52 Week Food Storage - Week #20

Week # 20: 50 lbs of Wheat (white or red)

Baby Steps:

1. Choose location for storage
2. Purchase containers (#10 Cans, Buckets, Jars, Bottles…) for wheat or purchase pre-packaged wheat.
3. Purchase your wheat for containers.
4. Fill and date your wheat containers. (Leave some extra wheat out in order to test it some recipes.)

10 Reasons to love Whole Wheat:

1. It’s more nutritious, providing several more minerals, vitamins (18 more to be exact!), and natural photochemicals than white flour.
2. Relax! It has More B Vitamins which are known to help with nerves & stress.
3. Get cleaned out. Whole wheat provides more fiber, preventing constipation & diverticulosis. The American Dietetic Association recommends 20-35 grams daily, the average American consumes only 12 grams.
4. Lose weight and keep it off! Whole wheat has a lot of fiber which has almost no calories, keeps you fuller for longer, absorbs 3x it’s weight in water, cuts absorption of calories, cleans out impurities, requires more chewing, and takes 1/2 as much to fill you up and takes longer to digest.
5. Reduces your risk of colon cancer & other diseases.
6. Lowers blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and risk of adult on set Diabetes.
7. Cheaper! It will lower your food costs by at 30% to 50%!
8. Lowers doctor visits, bills, & medications.
9. Lowers Dentist Bills by cutting down on tooth decay.
10. Eating Whole Wheat keeps your body both emotionally and physically used to wheat.

Differences between White & Red Wheat:

“The main difference between hard red wheat and hard white wheat is color genes. Both have similar fiber and protein levels. But whole-grain bread from hard white wheat is less bitter–some say sweeter–than whole-grain bread from hard red wheat. That’s because white wheat’s outer kernel contains fewer tannins and phenolic compounds.” (Scientists redesign white wheat Agricultural Research, June, 1994 by Linda Cooke)

They also taste different. Red wheat has a more “nutty” flavor while white wheat’s mild flavor makes it easier hidden in bakery items.

Hard Red Wheat

Hard White Wheat 

Recipes with wheat: 

If You ONLY Have: Water, Wheat, Salt, Shortening or Oil You Can Make:

• Sprouted wheat
• Cooked cracked wheat
• Cooked whole wheat
• Wheat grass
• Gluten (a strange bread-type food that has a very high protein content)
• Tortillas

Just Add: Powdered Milk, Powdered Eggs, Honey or Sugar, Flour And You Can Make the Items Above PLUS:

• Wheat pudding
• German pancakes
• Crepes
• Pasta

Just Add: Yeast, Baking Powder, Baking Soda And You Can Make the Items Above PLUS:

• Puddings/custards
• Pancakes
• Some varieties of cookies
• Waffles
• Muffins/English muffins
• Breads
• Biscuits
• Some varieties of crackers

Just Add: Tomatoes, Powdered Butter and Cheese, Unflavored Gelatin, Canned Milk, Canned Fruits And You Can Make the Items Above PLUS:

• Meatless dinners
• Meatless casseroles
• Cream sauces
• Jello salads
• Whipped cream desserts
• Baby formula

Just Add: Rice, Legumes, Beef/Chicken Broth, Canned Meats, Dried Potatoes, Dehydrated VegetablesAnd You Can Make the Items Above PLUS:

• Lots of great chunky soups
• Chili
• Refried beans
• Rice dinners
• Rice puddings
• Sandwiches
• Many different dinners and casseroles

Just Add: Extras such as Oats, Raisins, Nuts, Spices, Juice, Peanut Butter, Cream of Tarter, etc.And You Can Make the Items Above PLUS:

• A wide variety of almost any type of food you would want to cook

As you can see, with a bit of planning (and a fabulous food storage recipe book on hand - Marlene’s Magic with Food Storage), you can be confident that you will be able to create healthy, filling, comforting meals for your family should a true emergency occur. It will also be helpful to start using and rotating through these foods in your every day cooking so that you can find the recipes your family likes, get them used to eating these foods, and ensure that all of your storage retains its maximum freshness.

Wheat Berries Recipe: (as found on SafelyGatheredIn.blogspot.com)

1 cup wheat kernels
4 cups water
1/2 tsp salt
Rinse wheat kernels. Combine ingredients and boil for 1 - 1.5 hours. Be sure to keep checking on them to make sure your water doesn’t boil out. Some people soak them overnight first but that is not necessary.



Things you can do with wheat berries:
* eat them freshly hot and cooked (great breakfast food). Many people add honey to sweeten it up, or you can add a little brown sugar and milk. Be as creative as you want! I know people also like to add dried fruit (like raisins or craisins). I’ve even heard of people adding a little bit of peanut butter for added protein and flavor.
* if you’ve tried wheat berries and you (or your kids) don’t love them, try mixing them in with oatmeal to disguise the flavor. That way, you can still get the nutrition benefits.
* you can add wheat berries to soups and stew for extra nutrition and heartiness
* wheat berries are great in bread! Just add them to your dough for added nutrition
* add them cold to salads
* try using wheat berries in a recipe that calls for rice.

Shelf life of wheat?

30+ years if low-moisture foods are properly packaged and stored at room temperature or cooler (75°F/24°C or lower) remain nutritious and edible.
How can I store Wheat?
Recommended containers for longer-term storage include the following

• # 10 cans (available at Church home storage centers)
• Foil pouches (available through Church Distribution Services)
• PETE bottles (for dry products such as wheat, corn, and beans)

These containers, used with oxygen absorber packets, eliminate food-borne insects and help preserve nutritional quality and taste. Oxygen absorber packets are available at Church home storage centers or through Church Distribution Services.
Under certain conditions, you can also use plastic buckets for longer-term storage of wheat, dry beans, and other dry products.


Types of Wheat Grinders:

Manual Wheat Grinders
Pros

·  Inexpensive

·  Can be used with no power source

·  Small to store

Cons

·  SLOW to grind (mine took 6 minutes to grind one cup of flour)

·  Except for the very high-end models, you cannot grind a fine flour

·  Inconvenient (messy and hard to fit a large bowl underneath)

KitchenAid Attachments
Pros

·  Less expensive than an electric grinder

·  Small to store

·  Convenient to use and then mix bread in the same machine

Cons

·  I have heard from multiple sources that these units will BREAK your KitchenAid mixer

·  Not as fast at grinding as electric grinders 

Electric Wheat Grinders
Pros

·  Grinds very fast

·  Useful for many types of grains, beans, nuts, etc.

·  Easy to select how coarse or fine to grind, and has a large range

Cons

·  Fairly expensive, even for the lower-end models

·  Must have a generator or battery pack to use with no electricity (unless you buy a high end model that comes with a manual crank)

·  A large appliance to store in your kitchen 

(This is the wheat grinder I use and I LOVE IT!)

Prices of Wheat Grinders

Manual Wheat Grinders

·  Low: $20-30 models will not grind flour, only coarse corn meal, etc. Not very useful.

·  Medium: $75-$175 is a good price range. Back to Basics Grain Mill is $75. It can grind fine enough for bread flour but not for very fine cake flour. Wonder Junior is higher-priced at $169 but it can grind into cake flour.

·  High: Up to $400 for the Country Living Grain Mill. It is quicker than other manual grinders and is able to grind a fine cake flour. 

KitchenAid Attachments

·  $100-120, some may be used on any stand mixer.Electric Wheat Grinders

·  Low: Under $200 for grinders such as the Blendtec Grain Mill. Its drawbacks are it is very noisy and cannot do very coarse grinds.

·  Medium: $200-$300 can get you a great grinder. The two most popular electric grinders are the WonderMill and the NutriMill. In my tests I found the WonderMill to be faster, quieter, cleaner, and easier to store. And priced at $239 it is even cheaper than the NutriMill which is $269.

·  High: Over $300 is an unnecessary amount to spend in my opinion. There are heavy duty models out there but you can get the job done with the mid-range models. 

Wheat Grinder Comparison Charts:

Click the chart below to view a full size chart comparison which we created. Also click here to see sample wheat grinders or here to view a detailed comparison chart.