Rinse & rePeat
Member
- Joined
- Mar 10, 2021
- Messages
- 21,516
"By present and past statements of the American Dietetic Association, I think some kind of institutional brain defect might account for their recommendations. Although the dietetic association now feebly acknowledges that sugars don't raise the blood sugar more quickly than starches do, they can't get away from their absurd old recommendations, which were never scientifically justified: “Eat more starches, such as bread, cereal, and starchy vegetables--6 servings a day or more. Start the day with cold (dry) cereal with nonfat/skim milk or a bagel with one teaspoon of jelly/jam. Put starch center stage--pasta with tomato sauce, baked potato with chili, rice and stir-fried beef and vegetables. Add cooked black beans, corn, or garbanzo beans (chickpeas) to salads or casseroles.” -Ray Peat
I realize some people can't tolerate fruits, honey and sugar, so starch would be the next best option to get the body that necessary sugar source. Though they are not "optimal" they are useful in a serious cook's palette.
I have achieved a greater state of health eliminating most of them, at least on a daily basis, but sometimes a LITTLE can make a big difference in the way a dish turns out. My chili would not be the hit it always is without those few tablespoons of masa. My gravies would not be famous if it wasn't thickened with a couple of tablespoons of heirloom all-purpose Jovial flour, and a FEW sweet red potatoes deserve a place in a well made bone broth stew. The joy of a satisfying meal has a place in good health, but regret undoes it all. So my approach to having them, while staying on my anti-aging path, is keeping in mind that "a little goes a long way". Like Ray Peat said in the quote above, don't make starches the star of the show, or even as a side, use them wisely, in small amounts, as a supporting role, with lots of healthy ingredients. Make those little starch additions a drop in the bucket amongst a lot of other nutritious stuff. For the most part my weeks don't include starches, but when life presents me with some empty lobster shells I am not throwing them away, and passing up a good lobster bisque, to avoid a couple teaspoons of flour, no way!
When it comes to starches, potatoes have the most logical benefits. Unlike grains they were not intended for the animals and they don't takeaway more than they give, like grains. To minimize their "cons" i like to boil them. If I am making a stew I cut up and pre-boil the potatoes before adding at the end of my soup. This not only removes a lot of the oxalates, but also it removes a lot of starch, which can be seen in the cloudy water that gets dumped. Even when I make my french fries I pre-boil the potatoes and let them dry on paper towels for a half hour or more before frying in coconut oil. The same goes for hash browns, boil the potatoes first and cool before grating them up and frying in refined coconut oil. They stay light and fluffy too!
When it comes to rice I make sushi with a LITTLE rice and lots of fish and we have it as an appetizer. Masa tortillas make eating awful cow's liver a treat in tacos that make me dreaming of more ! On a special weekend, I love to make an apple "Dutch Baby" pancake, which has mostly apples, eggs and milk with only a half cup of oat four in the whole batch, which makes 4 servings. That is 2 tablespoons of oat flour per person!
LITTLE starch appearances open the door to many more satisfying dishes that leave no regrets. This is how to "have your cake and eat it too"! "What can you eat on this diet"? When you sign up for Ray Peat, you are taking it up a notch. Learn how to cook and care about yourself. It doesn't get any better than this!
I realize some people can't tolerate fruits, honey and sugar, so starch would be the next best option to get the body that necessary sugar source. Though they are not "optimal" they are useful in a serious cook's palette.
I have achieved a greater state of health eliminating most of them, at least on a daily basis, but sometimes a LITTLE can make a big difference in the way a dish turns out. My chili would not be the hit it always is without those few tablespoons of masa. My gravies would not be famous if it wasn't thickened with a couple of tablespoons of heirloom all-purpose Jovial flour, and a FEW sweet red potatoes deserve a place in a well made bone broth stew. The joy of a satisfying meal has a place in good health, but regret undoes it all. So my approach to having them, while staying on my anti-aging path, is keeping in mind that "a little goes a long way". Like Ray Peat said in the quote above, don't make starches the star of the show, or even as a side, use them wisely, in small amounts, as a supporting role, with lots of healthy ingredients. Make those little starch additions a drop in the bucket amongst a lot of other nutritious stuff. For the most part my weeks don't include starches, but when life presents me with some empty lobster shells I am not throwing them away, and passing up a good lobster bisque, to avoid a couple teaspoons of flour, no way!
When it comes to starches, potatoes have the most logical benefits. Unlike grains they were not intended for the animals and they don't takeaway more than they give, like grains. To minimize their "cons" i like to boil them. If I am making a stew I cut up and pre-boil the potatoes before adding at the end of my soup. This not only removes a lot of the oxalates, but also it removes a lot of starch, which can be seen in the cloudy water that gets dumped. Even when I make my french fries I pre-boil the potatoes and let them dry on paper towels for a half hour or more before frying in coconut oil. The same goes for hash browns, boil the potatoes first and cool before grating them up and frying in refined coconut oil. They stay light and fluffy too!
When it comes to rice I make sushi with a LITTLE rice and lots of fish and we have it as an appetizer. Masa tortillas make eating awful cow's liver a treat in tacos that make me dreaming of more ! On a special weekend, I love to make an apple "Dutch Baby" pancake, which has mostly apples, eggs and milk with only a half cup of oat four in the whole batch, which makes 4 servings. That is 2 tablespoons of oat flour per person!
LITTLE starch appearances open the door to many more satisfying dishes that leave no regrets. This is how to "have your cake and eat it too"! "What can you eat on this diet"? When you sign up for Ray Peat, you are taking it up a notch. Learn how to cook and care about yourself. It doesn't get any better than this!
