{"id":1219,"date":"2011-09-28T17:56:38","date_gmt":"2011-09-28T17:56:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/?p=1219"},"modified":"2017-11-08T15:36:29","modified_gmt":"2017-11-08T15:36:29","slug":"how-to-make-healthy-whole-grain-breadcrumbs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/how-to-make-healthy-whole-grain-breadcrumbs\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Make Healthy, Whole Grain Breadcrumbs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Transform throw away crusts into kitchen gold<\/span><\/h2>\n

The previous post talked about “breading,<\/a>” an easy building block cooking technique used to create dozens of different, interesting dishes.\u00a0 Get ready to start experimenting with this technique by making your own breadcrumbs.\u00a0 Save money by using up old crusts and stale bread that would otherwise go to waste.\u00a0 Help the environment by keeping food out of\u00a0 landfills, where it produces methane, a far worse contributor to global warming than carbon emissions.<\/p>\n

\"Out
Good News for Gluten Free Eaters: Enjoy breaded dishes by making crumbs from your favorite GF bread, like Out of the Breadbox, at Vitamin Cottage.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Start with Whole Not Half<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0 Healthy breadcrumbs can only come from healthy bread, and that means bread made from 100% whole grains, like whole wheat, oats, brown rice and millet.\u00a0 In the ingredient listing for a bread, the single word “wheat” is code for “white flour.”\u00a0 Skip that brand and look for one made entirely from whole grains.\u00a0 Whole grains are so delicious and nutrition rich; why waste money on breads made with half grains, especially when it’s the halves with all the calories and few of the nutrients that go with them!<\/p>\n

Gluten Free<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0 Good news for gluten free eaters:\u00a0 You can use gluten free bread for crumbs.\u00a0 Be sure it’s whole grain, like Food for Life’s Millet Bread which makes really flavorful crumbs.<\/p>\n

\"Using
Act Ahead: Whenver you end up with a couple crusts or stale slices, toss them in the food processor and give them a whir.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Act Ahead<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0 Don’t wait until preparing a breaded dish to make the breadcrumbs.\u00a0 Then you’ll be saddled with the extra step of a\u00a0 toasting them in the oven to dry.\u00a0 Instead, weave the process into your normal kitchen routine.\u00a0 Here’s an example:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Whenever you end up with a crust or two, simply toss them in the food processor.<\/li>\n
  2. Process the crumbs when, e.g., you’re next unloading the dishwasher.\u00a0 Push the button and unload the glasses.\u00a0 Once the bread has been transformed into crumbs, dump them on a plate.\u00a0 Put the plate on top of, e.g, the microwave.<\/li>\n
  3. Give the crumbs a stir or two over the next couple days to make sure the bottom ones get exposed to air.<\/li>\n
  4. Then, while heating something in the microwave, pour the dried crumbs (make sure they are completely<\/em> dry)\u00a0 into a storage container; put the plate in the dishwasher.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    \"Large
    Large crumbs are great for gratin toppings, meatballs and so on. . . <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Now you’ve got large crumbs to use for gratin toppings, in meatloaf and meatballs, etc.\u00a0 To use crumbs for breading, I recommend one additional step:<\/p>\n

    The Fine Grind<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0 Breading works best when the crumbs are very fine.\u00a0 They do a better job of sticking to the food and creating an even, solid coating.\u00a0 That’s why flour and cornmeal are such good breading ingredients.\u00a0 Breadcrumbs can be made into a perfect breading ingredient by simply running them through the food processor again, after they are dried the first time<\/em>.\u00a0 I wait and do this when I’m making a dish, and only fine grind as much as I need, leaving larger crumbs for other uses.<\/p>\n

    \"Small
    . . . but for breading, process again after they are dried for a small, fine crumb<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    No Food Processor?<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0 An immersion blender<\/a> with a chopper attachment is a good, and much less expensive, alternative.\u00a0 If that option isn’t available, there’s always a rolling pin.\u00a0 In the days before all our specialized electric appliances, we broke crusts into large pieces, dried them and then crushed with a rolling pin.\u00a0 Putting them inside paper or plastic bags minimized the mess.<\/p>\n

    Ready to do experiment with breading?\u00a0 Check out the next post on Breaded Eggplant with Herbed Tomato Topping<\/a>,\u00a0 which makes use of plentiful late summer and early autumn produce.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Transform throw away crusts into kitchen gold. How to make your own breadcrumbs for a healthier, lower cost alternative to store-bought crumbs–and save the environment while you’re at it! <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"generate_page_header":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,24,8,1],"tags":[81,82,87,130,247,283,284,647,650],"class_list":["post-1219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-healthy-cooking-basics","category-basic-healthy-cooking-techniques","category-gluten-freewheat-free-eating","category-uncategorized","tag-bread-crumbs","tag-breading-foods","tag-building-block-basic-cooking-techniques","tag-cooking-basics","tag-gluten-free-diet","tag-healthy-cooking","tag-healthy-eating","tag-whole-grain","tag-whole-grains","masonry-post","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-50"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1219","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1219"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1219\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2747,"href":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1219\/revisions\/2747"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1219"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1219"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cookhappylivehealthy.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1219"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}