By Ivy Entrekin
editor’s note: Ivy is a frequent commenter on this site and I’m so pleased to introduce her to you now as a guest author. Ivy is a personal chef, caterer, and one of the iconic band of Portland’s “wait staff” who can tell you the provenance of your lunch. Her detailed biography is at the end of this post. Please make Ivy feel welcome with your comments!
Recently, I was discussing the subject of love with a dear friend. At one point in our conversation, she asked, “Who do you love?” “Teff,” I said, not missing a beat. Nearly spraying her iced tea onto my dining room table, she raised her eyebrows in disbelief and said, “Teff? Teff?! You mean like…..the grain?”.
I nodded yes, and thought to myself: oh boy, do I have a lot of explaining to do.
But I was ready. You see nothing gets me all jazzed up and gushy more than my favorite foods.
To begin at the beginning…..I was a woman with issues. Plagued by a weak digestive system, and allergies to so many things, I spent the first thirty or so years of my life feeling sick, tired, and not fitting into my blue jeans. I suffered from seizures, eczema, anemia and irritable bowel syndrome. At times it felt hopeless, but I never stopped looking for answers. I was determined to be healthy, and at some point along the way I became hip to the idea of giving up certain foods for the sake of good health.
This was something I could really get jazzed about.
It took me awhile, but I began to educate myself. I learned that eating food that was really suited to my body did wonders for my psyche, not to mention my physique. One by one my symptoms disappeared—like magic—only better than magic, because it was real.
How did I do it? Bear with me while I tell you about being nourished, happy, and well-fed.
When I had to give up dairy for example, I thought, “What? No goat cheese, ice cream, butter??” Eventually gluten had to go, and I was certain I’d never enjoy another meal for the rest of my life. My checklist got longer: oats, millet, rice, tomatoes, chickpeas, peanuts, cashews, bananas….
Sigh. It really was beginning to seem hopeless.
But here’s the thing: Every time I removed a certain food from my diet, I found something else amazing to replace it. Seriously – every single time. This is how teff came my way.
You probably know that whole grains are quite the buzz these days. Various grains are making the rounds. Quinoa went from being an obscure dot of South American culture, to having big street cred virtually overnight. Millet and sorghum have become household names in the gluten-free baking crowd, and buckwheat is finally getting its fair due as well. While I appreciate all of these grains in their own special way, teff has won my heart.
Teff is not loud or boisterous, big, fat, chewy, fickle or fancy. In fact, he’s kind of a little guy with a big heart. Small in stature, but big in taste, teff has personality to spare. His malty darkness completes my bread, and his sticky, diminutive grains have changed polenta forever. Mixing him with amaranth has added wonderful depth to my morning porridge, and… just ask me about my chocolate chip cookies! You’ll never bake with ordinary flour again.
Teff makes me feel good all over; nourishes me from the inside out, helps me shine bright and be my true, authentic, healthy, happy self. And really, isn’t that what we’re all looking for?
So, I am in love alright. What about you? What makes your tummy feel terrific?
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Ivy Entrekin is a holistic personal chef who believes that healthy food is our most effective form of medicine. After experiencing life-changing results when altering her own diet, Ivy decided to devote her life to helping others do the same. In 2007, after moving to Portland, Ivy’s career really took off. These days she finds great joy in the relationships she has cultivated with her clients, and the beauty of the Pacific Northwest. Ivy is currently accepting new clients and can help you develop a personal diet to meet your health needs. To get in touch with Ivy or learn more about her business, check out her website: www.earlygirlsmovablefeast.com.
Photo credit: jazzijava via photopin cc
Muffin recipe can be found here: Grateful for Food
Photo of Ivy Entrekin by Patrick Troccolo
Great post, Ivy (and Susie). I haven’t tried teff yet, but probably will now. I have eaten quinoa and like it very much. I’m also surprised at how versatile it is. I try to eat gluten free. I don’t have Celiac Disease but feel like a different person without gluten in my system – nore focused, more energetic, calmer and happier – so I can understand how different food choices can make such a difference for you.
That is exactly what I experience Shelley. I can eat gluten, but I feel so much better without it. Seems that exploring food in this way is to become present to the whole range of reactions, not either/or, but rather somewhere along the yardstick. Not the navel-gazing stuff, just getting used to noticing–on a regular basis–how food makes me feel.
OK, but how do you make that muffin – it looks like a meal in itself!
Hi Marilyn! The recipe for the muffin is at the very bottom of the post in between the photo credits. If you look there, you’ll find the link to click on to take you to the site for the recipe. There is not a lot of teff in this recipe, but we had a lot of requirements to meet…..
I’m convinced. Teff is going on my shopping list today. Thanks for this interesting post.
Please let me know about your experiments with the grain…I’m gathering recipes too.
Ah, teff. At last, there are commercially-made, gluten-free breads with the flavor depth whole-wheat breads have. Not to mention teff’s impressive health benefits.
Jeez, Ivy, now I want a piece of toast. Luckily, the bread I have on hand lists “teff seeds” as its second ingredient.
Can I brag on you Nan? Friends of the blog: this comment comes from a woman who can make a chocolate muffin taste like the best you’ve ever had–and I mean ever had–with NO grains (flour) at all and NO sugar. I wouldn’t have believed it if she hadn’t been so generous while I stood at her kitchen counter and tried to remember my manners!
Great post… I have recently been told that I have food sensitivities that include: dairy, wheat, corn, carrots, beans, eggs, rice and nuts… I don’t eat meat anymore and not big on fish… I told the doc that all that left was squid ink in soy milk…I had tried giving up all these things…. Then I got breast cancer… Now recovering and will again try to find things I can eat….I guess I should try this…michelle
Michelle, being in your shoes, the best cookbook I know of is called: “Cancer Fighting Kitchen” and I’ll have to get back with you about the author. The other biggie is sugar. As the saying goes: Cancer loves sugar. That’s a tough one, but I’m trying.
Michelle, the author is Rebecca Katz, a nutritionist and writer with major credentials using food to create health that is powerful, that fights off cancer, that makes our bodies a place cancer *doesn’t want to be*. Isn’t that something. The recipes are darned good too. I like an author who can make fun of kale, the holy grail of health.
Worth noting is that the author, Rebecca Katz, also has a new book called “The Longevity Kitchen” which is getting rave reviews.
Ivy, thanks for adding that….I hadn’t heard of the book. I’ll check it out!
I am still experimenting with my diet. I have never heard of Teff but will have to look it up. I have little time to cook or bake my own foods so it is hard around here with no gluten-free foods to buy except the few at the grocers.
I had to look up teff too. It is a tiny, tiny grain; miniscule really, and it tastes so good. Ivy makes it into a Polenta that is wonderful. I guess the further out from a major city, the less availability of these kinds of grains, but they will get there in time.
I have this on my side-bar…songs of many insects http://www.songsofinsects.com/
Thanks Michelle. I’ll check it out for sure. (side subject for you other readers, unrelated to teff!)