I don’t agree with cold cereal at all but especially puffed cereal. This might be about puffed wheat but it applies to anything that’s puffed or extruded. Even your dried pet food is generally extruded, hence when we have had fur bearing critters in the house, they don’t get dried dog or cat food and my rabbit doesn’t get pellets. He doesn’t like them anyway. Smart little guy! Anything that’s been heated to extreme temperatures to produce a puff, pellet or flake is suspect. So just avoid it. There’s lots of other things you can have for breakfast.
Don't eat this poison!
Check out the raw alternatives. The Almond Crunch is great! I love it with coconut or nut milk and a dollop of Olympic Krema Vanilla Yogurt. Throw a few berries on top and you’re good to go until lunch. Also, you’ve added some raw food to your regime and most of us are sorely missing this in our diet.
Another thing to be aware of…if you let a child snack on puffed rice cakes or eat these cereals for breakfast, you should know that each rice cake contains 14 grams of high glycemic carbohydrates and a typical bowl of cold cereal contains 30 to 40 grams of HG Carbs…more if you add milk. That can add up in a day. Add a couple of glasses of juice and you might as well have given the child 2 or 3 candy bars. Yes, there are more nutrients in the juice than in candy bars but the body will produce the same insulin reaction in both cases. Next thing you know you are wondering why your child has ADD and is on Ritalin. By the way, most cases of ADD can be turned around with total elimination of sugar in the child’s diet. I know it might seem extreme but we have proved it in our office…eliminating all sugar, including all starches has saved many a child from Ritalin and a lifetime of learning impairment and all the problems that come with it. Once the situation is under control, some of the carbohydrates can be reintroduced. However, they must be sensible choices. Stick with low to moderate foods on the glycemic index.
Ok, now you are probably thinking…well, then I’ll have hot cereal. WAIT!!! Think about it! They are high glycemic too! Yes, they have more nutrients (although not all of them do) but still you are starting your day with a sugar high. Out of all the hot cereals, slow cooking oatmeal is the most reasonable but I would still serve it with some protein. Dr. Diana Schawrzbein, author of the Schwarzbein Principle and the accompanying cookbook suggests eating oatmeal as a side dish, along with a protein such as eggs.
So here’s the main event…
The Nasty Story of Puffed Wheat
This is a true story about puffed wheat from Sally Fallon’s book Nourishing Traditions:
The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats.
Four sets of rats were given special diets.
Group 1) plain whole wheat, water, vitamins and minerals
Group 2) puffed wheat, water and same chemical nutrients
Group 3) water, white sugar
Group 4) water and the same chemical nutrients
Which group’s lives were shortest?
Group 2, the puffed wheat group, lived only 2 weeks.
Group 3 lived for one month.
Group 4 lived for eight weeks.
Group 1 lived for over a year.
The study showed that it wasn’t a matter of the rats dying of malnutrition; results like these suggested that there was actually something toxic about the puffed wheat itself. Proteins are very similar to certain toxins in molecular structure, and the puffing process of putting the grain under 1500 pounds per square inch of pressure and then releasing it may produce chemical changes which turn a nutritious grain into a poisonous substance.
Sally goes on to say that Paul Stitt, author of Fighting the Food Giants, states that Dr. Clark who shared his concern, took this report to the company who produced the puffed wheat. The president of the company said, “I know people should throw it on brides and grooms at weddings, but if they insist on sticking it in their mouths, can I help it? Besides, we made 9 million dollars on the stuff last year.”
So not sure what to give the kids for snacks? What about celery sticks with almond butter, or an apple with some cheese. Much healthier and much more sustaining!
Here is a great recipe to help with potato cravings. Enjoy!
Potato Skins – 2 servings
2 large baking potatoes
1 tbsp butter, melted
2 tbsp sour cream, optional (thick Greek yogurt would be good too)
grated cheese, optional
chopped green onions, optional
bacon bits, optional
Preheat oven to 400 F. Wash potatoes and prick with a fork to avoid explosions! Put on
rack in oven for around 1 hour or until tender. Cool slightly and cut in quarters
lengthwise. Scoop out most of the flesh. Put the skins on a baking sheet. Drizzle the
shells with melted butter, season with salt and pepper. Add cheese if desired and place
back in oven for 5 to 10 minutes or until melted. Upon removal from oven add any of the
other suggestions above or your own favourite toppings.
Carbohydrates: 10gm per serving.
Nutrition in a Nutshell 