Dr. Davis alerts us to an upcoming political push by a wheat growers association on his Wheat Belly Blog. The continuing stream of information showing the harm caused by ingesting grains must be making a dent in their profits, prompting action on their part. Apparently the Grains Food Foundation is moving to Washington DC for better lobbying access, but they are also going to target what they call the "influencers". Nutritionist, medical professionals, diet and nutrition journalists and even bloggers.
"G.F.F. will proactively track grain-focused initiatives (studies, books, broadcasts, articles) with the goal of preempting or countermanding misinformation regarding grain foods on an ongoing basis. The G.F.F. Scientific Advisory Board members will lead efforts to provide rapid response to false communications and claims against grain foods, including fad diets."
"To effectively guard against potential extreme attacks against grain foods, G.F.F. will develop a crisis communications plan to continue to develop appropriate reserves to enable prompt industry response to neutralize such attacks."
Maybe this explains the recent rash of "you don't have to give up grains FOREVER - just until your gut heals!" type blog posts and articles popping up on the net. I don't know about you all, but if I sliced my arm open and nearly severed a thumb juggling knives, I am not just going to give up knife juggling until my wounds heal. I am going to find a new hobby.
Lets put it another way. Comedian George Burns smoked cigars and drank whiskey almost every day of his adult life and he didn't die until shortly after his 100th birthday. Not only that, he was active and working until just before his death. In fact, it wasn't his smoking and drinking that did him in, it was a fall resulting in a head injury. He was never able to fully recover. Reports are that Mr. Burns smoked between 10 and 15 cigars a day for well over 70 years.
Is this an example that cigar smoking is healthy? That whiskey is a revitalizing tonic? No. It means that George Burns had the unique ability to recover from damage caused by smoking and drinking. It does not change the fact that smoking and drinking are inherently damaging. It is the same with modern wheat. Modern forms of wheat are inherently damaging to everyone who eats them. Some of us just have a genetic advantage and can easily recover from that damage. Others can not. Can you mitigate some of that damage by using ancient grains or using traditional preparation methods? Possibly. But for me, it isn't a chance I am willing to take.
So next time you read a blog saying how happy someone is to be going back to wheat, keep in mind two things. 1) There may be a powerful lobbying group involved and 2) a person truly returning to wheat and grains may have been born with a body much more able to repair itself than you.
Wifezilla's Low Carb Fudge Pops
Ingredients:
Directions:
With a hand blender, mix the cream cheese and then slowly add the whipping cream. Whip until mixture is nice and creamy. Add cocoa powder and sweetner such as Splenda, erythritol, or stevia to taste, erring on the sweet side. (Once it is frozen, the sweetness fades a bit and a mix that tasted just right in the bowl can end up tasting not quite sweet enough.)
Place in small disposable drinking cups. Add a popsicle stick and freeze for about 2 hours. You can also use the plastic smootie pop sets or tupperware popsicle makers.
This will make anywhere from 3-6 popsicles depending on how large your containers are. My smoothie pop sets makes 4.
While I advocate as much home cooking as possible, there are times when your schedule forces you to take short cuts. During those instances, the time it takes to cook your food takes priority over the ingredients. You can still stay on the low carb path, you just may have to make a few allowances for convenience items.
This recipe takes less than 10 minutes to make and works great on days when a job, appointments and household chores leave you very little cooking time.
Marinara Melt
Brown ground beef in a skillet over medium-high heat. If you are adding fresh herbs, add it to the meat when it is just about finished. Fresh herbs turn bitter when over-cooked. Drain and return to medium heat. Add Ragu and parmesan cheese and stir until it starts to bubble. Top with shredded cheese and cook another minute or two until the cheese melts. Makes approximately 4 servings.
Quick and filling, this recipe goes down great on a cold, rainy day. Serve with butter fried Italian summer squash and sliced onions. If you can manage to slice and cook your side dish while the meat is browning, you can still finish the whole meal in 10 minutes or less.
Butternut squash are inexpensive and abundant fall through winter. Take advantage of this excellent grocery store and farmer's market bargain by making a hearty, healthy, butternut soup. While squash is a little bit on the carby side, it is a great food for those who have moved beyond a very low carb induction phase and are on a maintenance program.
Ingredients
Half and clean the butternut squash. Either roast in the oven (350º for 1-2 hour) or microwave in a covered dish with a little water (45-60 minutes). While the squash is cooking, brown the sausage and drain. Set aside. Dice the onions and cook in butter until caramelized. In a separate pan, cook the sliced mushrooms in butter until soft.
Once the squash is nice and soft, scoop it out of its shell and run through a food processor or blender with just enough hot water to get the blades to get the squash mixed well. (In my little food processor it took about 4 batches.)
Pour the squash puree in to a large stock pot. Add the sausage, onion and mushrooms. Add more water if needed to get the puree to a nice thick soup consistency. Add spices to taste. (I go heavy on the cayenne!). Once everything is hot and well blended, stir in the cream cheese. Keep stirring until it's melted.
Serve in a large bowl with a pat of real butter on top
