Last month, I mentioned that I wanted to give einkorn a try when I wrote about gluten free and low gluten grains. Jovial kindly sent me a couple packages of their einkorn pasta, some einkorn flour and their diced tomatoes so I could put my experiment to the test.

If you’re not familiar with einkorn, it’s a very different variety of wheat from what you’re used to. In fact, it was the first species of wheat grown by man more than 12,000 years ago. Since it has never been hybridized, it is considered the healthiest form of wheat available.

I had read that some people with gluten intolerance can digest einkorn, so I wanted to give it a try (they don’t recommend celiacs try it – I haven’t been diagnosed with celiac, nor have I been tested for it). You can read more about einkorn here.

In addition to einkorn, Jovial also offers amazing organic tomatoes that are grown on a single family farm in Italy. They are picked at the peak of ripeness and put into glass jars within hours of being picked. They don’t put any preservatives or fillers in them either – just tomatoes and tomato puree! They taste amazing! Seriously, just like sweet, delicious tomatoes. It’s so rare to find purity like that outside of your own garden.

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Back to the einkorn though. I made the spaghetti the first night along with my homemade meat sauce. I seemed to tolerate it okay the first night, but I know sometimes it can take a couple of meals to trigger a reaction.

So, we ate leftovers the next night and sadly, I realized pretty quickly that I wasn’t going to be able to tolerate einkorn. I had a pretty bad headache and tingling in my hands and feet within 20 minutes of finishing my meal. It was such a bummer because I loved the texture of the noodles.

Everyone else in the house did great with it and really enjoyed it. If you don’t have trouble digesting gluten, I highly suggest giving the einkorn pasta a try!

I also made a loaf of bread per the package instructions with the einkorn flour. I don’t think it rose quite enough (that’s an issue at our altitude) because it was pretty dense. But it smelled really nice!

If you decide to give the Jovial einkorn pasta a try, give my recipe for meat sauce a try and let me know what you think!

Fresh Spaghetti Sauce Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 Jars of Jovial Diced Tomatoes
• 1-2 pounds of grassfed ground beef
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 large organic bell pepper, chopped
• 2 medium organic onions, chopped
• 6 organic garlic cloves, minced
• ¼ cup oregano
• 1 tablespoon basil
• 1 tablespoon marjoram
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon fennel seed
• 3 bay leaves
• ¼ cup good red wine
• 1 can organic tomato paste
• 1 package Jovial einkorn spaghetti
• Fresh grated parmesan cheese

Directions

1. In large skillet, heat olive oil over medium heat.
2. Sauté the bell pepper for about 8-10 minutes, or until it’s tender.
3. Add the onions and sauté for another 8-10 minutes, or until they become clear.
4. Add the minced garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes.
5. Add the grassfed ground beef and cook until browned.
6. Add the salt, garlic powder, oregano, basil and marjoram and sauté for another 3-4 minutes.
7. Add the jars of tomatoes and stir well.
8. Add the fennel and bay leaves and stir in.
9. Bring everything to a boil and cook for 10 minutes (stirring constantly the entire time).
10. Stir in the tomato paste and red wine.
11. Now reduce heat to low and simmer for about 1 hour (stirring frequently).
12. Serve over Jovial einkorn spaghetti, prepared per the package directions.
13. Grate parmesan cheese over the sauce, if desired.

Have you tried einkorn yet? If not, consider joining the einkorn wellness challenge!

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