Originally published September 26 2012
Grind your own flour
by Scott Morefield
(NaturalNews) What if you could make a lifestyle change that saves money, replaces a source of nutrient-deprived, empty calories with a time-tested source of vitamins and minerals, and inexpensively adds a major food group to your preps, all at the same time? What if this lifestyle change was easier than you think?
Humans have been making bread for thousands of years. Only in the relatively recent modern age have we entrusted this time-honored process, this sacred bonding of man with the fruits of his labor, to industrialized processes that remove everything good about what bread does for human wellness and replaces it with a hollow, fluffy shell that, though it may last for weeks in a truck and on a grocery store shelf, is in reality a shadow of what bread once was and could be again.
Real bread is life-giving, full of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients. After all, grains are, according to Sue Becker, "the seed-bearing fruits of grasses." Sue continues, "The fact that grains are the seeds of the plant as well as the fruit and that life giving nutrients are contained and perfectly stored within, make grains an incredibly nutritious food. In fact, of the 44 known essential nutrients needed by our bodies and naturally obtained from foods, only 4 are missing from wheat--vitamin A, B12, and C, and the mineral iodine."
Modern industrial processes, of course, have removed most of these essential nutrients from the wheat. The 'enrichment' process adds a few back, but still leaves the bulk of the original health benefits on the factory floor. Clearly, the best option for those who want to take advantage of grain in its original form is to grind the grain themselves.
The good news is, these days, people can benefit from the full nutritional value of the wheat germ without pounding wheat between two rocks. It's as easy as 1, 2, 3...
1.) Purchase a wheat grinder - For solid electric wheat grinders, a Nutrimill and Wonder Mill can be bought for $200-$300. Basic hand grinders can be had for less than $100, but it takes a lot of energy and several minutes to obtain a cup of usable flour. Deluxe hand mills get more flour per turn, but cost well over $200. It's hard to beat a well-made electric grinder for convenience and ease of use, but it's good to have a hand grinder as a backup in case of emergency.
2.) Purchase grains - The best way to buy grains is in bulk. Not only is buying in bulk much cheaper but, with buckets, mylar bags, and oxygen absorbers, grains can be stored away for years as the foundation of your food preps. There are plenty of internet sites and even local co-ops that will sell and ship grains in bulk for a reasonable price. If you aren't sure how you will like a particular grain, try buying them in small quantities from your local health food store. There are plenty to choose from, red and white wheat, kamut, spelt, barley, millet, amaranth, etc., all of which provide a different slice of taste, usage, and nutrition.
3.) Grind your flour, preserve it, then use it! - Whole grain flour will lose nutrient value and spoil fast, so the best options are to grind as needed or grind what you will need for several weeks, then freeze the flour. Flour can be used directly from the freezer and inserted in to any recipe. The whole wheat flour will add a deeper, richer taste and often result in a product that is denser than its processed white flour counterpart.
Grains and wheat certainly aren't for everybody, but if you choose to eat them, grinding your own is definitely a change worth making.
Sources for this article include:
http://info.breadbeckers.com/deception-of-enrichment/
http://wholegrainscouncil.org
http://www.nutritionlifestyles.com/pages/home-milling
About the author:
Scott and his wife, Kim, live in East Tennessee with their four small children, all of whom make excellent fodder for their blog A Morefield Life (connect with them on Facebook and Twitter), where they also write about marriage, parenting, nutrition & recipes, healthy lifestyle, homesteading, and many other topics. In addition to Natural News, Scott's articles have appeared on WorldNetDaily, A Biblical Marriage, The Liberty Crier, Infowars, The Daily Sheeple, and many other websites.
Scott and his wife, Kim, live in East Tennessee with their four small children, all of whom make excellent fodder for their blog A Morefield Life (connect with them on Facebook and Twitter), where they also write about marriage, parenting, nutrition & recipes, healthy lifestyle, homesteading, and many other topics. In addition to Natural News, Scott's articles have appeared on WorldNetDaily, A Biblical Marriage, The Liberty Crier, Infowars, The Daily Sheeple, and many other websites.
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