Why is Ezekiel Bread Healthy?

Ezekiel bread is actually a nutty sandwich bread that contains absolutely no flour. Ezekiel bread is made from four grains and four beans. Typically it contains wheat, spelt or rye, barley, millet, lentils, great northern beans, kidney beans, and pinto beans. This unique combination of ingredients is based on the biblical verse of Ezekiel 4:9 which reads: "Take also unto thee wheat and barley and beans and lentils and millet and spelt and put them into one vessel and make bread of it."

According to the thebostonphoenix.com site, this biblically based recipe was intended to help survive famine during an upcoming war, not because it tastes good or that it's especially healthy (which it is). Barley and millet, throughout history, has been considered a poor man's food. Barley is a hardy grain that survives drought and frosts. It also grows in alkali soils. It is usually fed to livestock, but people can eat it too if they can stomach the flavor alone. Millet is a bland tasting grass used mainly in disadvantaged counties to feed the poor (and the seeds are given to birds). However, it is said to be a complete meal that satisfies all nutritional requirements. The combination of grains makes for the proper balance of amino acids to provide a complete protein. That's probably how Ezekiel was able to survive 390 days while lying on his side and eating only this bread.

The Ezekiel 4:9 brand of bread comes in a variety of flavors and is owned and marketed by a company that was started in 1964 called Food for Life Baking Company Inc. Even though it is made with sprouted grains and has a low glycemic level this bread is soft and does not taste like cardboard. The bread packaging ranks 36 on the glycemic index which is a useful tool to gauge how different foods affect blood sugar levels. It 's also makes a pretty good tasting, wonderful toast and the combination of grains makes for a good balance of amino acids to provide a complete protein as well. In fact, it contains all 9 nine essential amino acids is low in fat, has no trans fats or cholesterol and is relatively low in sodium.

According to the Food for Life website, the bread has just part a line of 60 different products. To me, the labeling and the marketing make it seem sort of exotic --which translates to make it a favorite among health conscious consumers. Ezekiel 4:9 bread is usually found in the frozen food section at the local grocery stores or health food stores.