Making things creamy without fat: Millet

I'm reading the Thrive Diet book and when I got to the millet section I recall making a really tasty lemon "cheese" cake from the uncheese cookbook, page 169. The creaminess comes from millet and from raw cashews. But mostly it's the millet.

This will require experimentation to add this to your recipes, such as dressings (rather than using nuts to make dressings or veganaise). You cook 1/2 a cup of millet in 2 cups of water for about 50 min. until soft, when it's still warm, blend in a food processor. Try blending it with your dressing herbs, such as garlic, nutritional yeast, onion, or any of the spices that make up traditional ranch dressing, etc., or make a lemon dressing or curry like dressing. You'd add more water to get a more creamy texture at the time of making the dressing and you'd probably warm it up if you were to keep the mushed millet in the fridge until you make your concoction(s). A dill, agave nectar, and mustard dressing might taste really nice. I'm just mulling ideas over out loud here. I might taste like shit too. Use common sense.

I like fat when I can chew it. But fat in the form of sauces or liquids are just not satisfying for me and the body likes to use its teeth. I just feel that if you were to limit fats to only chewable things (nuts and seeds), you'd feel a lot more satiated at least psychologically speaking.

Millet

Serving Size: 1 cup

Amount Per Serving

207.1

Calories 1.7

Total Fat 0.3 g

Saturated Fat g

Polyunsaturated Fat 0.9 g

Monounsaturated Fat 0.3 g

Cholesterol 0.0 mg

Sodium 3.5 mg

Potassium 107.9 mg

Total Carbohydrate 41.2 g

Dietary Fiber 2.3 g

Sugars 0.2 g

Protein 0.0 g

Vitamin A 0.1 %

Vitamin B-12 0.0 %

Vitamin B-6 9.4 %

Vitamin C 0.0 %

Vitamin D 0.0 %

Vitamin E 0.5 %

Calcium 0.5 %

Copper 14.0 %

Folate 8.3 %

Iron 6.1 %

Magnesium 19.1 %

Manganese 23.7 %

Niacin 11.6 %

Pantothenic Acid 3.0 %

Phosphorus 17.4 %

Riboflavin 8.4 %

Selenium 2.2 %

Thiamin 12.3 %

Zinc 10.6 %

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

I haven't tried the following recipe from The Cancer Project but it looks intriguing.

Basic White Sauce

This creamy sauce is low in fat and cholesterol-free. Use it for making creamed soups, sauces, and gravies. Be sure to continue blending the ingredients until they are completely smooth; this can take up to 2 minutes on the highest speed. The first few times you make this sauce give it a taste test to make certain it is smooth and creamy before proceeding.

Directions

Makes about 2 cups

1/3 cup dry millet

2 1/3 cups water, divided (1 1/3 cup plus 1 cup)

1/4 cup raw cashews

1/2 teaspoon salt

Combine millet with 1 1/3 cups water in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until millet is tender and all the water has been absorbed, about 55 minutes. Transfer to a blender. Add cashews, salt, and remaining 1 cup water. Blend until completely smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Nutrition Information

Per 1/4 cup:

55 calories

2.3 g fat

0.4 g saturated fat

37.3% calories from fat

0 mg cholesterol

1.6 g protein

7.3 g carbohydrate

0.3 g sugar

0.9 g fiber

149 mg sodium

3 mg calcium

0.5 mg iron

0 mg vitamin C

2 mcg beta-carotene

0 mg vitamin E

This recipe is a preview from the upcoming NEW EDITION of

The Survivor's Handbook: Eating Right for Cancer Survival.

Excellent! I'm going to make that this coming week. White sauce without flour and soy milk, yeah (though I like soy). I was going to make chickpea or buckwheat flour crepes with some kind of lentil concoction and a nutritional yeast cheese sauce, but I thought the nut. yeast would overpower the contents of the crepe, this might work a lot better!

Another idea is blending northern white beans for a smoky gravy (add some extra liquid smoke and spices). I got that from Vegan with a Vengeance. But since I'm not eating biscuits, I think home made tempeh sausage would be nice to serve it with.