Pistachios and Pine Nuts: Go Nuts with Delicious Whole Grains
We have talked about the difference between Whole Grains, bread, and cereal. Do you remember: Once a whole grain is milled…it is NO LONGER an actual Whole Grain? Having said that again, despite what Dr. Oz and other nutritional experts say, it is important to find delicious ways to enjoy your Whole Grains regularly should you wish to enjoy Wellness and Optimal Health.
Dr. Oz recommends far too much whole wheat bread and has featured far too few real experts on food preparation with Whole Foods on his TV show. In addition to his need to understand Food Combining, he also would help millions of viewers if he were to give his audience more information about preparing Whole Grains.
You simply cannot get your B Complex vitamins along with many other nutrients like Vitamin E unless you consume Whole Grains in their WHOLE form. Forget all that dependence upon bread and cereal, because you will get more colds and flu when you eat too much of these two processed food items.
Let’s begin with two recipes using Whole Grains and natural nuts which will make you CRAZY when you ‘Go Nuts with Whole Grain Goodness’!
You can get Pistachios and many other nuts from one of our affiliate business associates which are fresh and not rancid. This is imperative if you are going to enjoy the flavor and texture of your recipe.
Pine Nuts or pinole are more difficult to locate when it comes to high quality organic fresh nuts. Pine nuts have been one of my favorites ever since my Italian mom began to teach me how to cook when I was three years old. I learned to love pesto with pine nuts long before I could make my own pasta and marinara sauce from scratch. The joys of bright green pesto and deep red marinara over pasta and gracing other foods used to bring me into the kitchen and to the dinner table with gusto and whet lips ready for a treat!
Let’s work with whole Barley first:
Barley
pure water
sea salt
Bring the water to a boil and add the whole grain Barley. Cook the Barley until tender. Drain the excess water from the Barley. Add the remaining ingredients, bring back to medium heat for a few minutes until the onion is softened, and serve. Simple and delicious! You can do this!
miso
chopped onion
grated ginger root
minced garlic cloves
toasted sesame oil
chopped scallions
pine nuts sprinkled over the top of the Barley on the serving platter
You can serve this Barley dish with another side of vegetables, tofu or tempeh, a bean dish, and a salad.
This meal can be prepared in about half an hour to an hour depending upon how quickly you work in your kitchen.
Let’s go with organic short grain Brown Rice next:
organic short grain Brown Rice
pure water
sea salt
Bring the water to a boil and add the sea salt and Brown Rice. Cook until tender. Drain any excess water. In a separate saute pan, saute the following ingredients and then add them to the Brown Rice and serve either warm or cool.
olive oil or sunflower seed oil
onion
mushrooms (shi’itake preferable)
purple cabbage – sliced thinly
grated or diced carrots
red pepper – sliced thinly
green pepper – sliced thinly
diced garlic cloves
organic mustard
chopped parsley
chopped or torn basil leaves
thyme
oregano
Saute until soft on medium to high heat and just before taking them off the heat, add a splash of tamari or balsamic vinegar. Garnish with some of the parsley and basil along with a sprinkle of chopped pistachios.
If you want to soften the pistachios or the pine nuts to make them easier to chew for young children or older seniors; then you can add them to the grains just before you add the remaining ingredients. The gentle heat is enough to soften the nuts without destroying their oils and other nutrients which is exactly what happens with high heat.
Now…experiment with pesto and you can blend in a couple of tablespoons of a pine nut pesto into your whole grain dish for an exceedingly delicious and colorful presentation.
One last idea for using your pistachios and pine nuts:
Take your spice grinder and grind some toasted sesame seeds, chia seeds, and nuts together until finely ground. Add some sea salt and grind for another ten seconds to blend the salt into the mixture. Place the mixture in a sprinkler jar and sprinkle over any whole grain dish or vegetable dish. You can also sprinkle this over fish, chicken, or any other main course for flavor, texture, and enhanced nutritional value.
If you want a nutty sweet mixture to use over fresh fruit, stewed fruit, or any other sweet desert; you can grind pistachios and pine nuts with organic cane sugar and sprinkle it over the top of strawberries, bananas, apricots, peaches, plums, or figs. This mixture is also wonderful when sprinkled on top of puddings, cake, muffins, or cereals like oatmeal or whole grains like buckwheat groats for breakfast.
Be Creative and enjoy your Nuts with your Whole Grains!
You’ll find additional organic and natural ingredients at HerbTrader under the Natural Kitchen category which will give you more variety and healthy ideas for seasoning and spicing up your Whole Grains and other Whole Foods.
