Barley and Buckwheat

Here are some pictures of a few different types of whole grains. There are so many out there, you should try some new grains at least once! Because depending upon the grain, you may get different vitamins and minerals you may not usually get with eating wheat or oats. So test out a few and see which ones you like. :) Anyways, here are a few that I've tried...

Barley

Barley is good in soups and as hot cereals or it can be milled into flour which is also good.

Buckwheat

Buckwheat is good milled into flour to make pancakes, and can also be cooked whole and used as a meat replacement. I have a few recipes for this as well.

This is actually all the time I have for today, sorry. I'll be sure to post up a few more pictures and whole grains so you can see just as soon as I can. You can subscribe to my feed for updates or put this site on your website.

Thanks for reading and have a great day! Don't forget to eat your whole grains though! :)

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Store bought bread - what you should know.

Here are a few things you should know if you eat white bread, or any kind of store bought bread for that matter.

In the mid 1950's the inclusion of artificial hydrogenated oils, preservatives, emulsifiers, additives and other chemicals in bread became standard practice. Whole wheat flour was replaced by bleached, enriched white flour around this same time. Which is then artificially "enriched" by adding in materials that were destroyed in the chemical process of bleaching, like vitamins and minerals.

Milling the endosperm part of a grain produces white flour. Also, all the natural nutrients are removed during this process by taking out the bran and germ. "Enriching" the flour can never completely replace what was lost. Thus, enriched bread is nowhere near nutritially equal to whole wheat bread.

The manufacturers make white flour because, compared to whole wheat flour, it has a longer shelf life (because of the chemical preservatives), which saves them money because they don't have to worry about spoilage. However, that flour could be killing you because of the lack of nutrients in it. It turns into glue in your colon! Not to mention all those chemicals and additives you're putting in your body.

There's more that you should know about the kind of bread you put in your body, I'll post more on it later, so keep reading for more info!

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Part two of yesterday's tip

Part One of this tip may have helped you determine a few health reasons why it is good to mill your own grains, but that may still not be enough to persuade your friends and family.

The following tip to answering the questions of why you bother to mill at home is the benefits of cost and storage. Sure, we can buy 'whole wheat bread' at the grocery store. Sure, 'dead bagged flour' lasts for a nice while. Are these reasons to dismiss home milling all together? No! In fact, look closer and you can see why milling at home is better.

Health benefits aside, which is the MOST vital one in my opinion, storage and cost come up on the convenience end of considering milling at home. The 'whole wheat' loaf of bread we can buy in the grocery store is not only made of old, processed whole wheat, but by the government regulations only has to be at least 51% - or mostly whole wheat - to be labeled as such. I meander, this is also a health reason. The cost of that loaf is roughly $2.29. A home milled, fresh WHOLE GRAIN flour, loaf of bread costs me roughly $.75 to make and that is using all organic (a bit pricier) grains and sugar. Also, I know for certain what is in that loaf!

Storage, however, is a completely different thing. Truthfully, my fresh baked loaf does NOT last as long, not due to shelf-life but that we devour it so fast (no one in the house can refuse slicing into a warm loaf when they smell it), but the grains last for years! 'Dead bagged flour' can't say that. Either mites, weevils or simply staleness can render a dead bag of flour useless in mere months. The Creator made the greatest protection for that grain, the husk. There have been grains found in pyramids that were over 4000 years old but when planted, they grew just as planned. Just store the grains in a sound container and from getting wet and you can store them for years. I don't think you will be needing them in 4000 years though.

And there you have it. I hope it was helpful. I'll have more tips coming very soon! There's so much to know, I'll be posting up lots of information about whole grains, wheats, oats, etc. each day. So check back here often! :)

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"Why mill whole grains yourself?" Here's a Tip

Here are some points to grinding and baking with fresh whole grains.

Part One - Tip #1 - "Why mill whole grains yourself?" "Why bother?"

Alright, I will be the first to admit it, I was not raised to be a domestic person. When I first heard of milling grain at home I was perplexed and thought it was a far fetched idea, time consuming and a big mess. It didn't take me long to understand how wrong I was.

One tip to answering those questions of 'You do what?' and 'Why bother?' is to be acquainted with the two biggest advantages of milling at home. First are the health advantages and second are the storage/cost effect advantages.

Grains are processed into flour for shelf storage, however, most of the 'parts' of the grain are removed to slow spoilage time. When those things are disposed of, the flour is stripped of the Wheat Bran, Middlings, Wheat Germ and Wheat Germ oil. As we see that list, we see at least three things that are now sold in health food stores across the globe. The Bran and Middlings produce the fiber (and more), the Germ and oil produce the vitamin E (and more), two things missing in the normal diet of the twentieth century.

Worse than what is removed, may also be what is added to the bagged flour. To make the popular white appearance of flour, the first process used by manufacturers was really chlorine bleach! Although new chemicals and processes have now been approved, chemicals of any kind were not ever intended to be IN the grain itself. The list of what was stripped from the now fluffy flour is so long that manufacturers now feel the need to 'enrich' it with synthetic vitamins. Synthetic vitamins are just that - synthesized, not natural. Why add a 'fake' vitamin for a natural one that was taken away in processing? Enough said.

I'm leaving part two for tomorrow, so check back then. You won't be disappointed! :)

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Refined Grains VS Whole Grains

Everyone knows that refined grains are different from whole grains. But what makes them different? Let's look into that.

Whole grains when considered whole, have all of their parts. The bran, wheat germ, and endosperm. The bran and germ contain most of the vitamins and fiber your body needs, while the endosperm is starchy and has very few vitamins and fiber.

Refined grains, like white rice and white flours, are made from only the endosperm. The bran and germ are removed by manufacturers, which is removing all those essential vitamins, fiber, and protein that your body needs!

So the difference between the two is chiefly nutritional value. Removing the bran and germ from whole grains is not a good thing because it is depriving you of the nutrients your body needs, and replacing it with starch and empty calories.

For me, I'd rather eat whole grains and give my body what it needs, than to eat refined breads that supposedly taste better.

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Whole grain

A whole grain is composed of three parts. The bran, the germ, and the endosperm.

The bran is the fiber-rich outer layer of the grain kernel. It is a rich source of many vitamins and minerals your body needs, as well as the fiber. Which is greatly lacking in today's normal diet. The bran makes up about 14 % of the kernel.

The germ is also another rich source of vitamins and minerals. This part of the grain is where a new plant sprouts. It contains protein and good fat that will help nourish a new plant, as well as you :). The germ makes up about 3% of the grain kernel.

The endosperm is the inside of the grain, and is the majority of the seed. It has only small amounts of vitamins and minerals. This is what is normally used to make white flour, the bran and germ are removed during the milling process for most manufacturers (but more on that later). The endosperm makes up about 83% of the seed.

Now you have a big of an overview of what a grain is made up of. If this information doesn't make sense to you now, don't worry, it'll all make sense when you continue reading this blog. It's important info to know, and now that that's out of the way, we can get more in depth into whole grains!

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Whole wheat muffins

Freshly milled whole wheat muffins video!

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