Low GI muesli

A visitor recently was kind enough to compliment my home-made muesli.  It isn’t something you expect anyone to notice, breakfast cereal.  So I appreciated the remark, and here's the recipe as a way of saying thank you.

Breakfast is probably my main carb meal most days.  Unlike most commercial mueslis which contain oats and wheat, this is based just on oats, and has no dried fruit either.  So it has a fairly low glycaemic index, although please note, it’s not nut-free and would only be gluten-free if made with gf oats.  It isn't exactly low-carb, though leaving out the dried fruit makes it much lower-carb than normal shop-bought muesli.  But what it is is a good filling breakfast, with slow-digested carbs and plenty of fibre, plus some healthy fats and and a small amount of protein from the nuts and seeds.

I make this with jumbo oats when I can get them.  They cost a bit more than ordinary porridge oats, but not a huge amount, and the texture is vastly better.  

You will need:

Porridge oats or jumbo oats or gluten-free oats

Oatbran (optional - I don’t think gf oatbran is widely available, though logically it must exist)

Flaked almonds

Broken or chopped brazil nuts

Hazelnuts, preferably roasted

Pumpkin seeds  }

Linseeds            } - (or a ready-made seed mixture, like H&Bs “Omega mix”)

Sunflower seeds}

Take a large glass or clear plastic storage jar with a tight-fitting lid (I use a two litre Kilner jar).  In it, put the ingredients in layers, starting with the seeds and nuts.  Exact measurements don’t matter, but I would aim to have thicker layers of seeds and thinner layers of nuts; maybe 1½  to 2cm of each of the seeds and 1cm of each of the nuts.  I like to vary it; this batch, for example, is a bit heavy on the sunflower seeds.

You want the seeds and nuts together to fill about two fifths of the jar.  Next, fill the jar almost to the top with oats and finish off with a couple of tablespoons of oatbran.  

Now empty the whole lot into a large bowl and stir together thoroughly.  

Spoon back into the same jar and you’re done. 

Serve with milk or plain yoghurt, and added fresh fruit if you want. 

Giant baked beans

If you've ever seen the above - or just "baked beans", or the even more blunt "big beans" - on a translated menu while on holiday in Greece, and you've avoided what sounds like a rather boring item, you've been missing a trick.  Fasolia gigantes, literally giant beans, are one of the joys of Greek cuisine, and they are nothing like our familiar Heinz Baked Beans, nor indeed the Boston Baked Beans those originally derived from.  They're a classic piece of "peasant" cooking; simple, wholesome, gluten and nut-free, and not just vegetarian but vegan; they're also easy to make, very tasty and highly diabetes-friendly.  Beans give a decent amount of vegetable protein and a reasonable amount of low-GI carbohydrate, set-off with plenty of fibre for your digestion. 

 

Giant Baked Beans, or Gigantes Plaki, fresh out of the oven

Unfortunately, I've never found them on sale in this country except as canned or (slightly posher) bottled versions, ready cooked.  These are okay, with a taste evocative of holidays.   But the real thing, cooked at home from the basics, are much better.  These days I bring a bag of dried fasolia gigantes back religiously from holiday each spring, so I can make my own Gigantes Plaki, giant baked beans.

Edited, 28/5/16, to add: I have now discovered at least two companies importing gigantes, hurrah!  here is one of them: https://greekmarket.co.uk/index.php/greek-groceries/greek-beans-grains.html

Gigantes look a bit like butter beans, but butter beans that have been working out; they are thick and beefy-looking, and they have a meaty texture and slightly sweet taste.  They're not the cheapest bean but they're worth the extra money.  If you do buy a bag on holiday and bring them home, try to use them up within 9 or 10 months maximum.  Don't hoard them; I've made this mistake, and found that like any dried pulse they go stale after they've been open for a while, and then won't cook properly.  I wound up throwing the last 1/4 of the bag away and feeling thoroughly cross with myself.

This is one of those dishes where every family which likes them is probably going to have their own variation on the recipe.  I've evolved mine from adopting things that seem to me to work well; it's quite variable so don't be afraid to tweak it to suit, for example, what herbs you've got.  The recipe can also be made with any other good dried beans, of course; borlotti beans are flavoursome enough and so are kidney beans (amend the cooking time if so, as gigantes are surprisingly quick to cook).  But though that will give you a very good simple bean stew, it won't be authentic gigantes.

1/2 lb/ 200-250g dried fasolia gigantes, rinsed, checked for grit and soaked overnight
1 large onion, chopped
Vegetable oil and olive oil
1 can chopped tomatoes
3-4 cloves garlic, sliced finely
1 dessertspoonful dried oregano
1 large carrot, sliced
1 heaped teaspoonful dried dill
1 small bunch fresh parsley, chopped
1 small bunch fennel leaves, chopped
Optional - a couple of handfuls of spinach or a couple of stems of celery, chopped, plus leaves
Black pepper, tomato puree, stock powder, (optional) a little cinnamon

Put the beans in a saucepan, cover with fresh water and bring to the boil.  Boil hard for ten minutes, then simmer for 30-40.  They should still have a bit of solidity at this stage, so don't cook until they are completely soft - they've still got almost an hour of cooking to go.  Slice the onion and fry until golden in a tablespoon or so of ordinary vegetable oil; after 5 minutes or so, add the carrot, garlic and all the dried herbs, some pepper, plus the celery and cinnamon (if using).  Continue cooking for another 5 minutes, then add the tomatoes, a dessertspoon or so of tomato puree and a teaspoon of stock powder, and the fresh herbs.  Simmer for another 5 minutes until thick and rich, add the spinach (if using), stir in and allow to wilt.  Add the beans and a little of their water and stir all together quickly.  Pour into an ovenproof dish or a deep baking tin.  If the beans aren't covered by the sauce, add a bit more of the water.  Pour a slug of olive oil on top and sprinkle with a little more oregano.  Cook in a medium oven (Fan 150 degrees, gas 4 or so) for 45 minutes to an hour.  Serve hot or cold.  This should be enough for two people as a main dish or three to four as a starter or side dish.