[eastkygal]

I've been thinking of this more and more as I am learning to make my own breads and getting the soaking thing down pat for a dairy allergic DD1. We are starting to include more grains in our diet. Our diet was heavy on grains before TF and no one has trouble with gluten or digesting grains per se.

So, I'm wondering if you feel you have a healthy diet, you are at a weight that you feel is healthy, and you feel like you are generally a healthy person or on your way there in part because of diet... please chime in.

If you can explain the whys of your choices with grains, that would be a great extra benefit. Thanks...

Of course grains include all flours, rice, oats, barley, cornmeal, etc...

 

[mamadelbosque]

I voted 3x a day, because thats problably true, on average. I almost always have a grain of some sort for breakfast (toast, waffles, cereal or oatmeal), usually some for lunch (usually either burritos or sandwhiches), and theres usually some sort of a grain for dinner (tortillas, or rice, or corn or something). Now virtually all of those are whole wheat - I bake my own bread, and occasionally make tortillas but mostly buy Rudi's whole wheat tortillas from my co-op, and we only eat brown rice.

I'm pretty OK with my weight (pre-pregnancy I was ~145ish, I'm 5'6") and the rest of my family's weights, and nobody has any issues with gluten/grains in my family, so I personally don't see why I should avoid them. Its kind of the same thing as dairy to me - some people say dairy is just awful for you, and personally i just don't agree. I feel like we have a pretty varied diet - lots of rice & whole wheat breads, veggies (more and more fresh as the gardens start producing, but still some frozen stuff & canned tomatoes), fruits (again, mostly frozen this time of year but some fresh via apples & oranges), lots of beans & lentils, some meat (not as much atm, cause' I'm seriously averse to the stuff atm... stupid pregnancy!!

, raw milk & cheese... I just don't see the point in eliminating all sorts of stuff because some other people have issues with it... but thats just me.

 

[proptart]

Before we went TF I was a grain junkee. Toast every morning; sandwich at lunch; cookies, crackers and cakes for snacks. If I was craving something, it was something with grain. When we switched to fully TF (about a year ago) our grain-eating at home diminished somewhat- I'd soak oatmeal for breakfast and rice for dinner, but because I don't bake bread and had trouble finding it sprouted, our sandwich consumption dropped dramatically .

However, we go out for dinner every Friday night with a group of friends (we believe that the social aspect of eating is just as important as the nutritional aspect) so I was still getting a lot of grains - hamburger buns, naan bread, samosas, garlic toast, etc. About two months ago I had a salmon burger without the bun because I wasn't very hungry. At the end of the meal I was nicely full but felt that something was missing. It took me a while but then I finally realized what it was - I didn't feel bloated!

This lead me to experiment with cutting wheat out of my diet. And low and behold, I lost 10 lbs and a whole lot of tummy. (I wasn't fat - I was bloated) Ever since then, I've tried to keep most grains out of my diet, and I'm loving it. As an added bonus, my cravings for sweets have also disappeared.

A week ago, in a moment of desperation, we ordered a pizza. I wasn't too worried because I wasn't craving grains so I figured I'd have one or two pieces and call it a meal. But once I got started, I couldn't stop! I kept eating even after I was full and felt absolutely terrible. This convinced me that I have a serious grain addiction and will be avoiding them rigourously from now on.

 

[Metasequoia]

We eat rice maybe twice a week & gf steel cut oats maybe once a week or less. That's it.

 

[deditus]

I do not do well with grains, blood sugar issues, so I make them in small amounts. Dd is gluten intolerant, so our house if gluten free, also.

 

[Teenytoona]

I'm not at a healthy weight, but figured I'd jump in. We eat them at all meals it seems. But I am starting to cut back and limit the kinds of grains I eat. I'm watching portion sizes on grains and trying to limit myself to whole grains only. Not the easiest thing since Mr Toona loves his white rice and bread, but hey it's a work in progress. That said I'm shooting for 2 servings eventually.

 

[kaleidoscopeeyes]

I shoot for one serving a day, usually oatmeal for breakfast of brown rice for dinner. I more often fail though. I work in a coffee shop so there is so many pastry/bread products...and SUGAR! Cutting down on grain is hard for me, but I definitely see benefits. Seems to be the only way I can lose weight. I am overweight still, but getting very close to my goal weight.

 

[425lisamarie]

I said none because I don't, but my family east a couple small servings a day. Maybe a piece of toast or something, and a grain with dinner. I strive for as few as possible though and some days we have almost none

 

[columbusmomma]

We have rice a couple times a week and I have oatmeal or oatmeal pancakes daily. I often have grains in the bread I bake too. I could eat them constantly!

:

 

[cristeen]

I try really hard to limit my grains. I do best on a grain-free diet, but it is very difficult to maintain. And now that I'm pregnant, I'm giving in more often to the temptation. For me it is an addiction, and more than that, it is a health issue.

Once this baby is born I'm really hoping to be able to get back to it.

 

[punkrockmomma]

We eat more grains then I would like, but I just can't seem to give them up. I'm also a professionally trained pastry chef and you just don't get the same results in baking with soaked grains that you ground yourself. I did buy sprouted whole wheat bread today just to try it out. I usually make my great grandmother's whole wheat bread, but have been kind of lazy lately and haven't made any. As I was saying in another thread grains are my biggest short fall in my diet. I don't crave them per say, but they add something to our meals that I don't to leave out.
Oh, and I wouldn't mind losing about 5 to 10 lbs, but that's just me. I'm 5'6" and 145 lbs, which isn't bad and I carry it well. I used to be 120 lbs, before I got pregnant, which was too skinny, but I would like to lose a little more weight, but I seem to have hit a bit of a wall. DP has a crazy high metabolism, so he's not over weight by any means, and DD is only 22 months old and is chunky but her weight has plateaued since she was 6 moths old, she's 27 lbs, which I'm not worried about since she hasn't gained any weight in a long time. We also have no reason to not eat any grains. None of us have any food allergies.

 

[Norai]

I make bread (usually 2/3 whole wheat, overnight fermented in fridge) weekly, and usually have a slice almost every morning for breakfast as toast. Usually there's a second grain somewhere like brown rice, granola, or noodles at lunch or dinner.

I'm not overweight (5'8" and 135 lbs)... could probably do with some more weight honestly... should really work out more. >.<

Honestly I think over half my calories come from grains, which probably isn't all that healthy, but DH and I love them dearly.

Especially the wheat.

 

[Rainbow2911]

I eat grains a few times a week. Usually rice or wheat. My kids eat grains usually one or more times a day. They eat a lot of oats and rice and some wheat.
I feel better on a lower grain diet, wheras the children flourish with lots of whole grains. As long as it isn't whole wheat which doesn't agree with the baby well.

 

[PlayaMama]

we eat them pretty much at every meal. now just isn't a good time for fresh produce yet and our meals would be pretty sparse without them.

we'll usually eat oats, kamut, quinoa, rice (brown or red), spelt, barley, maybe some whole wheat flour if i'm in a hurry. i've been really getting into the soaking and sprouting and dehydrating lately.

we did wheat free for january and it didn't make much of a difference, plus, none of us have any grain issues so i'm not terribly into avoiding it. my ds would probably do best on a grain free diet, he loves meat and veggies, but he has the option to eat or not eat anything that's made for dinner so he'll usually choose what he wants.

plus, i was/am a vegetarian for 15 years, i've recently realized that eating meat is just not for me. i try to sneak it in where i won't notice it, broth for grains and such but i just really can't handle the flavor, so i do a lot of grains and legumes.

oh!! i'm totally at a healthy weight for myself 5'5" and 140, it's the same i weighed in high school but i had a ton more muscle then. i wouldn't mind getting a bit more toned but this is the weight my body likes to be at even when i do work out a lot. my dh hits the sugar pretty hard and i think that's why he's overweight. he also eats late at night.

 

[Nourishing Bodies]

Isn't it amazing how different all of our answers are and how healthy our bodies feel? This goes to show that the answer is individual. What works for one will certainly not work for another. The only universal truth about grains is to eat complex carbohydrates rather than simple carbs. There are so many grains from around the world that are packed with vitamins, nutrients, and proteins! Have fun experimenting with your grains.

 

[almadianna]

we eat them all of the time.

Sometimes we eat Quinoa... maybe cous cous.. sometimes rice... we eat tortillas and bread too (we make our own). we eat cereal and granola... steel cut oats are a fave here too.

i think we are healthy as a family and we dont eat refined flours or anything like that... i think that the amount of grains makes a difference too.

we eat lots of different grains but not a ton of them and not huge portions. they are nice sides and we have them as snacks too.

 

[Fi'sMom]

I'm obsessed with Ezekiel and Manna breads.... Toasted with butter or honey or almond butter or hummus or a turkey burger.... I eat 2 Ezekiel english muffins almost everyday!