"All grain is ordained for the use of man,...to be the staff of life....
All grain is good for the food of man;...--
Nevertheless, wheat for man...."

Doctrine and Covenants 89: 14, 16-17 (Known as the Word of Wisdom)

Our Blog Names

While playing around, we happened upon names that mean wheat. We kind of liked them so we adopted them as our blog names. We'll be signing our blogs with our "wheat" names.

Gwenith - Welch (female) is Honeybee
Basak
- Turkish (female) is Grandma
Zea - Latin (female) is Walkers

OUR QUEST

Basak: My quest is to understand and know why the Lord said, "Nevertheless, wheat for man". I want to know how to prepare and use it in the Lord's ways and thus, it will taste good and our families will want to eat it. I want to know why the word "nevertheless" was used, how much we need and why. My quest is to know it all.

Gwenith: Several months ago, the thought came to me. How will we eat in the Millennium? That sounds funny, I know, but what I mean when I say that is, 'What is a higher law of health and nutrition and how can I eat that way using my food storage?' This is what I am working on.

Zea: My quest... to learn and live the word of wisdom so that me and my family will be blessed to live a healthy life. In this process I've ended up having several "sub" quests, such as learning more about grains, herbs, what things in our diet and life are created by "evil and conspiring men", and needless to say one subject leads to another. Right now I'm trying to put the knowledge I've gathered so far (while still gathering more) into practice for me and my family... not an easy task when you have a picky eater!

And as we pursue our quests, we desire to help others.

Thursday, April 30, 2009

Feast or famine

As you can see by all the posts today, my posting is like my eating -- feast or famine!!! LOL Not good for the body and probably not good for those reading. I'll try to be better -- on both counts!

Basak

Satiation

I didn't even know this word existed until just a few years ago. I kind of like it. Satiate - to satisfy (as a need or desire) or no more desire. I relate this word to "full".

I've been working on identifying my "full" when eating. I don't know if I even know what that little feeling my body would give me feels like. I watch my grandchildren eat and they surely do recognize it -- even when eating a dessert. And I don't know if I really know what real hunger pains feel like anymore. Most of mine seem to be in the head, not in the belly.

So for now, I eat until I feel no more desire. It seems to be working for me. I think I just need to try harder to learn to identify that "full" sensation. I remember an article I read years ago that asked if we'd ever noticed that those people who looked like their weight was where it should be, when eating out, were the ones that left something on their plate. They knew they were full but didn't feel they had to eat it all. I liked that article and have often desired to know I was full but surely haven't done my part to recognize it.

Eating more wheat has kind of helped with that, though. It's amazing that it really doesn't take a lot to feel satiated. When I get there, I do not want anymore. I also know when I have bread for a meal I usually have two slices and I sometimes do not feel full and will have another slice and then feel completely satisfied. I guess I am progressing in this area.

Our bodies really do know what they need and how much they need. Just as in the world we need to be good listeners, we need to be good listeners to our bodies.

Basak

While we're on snacks.....

When did the world start teaching snacks as a part of our daily regiments?

When I was growing up and also while raising my own family, we ate three meals a day. There were no snacks, even after school. I can't remember when it all started to feed our little children a snack at mid-morning and mid-afternoon and after school. And when you're feeding little ones, you always have to have a bite so adults just got on board, too (me)!

I'm trying to not eat snacks and it's making a difference in how I feel -- MUCH BETTER. It's giving me much more self control over what I eat at other times of the day, too. And then when I think about what most people eat for snacks today........ you already know where I'd go with that!

Boy, the world has done a good job on us!! Reminds me of those good words spoken in the Word of Wisdom, "...evils and designs, which do and will exist in the hearts of conspiring men in the last days..."

I just can't remember when this all came about -- the transition. Maybe it was in the years of my children being gone from home and having grandchildren but it's like "fixing" something all day long!

Another person commented that we used to eat large breakfasts -- eggs, wheat cereal, milk from the cow and whole wheat bread and homemade butter. (Those really were the good-ole days and I remember them.) After you got done eating all that, you weren't hungry until lunch. Lunch was the big meal of the day. Dinner was lighter--more whole wheat bread broken up like cereal and covered with milk and sugar in a bowl, with home bottled peaches on top. We used to call it bread and milk.

It surely wasn't a time of just leisurely watching TV between those meals but hard work so when it was time to eat, most were not picky.

She also pointed out that snacks came about when schools kept kids all day instead of sending them home at noon for a home cooked meal, and the kindergartners had graham crackers and milk for a snack. She said, "I actually knew what hunger pains felt like..." And of course, you've all heard this line, "I used to walk 1/2 mile (or longer) to and from school everyday". The big meals stopped during the day about that time as more men worked away from home rather than farming.

I think snacks -- in our not as much expended calorie society -- are not helping us much.

Ah the good ole days -- they did have their advantages and good points. But I really think this is something to consider. Do we all need these snacks? Is this the reason so many are so picky? Is this one reason we are an over-weight society? I know for me, when I start eating, it's sometimes hard to turn it off. And the world's philosophy has done this to me because it wasn't a part of me when I was growing up or when my children were at home.

I'm taking my world back!

Basak

Snack time

Two little boys - 4 and 5 1/2 -- were buggin' me for snack. I was quite busy and they were supposed to be playing -- ya all know how that goes. So to the kitchen I go to try and find something for snack. I had wheat sprouts in a bowl on the cupboard - trying to decide what I wanted to do with them, leftovers from breakfast and they were a little past the sweetest part of eating them but still very good. I'd just made a green smoothie which also had ground sprouts in it. Well, I saw a no-work for me snack and just did it, wondering how it would go over. Their cups were over half full of the smoothie and I just put some sprouts in a little bowl and got them two grain crackers. Of course the sprouts have roots coming out pretty good now and kind of cling to each other. The youngest took some and made the "mmmmm" sound. The older one took some in his fingers and was looking at the conglomeration when I left. When I came back a few minutes later, they were all gone and so was their smoothie! I have to admit, I was quite surprised and I did learn that the spider-like look of the sprouts intrigued them and made them more fun to eat. Oh what we learn when we experiment! LOL

Basak

Eating changes in our lives from a few months ago

Boy, with all that is going on in the world (swine flu), I'm so very thankful for how we eat. We've made major changes in the past six months compared to how we used to eat. We rarely eat out - and here just last night was one of those rarities - we eat much more fresh foods (and it isn't costing that much), we eat many more whole foods, canned foods are going down on my shelves and some are not being replaced and some have even been given to the food bank, we are eating way less meat, and we are eating more correct portions. Our weight is changing and so are our bodies. This all feels VERY good! And it seems "we" are liking it!!!! Amazing! Who would have ever thought??!!!!!! And I'm hoping it's helping our body be maximum in the immune department.

Basak

Pay day

My son asked this morning how he could eat more protein without eating meat. This is one of those "it's worth it" (pay day) times. We discussed lentils and beans and how if you eat them and grains, you get all the amino acids. He then shared that he's "noticed" that when he eats meat, he soon feels kind of bloated. There's that word again -- "noticing". I also shared with him that maybe it's what he eats with the meat that causes that bloating feeling. I've also recently read in the world's information that meat proteins stay with the body and do its work much longer than they originally thought -- sometimes up to three days.

I, too, have experienced what he described but it isn't every time. It seems it needs to be a constant watch. Maybe I should keep an eating journal and record how I feel after each meal. LOL Boy, I already know that but when thinking, it always brings things to mind on what we know we should be doing!

Simpleness is so one of the keys to all of this.

I continue to eat wheat -- in all it's forms. Here goes a bit of "eating journal" LOL Had wheat sprouts (1/2 cup), raisin bran (1/3 cup), 1/4 tsp sugar (I still am hung up on my old life LOL but notice the decreased amount) and milk for breakfast. It tasted wonderful. Had a salad last night that had 1/2 cup of mixed sprouts (which includes wheat) on it and then had one slice of pizza. Yes, I did notice sensations but it wasn't from the salad. I also noticed that increase in weight this morning which ALWAYS comes after eating pizza.

Basak

Friday, April 24, 2009

Answers to prayers

Last night, I was given an answer to a prayer that I've been pondering and working on for awhile. I just had to sit there in awe. It just kind of came out of nowhere because I wasn't thinking about it right then. I love my Heavenly Father. I love knowing He is all knowing and that His timetable is perfect. When inspiration comes like this, it definitely puts one on a spiritual high. Interestingly enough, the TV has been off all week. Amazing how that works. I know that one of these days, I'll also have this prayer about wheat answered.

Basak

An old book on using wheat and progress

When I first began to try and use wheat in more than just bread and cereal, I bought a book on using wheat to eat. Books are good! They save lots of time in the learning process. It sat for awhile and after the gluten making learning and some classes by people teaching how they used wheat, I again got the book out to see what good recipes I could find. The baked products - breads, cakes, etc., - used wheat flour but as I got to the meat/casserole/vegetable dishes, I had to chuckle. I still cook our favorite meatballs using a recipe from this book but the extent of the wheat used was 1/2 cup whole wheat flour to roll the uncooked meatballs in before browning them and other recipes used the whole wheat bread crumbs. How I've progressed in using wheat since then -- throw some (cooked) in spaghetti sauce, chili, soups, etc., and I'll yet be trying some of the salads in this book I just ordered. It's always fun to look back and see the progress and yet also, to see that there is still much to look forward to in learning.

Basak

Thursday, April 23, 2009

Always learning and wondering if it's getting me closer

There are sooooo many good things and helps out there. It makes me wonder why anyone would even want to read my ramblings. But no matter how busy I get, the wheat question keeps popping in and out and when life again settles, it becomes a constant.

However, a good thing learned today, shared by another cohort in the realm of preparedness, was a book. It's entitled "I Dare You to Eat It" by Leisa Card. She's talking about eating the basics of storage -- wheat being a main one. Of course I ordered it and think it will be fun to read. I really liked her website and I like the way she says things -- a fun personality!! You can find that at http://www.idareyoutoeatit.com/ Fun title, huh?!

Basak

Sunday, April 19, 2009

PS on popped wheat and "finished" recipe

Got the soft wheat and it was successful, too.

Would I buy soft wheat just for this?

Nope!

Amazingly we have found we do prefer the red wheat --- but we think ALL of it is just YUMMY!!!!





After making many, many batches, I've pretty well got this refined!!! I'm sure you're thinkin' I'm obsessed but if I can save anyone some of the time and testing to get to the wonderful finished product, so be it! LOL

RECIPE
1 cup rinsed wheat and at least 4 cups water --- boil 1 hr 30 min, adding water if needed. Drain well. One cup of wheat before cooked will equal about six batches to be fried.

Put a couple inches of oil in a pot for deep fat frying. Heat to 360 degrees. Put 1/2 cup of the cooked wheat in a frying basket when oil reaches 360 degrees. Cook for 2 min. 45 sec. to 3 minutes or until it turns a good (deep) golden brown. The small bubbling will come to an almost complete stop and the oil temperature will again be very close to 360 degrees. Drain on a paper towel and salt or season as you desire. Cool completely and store in a glass jar. (see March 30 post for seasoning suggestions)

Notes: The above reached our desire of crunchy and puffiness. We found undercooked was about as bad as overdone. Did you know some of the wheat, if boiled long enough, will turn inside out? I cooked it trying to get it all to do it (for hours) and found not all turned. When the wheat is cooked for the hour and thirty minutes, it has opened sufficiently. I tried many variables to process more in the frying process but none turned out as good as just 1/2 cup.)

Basak

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Whoa!


I gotta come up with a different plan.

No time for blogging because I spend all my time making this popped wheat.

We're addicted!







A special reward came when my husband gave me a special thanks for sticking with the experimenting. He did his own search on nutritional value and found there was none. He's doing some serious thinking in these areas of nutrition and that always brings good. By the way, fiber content of popped wheat is good and does good things for the body in that department.

Basak

Monday, April 6, 2009

And even more thinking.....

When we break an arm or leg, it's put in a cast so it can heal and it takes about six weeks. When we have surgery, we are told to take it easy for 6 weeks and even up to 6 months.

Isn't it interesting that the outside of our body is given time to heal but when it comes to the inside of the body, we just keep shoveling it in and making it continue to work and not take it easy to heal or we take medications to mask the symptoms?

I was making an 8-hour drive and time was of the essence. I only wanted to stop for gas and relief. I prepared munchies. It was a time when I was trying to eat at least one meal of raw veges. The only thing I had in the fridge were peppers - a green, yellow and an orange one.

I must admit, I really thought I'd get to the point of not even being able to look at those slices. But as I got hungry, down they went -- for snacks, lunch and dinner. When I arrived life was extremely busy so nothing else was eaten during that day except for almost three whole peppers.

Now for the surprise! Maybe some have seen pictures of the results of a colon cleanse and if not, just google it and you can have that 'wonderful' experience. I've never seen such results in cleanses I've done but lo and behold, there were results the next day. In fact, it kind of scared me because I had no idea this was even a possibility. I satiated myself with peppers and they did something very good to my body.

If foods, as their whole, provide these kinds of results, I wonder if each of the whole foods would do their own cleanse -- kind of like different scrubbing brushes. What would eating a day of just celery or broccoli or carrots or whatever do? I'm thinking I'll be trying this also.

I'd imagine if a food sounds good it would be its turn. For some reason, strawberries and celery are screaming at me. Can you imagine, a whole day of eating whole strawberries until you're full and when you get hungry, you have them again -- all day long? It was amazing that satiation did come, even when eating just slices of peppers.

Now I know this doesn't quite coincide with the previous post of eating wheat with other whole foods but I think there's something to both. I'd say it's time for more experiments!!

Basak

Been doin' a lot of thinking today

Part of a quote in a post on April 1 read: "...A whole food might be more than the sum of its nutrient parts." - which basically means the synergy of the whole.

I've had a few thoughts come to mind and had about decided that maybe that slice of homemade bread we always used to have with a meal was good for us. Today this thought was more intense and I wondered why. As I've tried to make sure my body is getting the wheat it needs, I've found that eating vege's and fruits, and I know they are good for me, leaves wheat lacking. So decided I need to eat a slice of bread, a handful of sprouts, etc., with what I eat to see where this takes me. And it doesn't seem to take a lot -- half a slice of bread, a small handful of sprouts.

As I was pondering this, the thought came: What if wheat also worked synergistically with all other whole foods? I do know nutrients work synergistically together and I believe many foods are not the best for us in combination but is there more good for man with a bit of wheat with other whole foods?

Thinking always seems to bring more questions; but questions beget answers.

Basak

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

A story of our bodies telling us what they need

This was so many years ago that I may not have the details totally correct but I can still remember the impact. It was WOW!

There was a day-care center. Someone there had watched the children and noticed how they'd eat the same thing for a couple or few days and then go to another food. She wanted to do an experiment. They put a great variety (all kinds of fruits, veges, potatoes, breads, cheese, etc.) on the table in their individual bowls.

The children were allowed to choose what they wanted to eat and it was recorded. It didn't matter what others chose. They found a child would eat maybe green beans for a couple of days and then go to another type of food for a couple of days, like bread or meat or fruit. You get the picture. They sometimes would choose one or two other items to eat with what they chose but it was mostly one item and maybe two. It almost seemed like they were craving some things as they ate a lot of it. After a couple of days, the food of choice almost always changed.

These children were eating by natural instinct.

Are our natural instincts so masked that we cannot even feel/hear them? I believe mine are. However, the more I eat whole foods, the more my body seems to talk to me. I also believe that one thing I do is mix and eat too many varieties of food together. Again that word "simple" comes to mind.

Basak

A LITTLE ABOUT US

I'm Basak (Grandma). I'm married to a wonderful husband who spoils me and puts up with all my kitchen lab work and in my working to serve others. We have four wonderful children and they have blessed us with sixteen grandchildren. I always seem to be learning something new and I love it.

I met Gwenith a few years ago and she's become a very dear friend. We found we were kindred sisters in the preparedness world. We now live miles apart and yet, the kindred has never dwindled. When we talk, we find we always seem to be going down the same road in the thought process - a miracle in itself.


I'm Gwenith (Honeybee). I have a wonderful husband and two boys who are my jewels. I have known since serving a proselyting/welfare mission years ago that the Lord wanted me to be involved in the 'Provident Living' side of things.

The last several years have been an amazing learning adventure and I thank the Lord for allowing me to be an instrument in His hands in any way. Thank goodness I have a friend to share this adventure with -- Basak. Though Basak seems my peer, not my elder, I lean heavily on her wisdom, experience and most of all her strong spirituality. She is an example to me. My efforts to becoming closer to the Lord have benefited from watching her. Thank you, friend!