Eat Grains

Archive for the ‘Mill’ Category

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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Be sure to sign up for the next newsletter. It is sure to be a treat for Mother's Day (oh, but it will be out next week!)

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 ????? ???? ???????? ?????? ?????? ???????? ??? ???????????

Ahh, the 'fiber factor'; it's hard to ignore it, especially as we age or travel or take a serious look at our eating habits. The benefits of fiber are written everywhere:

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.

If your mornings are as rushed as ours are, there is a way to make a great warm, wholesome, whole grain breakfast without the long prep time. You can even use your own recipe!

First simply substitute the flour in your recipe for 100% freshly milled flour. It's whole grain and provides all the nutrients intended in the grain.

Now, get your recipe, a zip lock bag, a measuring cup or bowl with a lid.

In the zip lock bag, put all your dry ingredients and shake.

In the bowl/covered measuring cup, put all your wet/moist ingredients and mix.

Pop both into the refrigerator and in the morning, combine just until moist.

Place in greased muffin tins in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes!

Tah-Dah! Fast food that's good for you!

A word about the 'pastry flour' from fresh milled grains.

You can mill pastry flour from soft wheat (vs. the hard wheat that make good loaf bread) but it will not be silky smooth like bagged flour because the hulls (aka: bran., fiber) are not separated. You could sift it to get some of them out, but then again that is tedious and may not be necessary. For a texture of a pastry good that we are 'used to' it may be that you would have to use 1/4-1/2 of the flour as bagged organic pastry flour (still missing vital oils and oxidized but does lack chemicals and bleach) and the remaining part as freshly milled (to at least add more nutrients and fiber). Otherwise, the pastry flour straight from the soft wheat as milled is a whole wheat and will be a bit more dense than say a croissant type texture.

The way I look at it, even if 1/2 the recipe is freshly milled soft wheat, then you are getting more nutrients and bran than the usual pastry flour with it's bleach and oxidized nutrients. Also if you go organic vs. regular bagged pastry flour, you are avoiding the chemicals and added synthasized viatmins that your body doesn't recognize anyway.

Happy Milling!
Donna Miller

http://www.millersgrainhouse.com/store