Best way to cook wholegrain maizemeal

The best way to cook wholegrain maizemeal takes some extra effort and a day's delay; it needs to cool and retrograde for at least 8 hours.

Best way to cook wholegrain maizemeal

Whilst I'm totally committed to keeping it simple and slow food made fast, there are some things than simply cannot be rushed. And if it takes more time to produce a healthier, more palatable meal then we should consider whether it not worth the extra effort.

I have been cooking wholegrain maizemeal porridge for many years; it's definitely better to allow your breakfast to retrograde overnight and even a day or two.

Carbs and fats get bad press

Oscar Wilde the Irish writer once wrote, tongue in cheek, that fashion is something so bad that we have to change it every year; many a true word said in jest. It's just as valid of food as clothing.

First it was animal protein that was all bad, then it was fats; initially those that are saturated and now the polys. Around 10 years ago the blame for our poor health shifted to carbs.

It is a lot of nonsense of course, failing to appreciate the complexity of nutrition; rather it's all about what else you are eating and your general lifestyle too.

However let's acknowledge that the ultra-processing food industry is where much of the blame lies. Some of the polys are essential fatty acids; we would die without them. But these days so much is being added to baked goods for example that they make up a ten-times excessive amount; that is highly inflammatory.

• Linoleic acid in sunflower and soybean oil promotes inflammation
  

And carbs are not all bad. It's French fries, baked potatoes from cold storage and ultraprocessed grains that are causing havoc with our health; raised serum glucose, inflamed organs and diseased blood vessels.

Wholegrain maizemeal and grains in generally are extremely healthy. Such that the cancer society actually recommends we consume one of them at every meal; but you won't find many in the average grocery store. They have a limited shelf-life once milled.

Best way to cook wholegrain maizemeal

The best way to cook wholegrain maizemeal is to assess how much your family will eat over a few days, prepare more than enough for one breakfast and allow it to cool overnight.

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Option 1: Add just butter and milk

Enjoy your wholegrain grits as the Americans call it, pap in South Africa and polenta in Italy with a good dab of butter, extra salt to taste and milk if you choose.

Option 2: Butter, honey and milk

Again add that dab of butter and perhaps this time a spoonful of raw honey. With nearly 50% of adults being on the verge of diabetes we all need to avoid using sugar.

Natural honey has a low GI.

Option 3: Butter, milk and cream-cheese

This is to my mind the best way to cook and enjoy wholegrain maizemeal but it is dependent on you having good metabolic health; your blood glucose, lipid profile and weight are all within normal limits.

To the cold retrograded thick porridge again add a little milk and butter; bring to the boil and simmer as above. Now pour in a good dollop of cream, stirring thoroughly.

Finally in your bowl mix in a spoonful of cream-cheese; now you'll find your wholegrain maizemeal irresistible.

Option 4: Spinach, onions and carrots

The Xhosa people in South Africa love to enrich their maizemeal porridge with vegetables; usually spinach, onion and carrots. It's actually very nice; and the potassium in the spinach will counterbalance the salt.

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First choice is yellow maize

Our first choice always is for yellow maize; perhaps even sweet corn. The extra protein, less starch and beta-carotene are all so important; 20 children die every single day in South Africa from a vitamin A deficiency.

• Beta-carotene is also called vitamin A
  

But white wholegrain maize is good too but it has less benefits and may be fattening; small helpings. 

Why all that fat?

Fat should hold absolutely no fear for those enjoying a nourishing diet with plenty of salads, whole grains and legumes. There is debate mind you about that of animal origin; there you should follow your own guiding star.

At our green home we have no fear of butter and cream but could be mistaken. We are confident because serum glucose, blood pressure and cholesterol profiles are all in order; that's the joy of enjoying unprocessed foods, many from our own garden. 

Many of the nutrients including beta-carotene in yellow maize are dependent on fat with the meal for absorption in the gut; so we are generous with butter and cream.

Retrogradation of wholegrain maizemeal

Of critical importance for all those suffering from abnormally raised blood glucose or obesity is an understanding of what happens to a starch when it is cooled. The molecules coil into a format that is more slowly digested; it is called retrogradation.

It forms what is known as a resistant starch; less is digested in the small intestine forming glucose and more reaches the colon to support the friendly bacteria known as the microbiome^[1].

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