Wheat Belly Wheat Belly Wheat Belly Wheat Belly Wheat Belly Wheat Belly. Wheat Belly. Wheat Belly Cookbook. Wheat Belly Recipes.*
People leave reviews on My Cookbooks saying the recipes are “not Wheat Belly compatible.” Right. They're totally not Wheat Belly compatible, silly! But that's when I knew: Wheat Belly will not be ignored! So I'm not gonna ignore it. I bought a copy of the Wheat Belly Cookbook ebook, & I started reading. Is the science sound, and will it bring you long-lasting health & happiness? No clue here. I'm just a baker. So after the reading, I began the baking. I really just wanted to know how it all shook out.
And by the way if you care to see, I developed some recipes that are fabulous and very Wheat-Belly recipe friendly. Try:
Healthy Almond Flour Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
Healthy Almond Flour Gluten Free Brownies
Healthy Almond Flour Gluten Free Muffins (possibly my favorite of the bunch)
Healthy Almond Flour Vegan Protein Bites
Now, just because I'm dipping a toe into the world of grain-free baking doesn't mean I'm planning to eat like a dinosaur or feed my kids like cavepeople. I'm not ditching rice flour. I'm not gonna 86 sugar completely, or starting touting the benefits of eating a hamburger in a lettuce wrap (which by the way and not for nothing is not the same as a bun). I'm just … curious. I want to be where you are, see what it's like. I want to come over to your house and poke around, open up the cabinets and talk to your husband or wife. I want to look at the spines on your bookshelf. If you're Wheat Belly curious, well then I am too!
*Real Disclaimer: I will not reprint the recipe here. I'm a recipe developer and a cookbook author myself, and I simply won't violate a copyright like that. Not up for discussion, I'm afraid.
The Verdict
It's not-bad. But it's not really bread, either.
Pros: 1. You can slice the loaf and sandwich something between the slices and then eat them. You can! 2. It tastes better than it smells (see Cons below). Don't judge it against actual bread made with grains. It just doesn't compare, but … how could it? 3. My eldest child who is nearly 11? She loves it. Can't get enough of the stuff. She can't really explain why, but it just goes to show that you really don't know if your family will like this stuff until you try. 4. If you're grain-free, I bet you'd be happy to have this at your disposal. 5. It inspired me to start baking grain free, and refined sugar free (even though it uses sugar alcohols) – some fab almond flour recipes to follow (think: grain-free & refined-sugar-free cookies and muffins that are good by any measure).
Cons: 1. The garbanzo bean flour smells just horrible. Seriously. I might have a particular sensitivity to it since I started baking GF nearly a decade ago, and a bean flour blend was de rigueur. So I didn't appreciate the flashback. It smells like long-forgotten overcooked peas. In the corner of your kitchen. Under the cabinets. From years ago. 2. The ingredients are pricey. Pffffft. 3. Too many eggs! My whole house smelled like an omelet for 2 days. Seriously. And I like eggs.
Your Turn
What do you think of Wheat Belly and Paleo and Grain Free and South Beach (which I'm right now reading and it's so interesting) and Atkins and everything else? Keep it clean folks: Heavy-handed comments and personal attacks will be deleted promptly.
Love,
Me
P.S. Don't forget your copy of Gluten-Free on a Shoestring Quick & Easy! With your help, I can keep the blog going and going and going….
Karlie says
The original premise for the palaeo diet is, in this earth and archaeological science’s professional opinion, is bunk. That is, we know for a full fact that hunter-gatherers did, and continue to eat grain. The grains are quite different from the ones available today, and they made up a much smaller proportion of their diet, but they still ate them regularly.
That said, the general principle of cutting back on grains and starches is a good idea because so many people eat way too much. Introducing more fruits, veggies, nuts, etc. is a great lifestyle change! But unless you’re intolerant or celiac there isn’t any inherent danger in eating any kind of grain.
gfshoestring says
Sounds like a well-reasoned opinion, Karlie!
xoxo Nicole
Nicole Hunn says
Sounds like a well-reasoned opinion, Karlie!
xoxo Nicole
Dljessen says
I have bought both your book and love them, I am celiac so you made things so easy. Unfortunately I also have leaky gut and the dr put me on a combination of a gaps diet and specific carb diet. Grains are out, I still cook for my autistic child, but would love it if you would dabble a little more into grain free cooking it is almost then a guarantee the will be tasty.
Dljessen says
I have bought both your book and love them, I am celiac so you made things so easy. Unfortunately I also have leaky gut and the dr put me on a combination of a gaps diet and specific carb diet. Grains are out, I still cook for my autistic child, but would love it if you would dabble a little more into grain free cooking it is almost then a guarantee the will be tasty.
gfshoestring says
Oh, I’m definitely dabbling, Dljessen! SCD will likely be very helpful for your leaky gut. Hopefully you will heal and then be able to add more foods back in. It won’t hurt you in the meantime!
xoxo Nicole
P.S. Thanks for the vote of confidence! I promise, as always, that I won’t share a recipe unless I know it can be reproduced with good results!
Jen says
I’ve never heard of Wheat Belly- apparently, I’ve been living under my own GF rock or something… I looked at it after reading your post and it’s an interesting idea. I appreciate your sense of fair play in trying out the things readers mention on the site like the Wheat Belly. I’ve been cooking with locally produced Teff and Corn flour; I subbed out for what I needed after I ran out of your blend when I was making waffles, and also used them to make Teff brownies. Just FYI, they’re pretty good tasting to me! Thanks again for all you do- you’ve made this, my first GF year, do-able.
gfshoestring says
My pleasure, Jen! You’re not living under a rock, though. Remember – this is my vocation, so I know everything that’s going on out there because I have to. :)
xoxo Nicole
Rrochlin says
Both of your books arrived here the other day and tomorrow I shall make your pound cake recipe. I promise I will be very patient and bake it exactly as you instructed me to in the book. I will let you know my results. Love the books and intend to use most of the recipes in them. May take a while, as I am a very senior citizen and don’t do things so fast. Thank you for your recipes and your sense of humor.
kclark says
The pound cake recipe is one of our favorites. It is downright fab.
gfshoestring says
You sound like you’re doing just fine, Rrochlin! I would love to hear how you make out with the pound cake. I promise it doesn’t disappoint!
xoxo Nicole
JacintaKnuth08 says
I like your recipes…keep up the good work. Don’t worry about nasty comments from me
Addy says
I’d love some paleo friendly recipes from you. I’ve been paleo curious for awhile, but all the flour blends hurt my brain-and I want the occasional treat. You have a way of making things easy to understand that I love, plus, every single one of your recipes is a hit. Even my hubby who “doesn’t like gluten free foods” likes your recipes. I think he got turned off by all of the processed junk I brought home when I first went GF and had to wean myself off the junk. It wasn’t hard! I’ve been able to spoil myself with fresh baked goods and now i won’t eat anything else.
gfshoestring says
It doesn’t sound like you’re spoiled, Addy! It sounds like you are treating yourself with the respect you deserve. That processed junk doesn’t deserve your hard-earned money. Cheers to that!
xoxo Nicole
Linda Williams says
hey Nichole,
I’m Celiac plus I’m seriously allergic to beans, tree nuts, peanuts, sesame, citrus, etc, etc. I eat sorghum, rice, millet, oat and amaranth flours blended with potato starch, tapioca starch and corn starch and I’m just totally grateful for what I can eat. I bake bread, muffins, waffles and doughnuts regularly using those flours. I occasionally try to sub out almond flour with a mix of sorghum and oat but it does not really work all that well, so I just use the cookbooks and recipes that work for me and ignore the ones that don’t.
We all have our issues and fortunately we have plenty of choices, too. Love your cookbooks & your blog.
blissing says
I’ve been using a blend of almond flour and mung bean starch to good result. You can find mung bean starch at Asian groceries. I can’t stand that garbanzo bean crap; mung bean starch has no discernible taste or aroma, so far.
I can’t use a lot of the paleo recipes because they use too many eggs and I’m allergic. Plus, I’m not as anti-dairy, and obviously I’m not anti-legume. I have an emotional reaction to the anti-soy people because I’m half Chinese and I detect some cultural bias there, but I could be imagining that. My ancestors ate a lot of soy in its natural and fermented state and did fine. I understand about the refined soy products and generally avoid them. Also with the egg allergy, tofu at breakfast has become a standard.
All that said, I’m doing a “Whole 30” this month and it’s freakin’ hard. Strict paleo, but at the end it serves as an elimination diet–I will add back dairy, legumes, natural sweeteners and see how I do. I spend all my time cooking and planning what to cook next.
One thing being grain-free has cured: heartburn and GERD! It simply disappeared.
Sarah Kalkbrenner says
I have not done anything with Paleo but my husband and I have tried South Beach Diet. Once you get through the initial detox of carbs it wasn’t bad but as Gluten free as well, I think it would be very difficult. We chose to use South Beach to lose weight and as far as that goes, we did both lose weight quickly but I found meals took a lot more planning and organizing (especially packing my husband’s lunches for work.I also don’t love all the artificial sweeteners it recommends. I prefer something more like Stevia and it’s difficult to use that to replace all your sugars.
gfshoestring says
Interesting point about the artificial sweeteners in South Beach, Sarah. I noticed that as well. He seems to recommend them freely. For the first phase, if you eat any sugars, it just won’t work, so I guess it has to be that way. But after the first phase, and certainly in the maintain-phase, I’d be much more inclined to go with unrefined sugars like honey. I find it’s hard to overeat honey, as after a certain amount I no longer care for the taste.
xoxo Nicole
Aohtee says
This is what matters to me: the
recipe works!
I don’t care if
it’s from the newest diet idea or a pioneer like Bette Hagman. There
is no such thing as a standard gluten-free flour blend and I refuse
to waste my time and money on recipes that don’t list what flour
blends or ratio’s are used. Bravo to you, Nichol, for testing flour
mixes so we know what works and what does not. Thanks also for
developing the cup for cup and Better Batter mock ups. I’ve been a
practicing Celiac for more that 30 years and I’m finally able to bake
again.
gfshoestring says
Bette Hagman, Aohtee! She was my only resource way back when! Even though I’ve long outgrown her as a resource, I will always owe her a debt of gratitude.
I’m so, so glad you’re enjoying the mock mixes!
xoxo Nicole
Candace S. says
Thank you for posting this! I am grain free – I’m gluten intolerant and I put on weight like mad when I eat grains. It took me a while to figure this out, but I put on 6 pounds in one week eating just gluten free, but staying within my calorie limit. I’ve been tempted to get the Wheat Belly Cookbook – and now I will.
Melissa Aiello says
I really enjoy browsing your blog, but have to admit I haven’t baked anything yet. I was diagnosed with Celiac disease a few months ago and have since found that my body doesn’t really like grain flours either. Perhaps I just need more healing time. Corn based products are especially hard. I also don’t buy GF processed foods, too hard on the tummy and intestines. I’ve been contemplating doing some Paleo baking…we’ll see. Right now I’m on day 1 of a 5 (or maybe 10) day juice fast.
gfshoestring says
In the early months of going gluten-free, Melissa, is it super common to have a leaky gut and have plenty of other food intolerances come to light. Once your body heals, you will most likely be able to add back in most, if not all, of the other ingredients (except gluten of course!). When you’re ready to bake, I’ll be here. :)
xoxo Nicole
Michelle says
Thanks for checking that out for all of us! I read South Beach, The Schwarzbein Principle (she was my endocrinologist when my thyroid disease was first diagnosed) Atkins and several other books touting variations on this theme, (nutrition is a topic in which I am very interested, and I love to cook) and think there can be a reasonable balance there. I do find that I feel best when I don’t eat a ton of carbs or grains. If I could somehow give up sugar, I would probably do even better, since late onset type1 diabetes is associated with my Hashimoto’s and non-celiac gluten intolerance and it does run in my family. (it was why my doc tested me for gluten intolerance in the first place, since I didn’t have stomach problems, just other allergies and asthma)
However, for me, I am happiest and feel best, but not deprived, with a balance. I want to have breadlike bread for my morning toast, and cookielike cookies for a treat. I can tell I have been overdoing the carbs/grains lately experimenting with all of your great recipes, so I need to get back to my usual better balance, where I mostly have my grains in the morning after I work out (your brown bread makes terrific toast for my peanut butter/ homemade jam breakfast) with limited grains and treats otherwise. It has been so wonderful, though, to have a doughnut-like doughnut for a treat after so many years of living around the corner from the amazing local doughnut store. I have been thrilled to have treats that taste like the familiar treats I had before I had to give up gluten. I am personally not very interested in cooking breads and treats grain-free, just as I am not interested in “healthy” cookies. I’d rather just make great food choices (for me) 80% of the time, and really enjoy a delicious cookie or popover the other 20%.
I have tried baking with almond flour and coconut flour, and didn’t particularly love either, although I think of the two, almond flour has more promise in muffin and bread applications.
gfshoestring says
I hear you about wanting breadlike bread for toast and cookielike cookies when you do choose to have them, Michelle! I am going to be posting a recipe for Wheat-Belly friendly chocolate chip cookies that definitely tastes like cookies to me, but generally, I don’t look for my nutrition to come from the occasional treat. :)
xoxo Nicole
Angie says
After reading “Wheat Belly,” my husband and I are trying to avoid the genetically altered wheat that’s being sold in stores. In fact, we HAVE avoided this “wheat” for 2 months now, and haven’t found it too terribly challenging because of the help of your Newsletter and Cook Books. Yes, we know that Dr. Davis wants us to avoid the insulin raising grains like soy and rice flours, but his book seems more geared to those who have diabetes, heart disease (most know he’s a Cardiologist,) or who are very sensitive to the fluctuation of insulin. Those are not our issues. Our goal is to avoid the “wheat” and even the genetically altered soy products (non-organic) being produced today. There does seem to be evidence that it’s reeking havoc in our bodies.
gfshoestring says
Well said, Angie!
xoxo Nicole
Angie says
xoxo, Nicole! Thank you for the coodo’s!
Candaceiw says
Have been using almond flours, milk, etc and just found out my kiddo has a sensitivity and vomits when I cook with it….and like you, Nicole, I cannot stand the smell of garbanzo bean flour. GF bakers abound use Bob’s Redmill for their baking needs and all I smell is dirty diapers with a pretty frosting topping. I LOVE garbanzo beans as hummus and roasted and in other preparations, I just cannot stomach (or nose) it as a flour…
Michelle says
I love your description of “dirty diapers with a pretty frosting topping”, as it perfectly sums up my experience with bean flours. Additionally, I always feel pretty “yuck” after I have anything made with them. I, too, love them in hummus, roasted and seasoned etc., so I wonder what is different about the flours?
gfshoestring says
Me too, Candace! I don’t get it, either. But I feel like I did more than my fair share of time baking with garbanzo bean flour, and I don’t ever want to do it again. Ever! Your analogy is, unfortunately, spot on. :/
xoxo Nicole
Sandra Elsner says
HA! I just started a Paleo Challenge with the gym I’m a member of. Right before I started a big order of Better Batter and Chebe mix came in the mail. It’s like you read my mind in how am I to do any baking in the next 30 days. I tried almond meal and had some success and have a bag of pecan flour in my pantry I’m scared to use. Hoping to find some coconut flour soon because I want to eat a cookie….or three.
Pink Peppercorn and Paprika says
I have yet to try baking with almond flour, because honestly it intimidates me a little, but am looking forward to seeing the recipes you come out with! I did recently get my hands on some gluten free coconut flour (also paleo) and was pleasantly surprised that the crepes I made were light and fluffy despite the fact that the flour is so high in fiber!
Donia says
IMHO, almond flour is the easiest flour to work with – easier than wheat, any gluten free flours or mixes, and coconut flour. If you’ve worked with coconut flour, you can totally do almond flour. I personally find coconut flour a little high maintenance. A tiny bit sucks up an incredible amount of mositure. I made the mistake of making a meatloaf with it (found a recipe online). It was like eating sawdust.
I highly recommend you plunge into the world of almond flour. Check out Elana’s site for tons of great recipes, though many other sites have them as well. I buy the flour she recommends – Honeyville. No doubt about it – it’s pricey. You’ll find it goes a long ways, though. I consider baked goods a treat – not something I should eat every day. So I use the flour sparingly and consider it a splurge, like going out to a restaurant (which is almost impossible these days).
I am so happy for bloggers like Nicole that show us that a gluten free life isn’t so bad after all. ;)
Donia says
We don’t have nut issues in our house (well, not nut allergy issues), so I do love me some almond flour. I made a grain free loaf bread recipe from Elana’s site and couldn’t stand it. It, too, had tons of eggs in it, and it smelled and tasted like – well, I’d say an overcooked omelette. However, I LOVE many of her baked good recipes. I find almond flour works wonderfully for muffins, bars, cookies, etc.
I think it’s tricky to be everything to everybody, and I don’t even have a blog! ;) All of us who arrive at your site are clearly looking for gluten free recipes. We all have our own set of ingredients we can and can’t use. When I first stumbled on your site, my jaw dropped when I saw your beautiful loaves of bread. At that point, I couldn’t even fathom that bread could look, smell, and taste normal. I personally can’t have gluten, tapioca, potato, and dairy. That means most of your recipes are out for me. However, I still use them as inspiration. Yes, pizza rolls can be made! Sure, I have to make them for my family instead of conveniently popping them out of a box, but that still is pretty awesome.
A suggestion – perhaps? Some people like Paleo recipes, some people hate them or can’t have them. I’m still here on your web site, though I can’t eat any of the recipes. Perhaps there would be a way to do a little series, like your Make it or Buy it? series. Something like Gluten Free or Grain Free? The recipes are not going to be identical, certainly. But perhaps using the same flavors, and then compare the nutrition, taste, texture, price, and/or how well it holds up for a few days. For people who are able to have nuts, like us, it was an absolute revelation to buy almond flour and make wonderful things with it. It literally changed my life.
P.S. If you ever need a recipe tester, I’m totally there. ;)
Donia
Dee Fedor says
In our house ,we can’t do gluten, NUTS, or soy. (Some others too). When I see “Paleo” I think nuts, and pass on the recipe. Too many “Paleo” from someone– I stop reading their recipes altogether! Don’t go “Paleo” on us. PLEASE! Love your recipes!
gfshoestring says
Worry not, Dee! Even if I did change my family’s eating habits, this blog and my cookbooks are not going Paleo. This blog is about YOU, not me. And generally my readers aren’t looking for Paleo. So although I will post a few Paleo-curious recipes, they won’t be orthodox and they won’t be many. :)
xoxo Nicole
psxkeeling says
Wheat Belly was one of the first books I read when I went gluten-free. It’s great when you want to go on a low-carb/no-grain/sortof-no-sugar kick…and I tend to feel great when I do. Some things taste great, and some things are downright awful. Like you said, who knows about the science, but it’s all fascinating. I think the more information we have out here, the better!
psxkeeling says
Wheat Belly was one of the first books I read when I went gluten-free. It’s great when you want to go on a low-carb/no-grain/sortof-no-sugar kick…and I tend to feel great when I do. Some things taste great, and some things are downright awful. Like you said, who knows about the science, but it’s all fascinating. I think the more information we have out here, the better!
gfshoestring says
AMEN, psxkeeling! Couldn’t have said it better myself.
xoxo Nicole
Ernest_j says
Can’t stand the smell/taste of bean flours and “swear” once I touch something made with them, my fingers smell like bean flour for days. Haven’t tried this recipe, and don’t plan to. ICK! Thanks for you review Nicole!
gfshoestring says
I hear you, Ernest! But I have, indeed, found a different kind of bean flour that doesn’t stink. And they said it couldn’t be done! Oh, wait, I’m the one who said it couldn’t be done. ;)
xoxo Nicole
Ernest_j says
What bean flour is that?!?!?! Dying to know! ;-)
Holly Wydeck says
I love a lot of what I have made from the Wheat Belly cookbook. The lemon poppyseed pancakes are wonderful and even my finicky kids ate them. That being said, I agree that its pricy and I usually only bake it for me and then freeze because my kids don’t love the baked goods and I would rather not see it go to waste. I use your recipes with great success when cooking for the kids and the expense is less.
Jo C says
Do you find the bread freezes well? I would like to try the bread recipes in the book but wouldn’t likely eat it each day. I’ve made the tomato basil sandwich wraps* and frozen the leftovers (have not tried them after freezing yet)