Have you heard of a brown rice starter?

I love brown rice, with it's nutty flavour and firm texture.
Brown rice feels more filling than white rice, and it's glycemic index is lower than white rice which means it doesn't impact our blood sugar levels quite as much as white rice.
But it does take ages to cook and it also contains a substance called phytic acid.

Phytic acid is an  anti-nutrient that blocks absorption of many important minerals such as phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, iron, and zinc.
To get the most nutrients from our food, it makes sense to reduce our phytic acid levels before consuming it.

To break down phytic acid an enzyme called phytase is needed.
Unfortunately brown rice is very low in phytase so requires a starter to reduce phytic acid levels.
Luckily a brown rice starter is very easy to make, and will reduce phytic acid levels by 96%.
It just takes a bit of preparation ahead of time, and as a bonus it shortens the cooking time.


How to make a brown rice starter

1. Combine 2 Tablespoons of brown rice with 2 Tablespoons of dechlorinated water.
Let soak for 24 hours.
Strain the rice, saving the liquid the rice was soaked in, discard the rice.

2. Add 1/4 cup brown rice, 1/3 cup dechlorinated water , and the reserved water from the previous soak. Soak for 24 hours.
Strain the rice, reserving the liquid the rice was soaked in.

3. Combine 1/2 cup brown rice, 1 cup dechlorinated water, and the reserved water from the previous soak. Leave for 24 hours.
Strain and reserve the liquid. This is your brown rice starter.
You can store this liquid in a jar in your fridge.

When you are planning to prepare some brown rice, add at least 10% of your starter to water, and soak your rice in it for 24hours.
Strain your rice once it has been soaked, rinse and then cook as usual.
This should decrease phytic acid content by 96% in your rice, and your rice will be quicker to cook.
Remember to save some of your soak water every so often to keep your starter going.

Baby rice isn't nice

There must have been some very impressive marketing back in the 1960's to convince mums to start feeding their babies packaged baby food, and I'm amazed that baby rice is still popular today.
Surely something that can sit on a shelf for months, and requires very little cooking can't be good for anyone.

I can see that baby rice would be very unlikely to cause an allergic reaction, as it is really just a blob of nothing. No nutrition, no flavour, no texture.  It's not surprising babies generally take some convincing to eat the stuff, you can't really blame them.

But their are more nutritious options for low allergenic first foods.
What about apple, pear, cauliflower, squash, sweet potato, carrot...the list could go on and on with fresh, seasonal, natural food that have fuelled generations of humans.
These naturally occurring whole foods are full of flavour, and texture that these little oral sensory seeking creatures are desperate for.
Let them have this opportunity for learning.
Let them play, feel it with their fingers, practice their fine motor skills, smell it, taste it, because before you know it this phase will have passed and be replaced by a much more cautious phase.

As respected pediatrician and author Alan Greene states 'Babies’ long-term food preferences and metabolisms are influenced by early food exposures. At this critical window of development, ripe with opportunity, we are giving babies a concentrated, unhealthy carb. Metabolically, it’s not that different from giving babies a spoonful of sugar'. 


I really enjoy it, as while my mess maker model 3 plays with his food, I get to sit down for a record length of time for a mum of a 6 month old and eat myself.
Although I must admit the clean up afterwards is a bit of a drag.

So what is so unhealthy about baby rice. It's rice isn't it?
Baby rice is created from white rice which is manufactured into a  highly processed starch in the form of a simple carbohydrate.
Once consumed it will convert to a sugar and cause a large spike in blood sugar levels.
Baby rice has a Glycemic Index of 95. The Glycemic index (GI) is a measurement that shows how much a food will impact our blood sugar level. Glucose has a GI of 100, apple GI is 38, banana is 52, pear is 38, carrot is 47, sweet potato 44. Very few foods have a glycemic index as high as baby rice, although Lucozade has a GI of 95 also.

This is a concern as diets with high GI foods are linked with many health problems such as diabetes, some cancers, obesity and cardiovascular disease.
It's also very bland, it does nothing to stimulate their taste buds, or prepare them for the food we want them to enjoy.
Baby food doesn't have to be bland.

But what about iron?

So many mums say they give their babies baby rice for the iron content.

Baby rice does contain plenty of artificially added, difficult to absorb, iron, Breast milk on the other hand contains small amounts of easily absorbable iron.

Breast milks iron is bound to specialized proteins that ensure only the baby can use the available iron.

The iron in baby rice doesn't have these specialized proteins and the excessive iron feeds harmful bacteria in the babies intestinal tract.

A study in 1995 found that babies who had not received iron fortified food in their first 7 months of life had significantly higher hemoglobin levels, than babies who received iron fortified solid food before 7 months of age.

If you are concerned about your babies iron levels then feed them foods naturally high in iron such as breast milk, sweet potato, squash, meat & poultry, and spinach.

In conclusion stick to whole foods as close to their natural state as possible.
Let your baby have fun and explore food and flavours, and skip the baby rice.
You won't regret it.


References

Alan Greene. Whiteout FAQ. 

http://www.drgreene.com/whiteout-faq/

Kelly Bonyata. Is Iron-Supplementation Necessary?
http://kellymom.com/nutrition/vitamins/iron/

Pisacane A, et al. Iron status in breast-fed infants. J Pediatr 1995 Sep;127(3):429-31.

Sears W. What are the best sources or iron. http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/feeding-eating/family-nutrition/iron/what-are-the-best-food-sources-of-iron.

Sourdough battered fish

Do your kids like fish?
This recipe gives the fish and chip shop a run for it's money, and my kids love it.
Even better, it's fast and simple, and much healthier than a take away, and tastes great.

Sourdough Battered Fish

Ingredients
1 fillet of fish per person and rubbed with a small amount of white flour (this helps the batter to stick).

For the Batter  (will make enough for 6 fillets of fish)
1/2 cup white spelt flour
1/2 cup sourdough starter
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup something fizzy (either beer, kombucha, kefir, soda water)
1 Tablespoon lemon pepper (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt
coconut oil for frying

Combine the first 3 ingredients in a bowl big enough to dip fish into. Leave until ready to cook the fish.
When ready to cook the fish, add everything else except the coconut oil, and mix well.
Heat some coconut oil in a fry pan (about 3 Tablespoons) and ensure it's hot before beginning to cook. You can drop just a spot of batter in to check. It should sizzle, bubble, and brown quite quickly.
If it isn't hot enough the batter will stick to the pan.
When hot enough, dip the fish into the batter and place into the hot oil. Let cook until browned on the first side then flip over and brown the second side.
Serve immediately and enjoy.