Wheat

For those of you that missed the wheat class (which is pretty much everyone), here is the info we talked about along with some tried and true recipes. Wheat can be intimidating, and we may not know what to do with it if we have it in storage, but it really is easy to incorporate into our diets. Here is some info to help you get started.

• We all know the health benefits of wheat, we have discussed it at a previous enrichment activity (thanks Angie and Pepper). It is an important thing to add to our diet, but introduce it slowly if you don't consume it on a regular basis. I'll save you the details... but wheat will make you very "regular" if you know what I mean, so introducing it gradually will let your body adjust to it.
• Here is a breakdown of some of the wheat terminology so we know what some of the recipes are talking about. The wheat we buy from the store, cannery, etc is called either wheat berries or the kernel. Sprouted wheat is wheat that has sprouted from the kernel after being soaked in water. This can be used in salads, soups, in place of rice or in any other recipe you think would work. Bulgar is wheat that has been soaked and then baked to speed up the cooking time. This can also be served like rice. Cracked Wheat is a wheat berry that has been broken down into small pieces. You can crack uncooked wheat berries in a food grinder or processor.
• The flour we buy at the store has preservatives added to it so it can be stored at room temperature for a long time. When you make your own wheat flour or crack your wheat it obviously has no preservatives, so it won't last as long. If you keep it too long it will go rancid and smell bad. I don't know a definite time, but I have kept it for a few months with no problems. It just won't last years like the flour from the store. Anytime you have cracked wheat or flour and you don't use it all you can store it in the freezer in a sealed container to make it last longer. lds.org says the storage on wheat is 30 years, but it will last MUCH longer than that it will just start to loose some nutritional value after that long. Here is a rule of thumb though, anytime the outer shell is broken the 30 year rule doesn't apply any longer and must be used as discussed above.

Okay, so you have wheat now what do we do with it? There are two types of grinders: electric and manual. Both are just fine, you just need to weigh the pros and cons of each one. An electric is obviously quicker and easier and a manual is great for no electricity and quite a bit cheaper. Don't go out and buy one if you don't have one, I decided to ask for mine for Christmas because I wouldn't have been able to buy one right when I wanted it. If you don't have one there are still options to use wheat. You can soak wheat (sprout it) and make it into a hot cereal or into recipes as discussed above, you can crack it in your processor and also make this into cereal. This is similar to cream o wheat and we just add milk and either brown sugar or honey to sweeten it slightly. There are also a few blender recipes that you grind the wheat berries in. Any recipe that calls for flour would need to be done with a grinder though, so if you know someone with one go borrow theirs if you don't have one of your own.