The old cardboard Wonder Box

The old cardboard Wonder Box enables the bran in whole grains to hydrate overnight, the meat to soften and the spices to permeate your food.

Often called simply a Hot Box it's the complete antithesis of Fast Food; some things are done much better slowly. Add oddly it actually saves you time and electricity; but you do have to plan ahead.

One other massive advantage is that as the starch hydrates and slowly cools, the molecules "retrograde;" that prevents the enzymes from producing instant glucose in the gut and a blood sugar rush^[1]. That makes your carbs less fattening, unthreatening to diabetics and instead providing fuel for the microbiome.

• About resistant starch
  

It's just an old cardboard box stuffed with holey socks, worn out clothes and newspaper; and polystyrene if you want to be fancy. In a way it is not dissimilar to the Slow Cooker but no electricity is needed.

The journey

"Time" is the new god of this world. We must bow down and scrape; and bend the knee. Stuff must happen fast. So food companies have tailored their products so that Speedy Mash will be ready in seconds, pasta in minutes and begone anything that takes hours.

Most of the fibre has been extracted so instead we spend our time groaning on the toilet or giving it the miss completely for days on end. Southern corn grits becomes extremely fattening; the fad diets adjure us to avoid carbs, they're all bad so go keto.

That's soon followed by a prescription for psyllium husks and before long Moviprep.

• MoviPrep: an introduction to Sebastian Vettel's exhaust.
  

And then hopefully you start to think.

Whole grain corn grits

There are two kinds of milling of corn. One in which the three parts are divided into bran, germ and meal; and the second where there is no separation of these constituents of the whole grain.

Those wishing to return from Instant Grits and the associated short journey to colorectal bowel disease to true whole grain cornmeal will soon discover two things.

• Whole grain cornmeal grits has a fragrance and a taste to die for.
• The old cardboard Wonder Box cooks the porridge far more thoroughly, allowing the bran to hydrate fully. It is softer, especially flavoursome and your breakfast won't give you a bellyache. Oddly you still need to chew it a little to mix it properly with saliva.
  

But the grain does have to be cooked the day before and left overnight in the Wonder Box.

In the morning you will find that it has "retrograded" turning it into resistant starch. It has gelatinised so you will need to add more hot water.

• Resistant starch in whole grains
• Whole foods are chewy
  

Then stirring vigorously bring the porridge back to the boil for a few minutes before tucking in.

Whole grains like this grits porridge are not fattening, in fact you will lose weight^[2] and do not cause a blood glucose spike. It's now widely accepted amongst medical scientists that excessive sugar fuels dementia and stroke; ultra-refined grains fan the flames by generating even more readily absorbable monosaccharides.

Just one helping of whole grains per day reduces the probability of breast and prostate cancer by nearly 50%. That's massive; they are the two most common non-skin malignant tumours. It's all about the lignans in the bran; they've been extracted from Super Number One maizemeal.

• Lignans protect the prostate gland
  

Pressure-cooking chickpeas

In similar vein once dried chickpeas have been soaked for eight hours and drained they can be brought to pressure and then left overnight in the old cardboard Wonder Box. In the morning they will be ready for use in stews, soups and hummus; the balance can be frozen in small packets.

They are then immediately available for use in the weeks ahead; saving time and money.

This authentic hummus recipe can be rustled up in just five minutes if you have frozen chickpeas at the ready; and a bottle of tahini.

• Piquant tahini sauce

Wonder Bag

You could pay quite a lot of money for this very pretty Wonder Bag if you're more particular. It might keep your porridge and chickpeas hot for longer; I have not tested it. The food just needs to be kept warm for an extended period for the fibre to hydrate fully. This is slow cooking at its best.

The return to slow living

Many have tired of an existence in the fast lane and are rediscovering the joys of slow living. It may mean a lower standard of life but then you won't be spending all that money on the psychiatrist and stress medication; not to mention the prospect of a heart attack or stroke. Yates sums it up beautifully in this poem.

• Nine bean rows and a hive for the honeybee
  

The five places in the world known as the Blue Zones typify this return to the slow life. Living to a busy, zestful 90 is the norm; and ten times as many people reach 100. There are no old age homes; they grow and eat much of their own food.

Look for the Blue Zones series on Netflix; these people are inspirational. I didn't see the old cardboard Wonder Box in any of their kitchens but I bet it's there someplace!

The old cardboard Wonder Box

The old cardboard Wonder Box is a return to home cooking; the way your great-grandmother would have done it.

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