milling mondays: back to basics

 

Over the last couple of years, and especially since I have been sick, we have made an increased commitment to eat more natural and organic. Even if you try to eat healthy you are still faced with eating tons of unnatural additives if you don't pay careful attention and read the labels to see the actual ingredients or if you aren't aware of the dirty dozen organic fruit/vegetables etc. With that comes the frustration of trying to find genuinely good and nutritious food, especially if you are on a budget. This has given me to a desire to go back to basics. Going back to basics takes work, but I am confident that it will be worth it.

 

So that being said, I have decided to start milling my own grains to make flour once I get a mill. I know, it sounds c.r.a.z.y. After all we live in the United States, in a western country,  and not some village in Africa. I initially thought my parents were a little crazy when they started milling their own flour. I thought they were a little too health conscious. BUT the more I have learned, I can see the great benefits. Since the nutrients in the grains start breaking down as soon as the wheat berries get milled, there is really NOTHING nutritious left in breads made with regular store bought flour (even if it is whole wheat). If anything good was ever in the flour it will no longer be in there given the shelf life of flour. Pre-milled flour goes rancid within a short time. This means that in order to retain all the nutrients from the grains it is best to mill the flour and use it as you make the bread. This also gives full control of what goes into the flour - no bleaching, coloring etc. Preserving more of the nutrients in the grains in turn puts more of the nutrients in our bodies so we can reap the health benefits. 

SO in an effort to try to ensure we eat bread and other baked goods with all its nutrients, I am going to go back to basics even if it sounds a little crazy and begin milling my own flour. 

If you are crazy like me and live in the Phoenix area let me know because I am about to order 50 pound bags of grains and would love to split it with someone.