For my birthday, which was in September, I was given enough money to buy a grain mill...woohoo!  I'm so excited and wanted to dedicate a post all about the new grain mill and oat roller.  Though I ordered it 6 weeks ago, after a mishap thanks to UPS, it's just arrived.

 

It may be really nerdy but I've totally become a fresh grain snob.  I mill my own flour and have been baking all our own bread.  I also roll oats for oatmeal, except I roll more than oat groats.  I also run rye, spelt and barley through the oat roller and we get fresh multi-grain oatmeal!

 

Did you know that fresh flour has 26 nutrients while store bought flour has only 3 nutrients?  Only 3 are left after the heat used in commercial milling and then sitting on store shelves.  I've noticed that fresh flour tastes better when it's freshly milled.

 

Where did this snobbish nerdyness come from?  I've always been a healthy eater but it all got kicked into high gear when I chose to feed Adriaan homemade baby food.  I learned so much about grains and thier nutritional importance from a book called Super Baby Food.  This book has a recipe for Super Porrige which consists of grains, beans and a green veggie (most often kale).  Adriaan loved it!  Currently, I sneak a mixture of zucchini and cauliflower into our oatmeal in the mornings (you can't really taste it, in case you're wondering).

 

I like to think that I've been a positive influence on my friends, and their eating habbits...so, I was pumped when Martha bought a Nutrimill (though I have to admit that she got one after I broke her blender).  I've been going to her house every few weeks to grind grain and then I store it in the freezer.  It'll be great to grind what I need when I need it with my own mill!

 

My grain mill, from Lehmans, not only grinds grain but also grinds coffee and will make nut butters.

 

Here are some pictures of us rolling oats, Adriaan enjoys being included of course, he really thinks that he's helping and it makes him extra excited to eat the oatmeal.

 

In other "granola-y" type news, I've also been making all our own yogurt!  We end up saving about $8/week on our grocery bill by making our own bread and yogurt.  Homemade bread costs about $.50/loaf and homemade yogurt costs about $1.20/quart.  The bread I make is on par, quality-wise, with the $6/loaf bread from Great Harvest Grain Co.