Did you know some people grind their own flour?  When I first heard that from a friend about 14 years ago, I thought the very idea was crazy. Really? People do that? Why? How? Who has the time? Only crazy healthy-nutty people would go to the trouble of grinding their own flour. And their food probably always tastes nasty, because whole wheat flour is really heavy and strong flavored. Bleh.

That was back in “my poptart and pepsi days” as I now lovingly call the time I didn’t understand much about nutrition. Obviously, I also didn’t understand that real food tastes really delicious. I was just doing the best I could with what I knew, and we can’t help what we don’t know, right? My eyes were opened to a better way after our youngest son was born with chronic eczema. I’m so thankful for the world of healthy eating God has opened up to us since then. We all feel so much better now. Food has never tasted better! I mean, I didn’t even know how good butter was back then. Sheesh.  I was missing out.

Who is now among the crazy health-nutty people who grind their own flour? That would be me. Yep, we’ve had a Nutrimill now for eight years, and it is still going strong. Who knew grinding flour was as easy as pouring wheat into a machine, turning a knob, and walking away? And the end result? Oh my goodness. I never knew whole wheat flour could taste so good. Freshly ground flour is amazing.

I do recommend making the investment to grind your own grain, as the health benefits and deliciousness to baking with freshly ground flour can’t be beat. But what if you aren’t ready, don’t want to, or aren’t interested? No prob. Let’s talk about other great options…

First, let’s discuss the different options you’ll likely come across at the store. Most whole wheat flour that is pre-packaged at the store has been made from red wheat. This is a darker and heavier flour – not my favorite, but still an okay option. If this is the kind you use, you may need to use a bit less than is called for in some recipes as it tends to be dryer and produce a more dense baked good.

I love and always recommend flour made from white wheat as it is lighter in color, lighter in flavor, and typically more enjoyable to eat. At the store, this is labeled White Whole Wheat Flour.

Is white wheat healthy? Yes. Don’t let the word “white” throw you off. White wheat is simply a variety of wheat that, when ground, makes white whole wheat flour. Both red and white wheat have the same nutritional value, but they taste just a bit different. I prefer the flavor of flour made from white wheat – as do many people.

Below is a picture I took last year when we were in Kansas. You’ll see two fields, side by side, one growing white wheat, the other growing red wheat. See? Both are grains of wheat, but when ground, they turn out a different color and texture of flour.

Next you see a picture of the two different kinds of grain, or wheat berries as we call them. Red wheat berries are on the left, and white wheat berries are on the right:

I almost always grind hard white wheat at my house since we prefer it. I also sometimes grind soft white wheat, which produces a whole wheat pastry flour. Pastry flour can be used in any recipe that does NOT call for yeast. For yeast bread recipes, you must use a hard wheat variety. Read more about red wheat and white wheat here.

Now let’s talk about which wheat flour I recommend.

My favorite brand of wheat berries and wheat flour is Wheat Montana. They use chemical free, non-GMO grains. They are a very high quality grain, which makes wonderful tasting flour. Look for 100% White Whole Wheat Flour, which they call Prairie Gold.

I was impressed to find a 40 pound package through Amazon (with Amazon Prime/Mom and subscribe and save). That makes it just 68¢ per pound for very high quality flour. (Be sure to click over to the Prairie Gold option if you want the white whole wheat.)

I also like the Azure Standard White Wheat Flour, which is as low as 92¢ per pound. If you are a part of an Azure Standard co-op, you may want to look into this.

Beyond those options, I have seen white wheat flour at Traders Joes, Whole Foods, and other health food stores. I don’t know the prices because I don’t have easy access to any of those stores.

Share what you know about these options. Do you grind flour, or purchase it already ground? What is your favorite variety?

I have been asked many, many times, “Have you read Wheat Belly? What do you think of it?” I decided to answer that question here, and open it up for a friendly discussion so that I can hear your thoughts too!

First let me say this:  No, I haven’t read Wheat Belly. I’ve chosen not to read it because I already feel overloaded with all the information out there about what is healthy, what is not, and how I should be raising my children. (Oh wait, that last bit about being a parent has nothing to do with food or nutrition. Mostly.)  From the description and the reviews of the book, however, I can tell that Wheat Belly contains some helpful information that will benefit many people – especially people who are frequently eating many processed foods. 

Some people really can not handle eating wheat. If that’s you, then by all means, don’t eat it, and hooray for you that you found a solution for your body’s good health! But do I feel like we should all throw out the wheat? Well, since my wheat grinder is humming in the background in preparation for making bread as I write this post, I guess you probably know my answer.

Why does eating wheat sometimes make a person gain weight? Anytime you’re eating too many carbs (which is what wheat is) – you are likely to put on some extra pounds. But hey, anytime you eat too much of anything – you are likely to put on some extra pounds. The key words in those sentences, in my opinion is not “wheat” or “carbs.”  It is “too much.” Any time you are eating too much of any food (or food group), you are going to lack balance, which can cause weight gain and/or health issues.

The word balance is becoming one of my favorites:  BALANCE. Bal-ance. Balanicimo! Balanciencioso! 

Folks – maybe we do need to stop eating so much food with wheat in it, simply so that we can fill our bodies with more vegetables in an effort to achieve balance. Maybe we should go easier on the bread – so that we can be sure we are getting enough protein food like healthy meat, nuts, eggs, and beans. It’s all a part of eating in balance.

I may be taking too much of a simplistic view of nutrition and health, but I don’t agree that one part of our diet – in this case, wheat – is the cause of all health concerns. (Isn’t it a fact that wheat and sugar almost always go together? I believe that is something we need to consider when we call wheat the “bad guy.” Maybe I’ll write another book to follow Wheat Belly called Sugar Gut.)

What I do agree with:  Many of us (my family included) eat a lot of grains – too many perhaps. Whole grains contain good nutrients, but we really must all be intentional about making sure our diets also include plenty of fruits and vegetables, plus healthy meats, dairy, nuts, eggs, and healthy fats. 

So if you are starting your day with donuts (and nothing else), having two rolls with lunch (with a side of jelly), eating a muffin for a snack, and then a burger with a bun for dinner, with three cookies for dessert – stop it! That’s not balanced, it’s really heavy on the wheat, and really light on…well, everything else, especially fruits and vegetables. 

What about the argument that our wheat today is not the same as it was 50 years ago? It’s true. There have been modifications made to wheat through the years. Bleh. Unfortunately, and I hate to break it to you, almost all of our foods (fruits and vegetables included) have been modified through the years. It’s frustrating, but don’t overthink it. If you do, you’ll be afraid to eat anything at all, and that’s not a fun place to be. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: God is bigger than the food we eat. (And Jesus is the Bread of Life.)

Do the best you can. Be intentional about eating a wide variety of nutrients found in real, whole food. And when/if you eat wheat, make sure you are also eating a peach, some green beans, and a hunk of chicken. Sound like a plan?

Hopefully that helps answer your questions about my thoughts on eating wheat. I certainly don’t claim to know it all. This is simply where I’ve landed after much research and prayer. I’d love to know your thoughts about eating wheat…

Remember the post I wrote talking about which kind of wheat flour is best? In that post, I told how both hard red wheat and hard white wheat are good for you. Both make whole wheat flour. They are simply different varieties of wheat.

Well, a few weeks ago, when we were visiting family in Kansas, wheat fields were ready for harvest – and so, so beautiful. I grew up in Kansas, and since I don’t live there anymore, I have really learned to appreciate the beauty of a wheat field. I tend to gush about it over and over when I see what used to just be a “boring ol’ wheat field”. That was a side note, but I thought you’d like to hear what Matt has to hear each time we go “home” for a visit. Wheat fields are so pretty!! (For the record, my California born and raised husband agrees with me.)

Anyway, we were driving back to my dad’s after church and I nearly came out of my seat belt as we drove past these wheat fields. Why had I never seen fields like this before? Had I simply not been paying attention? Check out the difference in these two fields:

My darling husband, seeing what I was pointing out, kindly slammed on the brakes (not really, but sort of), put the car in reverse, and pulled over so I could get some pictures. (Don’t worry. We were on a country road in the middle of nowhere. There wasn’t another vehicle around for miles.)  There, side by side, was a field of hard red wheat, and a field of hard white wheat. Gorgeous!

The main reason we wanted pictures is to show you that indeed, red wheat and white wheat both make whole wheat flour – they are just different varieties of wheat. (Read through all of my grain and grain mill posts if you’d like to learn more.)  And the other reason we wanted pictures is because wheat fields are beautiful and I wanted to gush about them to you.

If I could have recorded the sound they made in the breeze, I would have done that too. Okay, I’m done gushing now. 

But tell me – is that not beautiful??! :)