Lunch Box Chronicles: Day One Hundred-Eight One (French Toast with Spelt Right Cinnamon Bread, Slivered Almonds, and a Touch of Bourbon Vanilla)

I am almost half way to my original goal of 365 posts, but it already has taken me more than double the time to reach half of the entire goal.  But that is the subject of another post.

This post is simple.  A restful breakfast on a beautiful day in NYC.  No plans, no work, no rushing around.  Just making good food and feeding my family.  Kind of sweet.

RECIPE:  French Toast with Spelt Right Cinnamon Raisin Bread, Slivered Almonds, and a Touch of Bourbon Vanilla.

Ingredients:

Spelt Right cinnamon raisin bread (this particular loaf had been in my freezer for months).  I used the whole loaf.
3 eggs
1/2 cup of milk
a teaspoon of Bourbon vanilla (yum!)
3 TBL organic cane sugar
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1/4 cup slivered almonds
(butter for the pan)

Directions:

Mix together all ingredients (except bread and butter) in a glass dish with high enough sides (like a pyrex dish)

Soak individual bread slices, each side until soaked with the mixture.  Make sure the almonds stick.  In a stainless steel pan, melt butter to coat bottom of pan on medium heat.  When butter is hot, put slices of bread on pan.  Pan fry each side until golden brown.  Repeat until all bread is made into French Toast. Serve with real maple syrup and cut up fruit.

If you have left-overs, you can freezer in plastic baggies.  They are perfect not only for a lazy Saturday morning breakfast, but also for a quick before school breakfast treat.  Take out of freezer and pop in toaster oven.

Lunch Box Chronicles: Day One-Hundred and Twenty-Three (A NY Bagel, Really??)

OK, this one is not a recipe, but rather an observation, or perhaps, a rant, about the state of what we call food in the U.S.  On a recent trip to NYC to introduce our healthful SPELT RIGHT bagels, breads, and pizza dough to people in the BIG APPLE with health challenges (diabetes, insulin resistance, inflammatory diseases, etc.) and to spread the word about good nutrition (ok, I am a bit of a proselytiser here), I happened upon a very curious object.

Please see the picture.

The colors drew me in and I felt compelled to buy it.  I just had to show this to my son Spencer, whose health and behavior were so adversely impacted by foods with common wheat (the typical NY bagel), and other foods with wild food colors (the not-so-typical NY bagel).  Once we cleared his diet of anything that eked of this bagel (including foods with common wheat and foods with artificial additives)  this dear child transformed from being uncomfortable and out of control, to healthy, happy, and easy going.  Food is IT!!!  It's one thing we all share in common....the desire to be fed well.

This THING is representative of the sad state of affairs we call a health crisis in the country.   Hey folks, it's a nutrition crisis!!!   A little sense goes a long way.

BTW, this colorful monstrosity is now like a museum piece!  Without any shellac whatsoever, this braid of artificial color and bleached/bromated flour is now like a stone.  It also contains bromates which are really bad for you!!!

Imagine what you would have felt like if this colorful sphere ended up in your stomach??   Perhaps the quintessential lead weight?   You might even say, "I can't believe I ate the whole thing...or, even took a bite."

My solution....eat spelt, your body will thank you.....You will have no regrets!!

Benefits of eating spelt

In response to the many people who ask me what are the benefits of spelt, I provide this summary in plain language rather than scientific terms.

Benefits of Spelt (triticum spelta) versus Common Wheat (triticum aestivum):

Spelt (triticum spelta) is a lesser known grain than its modern cousin common wheat (triticum aestivum) Spelt has significant health benefits and many people who switch to spelt based products rather than wheat based products notice improvement in their health.

There are some amazingly tasty spelt products in the marketplace, often found in the frozen section of health food stores, including bagels, breads, and pizza dough. You can also find spelt pasta, pretzels, and flour. Spelt can also be substituted for wheat in many favorite recipes. It is a bit idiosyncratic, so check in with companies that work with spelt on advice on how to best use. Purity Foods, the producer of Vita Spelt, is a good source.

As an ancient grain, like quinoa, millet, amaranth, and others, spelt has not been manipulated to meet manufacturing needs. Rather, it is a food that our body recognizes as food, not one that was created for modern conveniences. As we like to say, “Eat spelt, your body will thank you.” Spelt is one of the oldest cultivated grains tracing is roots more than 6,000 years back to ancient Mesopotamia. Spelt has kept many of its original characteristics which provide an impressive nutritional profile, along with ease of digestibility leading to anti-inflammatory qualities.

According to the World’s Healthiest Foods website, “[m]any of spelt’s benefits come from this fact: it offers a broader spectrum of nutrients compared to many of its more inbred cousins in the Triticum (wheat) family. Spelt features a host of different nutrients. It is an excellent source of vitamin B2, a very good source of manganese, and a good source of niacin, thiamin, and copper. This particular combination of nutrients provided by spelt may make it a particularly helpful food for persons with migraine headache, atherosclerosis, or diabetes.”

People with a range of health issues, including digestive problems, arthritis, Lyme’s disease, migraines, behavioral issues, skin irritations, irritable bowel syndrome, and others report that they feel better eating spelt rather than common wheat. Because spelt has gluten, however, it is not appropriate for people with celiac.

There are many reasons why spelt is easier to digest than common wheat. The gluten in spelt is water soluble; it is degraded by heat and is easily broken down by mixing action. Wheat gluten, in contrast, does not break down in water and only relaxes when exposed to heat and seems to get stronger as it is mixed – bakers refer to it as “developing the gluten.” If you over mix spelt, it will break down. If you over mix wheat, it will get stronger. Something similar happens within the digestive system. Spelt’s relatively fragile gluten is easily broken apart during the chewing and mixing action which allows the enzymes and acid secreted during the digestive process to work on the surface of the food. During the digestive process, wheat forms a bolus which remains a ball making it harder to digest.

Further, as an ancient grain, spelt has retained its hard outer hull, which protects the inner grain from pests and the elements. Common wheat (modern wheat) no longer has a hull so it is easier to harvest, but without that hull, the grain needs to protect itself from insects. Modern wheat has an enzyme inhibitor to fight off those pests. Enzymes are what we use to digest foods. Spelt, by its nature, does not need enzyme inhibitors.

Both properties of modern wheat contribute to the problem creating digestive and inflammatory issues. First, common wheat has tough gluten which gets stronger with mixing and remains in a ball like mass interfering with digestion. Second, the enzyme inhibitors further retard the enzyme activity that is needed for complete digestion.

Thus, the anecdotal reports by many people claiming they feel so much better eating spelt as opposed to common wheat, makes scientific sense. It is the nature of the spelt grain that makes it naturally good for you.


For more information about Spelt Right, see our web site at speltrightbaking.com