Working Monk's Breakfast

First, let me say that the primal mindset says that grains are evil. They spike blood sugar levels, leading our bodies to secrete insulin in order to get it out of the blood. (Which it usually does by storing it in fat cells, by the way.) This can lead to insulin resistance where your body starts to ignore the hormone that's meant to regulate blood sugar. This leads to increased risk for coronary artery disease and strokes. Especially in families with a genetic predisposition, like mine, insulin resistance often leads to type 2 diabetes.

Then, let me say that there are several ways to mitigate the major problems with grains.

1. Don't eat modern wheat. Use einkorn, emmer, rye, oats, and other ancient grains.
2. Use the whole grain. The extra fiber slows down your body's absorption of the carbohydrates that get converted to blood sugar. Yes, they get absorbed eventually, but it's the spike we're trying to prevent.
3. Ferment it. This breaks down gluten and starch, turning them into (delicious!) acids.
4. Eat it with LOTS of fat. Again, this slows the absorption, reducing the blood sugar spike.
5. Eat it just before or after exercising. The other things insulin can do with excess blood sugar are to burn it as fuel if you happen to need it at the time (you are currently exercising) or use it to replenish depleted muscle fuel stores (you just finished exercising).

Here's a photo essay of where this breakfast came from. I wish it included pics of our grass-fed cow being milked and our free range hens and their eggs, but alas! Not yet.

The Granary

Today's Selection.

This bread will be a classic German "fitness bread" with just rye, oats, and caraway. It's called Vollkornbrot, "full corn bread", referring to the kernels of grain that are soaked, fermented, and used whole or just cracked.

The Miller, The Baker, The Candlestick Maker.

The photographer opted for highlighting the beautiful holiday decorations and missed the mill. :)

The Mill.

It's slow, laborious, and just my style. On the floor you can see the older mill that I use for cracking grains.

The Scene.

This bread is ready to rise while I clean up the mess and start the next batch of whole grains fermenting.

Two Loaves, Ready To Slice.

Notice that one loaf is cut in half with a piece missing. In order to make sure it got baked all the way, I cut it open. And, who can resist hot, fresh-baked bread with butter? Not I. It's now a house ritual to share this first slice. Then, the loaves cool and get wrapped in plastic overnight to soften the crust in preparation for slicing.

Sliced And Ready To Eat.

It takes a very sharp knife and a strong, steady hand to make these slices as thin as is traditional. This is a very dense bread so a little goes a long way. Besides, I want to enjoy it slowly with lots of butter. Thin slices help make that feasible.

And since today is a day of heavy work, I am supplementing the bread with coffee for a little extra boost. Aaaand, lest you think me too abstemious, this breakfast is only meant to power me for a couple of hours until lunch, a larger meal with lots of veggies and greens. Dinner is predominantly meat and greens. Repeat.