oven at 200 degrees. Cook for 45 minutes.

Full GAPS Legal Fried Rice

We had fried rice a lot growing up! It’s a good “kitchen sink” recipe. You can use almost any ingredients you have on hand. It also comes together fairly quickly, especially if you’re like us and usually have rice in the fridge.

One of the reasons I chose white rice for this recipe is because on the transition to the GAPS Intro diet, or at any time during the GAPS Intro diet, if you or your practitioner feel that your body is in need of some carbohydrates, this is a simple carbohydrate that many of us relate to. While it’s  not a whole grain, which generally we prefer, the husk of a whole grain can be harder to digest. White rice that’s been soaked is fairly easy to digest and fairly untroublesome for the gut.

This is a quick and easy meal.

To make it GAPS legal, substitute wild rice for the white rice. 

One of the keys to the recipe is find a true correctly fermented soy sauce. Soy should only ever be eaten in a properly fermented state. When it’s properly fermented, it’s legal on the Full GAPS Diet. I found a properly fermented soy sauce from Ohsawa Organic called Nama Shoyu. It’s an unpasteurized soy sauce and delicious!

There are “classic” fried rice vegetables but truly you can change this recipe to use any vegetables you have in the fridge. In this version I used carrots, celery, onions, red cabbage and green onion. You could also use any type of summer squash like yellow squash or zucchini, broccoli, cauliflower, swiss chard, shredded brussel sprouts, snow peas, snap peas, green peas, or green beans. We always made it with water chestnuts and bean sprouts growing up. I’m not sure if these are GAPS legal but I’m very doubtful they would be. What vegetable combination is your favorite?

Ingredients for GAPS Legal Fried Rice

• 2 cups of rice

• 4 cups stock

• Carrots

• Onions

• Red Cabbage

• Green Onions

• 3 tbsp Lard or Other Animal Fat

• 4-6 cloves of Garlic, depending on size

• 2 Eggs

• 1.5 tbsp Soy Sauce (see note about correctly fermented soy sauce)

Directions for GAPS Legal Fried Rice:

24 Hours Before:

Soak your rice overnight. Place in warm filtered water with 4 tbsp of yogurt or whey.

The Next Day:

Rinse rice under filtered water.

Add 2 cups of rice to 4 cups of stock. Cook rice in the stock for 15 minutes until the stock is absorbed. 

Chop all vegetables. The smaller you chop them, the faster they’ll cook. Make sure you slice your vegetables the same size for even cooking. 

Add 3 tbsp of lard to a  cast iron pan. 

When adding vegetables, add the ones that take the longest to cook in first, usually the hardest ones. So for me, I added the carrots and celery first. Add in cabbage and onions.

Add 1-2 tsps of soy sauce into the cast iron pan. This will start to create the sticky sauce. 

A tip in sauteing vegetables: let them sit for a minute or two to get brown. Then move them to cook other sides. 

Once your vegetables have cooked, add in the rice and stir.

Crack two eggs into a bowl and scramble them. Add them into the cast iron pan and mix well.

Add in about 1 tbsp of soy sauce and mix everything together.

Serve alongside more soy sauce on the table and enjoy!

Print

GAPS Legal Fried Rice

prep time: cook time: total time:

ingredients:

• 2 cups of rice
• 4 cups stock
• Carrots
• Onions
• Red Cabbage
• Green Onions
• 3 tbsp Lard or Other Animal Fat
• 4-6 cloves of Garlic, depending on size
• 2 Eggs
• 1.5 tbsp Soy Sauce (see note about correctly fermented soy sauce)

instructions:

How to cook GAPS Legal Fried Rice

1. 24 Hours Before:
2. Soak your rice overnight. Place in warm filtered water with 4 tbsp of yogurt or whey.
3. The Next Day:
4. Rinse rice under filtered water.
5. Add 2 cups of rice to 4 cups of stock. Cook rice in the stock for 15 minutes until the stock is absorbed.
6. Chop all vegetables. The smaller you chop them, the faster they’ll cook. Make sure you slice your vegetables the same size for even cooking.
7. Add 3 tbsp of lard to a cast iron pan.
8. When adding vegetables, add the ones that take the longest to cook in first, usually the hardest ones. So for me, I added the carrots and celery first. Add in cabbage and onions.
9. Add 1-2 tsps of soy sauce into the cast iron pan. This will start to create the sticky sauce.
10. A tip in sauteing vegetables: let them sit for a minute or two to get brown. Then move them to cook other sides.
11. Once your vegetables have cooked, add in the rice and stir.
12. Crack two eggs into a bowl and scramble them. Add them into the cast iron pan and mix well.
13. Add in about 1 tbsp of soy sauce and mix everything together.
14. Serve alongside more soy sauce on the table and enjoy!

Created using The Recipes Generator

Why Soak Grains? {Video}

Ever wondered about recommendations like "soaking," "sprouting," "fermenting," or "properly preparing" your nuts or grains? Ever wondered what that meant, or why it's better? I did! In fact, when I first heard about "sprouted bread," I thought it was made-up. But there are real reasons why eating properly prepared seeds is better for your body. Check out the video below to find out why.

Did that make sense?

This is just one example of why food preparation matters. And while food preparation techniques used to be passed on from generation to generation, our modern western culture has largely lost that heritage. But some do remember. And some do research. And some teach. And some write it down for us. That is the entire reason behind the cookbook, Nourishing Traditions, by Sally Fallon. Traditional ways to prepare foods in traditional recipes are recorded in this helpful resource. If we want to return to health, we need to start understanding these principles. Our health depends on it! Still have questions? Have another food preparation question? Ask it in the comments below.

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