Grinder? Mill? Berry? Kernel?

Options abound when talking about what a whole grain is actually called. Some people call them berries, other folks call them kernels and still some of the whole grain foods are actually seeds. Not unlike the tiny jewel being called different names, what people call the apparatus that turns it in to whole grain flour also differs greatly yet means the same thing.

Terms used to describe a mill are often confusing. An electric grain mill is also called an electric grain grinder. An electric grain mill or electric grain grinder uses a steel burr rather than stone grind. A manual mill or a hand grinder is the same thing. It is one that requires no electricity but manual power to grind grain.

If you are interested in the freshest whole wheat flour (and other whole grain flours) you can get then you are likely looking in to home milling. No matter which one you call it, mill or grinder, investing in a home mill is the surest and more economical means to adding whole grain foods to your family’s diet.

For more information in comparison and grain mill reviews and finding grain mills for sale go to: http://www.comparegrainmills.com

You can also give us a call at Millers Grain House at 828.536.4988 and someone will be happy to answer your questions.

Nutrimill Grain Mill

In 2004, I bought our very first grain mill  and began a lifelong passion for freshly milled grains! Given my current state of domestic dysfunction, I was very unsure of what I was getting into and  doubted that I could even accomplish this task of home milling, but the features of the Nutrmill soon gave me the confidence to home mill our grains fresh and daily right in my kitchen. As a beginner, I chose the Nutrimill for a few very specific features.

The Nutrimill is very user friendly. It is compact in form and (thankfully) quite idiot proof. The grain hopper extender (which allows for a large quantities to be loaded without refilling) proved a step saver. The flour hopper can be removed with ease and the  indicators of YES or NO help me to avoid making a huge mess (when I read them as I should). The design of the machine keeps it from being an eye-soar if I leave it out of the cupboard.  After learning some of the particulars of the Nutrimill I learned to dust the rim inside with flour for easy lid removal and to listen for the change in motor sound to hear when the milling process was almost finished. The lifetime warranty and company support are both very impressive.

I highly recommend the Nutrimill for anyone who considers him/herself a novice in this journey in home milling.  If you’re starting to learn the skills needed for whole grain, fresh flour baking  the Nutrimill gives you the ease and convenience that is just about as easy as buying unhealthy, bags of flour. It gives you the benefits of the freshly milled whole grain in minutes. The speed and consistent outcome helps to make this a stable addition for a healthy kitchen.

It’s no secret that fruits and vegetables (in their most pure, unprocessed form) fall into the plant-based diet category (a blueberry pop tart is not a fruit). The issue gets a little cloudy with grains.

Grains are a plant and part of a plant-based diet if eaten WHOLE. Grains in the form of white, dead, processed flour are not the whole part of the plant that is meant to be consumed but only the endosperm (or starch) portion of the grain. White flour products do not qualify as part of a plant-based diet; whole grains do.

Much of the time the whole grain must be milled into flour for use, but the fact that the whole grain is being used means the entire plant is being consumed thus adding much needed nutrients to your plant-based diet. Grains used in this manner rather than white flour are the basis for the whole food pyramid.

For more information about why using the whole grain is best for your health as part of a plant-based diet, watch the following video: http://www.youtube.com/thewheatguy#p/u/42/y_GR4nLsLJs

The Wondermill (electric) Is down from $269.95 to $239.95 Save: 11% off and Shipping to the lower 48 US States is FREE

The Wonedermill Jr. Deluxe (manual) Is down from $219.95 to $199.95 Save: 9% off and Shipping to the lower 48 US States is FREE

Here’s a vide to see my favorite hand mill in action….

As an authorized dealer we are at the mercy of the timing of the manufacturers (can’t put items on sale until they do). I didn’t want to hesitate to get you all the word as soon as I knew….

These will be on sale unil August 31, 2010 or while supplies last.
Often suply runs out before sales end…so you may not want to wait.
Call during business hours if you have questions: 828.536.4988
M-Th 9-5, Fri 9-4 Eastern Time

The Mill I use.

One tip to answering those questions of ‘You do what?’ and ‘Why bother?’ is to know the two biggest benefits of milling at home. First are the health benefits and second are the storage/cost effect benefits. In this tip we will focus on the health reasons.

When grains are processed into flour for shelf storage, most of the grain ‘parts’ are removed to slow the spoilage time. When those things are removed, the flour is stripped of the Wheat Bran, Middlings, Wheat Germ and Wheat Germ oil. As we read that list – we see at least three things that are now sold in health food stores across the world. The Bran and Middlings provide the fiber (and more), the Germ and oil provide the vitamin E (and more), two things missing in the typical diet of the twentieth century.

The additives to ‘dead bagged flour’ can be just as bad or worse than what is missing. To make that white appearance, at first the manufacturers were actually using chlorine bleach! Now a new chemical has been approved., but chemicals are chemicals and not found IN the grain. Since the grain is stripped of so many nutrients in the processing – synthetic vitamins have been added. Personally, since I wouldn’t eat polyester, I also don’t want synthetic vitamins.

This is simply the tip of the health iceberg when it comes to the reason to mill grains at home. The list related to your families health goes on and on. Check out some of our other articles and studies for the healthy reasons to bother with milling at home. At least this is a tip to help you answer those questions when friends and family think you’ve slipped back into the dark ages.

Want more? Watch this vidoe:

Best Blessings!
Donna Miller, Owner of MILLERS GRAIN HOUSE

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Level off at the top to measure correctly!

Measure correctly to avoid excess flour after grinding.

One of the BIGGEST reasons for grinding grains is the immediate release of all those nutrients. If you end up with a cup or more of flour just sitting there, oxidizing, dying and loosing nutrients…it not only wastes precious fresh flour – it defeats the purpose. A good rule of thumb to follow is: Grains usually produce half again as much as you put in the mill. For example: 2 cups of grain will produce approximately 3 cups of flour. Write the amount of grain next to your recipe once you have perfected it. Waste not want not!

Freshly Milled Whole-wheat Hotdog Buns

The Basic “Fool Proof” Bread Recipe we send out second in our newsletter series can be shaped into:

~ Burger Buns
~ Hot Dog Buns
~ Hoagie Buns
~ Bread Sticks (filled and twisted or just plain, warm and toasty)
~ Bread Bowls for Chilli and Soups
~ and SO many more potentials….

Even once made they can become other things if not used up:
~ Croutons (any of the above)
~ Garlic Bread (best for the hot dog/hoagie buns)
~ Toasted Crackers (slice thin [if not split for burger or hot dog] and butter/toast)
~ Open Faced Cheese Bread (Top with mixed cheeses and broil) to go with soups

So even as simple as the ONE recipe may be. Don’t get stuck with it ALWAYS just being a loaf of bread! Shape and use it in multiple ways!

Best Blessings!~
Donna Miller

Donna Miller is an author, teacher and entrepreneur. Her favorite roles are that of wife and mother to three home-school graduates. The Millers own and operate Millers Grain House which offers Organic and Chemical-free Whole Grains, Bosch Mixers, the NutriMill, instructional tutorials, recipes and more.

This could be either a really long post or a short and simple one. I’m not sure how it will turn out. What I mean is I could make it long, but the outcome is quite simple so it could be brief. Anyway, here goes nothing…. ?????? ????? ????

Several years ago I was diagnosed with gluten sensitivities and told to omit all gluten and wheat from my diet. Anyone who has had this diagnosis knows a couple of things: 1) the symptoms that brought the diagnosis and 2) the difficulty in giving up foods that contain gluten.

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The symptoms range from bloating, intestinal issues, and shortness of breath after eating, headaches, dizziness and foggy thought process. Sometimes the symptoms included are other bowel movement problems (ranging from both extremes) and skin rashes.

The choices? Well…there aren’t many…and what there are cost a bundle.

For 3 months, I purchased odd replacements for breads and went without gluten while absolutely killing our grocery budget. The truth is, the foods didn’t taste of feel (texture) good and they cost a LOT more than traditional foods that contained gluten. I was growing discouraged…and felt doomed to a life of restriction. ?????? ????? ????

Then I decided that to broaden my choices, I’d make things at home. After finding that most of the ‘fours’ I needed were either not available or were also too high in price, I decided to try milling at home to have access to the rice and bean flours needed. Some recipes were….okay….others….downright gross……but…..I gained one really amazing bit of relief!

I decided to mill my own wheat flour. I figured after several months of doing without, it was worth a try again. Much to my surprise, with my home milled, organic flour and only 4 more simple organic ingredients, I could eat bread with NO symptoms. NONE.

This leads me to my belief that it is not the gluten that is my problem. The problem is the PROCESSING of the wheat. The stripping of the flour or adding of synthesized ‘enrichments’ or the additives to the pre-baked bread or all three were what aggravate my insides.

To this day, years later, I can eat my OWN minimal ingredient home-milled bread with no problems, but have instant issues if I eat bread bought at the store or from a restaurant. This is just one of the reasons I keep home-milling.

My diagnosis of gluten sensitivity was key in leading me to eat healthier wheat!

Best Blessings!
Donna Miller

Donna Miller is an author, teacher and entrepreneur. Her favorite roles are that of wife and mother to three home-school graduates. The Millers own and operate Millers Grain House which offers Organic and Chemical-free Whole Grains, Bosch Mixers, the NutriMill, instructional tutorials, recipes and more.

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Speaking of Mother’s Day there are two GREAT sales going on until Mother’s Day (or while supplies last, we sold out last sale within 2 days!):

! Both HAVE FREE SHIPPING in the CONTINENTAL USA !

Bosch Universal Mixer with Blender and Book – $30 INSTANT REBATE

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L’Equip VitaMill + Snitzer Hand Mill – Special Combo Price ??????????? ?????

Hope to share my special recipe with you next week!
Best Blessings! ???? ?????????? ?????????????
Donna ????? ???? ???????? ?????? ?????? ???????? ??? ???????????

It is known as “Nature’s Broom.”
It fills you up more for that satisfied feeling.
Fiber rich diets may help detour colon cancer. ?????? ????

But is fiber the only thing that there is of benefit in whole grains? If that were the case, then we could all just take those little capsules or stir some sawdust in a glass of water and be done! Fiber is NOT the only benefit found in whole grains.

When a grain is eaten in its entirety, it provides a far more nutrients that are missing in our diets than just the fiber. For example, in the wheat grain, more than the fiber is removed when it is milled into flour and stored on the shelf. Wheat flour that is bagged and stored for shelf life is missing, not only the fiber, but the endosperm, bran and germ. Even ‘whole wheat’ flours on your grocer’s shelf are missing these items because they begin to ‘spoil’ once milled and thus shorten the shelf life – which we all know that it means it also shortens the ‘sale-ability’ for profit.

As a brief introduction, let us simply focus on the bran and fiber that are missing. The bran is often mistaken for fiber alone. When in actuality the bran in a wheat grain includes not only insoluble fiber (Natures broom) but also soluble fiber (which lowers cholesterol).

When just the bran is removed (and remember more than the bran IS removed) to make a flour more shelf-worthy, it ceases to be health worthy. What is removed by way of nutrition is: 86% of the niacin, 73% of the pyridoxine, 50% of the pantothentic acid, 42% of the riboflavin, 33% of the thiamine and 19% of the protein.

Many of these nutrients are a source of differing forms of vitamin B. Is it any wonder that after stripping flour of even just THIS part, the bran, of the natural benefits, we are a tired and sluggish society? Take the time to look up just what these missing natural vitamins are designed to do in your body and you can see a list of what ails most of the population – because much of it is missing.

Nutrients being removed means that they are later ‘enriched’ by the mass producer with synthetic vitamins. I say, why bother if they were there in the first place, just leave them their in the natural state, the way our bodies like to digest them and use them properly!

The answer is to mill flour at home from whole grains to keep all the important nutrients in your flour – just as each grain was created to provide.