Country Living Grain Mill

Whole Grain Nutrition: Harvest the Benefits!

Imagine that for years, your children ate mainly candy. Imagine that you did, too. Imagine an entire nation on a candy diet. Imagine the health consequences.

Natural whole grains contain a myriad of health-essential nutrients, from proteins to vitamins and amino acids. But "white flour" consists only of the starchy endosperm of the wheat kernel. In its natural form the endosperm provides wholesome energy, but it's the least nutrient-rich part of the grain. Removed are the nutrient-packed bran, wheat germ, and wheat germ oil. Then to make it extra white, industrial processors go further, chemically bleaching it, and returning just enough of a few vitamins to stave off beriberi and rickets. They're allowed to call the end product "Enriched Flour" but a truthful label would read "Impoverished Flour." This snow white, denutritionalized substance is a commodity worth billions of dollars annually to its merchandisers because of a commercially useful characteristic: Unlimited shelf life. No matter how long it sits in the mass distribution channel, it can't go bad precisely because there's actually nothing left in it that can go bad. Nutritionally, it's bad when bagged. A few companies have grown enormously rich marketing this pseudo-food on the basis of convenience, ease, and its dazzling white appearance. But a blind eye was turned to the consequences of replacing real whole grain flour with something that looks special, yet is virtually devoid of nutrition. In essence, candy. So widely has this nutritional travesty become accepted that we call it—and think of it as—wheat flour. But to depart further from natural grain flour would scarcely be possible. Then to make matters worse, artificial sweeteners, flavors and colors, appetite stimulants and preservatives are added to many of our foods. "Artificial" tells you those things aren't naturally food. But have you ever wondered what they actually are, then? Did you know some of them are actually petroleum derivatives? What unintended side effects might those complex counterfeit compounds have on us?

The human body is an absolute marvel; scientists have a long way to go to understand a tenth of how we work. But as capable and as resilient as our bodies are, common sense and history teach that we need wholesome, nutritious food to remain healthy and strong. The denatured byproducts being mass marketed today don't provide what we need, because they've been profoundly altered by processes in which real nutrition is considered last, or not at all.

There's a great solution to this problem. By grinding grains in your kitchen and using the whole grain flour while it's fresh, you get the nutrition needed for strength and health. You also get far tastier food, with genuine character—incomparably more satisfying than today's mass marketed pretenders. After transitioning to whole grains, putting out a plate of white styro-bread will elicit comments like "Why are you giving us this... and where's the good stuff?". Even flour labeled as "whole grain" in stores falls far short of what you can easily grind yourself, because unless it's ground while you wait, the essential Vitamin E in true whole grain flour would go rancid in days (meaning that it's probably been removed), and all nutrients begin steadily oxidizing-away from exposure to oxygen as soon as grain is millled. What's in those bags is not whole grain flour if it's been sitting on a shelf for even a few days; that's literally impossible.

Making real food is more than doable, it's downright fun with help from Pleasant Hill Grain! A grain mill like the KoMo Classic is the place to start. And to make whole grain bread quickly, easily and with consistently wonderful results, nothing beats a quality stand mixer that's capable of mixing and kneading bread that's ready to pop in the oven — quickly and without hand kneading. These machines make it easy to turn the corner to a far better and more enjoyable way of eating!

Highly Recommended Whole Grain Cookbooks & Videos!

Don't miss our treasury of cookbooks for whole grain cooking & baking! We have old favorites and exciting new titles, full of tasty and nutritious recipes. These resources will open up new worlds of whole grain adventure for you, whether you're an old hand or just beginning the journey. Whole grain wheat, beans & alternative grains are all covered, and shipping is free on any cookbook when ordered with your mixer or grain mill from Pleasant Hill Grain! Of special interest to Bosch mixer users will be Phyllis Stanley's cookbook, "Healthy Recipes from the Heart of our Homes", and Lori Viet's new book "No More Bricks", an easy-to read crash course in whole grain baking, along with a collection of outstanding recipes. You'll find no better books on whole grain baking... they're winners!

Click for cookbooks & DVDs .

See bulk whole grain wheat and many other grains .

Click for info on grinding fibrous materials and nuts .