When life gives you unhulled buckwheat, make flour and cook

Yesterday my friend introduced me to a little organic market that sells produce and other products at a reasonable price. If you live in Australia you know that the discovery of this place is like finding a pink diamond lying in the middle of the street, it just doesn't happen.
So I of course got a little carried away and started buying everything I could carry in my arms. Among the plethora of organic items I picked up some buckwheat thinking that I'd use it to replace rice at dinner or my breakfast porridge. When I got home I noticed that the label said unhulled buckwheat. I opened the package and found cute little kernels that I had no idea how to use.

At first I was discouraged that my dinner and breakfast plans were shot but then I turned to the internet for help. Google: what to do with unhulled buckwheat. Luckily I'm not the first person to make this mistake so there was loads of advice. I decided on attempting to make flour from my mistake. I used my little electric coffee/spice grinder and turned the whole bag of buckwheat into something more user friendly in about 10 minutes. I tried to use my husband's fancy burr coffee grinder but he about lost his mind when he found out what I wanted to do. He's a little delicate about his coffee stuff (I call his espresso machine his girlfriend)

So now that I proudly have a big bag of buckwheat flour that only cost me $2.50 I am ready to spend the day in the kitchen.

This morning started with buckwheat banana pancakes

1 c buckwheat flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

2 eggs
1 c milk
1 tsp heaping cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
2 tbs honey
2 tbs coconut oil
2 medium ripe bananas smashed

mix and make like regular pancakes. I drizzled a bit of honey over the top before I served.

Then in the afternoon I decided to play around with making zucchini bread. I am not patient in the kitchen so I like things that are easy to bake or cook. This invention tastes amazing and was super easy.

1st bowl:
2 c buckwheat flour
1 c almond meal
1 tbs cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking power
3/4 c ground walnuts (even better if you toast them first)

2nd bowl:
1/2 c honey
1/2 c coconut oil
3 eggs

whip up egg mixture and then add to 1st bowl. grate 2 medium zucchinis into the mixture and stir in gently.
pour into muffin or bread tin. I like to use baking paper  or cupcake cups to avoid having to use more fat for nonstick.
bake at 165 C/325 F for 30-45 mins or until tester stick comes out clean from the middle.

So now that you're obsessed with buckwheat here are some of the benefits of it.

1. it's gluten free (not really an issue unless you have a gluten intolerance)
2. high in fiber
3. higher in protein than regular flour (3.8g/serve, contains 8 essential amino acids)
4. doesn't spike blood sugar
5. tastes yummy and can be eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner (sweet or savory)
6. contains two flavanoids: quercitin, to support healing in the body & rutin, an antioxidant and strengthens the capillaries and circulation

What nutrition means to me

My wonderful husband (and I may be a bit bias but I absolutely adore the man and think he's pretty fabulous) encouraged me to write about what nutrition means to me now before I start my Health Coaching program next month. He though it would be a great way to see how my view of things change or remain the same over the next year.

You might remember that popular Wear Sunscreen song/speech/column by Mary Schmich (1997) but more recognizable though the voice of Kurt Vonnegut in the graduation commencement speech of 1999 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwVVpwBKUp0). When I started to think about all the things I currently believe about nutrition it started to sound a bit like this speech rambling through my head.

So here you go...

Privileged people of the world if there is one thing I can't stress enough it's DRINK ENOUGH WATER. I say privileged because we can turn on the tap and trust the water that comes out enough to put it straight into our body without worry. Invest in a quality water bottle, take it everywhere with you, decorate it, look after it, fill it up every chance you get and sip all day long. From the wise words of Derek Zoolander, "moisture is the essence of wetness and wetness is the essence of beauty."

Learn to love yourself. love your shape, your imperfections, your personality, your passions, your weaknesses and strengths and from that love you will draw to you wonderful people who love themselves just as fully. From that self love you will be a more caring genuine person who people seek out for companionship. This nutrient may not be the kind that you put in your mouth but it will nurture your body just as well if not better than any food. Nutrition is not just what you put in your mouth.

Take the time to learn about food and nutrients and learn how to make at least one complete meal from scratch. Don't be afraid of butter, whole milk,  flour, eggs, cheese, salt and many of the natural foods that go from healthy to unhealthy from year to year. Educate yourself on how these foods can give you the nutrients you need to maintain a happy healthy body and mind. You need fat to exist, a little chocolate can release endorphins, your muscles are protein and you have to eat to feed your physical body. These foods are not bad if you get quality products and eat them responsibly.

Get creative with vegetables as if you're a mom trying to get your kids to eat them. Food does not have to take hours to prepare and does not have to be gourmet. Learn to use your stove, shoot, even your microwave can help you out in a pinch. Just cook for yourself and know what's going onto your plate.

Don't breakup with Ben & Jerry, Nabisco, Dryers, General Mills, Kellogg's, Ruffles, Better Crocker etc. Just have a distant relationship with them like a 3rd cousin twice removed and take a good hard look at why you are drawn to them when you visit each other. Notice the relationship between emotions and foods, you'll be fascinated to see a correlation.

Feed your skin just as well as you feed your stomach. Yes, wear sunscreen but also use natural lotions and play with cutting antiperspirant out of daily routine. If you're mindful you don't eat foods with chemicals so why would you put them on your skin?

Exercise. Walk, run, bend, stretch, jump, make love, do something, anything, every day that gets your heart rate to go up and stay up for 30 minutes. Even better if you do this with a friend because then you're sharing the love of health, connecting with someone and motivating each other to work a little harder.

Find a way to make money doing something that you have a passion for. You don't have to love your job or the people that you work with or for but you spend enough hours of your life earning money to comfortably exist that you really should generally enjoy what you do and have job satisfaction. It doesn't matter what you do as long as you find a way to make it enjoyable because at the end of the day I hope you want to think 'I did my job well and I don't mind that I spent my valuable time doing it.'

Make reasonable goals and don't make drastic changes all at once. We are creatures of habit and need little changes in order to keep on the right path. Again make friends who share the same interest of good health and inspire each other to be creative with holistically finding ways to nourish yourself.

There is so much more that I believe about nutrition but I think these are the primary things that stand out to me.

Institute of Integrative Nutrition...I'm sold

I have grown up in a family where you have made something from yourself with each letter after your name. Being the youngest child I luckily had 3 older sisters who followed the family path and got all sorts of letters, MS, JD, PhD, etc. I followed along for a bit and got my BS in Health Science and then proceeded to not do much with it after I graduated. Now don't get me wrong, I think a college degree is invaluable and everyone who has the opportunity should get one but at 18 I really had no idea what I wanted to do as a career so in order to stay focussed for 5.5 years (yes it took me that long to get my BS because I hopped from school to school and messed up my credits and generally didn't really plan things properly) I decided to go down the path of becoming a physical therapist. After completing my bachelor degree I felt not smart enough, burnt out and totally disinterested with going back to school for another 4 years. Looking at the requirements needed to get into any PT school in California or any state for that matter I was totally discouraged. It was hard to get into a program and it's even harder these days so I can't even imagine what kids are going through with the amount of pressure being heaped upon them to succeed, be social, get good grades, extra curricular activities, etc. It's enough to make me want to put my fingers in my ears, squeeze my eyes shut and sing lalalalalalala as loud as I can because it's just too much. But I digress.

What I really came here to do was sing the praises of a program I just signed up for. For a while I have been pondering spending $5000 for the Institute of Integrative Nutrition's 1 year health coaching program. Mind you I have not started it yet but I have randomly crossed paths with enough students and graduates who rave about it to do a bit of research on the program to see if it would complement my degree and maybe help me to actually use it in a career way. I have always had and interest in health and promoting healthy living and currently do this through teaching yoga but I have wanted to do something more but along the same lines. I have looked at several MS programs and even considered doing another BS in nutrition but every program I looked at felt too clinical and wasn't really looking at the general somewhat healthy population. I have been working my way through the website (http://www.integrativenutrition.com), listening to the introductory lectures (all of which are done by distance learning on your iPhone/ipad/computer and are very easy to listen to), and still researching the program and how I can use this certification in my career path and my own life. Everything I read has sounded amazingly promising. So basically if you have any interest in the food you eat, which I hope you do, your general health, and a fulfilling long life this program can help you open up new doors in your career or just get you more in touch and informed with the lifestyle choices you make for yourself. Take a look, it's worth it.

Hey, even Oprah published advice from health coaches
http://www.oprah.com/health/The-Best-Advice-from-Health-Coaches/