Want a quick and easy way to begin eating Right 4 Your Type - or a way to help others start? Simply replace wheat bread with spelt bread (if you’re blood type O or type A trying to lose weight). One of the most popular topics among those eating Right 4 Your Type are alternatives to wheat; grains and breads like spelt, quinoa, Manna and Ezekiel, to name just a few. Before being introduced to The Blood Type Diet, you probably weren’t familiar with most of these grains. We were used to going to the grocery store and picking up a loaf of white bread, or for those trying to make a “healthier” choice, a loaf of whole grain. If you’re out there trying to locate Ezekiel or Manna Bread (look in the freezer section of the health food store) or bake your own spelt bread - we have some tips for you to make your life a bit easier.
Spelt—all You Knead?
Spelt is a wonderful, ancient grain that invites questions like; “What is it?” “How do I cook with it?” “Do you have any recipes?” Fortunately, we are here to answer your questions and hopefully inspire you to get out your baking pans!
Spelt is a flowering grass. Its fruit is an ancient cereal grain. Spelt belongs to the same family of plants that include bamboo, rice, sugarcane and modern wheat. Native to southern Europe, where it's been used for millenniums, spelt is easily digestible and has slightly higher protein content than does wheat. Often, it can be tolerated by those with wheat allergies. Spelt has a mellow nutty flavor and can be substituted for wheat flour in baked goods.
Kristin Jasperse (Type B), one of our Blood Type Diet Bloggers, discussed her self professed “Love Affair With Spelt” in one of her recent blogs: “When I started on the Blood Type Diet several years ago, one of the first foods I eliminated was wheat, in particular, whole wheat and wheat germ. I like to bake and I was in the habit of using whole wheat flour and adding wheat germ to EVERYTHING: cookies, muffins, breads, and pancakes in particular. Since spelt flour is similar to wheat flour, I decided to give it a try and printed some spelt recipes off the internet. I was so impressed with the results that I began substituting spelt in all my recipes.” Baking with Spelt is a bit different than using white flour so, she suggests, “Since spelt does not absorb as much liquid as wheat, a little more spelt flour is needed when substituting for wheat. This produces a finer crumb in cakes and muffins. I use about 1/3 cup extra flour for every 3 cups in a recipe. I have also noticed that I am more satisfied with my results when I use a heavy liquid ingredient, such as butter and buttermilk, banana, winter or summer squash, carrots. Cookies made with spelt flour are often dry so I couple spelt with another grain such as oats which hold more moisture.”
If you’d like recipes and to learn more this ancient grain, order a copy of Spelt Healthy! By author and chef Marsha Cosentino. Spelt Healthy contains over 200 delicious and easy-to-follow recipes for breads, sauces, and main dishes (and here’s the best part) all with notations by Blood Type. There is even a spelt pizza dough recipe called Pizza D’Adamo, which was reprinted from Dr. D’Adamo’s Cook Right For Your Type
Manna Bread
This sprouted bread is usually found in the Freezer Section of many health food stores.
Recommended as either neutral or beneficial for most types, Ezekiel, Essene and Manna breads are usually made from 100% sprouted grains, as opposed to other commercially available breads, which are made from regular flours. If it seems strange to look for bread in the freezer section, these breads are a live food with many beneficial enzymes still intact and don’t contain preservatives, they should be stored in the freezer, or refrigerated at home to keep them fresh.
When you purchase these pre-made breads, be sure to read the ingredient list to be sure that there is no added wheat flour. Some commercially produced Ezekiel breads do contain some wheat, so be sure to check before you buy. Sprouted wheat is usually fine, as long as it's fully sprouted. The lectins in many grains are contained in the seed coat. The seed coat is metabolized by the seed or grain when it is germinated, thereby eliminating the lectin and rendering the food useable. New brand names of sprouted grain bread are continually coming to market. Here’s what to check for when looking for these types of bread:
Of those breads that are 100% sprouted, there are two basic types to look for and try: leavened or unleavened.
You’ll most likely want to avoid sprouted breads found in the bread aisle, as they are typically blended with unsprouted flours and ingredients like malted barley. Always check the ingredient label for the presence of un-sprouted flour or grain.
You’ll usually find the 100% sprouted breads in the frozen foods section. (Again, look at the label for any un-sprouted ingredients.)
In the freezer section, there are both leavened and unleavened sprouted breads. “Leaven” is another word for yeast, which helps the bread to rise. Leavened bread will look more like traditional loaves of bread, while unleavened are considered by many to be healthier, as they don’t contain yeast, and baked at low heat. While we’re at it, what’s the final word on using or eating baking yeast in bread? Dr. D’Adamo writes, “People get confused between "yeast" (Candida albicans)and "brewer's or nutritional yeast" (Saccharomyces cerevisiae).The two have NOTHING in common. Good whole grain that is Beneficial for you is GOOD for you—in the recommended portions and frequencies listed in Live Right 4 Your Type.”
One Tip: Try both leavened and unleavened sprouted breads and see how you feel while eating them. Some blood type dieters notice a clear difference in digestibility, and some express that the regular leavened sprouted bread makes it more difficult to lose weight. For those new to the diet with insulin resistance or carbohydrate cravings, the unleavened breads may be better tolerated.
The Unleavened Difference
Typically, when referring to Essene or Manna bread, Dr. D’Adamo is referring to the unleavened variety. In his TypeBase4 food values database, he writes more about it: “With no pun intended, Essene bread is the very essence of simplicity. Its only required ingredient is sprouted grain, and you can easily sprout your own. The sprouts are ground to a doughy consistency, shaped into loaves, and baked at very low heat until crusty on the outside but still moist and chewy on the inside. Nothing else is needed: no yeast, sweeteners, flour, oil, salt, and of course, no chemical conditioners or preservatives.” You can add other items to the dough (following the recommendations for your blood type)—chopped fruit, nuts, seeds, or spices—and they can give exciting new tastes and variety to your breads. But these ingredients are nice but not necessary. Plain Essene or Manna bread has a surprisingly sweet and nutty-rich flavor all its own. Hard whole wheat berries are used most frequently, and work extremely well. When sprouted, they become very sweet (since, through sprouting, the starches in the grains are converted to sugars) and once ground, produce a workable dough which holds together well when shaped into loaves. But other grains can be used, too, and each will have its own characteristics of taste and texture. Rye berries, for example, also become sweet when sprouted, and they have a taste distinctly different from wheat. Other possibilities can be found in the particular grain listings for your blood type. Combining different grains produces interesting new flavors.”
Make your own Essene or Ezekiel Breads, from Heidi Merritt’s blog
Grains of the Future
Here are a few other wonderful grains that you might like to try with links to some tasty R4YT recipes:
Quinoa
Although quinoa is new to the American market, it was a staple of the ancient Incas, who called it "the mother grain." To this day it's an important food in South American cuisine. Hailed as the "super grain of the future," quinoa contains more protein than any other grain. It's considered a complete protein because it contains all eight essential amino acids. Quinoa is also higher in unsaturated fats and lower in carbohydrates than most grains, and it provides a rich and balanced source of vital nutrients. Tiny and bead-shaped, the ivory-colored quinoa cooks like rice (taking half the time of regular rice) and expands to four times its original volume. Its flavor is delicate, almost bland, and has been compared to that of couscous. Quinoa is lighter than but can be used in any way suitable for rice - as part of a main dish, a side dish, in soups, in salads and even in puddings. It's available packaged as a grain, ground into flour and in several forms of pasta. Quinoa can be found in most health-food stores and some supermarkets. Fortunately, it’s also a neutral for all types and secretor statuses.
Go to Quinoa Tortillas Recipe from The Blood Type Diet Receipe Database
Amaranth
Once considered a simple weed in the United States, this nutritious annual is finally being acknowledged as the nourishing high-protein food it is. Amaranth greens have a delicious, slightly sweet flavor and can be used both in cooking and for salads. The seeds are used as cereal or can be ground into flour for bread. Amaranth seeds and flour can be found in health-food stores, as well as in some Caribbean and Asian markets.
Type O - Neutral for secretors and non-secretors
Type A - Beneficial for secretors and non-secretors - super-beneficial for cancer.
Type B - Avoid for secretors and neutral for non-secretors
Type AB - Beneficial for secretors and non-secretors - uper-beneficial for cancer.
Go to Kate's Amaranth Waffles from The Blood Type Diet Recipe Database
Millet
Though America cultivates this cereal grass almost exclusively for fodder and bird seed, millet is a staple for almost 1/3 of the world's population, particularly in disadvantaged regions of Asia and Africa. There are many varieties of millet, most of which are rich in protein. Millet has a bland flavor that lends itself well as a background to other seasonings. It's prepared like rice by boiling it in water and is used to make hot cereal and dishes like PILAF. Ground millet is used as a flour to make puddings, breads and cakes. Millet can be found in Asian markets and health-food stores. Millet is a beneficial or a neutral food for all blood types and secretor statuses.
Go to Turkey with Millet Stovetop Casserole from The Blood Type Diet Recipe Database
