In my quest to eat healthier, the first change I decided to make is to switch to whole grains. I have to admit, I wasn’t too excited about this change. The whole wheat flours available at the store aren’t fantastic and whole wheat pasta just isn’t as tasty. After some research, I found that the whole grain world is quite vast and if I do it right, it can be tasty, too! Whole grains offer a bonanza of nutrients and dietary fiber. They are especially high in the B-vitamins as well as vitamin E and have a wide range of nutrients and minerals.
During my research I learned that freshly milled whole grain flour can turn rancid and isn’t good for storing. I also learned that 24 hours after grinding 40% of the nutrients have oxidized and after 3 days 80% have oxidized. Enter the grain mill.
This bad boy is called the Nutrimill and it sounds like a jet engine. However, it certainly gets the job done! I am able to buy grain (any kind I like) in bulk and grind the flour when I need it.
It turns out our bodies have a really hard time digesting whole grain. The bran of the grain contains phytic acid, which combines with key minerals such as calcium, magnesium, copper, iron and zinc and prevents their absorption in the digestive tract. So, every time I eat whole wheat bread, brown rice, and oatmeal, all of the whole grain goodness passes right on through. There is a way to unlock all of the great nutrients and that is by soaking. Soaking the grains helps enzymes, lactobacilli, and other organisms to neutralize the phytic acid and break down complex starches and difficult to digest proteins. So, those people that have a hard time digesting gluten would certainly benefit from soaking.
This isn’t a complicated process and all it requires is some forward thinking. Whole grain flour (oats and brown rice, too) is combined with an acid medium (like yogurt, whey, or apple cider vinegar) and water. That soaks for 12 to 24 hours and then it is ready to use. Pain in the butt? Nope. If I am making bread I just throw all of the soaker ingredients together the day before. Then, when I am ready to bake, most of the prep has already been done! If I know that we will have oatmeal in the morning, I just put the oats in a mason jar with water and the acid medium right before bed and let them soak overnight. In the morning, I just add the rest of the water and the stovetop oatmeal is ready in 5 minutes. If we are having brown rice with dinner, I just throw everything in the pot in the morning and let it soak on the stove all day.
I am really enjoying this journey towards healthy eating. I love the science behind bread making and I really like the culinary challenge of finding the perfect recipe. All wrapped up in this whole grain business is the desire to rid our home of processed foods. I certainly won’t miss them, but I have a feeling that E might start to wonder where his Cheerios went and why he can’t have them anymore. While I would love for this change to happen over night, I do know that it will take time to replace the store bought stuff with homemade goodies that they will love. I did find this Healthy Snacks eBook and it is great. There are lots of things in there that I can’t wait to try. I also made waffles out of oatmeal the other morning in a blender. They were so flippin’ fantastic I was sad the recipe didn’t make more.
I will try to be better about posting all of my trials and tribulations during this process. I am having so much fun, I can’t wait to share!
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