photo source: Nick Saltmarsh
For most of us wheat is the backbone of our food storage. It is plentiful, relatively inexpensive, and familiar. Yet there are many reasons why storing a variety of whole grains might be a better idea. Here is why I have decided to store a variety of whole grains including wheat.
4 Reasons I Store a Variety of Grains In My Food Storage
1. Ease of Cooking
photo source: orphanjones
Wheat is a little bit labor intensive to prepare. Generally it is ground to flour and then made into bread. All of which require a lot of energy and effort. Other grains can be cooked quickly with little water and no specialized equipment.
Quinoa cooks a lot like rice. All you need is hot water and 15 minutes.
Amaranth can be popped (like pop corn) and ready to eat in under 5 minutes.
Millet takes 20 minutes to cook.
2. Health Benefits
Photo source: Pink Sherbet Photography
The health benefits of eating whole grains is well documented including:
· stroke risk reduced 30-36%
· type 2 diabetes risk reduced 21-30%
· heart disease risk reduced 25-28%
· better weight maintenance
Other benefits indicated by recent studies include:
· reduced risk of asthma
· healthier carotid arteries
· reduction of inflammatory disease risk
· lower risk of colorectal cancer
· healthier blood pressure levels
· less gum disease and tooth loss
source: Whole Grain Council
3. I’d rather eat a variety than the same thing every day.
I cannot imagine a diet of whole wheat and little else for two months let along a whole year. Yet for many people whole wheat is the only grain they are storing. Now don’t get me wrong I love homemade bread and I do store whole wheat, but I like to eat a variety of things, so I am storing a variety of whole grains. By storing a variety of whole grains I get the same long storage life but I get to eat a variety of foods.
Which Would You Rather Eat?
Da | Storing Wheat Only | Storing A variety of Whole Grains |
Monday | Whole Wheat Bread | Whole Wheat Bread |
Tuesday | Whole Wheat pancakes | Quinoa Pilaf |
Wednesday | Whole Wheat biscuits | Amaranth flat bread |
Thursday | Whole Wheat rolls | Creamy Millet Polenta |
Friday | Whole Wheat tortillas | Rice Flour Cookies |
Saturday | Whole Wheat Bread | Whole Wheat Bread |
Sunday | Whole Wheat Bread | Fluffy Quinoa |
Hopefully you have stored vegetables, fruits, and proteins to go with your whole grains. Even so whole grains make up the bulk of the calories in any food storage plan.
4. Different grains have a different nutritional profiles
Da | Calories/serving | Protein | Fat | Vitamin A | Vitamin C | Calcium | Iron |
Amaranth Serving Size: .33 cups | 190 | 7 g | 3.5 g | 0% | 4% | 8% | 20% |
Corn Meal Serving size .25 cups | 150 | 3 g | 0 | 4% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
Oat Groat | 350 | 12 g | 2.5 g | 0% | 0% | 2% | 15% |
Pearled Barley Serving Size .25 Cups | 160 | 5 g | 1 g | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8% |
Quinoa Serving size .33 cups | 60 | 2 g | 1 g | 0 | 0 | 1% | 4% |
Rice Flour Serving Size 3 Tbsp | 100 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2% |
Spelt | 70 | 2 | 0 | 2% | 90% | 0 | 8% |
Millett Serving Size .25 cups | 190 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8% |
Hard Red Wheat | 170 | 6 g | 0.5 g | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Hard White Winter Wheat | 170 | 6 g | .5 g | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
*Source www.shelfreliance.com
What whole grains are you storing?
