good grains

Soaked wheat is ground into a fresh flour for this tasty 100% whole wheat bread.

I really wanted to do an in-depth post on grains today.  As it turns out, though, my father is in the hospital and there was a scare.  Everything has leveled out okay, though, and for now we watch and wait to see where we go from here.  To say it’s been a look into where the medical system fails people is an understatement.  I hope to someday be able to put logical words to it.  Right now I am a bit angry and that is not something good to feed. 

In looking back on the past two days, I have to say that it’s a bit of encouragement to me in one small way.  I have really deviated from my upbringing in the area of nutrition and I really hope that the heart disease, diabetes, circulatory issues, organ failure, and joint and bone degeneration stop here.  This is not the inheritance I want for my children.  I understand that genetics plays a part in it, but I have to think that our habits (learned from those who raised us) play as big a role if not more than genetics.  Enough on that, on to grains.

So here it is in a nutshell…we soak our grains.  Rice, wheat, oats, we soak it all.  Many family members think I’m a fruitcake, they must think I enjoy the fact that from grain to bread it takes a full 34 hours.  The reason we do this is to break down the phytates and enzyme inhibitors, to increase the nutrient content, and also to partially break-down other difficult to digest components.  For an in-depth look into how this works and why this is go to the Weston A. Price Foundation’s article titled Be Kind to Your Grains.

For awhile now, we have been soaking our grain before we mill it to make bread.  For our golden wheat we soak it in water for about 8 hours.  After that, it is dried in our dehydrator and then milled in our Whisper Mill to make flour.  I use this flour for bread, baking, pancakes, and what-not. I’ve often thought I would like to try some other grains, but have not committed the time to looking into it.  Then the other day I read a wonderful post over at the Keeper of the Home about using alternative grains.  She followed up that post with a handy chart for replacing 1 cup of wheat flour in recipes.  I’ve bookmarked it for future reference!  Next time we go to the bulk store I plan on getting quinoa, spelt, millet. 

We treat our oats in a similar fashion, no quick oats here.  If I am planning oatmeal for breakfast I will soak it overnight.  This is easy as it gets, equal amounts of of oats and water with a splash of whey overnight.  In the morning boil the same amount of water, add the oat mixture and cook about 15 minutes or until done.  We love to add crispy nuts, berries, and spices into our oatmeal.  My current favorite is Bilberry with cinnamon.  The older two love to just have butter and a bit of honey.  The twins just love any oatmeal and we all like to add a splash of raw cream!

Something new I’ve been doing is making our own granola as well.  Compared to buying it in the store it does save us money, but still it’s not the least expensive food there is.  It is also a bit high in sugars, too, though we do use honey and maple syrup instead of white sugar or corn syrup. 

Trying Traditional’s Coco-nutty Granola

8 cups oats

2 cups coconut (unsweetened, dried)

Cinnamon to taste (this depends on the type and freshness, I use 1 TBSP of our high quality cinnamon)

1/2 cup virgin coconut oil

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup pure maple syrup (please, not pancake syrup!)

1 cup honey (we use raw honey)

2 TBSP of vanilla

water and whey

2 cups of nuts (we use crispy nuts…soaked and dried like out grains)

I combine my oats with unsweetened coconut and cinnamon in a big bowl.  In a saucepan I melt a stick of butter with honey, coconut oil, and maple syrup and heat on low until combined.  Combine about a cup of water with the vanilla and a splash or two of whey (couple TBSPs) and pour that as well as sweet buttery mix over the oat mix.  Stir well and let sit overnight.  Dehydrate until dry…usually takes about a day to a day and a half depending on how chunky it is and how humid.  It you do not have a dehydrator, use your lowest oven setting (150 is ideal and what I set my dehydrator to.)  When done add nuts of your choice and enjoy as a cereal, on yogurt, on fruit, as a snack, etc.

I’ll blog about my dehydrator some time as I find I am using it more and more, nearly a daily basis now.  I also plan on borrowing or getting a camera as soon as possible.  And while, dear readers, I’d like to say my quest for photos is strictly for you it would be a lie.  I do feel my blog is completely naked without photos (the above is from February) and while I want to rectify that, the twins turn two in a weeks time and I have to have a camera by then. 

Speaking of them turning two.  The older two are planning a patriotic part for them.  I’ll photograph the food and post some recipes from it.  Two little Asian cuties at a red, white, and blue birthday with their big sister’s in charge…could get pretty cute and very messy!