I have food allergies to both white bread/rice/flour and products with gluten. I get by usually on alternative grains like millet, buckwheat, quinoa, and amaranth. Unfortunately these products get a bit samey, and they often take a long time to prepare. I have found that glutinous millet cooks up a bit more quickly, though that in itself can be hard to find. However, I have encountered both puffed millet, and buckwheat flakes in London. These are tasty, and really don’t even require any preparation - you can just pour milk straight on them and have them as a breakfast cereal. Does anyone know of where I might find these products in Taipei, or failing that, which stores might be more likely to consider ordering them for me?
Millet (小米) is pretty big in Taiwan - traditionally an aboriginal staple. I’m quite keen on 小米粥, but I assume there are plenty more inventive recipes than that out there; try browsing the (Chinese) recipe-book section in your nearest bookstore. Not sure about buckwheat; I’ve only seen buckwheat seeds for sprouting/juicing, but apparently Japanese soba noodles are made with buckwheat, so I assume they’re easily available.
Do you like things made with masa harina (maize flour)? It’s sometimes available in City Super, so you could make your own tortillas, corn bread, etc.
Also, have you considered simply reducing your intake of grains and grain products? Have a look at the Atkins website, which has plenty of recipes that deliberately eliminate processed starches.
That looks like an okay recipe. I usually have millet as a porridge, but as a bedtime soup it might work too. Buckwheat I’ve also found around Taipei, however, like the millet, only really in a form that can be cooked up with water quite slowly. I am familiar with Aitkens and have experimented with less and more grains over the years, and I’ve found that both to maintain a healthy weight and keep my sugar balanced, I do seem to need a reasonable intake of grains. Like I say, I’ve found 4 types here - millet, buckwheat, amaranth, and Quinoa, and do cook up all types for dinner (and sometimes leave left overs for lunch - i.e. with a salad). But they get a bit samey, take a while to cook, and I’ve been in the habit of basically having dinner for breakfast, like a lot of Chinese people, for years. Unfortunately this is getting a little tired on my pallet and I’d like to eat something for breakfast that actually tastes like breakfast. Museli is out because it always seems to contain oats or wheat (Which have gluten), so I thought of making my own with mixed nuts and seeds and something like the flaked buckwheat or puffed millet. Perhaps I should inquire at City Super or Breeze Centre to see if they could possibly order them.