Gluten Free Grains & Preparing Perfect Brown Rice

If you are going to eat grains to add some carbohydrates to your diet there are a few that are recommended over others. You can get so many nutrients, vitamins and minerals from fruits and veggies, much more nutrients than you can with grains. Fruits & veggies should should be your first carb choice, veggies 1st, fruits 2nd.  Make sure you are getting plenty of those.  Fill up your plate!! I recommend anybody willing, to do atleast 30 days of Paleo or Whole30 type diet to clean and detoxify your body. Then you can start adding things back in (add things one at a time then wait 4 days to see what effect it has on you) to see what you tolerate including full fat and raw dairy, gluten grains (I wouldn't recommend anybody add gluten back in there diet), gluten free grains & legumes.

I can tolerate minimal amounts of gluten free grains and legumes.  When I say gluten free that doesn't mean go buy any item that is labeled "gluten free."  I know you see a lot of that these days.  But, just because it says "Gluten Free" DOES NOT mean it's healthy.  The most natural and least processed sources the better. Read the labels!! The least processed and safest choice of carbohydrate souce other than fruits and veggies are listed here. These are all naturally gluten free, but it's always safest to buy "Gluten-free" if you can because there is also chance of cross contamination.

Best Whole Grain carbs: (organic if possible)- Amaranth, Barley, Beans (pinto, black, kidney), Buckwheat, Bulgar, Lentils, Millet, Oatmeal (Steel Cut-best, rolled/old fashioned-second best, quick oats- 3rd choice), Organic Popcorn, Potatoes (Baking, New, Red, Sweet Potato, Yam), Quinoa, Rice (Basmati, Brown, Wild, there are also Brown rice pasta choices), Rye, & Spelt.
Corn tortillas and corn may be ok to try.  Not the most nutritious at all but an option.

Ezekial bread by "food for life" may be tolerated, they do have gluten free options. It is sprouted whole grain bread which is the safest form to digest. It is usually found in the the freezer section at the store.

If you haven't had grains in a while when you start adding them you will probably bloat.  This is because they absorb more water than other foods.  If the bloat is painful and uncomfortable and does not go away after trying these grains a few different times then it may not be worth it for you. A lot of people have success with soaking and sprouting other grains as well because it makes them easier for the body to digest. May be worth a try.

I like to keep most of my carbohydrate choices in the beginning of the day and keep it leaner and cleaner with lots of veggies towards the last part of the day and night.  Once in a while I may have some starchier carb choice like sweet potato, quinoa or brown rice at night.  I only do maybe 1/4 cup, 1/2 cup at the most anytime I do have gluten free grains. They do still cause me to bloat but not pain or other symptoms from them if I keep it small amounts.  I am slowly trying to balance some of these other carb sources that I tolerate into my diet. Just a little here and a little there to see if my body adjusts.  If it doesn't eventually adjust and continues to bloat it may not be worth it to me.  I feel super good with out them, just trying to get some more carb choices for life you know. My favorite choices are Gluten free & organic steel cut oats, Quinoa, brown rice & Black beans. With a diet full of lean proteins, veggies & fruits as your main carb source, nuts, seeds and other Healthy Fats, adding in some gluten free grains may round out a nice clean eating lifestyle for you as long as you tolerate them!

Perfectly Cooked Brown Rice

Now on to the best way to cook Brown Rice! My family use to hate brown rice.  I tried using my rice cooker....um...no good.  It came out hard and crunchy like. When I started cooking it like this it turns out so good every time.  My family now prefers this rice over white rice. Yay! Success!

Directions
Bring a pot of water to boil like you would for pasta.  Add your rice 2 cups or so, give a little stir.  Then set your heat to medium, let rice continue to cook at a constant slow boil for 30 minutes.  Stir every 5 minutes or so.  Do not cover. After 30 minutes, turn off heat, drain your water, add rice back to the pot & put on stove top, stir to fluff and cook out the rest of the water.  Can add a small amount of grass-fed butter, salt & pepper. That's it! Perfect Brown Rice! Brown Rice is a great thing to cook in bulk at the beginning of the week or on the weekend in your food prep.  Then you can grab a portion out when you need it.

Do you tolerate grains?? Have you tried this method to cook Brown Rice?

Have you gone Paleo and then had any success adding grains or other carb sources back into your diet? I'm still on the fence about it....