In this post I would like to unravel some confusion involving whole grains.  As a personal trainer I want my clients to eat foods that keep their blood sugar steady.  Not only is it important health wise, but from a practical stance, I don’t want anyone feinting or collapsing in exhaustion!  One of the most common questions I get is, “what should I be eating for breakfast?”.  My reply is the combine some kind of whole grain, along with a good source of protein.  The problem is that we have so many processed food items on the shelf that state they are made with whole grains.  Some of these items include:  Cereals, granola bars, crackers, bread, and, frozen waffles.  These are not the types of foods I am talking about when I say eat whole grains.  These types of processed grain products will spike blood sugar levels,  causing a rise in a hormone called insulin.  When your insulin levels rise too quickly, this causes our bodies to store fat…usually  where we want it least…right in the gut!

Take whole wheat bread, for instance.  What was once a whole wheat kernel is now milled into flour and baked in the oven (sometimes along with sugars and rancid oils), which causes it to lose many it’s fragile water soluble vitamins.  In the end this results in a product that causes insulin levels to rise too high too quickly.  It is the same with the other processed items I’ve listed above.  Cereal and granola bars are the worst!  They are overly processed with way too much added sugars!

If you’re like most people, you probably eat bread or cereal every single morning.  What are you supposed to do now?!  I’ll tell you.  The following are a list of unprocessed, nutrient rich whole grains:  Steel cut oats, buckwheat, millet, quinoa, bulgur, amaranth, whole wheat couscous, spelt, brown rice…that should get you started!  These whole grains are all cooked similar to rice, using water, a touch of salt, and a little oil (coconut, butter, or extra virgin olive oil being the best choices).  My favourite breakfast is steel cuts oats with blueberries with a dollop of Greek pressed yogurt on the top.  I make it a little sweeter by adding a natural sweetener called Stevia.  Stevia does not cause a rise in blood sugar, and contains no calories.  Next I recommend moving on to Quinoa because it is great as breakfast or as a side dish (like rice).

Here is my recipe for steel cut oats!

1 cup steel cut oats

3 cups water

Touch of salt

1 tbsp extra virgin coconut oil

Optional:  1/3^rd cup raisons and cinnamon

Bring everything to a boil, and then cook on low heat for 25 minutes or until oats are chewy, but soft.  Stir frequently.

I always make 2 batches and store the extra in a container in the fridge.  The next morning put ½ cup of oatmeal in a pan with a little milk, and mush it up with a fork.  Plop ½ cup frozen blueberries on top and cover the pan with a lid.  Cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, and go do your hair or whatever you have to do in the morning.  Then transport the oatmeal to a bowl, adding some stevia, and a dollop of Greek pressed yogurt.  Yum yum yum!

Don’t want to give up the bread?  Sprouted whole grain bread is the only type of bread that is low on the glycemic index (i.e. doesn’t spike blood sugar).  “Ezekiel” is a company that makes delicious sprouted grain bread, and it is kept in the grocery store in health food section in the freezer.

Enjoy your whole grains and watch your belly shrink!