Keeping Whole Grains Alive and Delicious

I have this little pamphlet that my in-laws let me borrow and it deals a little with how to prepare whole grains. The pamphlet/book is by John R. Christopher and I have found it to be really, really, really cool--and I don't say that about everything. (I also wanted to mention that my Hey there Delilah was a runner post was an idea from my father-in-law, I had forgotten to mention that and although he didn't say anything I remembered and wanted to give credit where credit was/is due.)

I used to think that grains had to be rolled or ground into flour or cracked etc. in order to eat them effectively and enjoy them. Boy was I wrong! Which is often the story of my life and I wouldn't have it any other way, I love learning and I love proving myself wrong event though it's hard to swallow sometimes... I have found a way to eat whole grains and personally I really like it. You might too. I make no promises...

How to prepare whole grains
Things you need:

1. A thermos
2. Whole grains
3. Boiling water
4. Maybe honey or some kind of sweetener

Now, I went to Sunflower Market then I went to Good Earth and found even more great whole grains. Here are some of the ones I found and I list them to illustrate the kind of options you have:

1. Whole Buckwheat
2. Hulled Barley
3. Pearled Barley
4. Oat Groats (Oatmeal before it's rolled)
5. Spelt Kernels
6. Kamut Berries
7. Rye Berries
8. Quinoa (which isn't really a grain, but we won't go into that right now.)
9. Buckwheat Groats
10. Whole Wheat (Berries)
    
    Now you can dispute this if you want, but when you break a grain you kill it. What used to be "alive" has lost some of it's life and as a result some nutritional value, thus the whole grain is considered superior to the "cracked" or the "rolled" grain. That could be material for another post and certainly it will be. Okay, there's probably enough material for several books.

So here's what you do. Take a cup or a 1/2 cup of your whole grain of choice and put it in the thermos. Then you boil water. Then pour the boiling water into the thermos. Put the thermos top on. Tip the thermos up-side-down, then right-side-up several times. Then go to bed. Sleep for many hours. Wake up. Do morning things you do when you first get up. Then go feast on your whole grains.

What I started doing was putting them in a Ziploc bag, then in my little back-pack and eat it later at work. You can put honey or agave or stevia on it to sweeten to taste! This is good nutrition and that's something that helps me run fearless.