Monday 10 November 2014

What is in my cupboard?

grains_pulses
My cupboard is stuffed with fragrant and aromatic spices and herbs, various grains and legumes, some pasta, some flour, a good handful of nuts and seeds,
some dried fruit, a bit oil, some teas. Almost all of them organic. Let's see the details.

Legumes and Pulses
• beans (mung, blackeyed, butter, azuki, haticot, black turtle, pinto, kidney, cannellini) • chickpea • lentils (red, brown, green Le Puy) • yellow split pea;

Grains
• porridge oats (for a hearty breakfast) • rice (brown, red Camargue, wild, white and brown basmati, jasmine, risotto, paella, sushi, pudding) • quinoa • pearl barley • buckwheat • millet • amaranth • couscous • bulgur;

Pasta and Flour
• wholegrain spelt spaghetti (Biona) • spaghetti (Mr Organic) • strong white flour (Marriage's) for baking bread • plain white flour (Doves Farm) • buckwheat flour, gluten free (Infinity Food) for crêpes;

Nuts and Seeds
• hazelnuts • almonds • cashew nuts • Brazil nuts • desiccated coconut • sesame seeds • pumpkin seeds • sunflower seeds • flax seeds • chia seeds • poppy seeds • hemp seeds;

Dried fruit
• prunes • apricots • figs • dates (Crazy Jack) • raisins and currants • goji berries;

Oils
• raw virgin coconut oil • extra virgin olive oil • sunflower oil • sesame oil;

Sweeteners
• xylitol (birch sugar) • coconut palm sugar (coconut blossom nectar) • acacia honey • agave nectar* • home-made vanilla sugar (from unrefined raw cane sugar);

herbs and spices

Herbs and Spices
» dried « rosemary, oregano, basil, marjoram, tarragon, parsley, fenugreek, curry leaves, bay leaves, chili flakes, chipotle (smoked jalapeño)
» powdered « sweet paprika, turmeric, caraway, cumin, ginger, cinnamon
» whole « black pepper, pink peppercorn, star anise, cloves, cinnamon, mustard seeds, coriander seeds, black onion seed, cumin seed, caraway seed, green cardamom
» spice blends « • Cajun (ground pepper, cumin, mustard, red pepper, chili, oregano, thyme, sea salt, garlic, onion) • Fajita seasoning (cumin, Mexican chili, coriander, garlic, pepper, bird's eye chili, onion powder) • Dhal (garam masala, cumin seeds, turmeric, cayenne pepper, ginger) by Chiman's;

Mixed
• carob powder • creamed coconut • almond butter • cashew nut butter
• dark chocolate (Montezuma's or Cocoa Loco);

* Agave nectar is marketed as healthy alternative to sugar, BUT it contains 55.6 g fructose / 100 g (as high as high fructose corn syrup!!) Honey and raisins are also high in fructose, with honey containing 40.9 g and raisins 29.8 g / 100 g. For reference, sucrose (table sugar) contains 50 g fructose and 50 g glucose / 100 g. While glucose is our body's key source of energy, and primary source of energy for the brain, fructose is metabolized primarily in the liver. Too much fructose in the diet? The pancreas produces excess amount of energy storage hormone (insulin), which turns sugar into fat for storage.

UPDATE!!
My cupboard has transformed in June 2015. Grains, legumes/pulses are out, so is sunflower oil, all the sweeteners (except honey), carob and chocolate too. For the whys read about GAPS, GAPS INTRO DIET, and FULL GAPS.

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