Grains, Gluten, Quinoa & Mold - My Story So Far....

The very first time I ate QUINOA…..I didn’t feel right. Only I couldn’t fully explain that feeling, it was just a weird sense of something not sitting well in my stomach. Then, I went to bed later that night and had strange disturbing dreams as if I’d eaten something that didn’t suit me.

I’m an Intuitive by profession and I place a lot of stock in my dreams. I rely on them to inform me of general goings on in my body and throughout my life.

So…..I got up the next morning and ‘knew’ it was the quinoa that wasn’t right. I remember saying to someone that week…..I don’t like the quinoa it gives me nightmares and the energy of it is all wrong.

Just something wrong about it – but at the time, I had a young child, I was a student and I was working part time in my clinical practice so I didn’t spend much time looking into it. I just didn’t want to use it in my cooking!

However, time moved on and so did I, this was probably sometime in 2004 -05. I didn’t go out of my way to eat quinoa nor did I go out of my way to avoid it either. If it was there in front of me (at a friends house for instance) I usually ate it, however, I never forgot that very first strange encounter and those ‘feelings’ did not go away.

A couple of years later, because we had been gluten free for so long, I decided I wanted to make some bread. Of course, the only few options open to me where making bread from several types of flours at the same time, to get the dough to hold together.

One of those flours I ended up experimenting with was Quinoa flour. At first I was just happy to be able to make some sort of a bread for the family. But then….I noticed a peculiar thing about the quinoa that I wasn’t seeing on the other flours.

I mean, perhaps (it is!) it was there on all the different types of grain in varying degrees, however, on the quinoa I was seeing it, and tasting it…..

In fact, the very first time I noticed something – I had opened the top of a bag of Quinoa flour, used a couple of cups of it from the top half of the package. When we ate the bread, I remember saying; this tastes funny.

I was re-assured everything was fine, put some jam on it and it will be grand. When I went to make the next batch of bread a few days later and dug more deeply into the package – I could see a greenish looking flour and it now smelled more strongly of mold.

That was what I was tasting! I quickly threw out the package and chocked it all up to just one of those random things….that is, until it happened again this time with a bag or box of quinoa grain. I noticed they tasted ‘off’ and examined the grains deeper down into the box and found this same dark green mold.

This one I took back to the health food shop, where I was re-assured it must have been a rare occurrence but that quinoa was perfectly safe to eat. Then it happened a third time – again with the flour I was desperately trying to use to make bread.

By this time in my life, I had eaten my fair share of so many different types of grains -  (wholegrain, flakes, flour etc.), yet never encountered this anywhere else and was having nothing more to do with the quinoa.

The reason this became an issue was because, during that time I was exhibiting symptoms of mold toxicity from all of these non typical grains I was using while I was vegan (sugar free, dairy free, wheat free, gluten free, meat free, Night Shade free and so forth) and I knew my system was not used to the types of molds found on these grains I was not accustomed to eating.

At the time we were using Amaranth grain and flour, coconut flour, quinoa flour and flakes, grains, gram flour, rice flour and flakes and so forth – each of which was new to our systems. Any grain, as well as nut and seeds contain a high amount of molds. Perhaps it was the entire combination of all of these items in our diets that caused some of these problems?

However, we did not eat bread that often or use the flour on a daily or even weekly basis as it was just too much work to make the breads stick together. Besides we were quite happy with our diet and had adapted quite well to a general whole food vegan diet.

Some of the symptoms I had at the time were;

Pins and needles in my hands & arms

Tiredness

Weight gain (without diet change)

Headaches

Rashes

Joint pain & muscle aches

Fever & chills

I just started to not ‘feel’ well. These symptoms were not there all of the time – they would come and go. It was just often enough, that I knew something was not right and I needed to get to the bottom of it. Once I realized I was eating moldy quinoa – I was able to trace back the worst symptoms to the days following eating this stuff!

In some ways, I think I am still not 100% over the effects of these molds and I would not ever go near quinoa again. I am also a little more cautious with all grains – we eat them and now enjoy our sourdough breads, rice and oats; but I am watchful of any ‘new’ untried grains on our digestive systems!

April

My lovely Sourdough breads that makes me feel great! 

Apple Cider Vinegar - The Doctor Within

I get asked all the time at my fermentation workshops, in my clinic and on the market stall – if I could only do one thing to change my life/diet/habits etc., what would it be? For years I would always say it would be to cut out all NightShades from your diet (white potato, aubergine, peppers, chillies, tomato, gogi berries) because of their toxicity for spiritually awakening bodies. 

Of course, this still holds true and this is the one food family that is not included in my diet. 

When it comes to fermentation and overall gut health, it is vitally important to add in living foods; this is the missing food group we’ve all been hungering for. I would have to say the easiest, best and most effective addition a person can make to their diet is to take Apple Cider Vinegars every single day.

Of course, I am quite biased on several fronts here….I make my own ACVinegars and I happen to think they are the best tasting, most alive and perhaps far more ‘healing’ than anything else out there. One of the reasons I say this is because they are hand made with water from the most natural sources as well as quite a few other factors I have found to be important.

I only ferment in glass, ceramic and natural materials. No plastic here! As well, I am very fussy about the storage and fermentation process – my ferments are interacted with. Well, they are living beings after all and I wouldn’t leave them out of my daily activities – so they are scattered around the place, talked to, moved about and generally included in our lives. 

We also insist on using Co Cork grown apples and local West Cork apples when we can get them. There is nothing like the healing energy here in West Cork! 

Because of my interest in the spiritual connection we have with our food, I have learned to consider every aspect of food creation and fermentation is one of the most alchemical processes I have ever found. Magic happens when we take water, fruit and allow nature to power, direct and enhance the results.   

What we have in the end is a living food with a consciousness. I wouldn’t leave that task to just anyone, so I make them myself. Besides, I wanted my own ancient healing Irish Mother – not someone else’s! 

For Apple cider vinegar to be effective and really work for you it should be taken every single day. Something like the old folk saying – ‘an apple a day, keeps the doctor away’. Perhaps, it’s the apple a day in your apple cider vinegar that is the doctor within. Over the years I have heard lots of stories of how symptoms just went away after taking it for 3 days, 10 days or 60 days. Everyone is quite different and our bodies respond differently to the living ferment. 

And, we all take it for many different reasons. Some people swear by it for arthritis, tummy troubles, indigestion, IBS, hair, skin and nail health while others just ‘feel’ better when they take it. 

I like to take it first thing every morning with my left over herbal tea, a remedy and some clay. However, on days when I am feeling stressed, tired, with a cold or flu or just ‘off’ – I take it several times with my remedies or in fermented drinks and water. It’s one of natures’ magical elixirs….

Apple Cider Vinegars ready for market

Lessons in Cheese Making....Let Nature Get Involved

Sometimes we don’t plan on creating a masterpiece…it just appears out of nowhere, as if the conditions are ripe for it. This word (masterpiece) is not used lightly either….I am seriously pleased with myself!

During the past week I had saved up my 3 liters of milk from our goats with the grand plan to make some cheese for the weekend. One morning I proceeded to take it out of the fridge and then forgot all about it until late that night….

Because I was going to make cheese with it, I just left it out and thought I would get it sorted the next morning. It’s been busy this past week or so with the garden, goats and market - and you know how time just slips by.

So, the next morning, I got the milk into a pot and inoculated it with the bacteria (once it was at the right temperature) and then waited and waited and waited…until another 24 hours had passed and nothing.

The milk did not curdle into curds and whey. But by this time it was starting to thicken and go a bit sour….so I thought, oh well….just throw some rennet in there and hope for the best?

That is exactly what I did. Only I added such a tiny amount of rennet (because less is always more for me!) it might or might not work to separate the milk into curds and whey…..

After about 5 or 6 hours I checked the pot and I had a nicely formed thickish yogurt like curd. I had read somewhere that this might make a nice cheese…so I scooped it out and let the whey drain off for a few more hours.

Even as I was scooping it out – I was thinking how I liked the texture of this and it smelled wonderful! I let the liquid whey drain out for the next few hours or so and then placed the cheese into a dish, salted it and as an after thought, added some cranberries….

24 hours later, we tasted it – the best cheese I have made so far! It has a lovely texture, wonderful flavour and is better then anything I have ever bought from a shop.

Lesson for me here….let nature get involved….don’t push things because we are running short on time or want to hurry things along. The milk had already grown it’s own bacterial culture, adding the few grains of rennet just gave it a little boost and voila –

Beautiful cheese!!

April

Homemade Chevre on wholegrain toast....Yumm!

Natural Immune Boosters.... A Lifestyle!

Keeping with the theme of staying healthy during these winter months it comes to mind to mention some natural ways to boost our immune systems... Of course this being my blog and all about The Pagan Diet - I would start with fasting as the easiest and best way to boost your entire body.

Right now I am on day 3 of my December detox and I am feeling great. To be honest, other than consistently eating a clean diet, fasting is probably the fastest way to boost your internal systems and the overall function of your entire body.

However, I would have to say your diet would need to be great in general to reap the full benefits - as well as a healthy lifestyle, unlike that being promoted through the airwaves. If you take care of your body, treat it well and do your utmost to remove toxins - your immune system will naturally benefit.

It is also important to detox regularly - thus the mention of fasting, which in my mind is the easiest way to cleanse because you allow your digestive system to virtually shutdown while you clear away old debris. And please don't think - oh, I did that a couple years ago, so I'm good - you are only scratching the surface...

So, as far as immune boosting goes there are a few approaches a person can take - start with food. On the days you are eating, include foods such as garlic, elder berries & blueberries, broccoli, oats, wild fish, sweet potatoes, pumpkins and seaweeds. And Vitamin C rich foods such as kiwi, oranges and parsley.

As well, it is counter productive to eat a lovely meal full of wonderful veggies and fish - then to chase it all down with a bottle of wine and a sugary dessert. If you are going to do this, keep it to a minimum and remember that positives do not outweigh negatives as far as food is concerned. Poisons and toxins win and do damage every time...

For the herbs that you might want to include in your weekly diet - try growing your own in pots (this can be done year round inside). Some of the best ones are coriander, parsley, basil, rosemary and thyme. But there are many others you can cook with - for instance elder berry mentioned above can be used in a stuffing, and you can make a tea from the flowers. 

As for a list of herbs which strengthen our immune systems some of the best ones to use are echinachea, goldenseal, ginger, turmeric, ginseng, astragalus and of course garlic as already mentioned. You can get some of these into your favourite foods and meals and make a tea with the rest. Start a new habit of having herbal teas in the evening for instance...

I must have been a water fairy in another lifetime because I am so fussy and sensitive about the water I drink. I remember being 8 months pregnant and running out of water while on a training course. I waited until I got home to have a drink - it was that important to me to only drink clean unprocessed water. 

It should be the same for all of us - our bodies are 66% water and this is the number one cleansing agent as well as being the primary ingredient in nearly every function and reaction inside our cells. If you want to boost any part of your health and well-being, drink only clean untreated water. 

Another natural way to boost your immune function and put yourself in a feel good mood is to exercise. Any kind of movement will do, but the ones I like the best for boosting our systems would be Yoga, pilates and dance. Aim for about 60 minutes per day (that's right) for each day that you eat food...

There is a lot to be said for an organized, tidy, low stress home environment and the amount it can potentially contribute to our inner workings. I happen to know that when my home life is lower in stress levels (that's not always easy to achieve) then my body works and feels better. There is the mind connection to all of this as well.

For us here, we don't deliberately go out of our way to avoid the flu (or try to get it either!) but, should it come our way, we would be ready and more then able for it. You could reduce the severity and length of any illness by taking some of these things on board and sticking with them during the winter months. 

April

Porridge with sugar free homemade jam and banana