Studio 5 Wonders of Wheat

Studio 5 Contributor and Food Storage blogger, Crystal Godfrey shows you how to sneak healthy whole wheat into your favorite family recipes.

Why you should love wheat:

1. Whole wheat contains more minerals, vitamins, and natural phytochemicals than does all purpose flour
2. Whole wheat helps with stress! It contains B vitamins, which are necessary for healthy nerves. (READ: Eating whole-wheat helps you cope with stress.)
3. Keeps you regular. Whole wheat foods provide more fiber than those with all purpose flour.
4. Helps you LOSE weight and keep it off! The fiber in whole wheat has almost no calories keeps you fuller longer, absorbs three times its weight in waters, cuts absorption of calories, cleans out impurities, requires more chewing, takes half as much to fill you up, and takes longer to digest.
5. Will save you money on doctor and dentist bills! Whole wheat reduces your risk of colon cancer and other diseases. Whole wheat flower can lower your blood pressure, your LDL cholesterol level, and your risk of adult-onset diabetes. It also cuts down on tooth decay.

The Difference between All Purpose and Whole Wheat flour:

All purpose flour, also known as white flour and whole wheat four are made from the same whole wheat kernel, but in all purpose flour, the kernel has been stripped of its nutrient rich germ and reddish colored bran. All purpose flour has been “enriched, but of the twenty two vitamins and minerals stripped from the whole wheat kernel, only FOUR are added back in.

The Difference between Hard Red Wheat and Hard White Wheat:

Hard red wheat and hard white wheat are the most common options for long term food storage. Red is darker in color and stronger in flavor so if you tried eating whole wheat when you were younger this is probably what you ate…and probably didn’t like. Thankfully, scientists have since crossed the soft white wheat, which is mild in flavor and used in pastries but does not store for long periods of time like the hard wheat, with red wheat to create a mild flavored wheat that will store for 30+ years. White wheat (or sometimes it’s called golden wheat) is lighter in color and flavor. I use white wheat 99.9% of the time.

Tips for how to successful use whole wheat flour in YOUR OWN recipes:

1. Try it in desserts first-who can turn down a cookie?
2. Try using half all purpose or white flour and half whole wheat flour. It’s not necessary to substitute whole wheat flour for all of the white flour in every recipe. I’m a huge fan of doing what your family LIKES (this isn’t supposed to be punishment!). If your family is extra finicky, start with 1 tablespoon of whole wheat flour in the bottom of each cup of all purpose flour and increase the amount of whole wheat flour each time you cook. The important thing is that you’re using your wheat flour and increasing nutrient intake where you can.
3. Use recipes that your family already enjoys and is familiar with (that way they won’t suspect you’re doing anything different-so don’t tell them!
4. Disguise wheat flour-which is light brown in color-in recipes that contain brown sugar, molasses, chocolate, or fruit or vegetables (such as bananas, applesauce, zucchini, etc.)
5. Use whole wheat flour in recipes that also call for oats or oat flour, or nuts. The hearty flavors of oats or nuts are nicely complimented by whole wheat flour which has a slightly “nutty” flavor.
6. MOST IMPORTANT! Don’t warn your family first! They’ll assume you haven’t done anything differently…unless you tell them first!

For more information go check out
Crystal’s blog at:

www.everydayfoodstorage.net

Crystal’s Wheat Handout:

http://everydayfoodstorage.net/handouts/wheat.pdf

Crystal’s Cookie Handout:

http://everydayfoodstorage.net/handouts/cookie-recipes.pdf