millet

Recipe – Creamy Millet Breakfast Porridge

by

Millet

Millet is a starchy cereal grain rich in protein, carbohydrates and several vitamins and minerals. While it may look like a seed, millet’s nutritional profile is similar to that of sorghum and other cereals. It is an ancient grain, used both for human consumption as well as livestock and bird feed. There are two categories of millet—major and minor millets—with major being the most popular.

Because of its small size and hardness, it is drought and pest resistant, able to survive in harsh environments and less fertile soil.

Millet is widely consumed in developing countries throughout Africa and Asia, but has gained popularity in the West primarily because it is gluten-free.

Millet offers multiple health benefits:

  • High protein and fiber
  • Rich in antioxidants
  • May help control blood sugar levels
  • May help lower cholesterol

A potential downside is that millet contains anti-nutrients, compounds that block or reduce the body’s absorption of other nutrients and could lead to deficiencies in potassium, calcium, iron, zinc, and magnesium. Millet’s anti-nutrient content can be reduced significantly by soaking it overnight at room temperature, then draining and rinsing it before cooking. However, a person with a balanced diet isn’t likely to experience adverse effects.

Enjoy millet as a breakfast porridge, side dish, salad add-in, and cookie or cake ingredient.

Source: healthline.com/nutrition/what-is-millet

Recipe – Creamy Millet Breakfast Porridge

Ingredients

1 cup uncooked hulled millet

1 cup almond milk (or non-dairy milk of choice)

3 cups water

3Tbs. maple syrup + more to taste

Sliced strawberries, for topping

Chopped almonds, for topping

Process

  • Combine uncooked millet, almond milk, and water in a medium saucepan.
  • Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and let it simmer for about 20-25 minutes, until millet is cooked and tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed.
  • Add the maple syrup and mix well for another 30 seconds.
  • Serve topped with sliced strawberries and chopped almonds.

Yield: 2 medium bowls

Recipe – Millet Pudding

by

Place in Blender:

3 cups cooked millet

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 cup honey

Then add enough soy milk or cashew milk to soften to a pudding consistency.

Pour enough Grape Nuts in a baking dish to make a one-inch layer and then add the pudding. Bake on a low heat in the oven for about thirty minutes. After baking, remove from oven and place any seasonal fruit, sliced, on top.

Recipe – Millet Supreme

by

Place in Mini-Crock Pot:

1 cup millet

1 teaspoon salt

4 cups water

Let cook overnight. In the morning stir well and add:

½ cup chopped nuts

½ cup date rolls or pieces.

Stir well and cook another thirty minutes. Serve as a delicious and nutritious breakfast cereal. Left over may be molded, sliced and baked. Delicious, topped with Fruit Sauce.

Recipe – Toasted Millet Breakfast Slices

by

1 cup hulled millet

1/2 cup ground flax seed

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 cups water

1/2 cup macaroon coconut

1/2 cup chopped dates

In a slow cooker, place millet, flax seed, salt, and water. Cook until water is gone. Add coconut and dates to taste. Place in a square container and cool. Cut in 1/2 inch slices and toast on both sides under broiler. Serve with fresh fruit and thickened coconut cream or fruit sauce.

Recipe – Millet Casserole, Lentil Loaf, and Fruit Soup

by

Camp Meeting Recipes

Millet Casserole

3 minced garlic cloves

4 Tablespoons olive oil

1-1/4 cups uncooked millet

1-1/2 cups chopped celery

2 cups chopped onions

2 quarts canned tomatoes

1-1/2 teaspoons basil

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons onion powder

1/2 teaspoon oregano

2 teaspoons honey

1/2 cup cashew pieces

1/2 cup chopped black olives

1 cup tomato juice

Sauté garlic in olive oil. Lightly blend the tomatoes and add all of the remaining ingredients except the olives and tomato juice. Cook over medium to low heat for 20 minutes. Add olives and tomato juice and place in an oiled casserole pan. Cover tightly with aluminum foil. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour or until millet is soft and liquid absorbed.

Lentil Loaf

2 cups cooked lentils

1-1/2 cups bread crumbs

1/2 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup minced onion

1/4 cup minced celery

1/2 teaspoon sage

1 Tablespoon soy sauce

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 cup tomato puree

1/4 teaspoon salt

2–3 Tablespoons fructose or sweetener of choice

Mix together lentils, bread crumbs (gluten free crumbs if gluten intolerance), nuts, onion, celery, sage, and soy sauce. Pat into a well oiled loaf pan. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Mix tomato puree, lemon juice, salt, and fructose. Spread over loaf and return to oven for 20–25 minutes. The entire ingredient list can be mixed together and just baked without the topping. Note: Leftovers make great sandwiches. (Cookbook by Mindy Breckenridge, Cooking Vegetarian for Normal People.)

Fruit Soup

2 32-oz. cans of pineapple juice

1/4 cup small tapioca pearls

Combine and bring to a boil, cooking until the tapioca is clear. Set aside to cool. Combine any fruit of your choice, other than melons. Fresh, frozen, canned or dried fruit may be used. If you add bananas, treat them with lemon juice or orange juice so they do not discolor, and add them just before serving. Other than the bananas, the fruit may be added to the cooled soup mixture and stored overnight or served immediately.

Health – Grains

by

Wheat and other grains are widely used to make bread, pancakes, soups, etc., but not many know that there are also medicinal uses for these grains.

Barley flour made into a poultice can be used for the treatment of inflamed skin. A nutritive and demulcent (soothing for irritated mucous membranes) drink is made from barley by making a mixture of one part barley to 10 parts water, boil for 20 minutes and then strain. This can be used on feverish patients and where there is inflammation and mucous in the respiratory and urinary organs. The drink is soothing to the stomach and intestines and can be very effective in helping long-standing constipation. It acts as a general nerve tonic bringing back vitality to a weakened system making one feel more cheerful. It is useful in cases of diarrhea, pulmonary disease, inflammation of kidneys, liver disease, and mineral deficiency. Barley water can be diluted with milk to prevent the formation of hard masses of curd in the stomach of young infants. Another way to make a drink is to boil 2 ounces of barley in four pints of water until reduced to two pints; then add lemon juice or licorice root or raisins for flavoring ten minutes before taking off the stove.

As a tonic, barley water can be drunk regularly.

Oats may be made into a drink by boiling an ounce of the grain to a quart of water for half an hour. This drink can be taken where a laxative is needed or used for a diuretic. A nourishing broth for nursing infants may be made by mixing equal parts of oats, wheat and barley; grind the mixture and add four tablespoonfuls of the flour to one and a half quarts of water and boil until reduced to one quart; then strain and sweeten and give daily. Oats are considered helpful in cases of uremic poisoning and diabetes and to help where there is a thyroid deficiency. The oat drink or gruel is good in cases of fever and has been used in cases of poisoning from acid substances. The drink will usually be accepted by patients of weak digestion when other foods are rejected. It is considered to be good to restore the nervous system and as a tonic after debilitating sicknesses. It seems to aid the heart muscles and the urinary organs. It is recommended as an all-around drink for the sick, weak and healthy. Oatmeal or rolled oats is good for regulating normal and healthful blood sugar in the early morning hours. Oats are one of our few food sources used for obtaining iodine.

Brown rice, which contains an easily digested starch, is beneficial for stomach or intestinal ulcers and for the relief of diarrhea. A poultice of rice flour can be used to relieve skin inflammations of various kinds. We have seen serious cases of diarrhea respond most effectively to rice water made by boiling one ounce of rice to one quart of water for 20 minutes, straining and drinking. This drink is also used in cases of congestion, acute head pain, nausea, fainting, difficult breathing, stomach cramps, colic, worms and as a sedative.

Rye is recommended for individuals engaged in sedentary activities. It is believed to combat arteriosclerosis, and high blood pressure. Boiling three ounces of rye to a quart of water for 20 minutes produces a refreshing, soothing and mildly laxative solution.

Millet is an easily digested food good for constipation and beneficial for weight gain and general emaciation. It is considered good where mental or physical weakness exists and also for pregnancy.

Corn is considered good in cases of emaciation, anemia, constipation and as an overall body building food. The balance of unsaturated versus saturated fatty acids in corn oil helps lower the blood lipid levels. The suggested dose of corn oil is two tablespoons taken upon arising and before the evening meal for a few weeks or months. Some Indians would steep corn in lye to be used as an intestinal anti-spasmodic. Blue corn meal mush was applied hourly to bullet wounds. Others have used a corn meal poultice for skin ulcers, swellings and rheumatic pains. A cup of parched corn to two quarts of water lightly boiled for 20 minutes, then strained and drunk has been found useful in cases of nausea and vomiting in many diseases. Cornmeal gruel is excellent for convalescents. Cornbread is thought to be of benefit for those suffering from kidney or liver diseases.

Wheat has been recommended in cases of arthritis, rheumatic fever, and in some types of cancer, pulmonary disease including tuberculosis, anemia, and physical and emotional weakness. It is felt that the vitamin D in wheat helps in rickets and other vitamin D diseases. One recipe for a good heart remedy is to soak a half of a cup of coarse ground wheat in a thermos of hot water overnight. Eat this each morning for three months.

We can make a mild grain drink as indicated above with any of the grains by lightly roasting the grain; then gently boil one cup of the grain to two quarts of water for about 20 minutes, strain and add honey and a little cream or milk.

Another way to make a mild grain drink is to soak one cup of seed in two cups of water for 16 hours (24 hours in colder weather). Strain off the water and let the soak water ferment in a warm place for another 36 to 72 hours. It is then ready to drink. Another method is to soak the grain for two or three days after which the soak water may be drunk and then refill the container with water for another soak with the grain. After each drink refill the container; this can be repeated for up to two weeks. This mild grain drink should taste somewhat like whey. The best soaking temperature seems to be between 68 degrees and 77 degrees F. The drink is rich in protein, carbohydrates, dextrines, saccharine, phosphate, lactobacilli, saccharomyces, and Aspergillus oryzae. Many find this drink beneficial to the digestion. It is nonalcoholic and rich in B vitamins. It has been observed that acidophilus bacilli or lactobacilli create an acid medium in the intestine, destroying any unfriendly, disease-producing putrefactive bacteria. Many who use this drink feel that this enzyme-rich drink has helped them with minor to the most serious health problems. Likewise the regular drinking of the roasted grain drink has produced in others a feeling of well-being and vitality.

Excerpts from School of Natural Health