12 Steps to Whole Foods

Replacing White Flour with Whole Grains
so perhaps the best strategy is to soak, sprout, or ferment wherever possible, but enjoy eating unsoaked whole
grains sometimes, too.
Should I Combine a Grain and Legume for
“Perfect Proteins”?
Twenty years ago, a fad in vegetarianism was to create “perfect proteins” in any given dish or meal with a
legume and a grain. The amino acid profiles of legumes are complemented well by the amino acids in grains,
so that all the amino acids needed for the body to assemble proteins are there simultaneously when you eat, for
instance, beans and rice. Those avoiding meat became fearful that they would become malnourished if they
didn’t go to a great deal of food-combining effort.
Fortunately for those who find this tedious, we now know that special food combinations are unnecessary,
because the body stores and releases a free-floating pool of amino acids over an approximate 24-hour time
span. Also, a significant portion of our protein needs are met by the body recycling its own cell proteins. This
also helps balance out any variation in amino acid intake from meal to meal. This logic is borne out by the fact
that powerful animals such as gorillas, elephants, and rhinoceroses are vegetarians who are very obviously
supplied plenty of protein by plant sources.
This should put your mind at ease about any need you may have felt to make each meal contain particular
elements, which unnecessarily complicates dietary planning and preparation. However, you can rest assured
that your body will assemble plenty of protein only if you are eating predominantly whole-plant foods. If your
diet is heavy in white flour and sugar, for instance, you may possibly have amino acid imbalances, since
refined products do not contain them in anything close to a complete or balanced state.
All that said, many of the recipes in this book are marked with an asterisk (*) before their names, showing that
they are, in fact, “complete proteins” combining a grain and a legume. Partly that’s because, as many of the
cultures on this planet show, those foods simply go well together. A second reason I did this is to satisfy those
readers who feel they need high-protein meals to achieve a sense of satisfaction (usually because of a lifetime
of meat eating). And finally, I did it because I personally exercise intensively six days a week and burn a lot of
calories: I find the legume/grain combination to be a more satisfying and sustaining meal.
Why Is Commercial Yeast Bad and Sourdough Good?
For thousands of years, bread was made with natural sourdough (fermented grain) traditions. The bread was
given lots of time to rise naturally, and “yeast” was a starter culture that gathered natural yeast spores from the
air, which I will call “wild yeast” or “natural leavening.” Bread was also baked at higher heats in stone ovens.
The entire process was an all-day activity for women in ancient times.
On the other hand, commercial yeast was created only in the past 100 years. And more recently, “quick-rise”
yeast makes bread making faster than ever, for people who don’t want to plan ahead and wait for their bread.
The manufacturers have isolated certain yeast spores that are very enduring and hardy for this purpose.
© Copyright Robyn Openshaw 12 Steps to Whole Foods 251