Table of Contents
Buckwheat is not something most of us consume on a regular basis. Even the people who are really aware of their nutrition and take great care in that respect, may not be well-informed on buckwheat. Finding delicious buckwheat recipes can seem like finding a needle in a haystack.
But buckwheat is a nutritious food and it’s very often on the superfood lists so it’s not something that you want to miss.
So, interested to learn more about buckwheat and how to prepare it for yourself and your family?
Read more below!
What are the Benefits of Eating Buckwheat?
Before you learn all of those useful buckwheat recipes, you have to first learn about the benefits of buckwheat – and there are plenty. First off, it’s a healthy replacement for wheat that we are all used to. It comes in different forms – you can use it as flour in your recipes or eat it as cereal for breakfast which makes it really nifty and easy to use.
People focused on gluten-free nutrition use it often in their diet.
However, you can benefit from buckwheat even if you are not on any particular nutrition regimen. Simply eliminate wheat flour or your standard cereals and go for buckwheat.
The reason why you should do that is that you can help your body in preventing diabetes, have better digestion, giving yourself enough protein and help your heart be healthier for much longer.
Before we dive into numerous benefits of eating buckwheat, you should learn more about this superfood.
So, what is buckwheat?
Just like many other superfoods, buckwheat has only recently gained some popularity in the nutrition world but before that it was used in ancient times in Japan, India, Korea and other Asian countries. It was later discovered by Western cuisines and became more common throughout Europe and Americas.
What you’ll actually be using of this plant are seeds. The flower in boom also has a wonderful scent and those flowers can also be used – as well as leaves – in alternative, herbal medicine as they have been for centuries. The main reason for that is the fact that buckwheat in all of its forms contains a lot of:
- Vitamins
- Antioxidants
- Minerals
- Proteins
Now that you know more about this amazing superfood, here is some more information on the benefits of consuming it:
Buckwheat can help prevent diabetes
Buckwheat is a healthy replacement for wheat because it ranks low on the glycemic index which means that it’s also perfect for people suffering from diabetes. It also allows your body to absorb all of the nutrients on a steady level so that you can feel the energy and fullness for much longer. Lowering blood sugar levels, it can help people with diabetes feel less of the symptoms that are common in diabetes like fatigue or inflammation.
It can improve your digestion
Since buckwheat is so full of fiber, it can help your digestion without any side effects. Even if you don’t replace your regular meals with buckwheat components, just eating one serving of buckwheat a day can help you have better digestion, bowel movements and so on. As such, it also has the potential to help your digestive system stay safe from cancer or other chronic diseases. There were also compounds found in seeds that can lower your appetite.
A healthy source of protein
If you are a vegan or mostly eating a plant-based diet, you could benefit from buckwheat as it’s a natural, healthy source of protein. When consumed properly, buckwheat can help you feel energized and it can also help your muscles grow. It also contains more protein than some of the food that’s commonly used like rice, millet or wheat. So, whether you are a vegan or just looking to consume more protein in healthy ways, buckwheat is your safest bet.
Lowers cholesterol
Eating buckwheat helps lower your blood cholesterol which then makes your heart less susceptible to stroke or a heart attack. It also increases the good cholesterol in your blood which makes it a perfect balance. However, as with all things pertaining to the heart and your heart condition, you need to consult your doctor before consuming buckwheat on a regular basis. This is especially true if your condition is more severe.
It contains antioxidants
If you have ever been interested in natural medicine, then you probably know just how beneficial antioxidants are and that any superfood that wants to stay on superfood lists should contain them. Buckwheat is a valuable source of antioxidants that can fight free radicals that cause chronic diseases including cancer. It also has components which improve your brain health, liver and digestive system.
Buckwheat is gluten-free
If you are on a gluten-free diet, buckwheat is just what you need. Loaded with beneficial properties, as you can see, yet free of any allergens, you can safely consume it.
Low calorie count
A serving of buckwheat contains only 22 calories. This makes it a perfect food if you are on a diet, trying to lose weight or if you simply want to balance out your metabolic rate.
Beauty ingredient
Since buckwheat is so full of niacin, vitamin B, thiamin and riboflavin, folate, pantothenic acid and pyridoxine, it can actually improve the health of your skin and hair. This means that it can help you grow hair faster, make your scalp healthier and it can also do wonders for your skin in the sense of anti-aging.
Is Buckwheat Better than Oatmeal?
This is a common question from anyone already using oatmeal regularly. Considering all of the benefits listed above, you can tell that it’s good for your health overall, no matter why you want to use it.
In a sense, buckwheat is better than oatmeal, especially when it comes to heart health improvement properties. People growing it also don’t use any pesticides because it grows very quickly. You also get plenty of protein and keep your weight in check at the same time. It tastes great as well and can help you feel fuller for much longer than oatmeal does.
Best Buckwheat Recipes
Now that you know a lot more about buckwheat and all of its benefits, you are probably set on using it in the future. That’s great – you’ve made a great decision for your health!
However, before you run to the supermarket or your local store, you should learn some simple and versatile recipes with buckwheat so you can better understand what you’ll need.
You probably haven’t seen too many of those around the web because buckwheat is still rising in popularity and you can find it more in certain circles – with vegan or gluten-free recipes. But buckwheat is really simple to incorporate in your daily nutrition.
Here are some useful recipes you can easily use:
Buckwheat Breakfast Porridge
If you are looking for something simple to have for breakfast that will keep you full for a very long time, here’s a recipe you won’t be able to resist.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- 2 cups of raw buckwheat soaked overnight
- 1 cup of almond milk
- ¼ of a cup of maple syrup
- Cinnamon – 1 teaspoon
- Vanilla extract – 1 teaspoon
- 1 tablespoon ground flax meal
- A pinch of salt
- ⅓ cup of shredded coconut
Put the buckwheat in the food processor and then pulse a few times, then add the milk, maple syrup, cinnamon, vanilla, flax, sea salt and process until smooth. Add coconut and seasonings and then repeat. This makes for four servings and you can also add some berries, nuts or seeds or other fruit.
Buckwheat Muffins With Bananas and Apples
This is another nifty recipe with buckwheat. One of the main perks of making these muffins is that you can easily take them to work or wherever you need to go and you’ll be sure that you have a healthy meal wherever you go. In addition to that, these muffins are simple to make and they show you how to use buckwheat flour in other recipes as well. You can later come up with your own versions.
Here’s what you’ll need:
- ½ cup buckwheat flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 mashed banana
- 4 eggs
- ½ cup of honey
- 1 sweet peeled, cored and diced apple
- ½ cup walnuts (chopped)
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and then put paper liners in your muffin pan. Whisk flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt and then in a different bowl, whisk eggs, bananas and honey. Then mix those two bowls together and add apples and walnuts, just softly folding them.
Pour this into your pan and bake until you notice that they have gotten this beautiful golden brown color. It should be about 30 minutes until they are done but you can always stick in a toothpick and if you see it comes out clean, your muffins are done.
Is Buckwheat Good for Weight Loss?
Now that you also know how to prepare your healthy buckwheat meals, you are probably wondering whether buckwheat can help you shed some pounds. After all, we all want to look great and we all want our nutrition efforts to be visible.
Luckily for you, eating buckwheat will pay off. Naturally nutritious and energizing, it will keep you feeling full for a long time, at only 22 calories per serving. In addition, it helps your gut health and digestive tract which means that your metabolism will improve, balancing your weight at the same time.
So, in essence, buckwheat is generally a good friend to your body, whether you want to lose weight, improve your heart health or immune system or simply eat healthier foods. Look into more ways to use it and enjoy your buckwheat.
Sources:
https://www.naturalfoodseries.com/11-health-benefits-buckwheat/
https://www.thefitindian.com/lose-weight-with-buckwheat-recipes/
https://www.cheatsheet.com/life/join-the-buckwheat-bandwagon-6-recipes-starring-the-super-seed.html/
Nice post!