Grains and Health

"Give us this day our daily bread" (Matt 6.11)

How important are grains?

Grains make up the most abundant foodstuffs in the world, and for many populations they truly represent "the stuff of life". What an array in variety they present: barley, wheat, oats, rye, buckwheat, corn, rice, millet! Unfortunately, many areas of the earth feed the bulk of their grain to the livestock and eat their nutrients secondhand - in meat products.

Grains

Are you being robbed of the best part of the grain?

When you choose a variety of cereals and breads mainly in the unrefined form, you have available so much more nutrition than is present in the refined and "enriched" kind. We commonly think that milling removes only a few vitamins and minerals but does not affect the rest of the kernel, and that the enrichment program that is now mandatory throughout the United States makes up for these losses. It is estimated that more than 20 nutrients are removed in milling, and enrichment restores four of these nutrients. The four that are restored are three of the vitamins of the B complex -thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and the mineral iron. since the enrichment program has been in effect, several deficiency diseases of the B vitamins have largely disappeared.

Some of the best-quality protein, as well as other nutrients, including plant oils, is found in the germ and bran that often go into livestock feed. (Isn't it strange that animals are often better fed than we are?) Since whole-grain cereals and bread provide moderates amounts of protein, excellent sources of B vitamins, and some of the vital minerals, they should be amply represented in a well-chosen diet.

Start your day off with good cereals

Although cereals fit into any meal and into a variety of dishes, we commonly associate them with breakfast. Perhaps the limited variety, both in kind and in the way of serving them, has produced such a monotonous breakfast menu that many families scarcely bother with planning for this most important meal of the day.

If the limiting factor before the workday or school day begins, begin your breakfast preparation the evening before. The table can be set. Cereals can be almost completely cooked so as to require only heating to serving temperatures to finish them in time for breakfast. In this blog there are a variety of  wholesome recipes for a variety of cereals that I encourage you to have a look at so that your breakfast should truly be the "wake-up meal" of the day!

Bread making - it isn't just for grandma

Bread-making is a returning art, and it is fun. How good to come home and be met with the tantalizing fragrance of fresh bread baking that pulls you immediately to the kitchen and the cook! It is possible to make so many kinds, combining various grains with seeds, fruits, and nuts, that the bread you serve for any meal is really a treat packed with nutrition goodness.

Yes, you can make bread! Just follow one of our recipes.