Holistically Katie

Why go grain free?

I recently decided to see if cutting out grains from my diet would help improve my skin, and it has helped dramatically. I no longer have the itchy bumps around my mouth that I had before. I was vegan for many months and as a vegan, you naturally consume lots of grains, legumes, and beans in order to get an adequate amount of protein because you cannot eat any animal products. Although I am not positive, I do not think this had a good effect on my skin because I constantly suffered from dermatitis. One reasons why grains can be irritating to the skin can be because of trace gluten. I have a gluten allergy, and therefore even if a grain is technically “gluten free” it can still irritate my skin due to trace residues of gluten.

Before:

After:–

Still a bit of discoloration, but no where near as bad as it used to be.

Grains in the modern day diet are heavily processed and do not contain as many nutrients as they did thousands of years ago. For example, milling the wheat gets rid of a lot of the best nutrients and minerals such as zinc, copper and selenium (Source: PaleoLeap). In addition, many grains are synthetically engineered and have multiple chemicals added to them to prevent insects. Grains also contain Lectins which can damage the gut lining over time, and this is a problem if you already have gut issues which I have.

So, for some of us who enjoyed things like oatmeal, what are the alternatives? Luckily, there are hundreds and they are just as delicious.

I got the recipe inspiration from this page

Here is what you need.

• 2 eggs
• 1 tbsp ground flaxmeal
• 3tbsp unsweetened almondmilk
• 1 ripe banana
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1tsp cinnamon
• Optional: Almond butter, sweetner of choice

1. First, cut up the banana and heat it in the microwave for 30 seconds
2. Next, add the two eggs and beat them with the banana
3. Add in the ground flax, almond milk, and cinnamon
4. Beat the mixture
5. Add it onto a pan coated with coconut oil
6. Break up the mixture and mix it around until it resembles the consistency of scrambled eggs
7. Put the mixture in a bowl and top with whatever you like.

*Lil tip: This is optional but I usually fry up the bananas in a pan with the leftover coconut oil to make them caramelized. I then add them on top of the “oatmeal” with some honey and almond butter and it’s seriously so good.

I find that personally I do much better on a more paleo-based diet, but everyone is different!