How do I use this wheat?

Many have said that they don't get any wheat because they don't have a grinder or that they don't make bread. Let me give you some information that may help you realize that wheat is a good thing to have and that you don't need to have a grinder to use it and benefit from it's goodness.

I'm sure you've heard that wheat is the staff of life. This is because wheat has many nutrients to sustain life. The leaders of the Church have been telling us for years to store wheat. Wheat is the basis for many food items such as breads, pasta, cookies (mmm), pie crust, cake just to name a few. Yes, you could store white flour, but white flour only has a short storage life, where wheat will last, if properly stored, for almost ever. Wheat flour has better nutritional value than white flour as well. There is more protein and less carbohydrates in wheat flour than in white flour. Not to mention the vitamin and minerals that is lost when wheat flour is processed and made shelf stable. I'm not saying not to store any white flour, I'm just saying that wheat is a great way to not only sustain life, but to live a healthier life.

Okay, so now that we have the nutritional and storage life out of the way let's talk about how to use the wheat. Of course you can make bread. Now let me say about bread making that I think every one should at least try to make bread. I mean really try, not just try it once, have it not quite work like you think it should and give up. Give it a few tries. Be sure you have a good recipe and good ingredients to begin with. Don't think you are going to make great bread with old, out dated ingredients. Don't be afraid to ask for help. Okay, with that said, I also believe we all have talents. Some of us are good at some things and some of us are good at other things. If you've really put your heart into trying to make bread and it just doesn't turn out as an edible product, I firmly believe in the barter system. Store your own wheat and other bread making necessities, find a friend who does make good bread and make a deal with her (or him, not to discriminate) that you will do something in exchange for their bread making abilities. Does this idea make anyone feel any better? Good.

What else can you use wheat for, especially if you don't have a grinder? You can make the most delicious blender pancakes and waffles. All you need is a blender. You can also make popped wheat, which is kind of like making popcorn. You can turn it into bulgar wheat, which is really a pretty easy process, and use it as a meat extender.

If you don't have a grinder and really want to start using wheat as part of your diet, I'm sure you know someone who does have a grinder who would be happy to let you go to their house, and grind up a bunch of wheat for you to store for use. Keeping fresh ground wheat flour in the fridge or freezer will help maintain its nutritional value as well as keep it from going rancid since the wheat germ has a lot of fat, the flour will go rancid if not kept cool.

Once you get some wheat ground, you can begin to introduce it into your families diet a little at a time. Whole grains and beans are items you want to begin feeding your family a little at a time. The reason is because in a colon that isn't used to a lot of bulky fiber, those foods can cause gas. If there is a lot of gas, there is a lot of pain. You don't want to do this to your family. Even small amounts once or twice a week is a good start.

Be sure to store spices and leavening ingredients, too. You can't do much without leavening, unless you don't mind flat breads, cakes, cookies, etc.

In the next post I'll post some great recipes you can use with and without ground wheat.
Be brave. Try some new things. If you have a good attitude about your basic storage items, the more likely your children and hopefully spouse, will too.
Keep up the great work,
Michelle

No more barf bowls!

I don't think I've mentioned before about how to not have a barf bowl. If I spelled barf wrong, sorry, I don't like that word anyway.
Okay, so what do if you have a child who is sick if you don't give them a bowl to be sick in? Here is a trick I learned years ago when my oldest daughter would get car sick if we went more than 10 miles in a car. You get a paper bag and you fold down the top about an inch to give it some stability. Then you put it in a plastic grocery bag. When the child gets sick they throw up in the paper bag. When they are done throwing up, you simply roll up the paper bag, tie up the plastic bag, and throw it all away. No muss, no fuss. The germs, as well as othe mess, is all contained in the bags.
For a small child, suggest keeping on hand the large grocery bags so it's easier for them to get it all into the bag. Older children can use a smaller lunch bag, if you're concerned they might not quite get to the toilet in time. Better safe than sorry.
If you're like me, you'll love this idea, because I would rather clean up almost anything but throw up. But, unfortunately if you have children, it's going to happen. Happy no cleaning!
Michelle

Pandemic Planning

I've felt compelled, recently, to talk about the whole pandemic "thing". For years I've ignored the comments made in the news and other media about the "bird flu pandemic". I just thought it was just one more thing for people to scare us with. Then one day I heard that there is information about pandemic preparedness on the provident living website. Of course, rather than taking someone's word for it, I checked out the website and sure enough it's there, and not just one page of information. Then I thought I would "google" for some other official information on it. The U.S. government actually has several pages of information about pandemic preparedness, and links to more information about cause and affect of the pandemic. Very interesting stuff, I must say. I'm not a "dooms day" kind of person. I just like to be as informed as possible, so I can be as ready as I can be for any situation. Mind you, I have plenty of preparing to do, but I still like information. I've found several websites and blogs with good flu pandemic information, no dooms day stuff, just real information. I would like to encourage you to take some time and look over the links. I will probably add to the link list as I find good enough sites to share. I would love to hear your opinions about the flu pandemic, for or against. Please know that I'm not in any way trying to scare anyone, or anything like that, I just wanted to pass along some information I feel is important in our preparedness planning for our families. After all, being prepared means being prepared for any situation.

http://providentliving.org/content/display/0,11666,8041-1-4414-1,00.html
www.pandemicflu.gov
www.icfi.com/pandemic
http://www.mormonshare.com/bird-flu.phphttp://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/pandemic/en/index.html
http://virus.stanford.edu/uda/