I don’t eat a lot of grains. Why? Because. I don’t have to answer your questions. Oh, settle down. I’m just kidding. It’s a good question. I have a couple really good reasons stored up just for this occasion.
First, thanks to flat feet I have bad knees – I know, bad news when you’re 30 – worse news when I got it at the age of 15. And since gluten (a protein found in most grains) is linked to inflammation – something my joints frankly don’t need more of – I cut it out the majority of the time (something to keep in mind when you recommend a food stop, eh?).
Second, I’ve had a ton of sports injuries. Tons. I practically thrive on sports injuries. The problem is that my body doesn’t really dig ‘em and following an anti-inflammatory diet is just what the doctor orders when trying to recover from a sports injury…or eight.
Third, I try to eat unprocessed, but really freakin’ good foods and I try to stay as close to my food as possible. What does that mean? It means that I want to know the farm my vegetables came from. I want my cows to have eaten grass and not hormones before they hit my plate. And I want the whole trip to be as short and natural as possible. Most grains are tough to eat unprocessed so they end up going through a lot to get to our plates. A loaf of bread has had a hell of a trip to get to me. A bagel. Pasta. Lots of processing.
Forth, I love athletics as much as I love food. On a daily basis (when I’m in prime shape and not nursing anything that falls into the second category above) I’m running, biking, Olympic weightlifting and swimming. Vacations for me are rock climbing, snowboarding, kayaking and hiking. A beach isn’t the same without a football and a surfboard. That means that I want to be fit, lean and at peak performance. Through many many many trial and errors I have found that cutting out grains helps me tremendously in this regard. My food has fewer empty calories and is more nutrient dense.
All this being said, if I’m in Decatur, GA, I’m eating a Farm Burger and I’ll chow down on the bun. And you better believe I won’t be passing up a slice (not a loaf, a slice) of my Dad’s homemade whole wheat bread hot from the oven.
Mini-sandwich (hold the grains)
Cut a large zucchini into quarter-inch rounds. Spread some local wholegrain mustard on one side. Add a slab of natural turkey breast (easy to find – even at your local big box grocery store) and some grape tomato slices. Slap another zucchini round on top and you have yourself a wee snack. Repeat the process three more times and you have yourself a solid pre-bike ride treat.
I made up a sandwich the other day (I never plan ahead — I just look in the box) that is now one of my favorites. You can leave off the bread, but the rest is a thick slice of Jersey tomato, a slice or two of Provolone, a slab of onion and a shmear of guac. Tang, crunch, sweet, fat,juice. Just great.