The huge world of healthy eating is fast evolving. You’ve heard the healthy choices on whole grains and how it affected your overall health: the fiber-rich foods, the protein packed beans, and more. Sometimes you might actually hear terms that you might have probably heard from a certain animal feed, and then boom… you’re seeing it served right on your healthy plate of food.
Yeah, because this particular product trended 4 years ago here in the Philippines claiming that livestock farmers can possibly lower their production costs by introducing THIS as a cheaper feed alternative.
That’s how sorghum’s story came down.
For those who are new to this tiny white binatog-looking grain: Sorghum, a cereal grain, is a gluten-free cereal grain thought to be native to Africa. Other names of this wonder grain are: great millet, Indian millet, milo, durra, or shallu. The plant likely originated in Africa, where it is a major food crop, and has numerous varieties. And one thing you must know about this wonder grain… Sorghum is one of the top five cereal crops in the world.
Here in our country, Sorghum are grown and harvested in Ilocos Norte, a province located in Northern Philippines.
Sorghum Benefits
There is an obvious growth in the healthy food industry, particularly in the gluten-free market. The said diet and incorporation grains similar to sorghum has since been adopted by many people disgnosed with autism, ADHD, and IBS (irritable bowel syndrome).
Nevertheless, while sorghum is affordable to buy, don’t underestimate the nutrients this affordable grain brings: while Quinoa provides around 14.12g of protein per 100g serving, Sorghum can provide 11.3 grams, which is not totally bad give the price difference. Also take note that while other whole grains need to be hulled because their outer parts are inedible, not sorghum… which means this grain retains all the nutrients it has to offer.
A single serving of sorghum also contains 48% of your daily recommended intake of dietary fiber, means that your digestive tract will keep your food moving along rapidly, preventing cramping, bloating, constipation, stomach aches, excess gas, and diarrhea.
Here’s what else sorghum brings to your body:
- Rich in natural nutrients
- Aids in muscle formation with high content of protein, which is best paired with an active lifestyle
- With high amounts of Calcium, Iron and Potassium, it promotes better blood circulation and bone formation
- Less Calories, sugar & sodium
- Excellent staple for diet
My First Try
We’ve decided to pair it up with our Pan-Fried Chicken in Corn Sauce (wow double grain haha!) as an alternative to rice. The instructions are simple: just boil a cup of sorghum with 3 cups of water in medium to low heat. This process will take around an hour (a little longer than when you cook white rice) so you must be a little patient.
Soon as the entire pot dried up, here’s how it looked like:
The texture, like I said earlier, looks just like Binatog (for those of you who knows this). I wonder how this will go with adding grated coconut, sugar, and condensed milk? Definitely something to try out next. But for now I wanted to check it, try it as it is: no nothing. Just pure sorghum. And it didn’t fail us.
One more thing, it makes you feel really full! So hello nutrient packed goodness + busog feels!
A wide variety of recipes using sorghum can be found online and in cookbooks, particularly those catering to a gluten-free diet. These recipes include muffins, breads, pizzas, pastas, casseroles, cookies, cakes, pies and more. I yet have to try one of those soon and I’ll be writing about it once I have. Oh and did you know, you can also pop Sorghum, just like popcorn! A next on my recipes definitely.
Final Rating: 4.4 / 5
It’s strange: the timing of being able to try Sorghum just TWO weeks before my bulking cycle period starts. It’s like a perfect coincidence as I’m about to eliminate white rice from my diet during bulking and suddenly, a better alternative came out.
So YES, Sorghum is highly recommended. The price is right, the taste is almost close to eating rice with the bigger and better health benefits, and is a great jump start for someone who wants to have a huge leap to getting fitter and better! If you haven’t encountered sorghum yet, trust me… it’s only a matter of time before you do.
Sorghum Price in the Philippines
Wholly Grain Sorghum is available in eseable packs of 500g, 1kg, and 2kg packs:
- 2kg – 220.00
- 1kg – 120.00
- 500g – P70.00
I told you it’s cheap!
About Wholly Grain
Wholly is the natural leader for healthy snacks and staples in. With their newest product, Sorghum, Wholly Grain introduces a more nutritious alternative to any grain in the Philippine market. For more information about Wholly Grain, check out their Facebook Page at https://www.facebook.com/WhollyGrain/.
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