Our Daily Bread

As you know, I have been making our family's bread for a bit now

thanks to my friend Stacey who taught me everything I needed to know!

It is so delicious and so satisfying {to make and to eat}

Delivered by Fed Ex today-

the second piece of equipment required for my bread making. . .

The Nutrimill Grain Mill

and 45 pounds of organic hard red wheat berries -

from Nebraska!

If you are like my husband, 

who lugged all this inside the door for me, you might be asking, "WHY???"

Well, aside from my keen interest in baking as a hobby,

here's what I've been learning and embracing about my family's food. . .

We've been making some changes in

what we eat & how we purchase and prepare foods.

We all know that

white bread is simply void of any natural nutritional value

any "enriching" with nutrients is done so chemically.

And if you are a fan of "unbleached four" - it's chemically treated, too.

Furthermore, when wheat is milled, all the vital nutrition from 

the bran, the middlings, the wheat germ and the wheat germ oil

are sacrificed for the sake of longer shelf life.

Repeat after me. . . refined foods are not our friends.

90% of the nutrition of a wheat berry is contained in the wheat germ -

it is the life of the berry, but stripped in all commercial milling.

Have you ever  wondered how Joseph was able to store wheat grain for 14 years

in order to feed the nation of Egypt during the famine?

The bran is the grains own divine protective package.

Once the bran is cracked open, nutrients exposed to oxygen diminish in nutrients.

Within 24 hours - 40% of the nutrients have oxidized.

Within 72 hours - 90% of the nutrients have been destroyed.

The flour still holds its mineral content and caloric value,

but all the life giving and protecting nutrients are gone!

Even store bought whole wheat bread and whole wheat flour is

stripped of these essential parts of the wheat

for the sake of shelf life.

This is why I am taking my bread making to a whole new level

with fresh milled whole wheat flour.

Fresh milled whole wheat

contains the entire complement of B vitamins and is rich in vitamin E.

It also contains the necessary natural fiber for optimal health.

Fiber cleanses, restores and heals our bodies -

lack of natural fiber in our diet from whole grains and plants

is largely responsible for the rate of degenerative diseases 

and toxic weight gain in our country.

Not only that, but the enzymes, which are rich in whole grains just as God designed,

are alive and well in freshly milled wheat and essential for

nutrient digestion and absorption as well as natural cleansing.

I found this chart very convicting!

FRESH WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR VS. ALL PURPOSE FLOUR

Nutrient	Whole Wheat Flour	All Purpose Flour*
Total Dietary Fiber	12.2g	2.7g
Calcium	25mg	15mg
Iron	3.6mg	1.2mg
Magnesium	124mg	22mg
Phosphorus	332mg	108mg
Potassium	340mg	107mg
Zinc	2.8mg	0.7mg
Copper	0.4mg	0.1mg
Manganese	4.1mg	0.7mg
Selenium	70.7mg	33.9mg
Thiamin	0.5mg	0.1mg
Riboflavin	0.1mg	0.04mg
Niacin	5.7mg	1.3mg
Pantothenic Acid	0.9mg	0.4mg
Vitamin B6	0.3mg	0.04mg
Folate	43mcg	26mcg
Vitamin E	1mg	0.06mg
Total Fats	1.9g	0.98mg

Per 100 grams (approx. 3 ounces). 

*= unenriched

Source: USDA National Nutritional Database

So there you have it - part of the whole truth on whole grains!


“Jesus said to them, ‘I am the bread of life;
 whoever comes to me shall not hunger,
 and whoever believes in me shall never thirst’” 
(Jn. 6:35)


Jesus called himself the Bread of Life in His first I am statement in the gospel of John.
Just like God gave manna to the Israelites to sustain their lives in the Exodus,
God sent his son, Jesus, to grant and sustain life.
And not only life, but eternal life.


Do you see the significant correlation between the physical and the spiritual lesson here?
Spiritually, we can feast on Christ and have life.
We are tempted to fill up on "things of the world" and temporal pleasures, but all fail us
compared to the blessed assurance we have of salvation when we feast on and savor Christ.

Similarly, we can reverse the metaphor and see the truth about the physical bread
we eat to sustain our bodies.  How tempting it is to feast upon refined products and
"feel" satisfied, but be nutritionally impoverished.
Or we can return to the good God intended in this glorious food by 
consuming it in its natural, unrefined state and watch our bodies thrive!

I can't wait to mill my first batch of flour
and bake my first batch of wholesome, delicious whole wheat bread.