Fruit and Rice "Pudding" Porridge [Vegan]

Okay Michelle (M), this is the whole-rice-in-the-porridge post I was talking about. Sorry it has taken me so long to put up. I actually made this for Jon last weekend before I left, but I've been slacking and haven't made time to finish up my old recipes ~sheepish grin~ Here's to enjoying what Jon has already devoured! This makes a great, hearty porridge or even a rice pudding dessert. Go crazy and add in any dried or fresh fruit and nuts (if you can eat them) that you prefer.

~7 c. water
1 c. ground flax
1/2 c. organic short grain brown rice*
1/2 c. organic long grain brown rice*
1 10 oz. can crushed unsweetened pineapple with juice
2 T. organic small red dates, pitted
3-4 T. sunflower seeds
1/4 c. shredded organic no-sulfur coconut
1/4 c. fresh cooked or canned pumpkin
1/4 c. cranberries (fresh or frozen)
1/4 c. raisins
2 T. natural brown sugar (optional)
1/2 c. walnuts (optional, omit for nut free)
1 t. sea salt

Seasonings:
2 T. cinnamon
1 t. nutmeg
4-5 whole cloves

*Brown rice has a glycemic index around 57 where white rice is 88, much too high for even people without insulin problems. The lower g.i. and glycemic load of brown rice makes it a preferred diabetic and general rice option. White rice, parboiled, instant, and sweet rice should all be avoided when possible. This also goes for the lovely gluten free rice flours and premade gf mixes out there - you should really limit your exposure to the white, sweet, and refined rice products. Try brown rice or buckwheat flour instead; add a little extra aluminum-free baking powder to help your baked goods rise since these flours are a slightly more dense than their white and refined counterparts.

This recipe is similar to our Rice and Flax "Oatmeal" Porridge. For this recipe, only grind the flax. We use a dry blade Vitamix container which takes about 15 seconds to pulverize flax seed. Adjust the grind to suit your tastes. Place the resulting meal in a crockpot or pot of choice and add raisins (cranberries, currants), nuts, seeds*, and milk. Stir and add spices to taste. I use a LOT of cinnamon (also helps with glycemic index and insulin levels), nutmeg, and cloves. Add water or more milk until mixture is very watery, keeping in mind that the flax will absorb much of the water before the rice even gets a chance to cook. I use ~5 cups of water initially and stir in another 2 as the porridge cooks. Cook on low anywhere from 3-8 hours. I have found that I could not overcook the porridge as long as I added water when needed).

*seeds such as sunflower seeds provide good omega 6 fats to balance the omega 3 fats from the flax.

Serve hot or cold (best hot), topped with fresh banana, blueberries or other seasonal, local fruit. Jon likes some natural brown sugar in it as well, though agave nectar or honey work also.

**Be sure that your brown sugar is REAL and not just white sugar with molasses added. We use organic brown sugar since it is "real," but the Whole Foods brand natural (not organic) brown sugar is also "real"**

Yield: way to many bowls! In fact, we actually made too much - our small crockpot overflowed a bit. If you are worried about the size of your crockpot, keep it on the safe side by adding and stirring the ingredients slowly. Since the flax absorbs the water, you will initially want to stir and add water every ~20 minutes (so make sure you have enough room for water :). This stuff lasts forever. It's a great family breakfast that is easy, healthy, GF and DF, and budget friendly! Reheat leftovers for quick breakfasts (or great dessert base) in the microwave. I made this since gluten free oats and other commercial gluten free cereals (millet, white rice, tapioca, etc) are pricey or choc-full-o' sugar or high glycemic grains only. I want to control the glycemic index of what we eat; many gluten free items are sky high in glycemic impact and actually WORSE for you than white bread (see The International Table of GI and GL Values for a downloadable Excel file with glycemic indicies (GI) and loads (GL) ). Millet is a good example of an extreme g.i. and g.l. gluten free food. It is gf and healthy, except that it has a very high g.i. and would need to be cooked or served with a large amount of healthy fat and protein to lower the g.i.