Eating Bird Food!

I love experimenting with new foods.  (I guess you've figured that out already if you've been reading this blog.)  I've been meaning to try out millet for some time.  I became interested in millet when A.J.'s teacher first told me the Waldorf concept of a "grain a day."  I went home and researched it a little, and found that according to the Waldorf Kindergarten Snack Book, children should have specific grains on certain days of the week:

Sunday (Sun): Wheat
Monday (Moon):  Rice
Tuesday (Mars):  Barley
Wednesday (Mercury);  Millet
Thursday (Jupiter):  Rye
Friday (Venus):  Oats
Saturday (Saturn):  Corn

Part of the reason that this is done is because there is a belief that there is a connection between the grains and their cosmic origins.  Also, and in my opinion, more importantly, is that this helps establish a rhythm in the home for the children.  The days of the week are fairly meaningless to young children, but they can easily ascertain the rhythm of the week based on a pattern.

Millet is really a fascinating grain and is currently growing in popularity in the United States.  I didn't realize it until I saw it in the store, that I had seen it before...in bird food.  It's the main ingredient in some bird seed mixes!  It's technically not a grain, but is often classified that way.  It is a seed, and doesn't contain any gluten, so it's great for people that need gluten free diets.  It's very common in areas of the world where staples like wheat and rice do not grow well.  Like oatmeal, it's excellent for the heart and can lower cholesterol and heart disease.

After deciding that I wanted to experiment, I went in search of recipes, and had very little luck finding them.  So, I decided to make a porridge with the millet similar to my steel cut oats porridge.  When A.J. was first born, I had trouble finding time to cook breakfast (and, well...anything really).  I was desperately trying to not let the quality of my diet go downhill, since I was breastfeeding, and I stumbled up on the cookbook, Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cook Book.  Inside the book, there was a recipe for steel cut oats in the crock pot!  I had never thought of that before, and was thrilled to try it out and it was delicious and super easy!  I tried a variation for millet.

Millet Porridge in the Crock Pot

1 cup millet 
2 cups almond milk
2 cups water
1 tsp. cinnamon


Rinse the millet and remove any debris.  Add the millet, almond milk, water, and cinnamon into the crock pot.  Cook on low overnight (or for at least 8 hours).  You can also add any dried fruit of your choice.  Serve with a sweetener of your choice (agave nectar, maple syrup, etc.).


I added some dried apples to the crockpot with the rest of the ingredients.  I believe that is in compliance with Ayurveda since I read that some dried fruits are okay to eat with other foods.

Bottom line: A.J. loved it!  I liked it, and, even Greg liked it.  He is my toughest critic, but he ate a large bowl of it (the large amount of maple syrup he added probably helped).