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iVillage Member
Registered: 01-08-2005
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Fri, 04-14-2006 - 12:20am

Hi there, I just wanted to introduce myself. I just started the SBD today officially. I am 31 and was thin my whole life. After having my baby I kept on about an extra 10 lbs which I really didn't mind. But in the last 6 months or so I've put on more weight (I don't even own a scale so I don't know how much) but I'd guess maybe another 10 and it is all on my belly. I have never been on a diet before in my life, but I did my research and especially because of my fat being accumulated in my belly area I thought this would be the best choice. I don't really have horrible eating habits in general, but I do get huge chocolate cravings and totally binge, so I'm looking forward to getting that monkey off my back in Phase 1 :) Also, I have a grain mill and grind fresh flour from wheat to bake all of my family's bread products, so I don't think the part about eating whole grains once I get out of Phase 1 should be a problem for me at all. Nice to be here!

Jen

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-01-2005
Fri, 04-14-2006 - 8:14am

Hi Jen and welcome!!


It sounds like you have done your homework! Good luck and let us know if you need any help along the way!


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iVillage Member
Registered: 04-01-2004
Fri, 04-14-2006 - 8:38am

Hi Jen,


Welcome to the board.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 01-08-2005
Fri, 04-14-2006 - 12:07pm
The grain mills are really getting popular lately since when they make even "whole wheat or grain" bread for grocery stores, they are actually just using the all purpose white flour (nothing but starch and gluten) (since actual wheat flour goes rancid very quickly and can't be used commercially) and then they just add back a few of the many vitamins removed, and some bran. The FDA allows that to be called whole grain because of the addition of those few vitamins and the bran. That way they can call it whole grain even though it really isn't. Also, most of the beneficial vitamins from wheat and grains (there are tons, around 25-30) oxidize once they are ground into flour. So if you don't use it within about 24 hours of grinding it, most of the health benefits are lost. The best part for me and my family though, is how wonderful and moist the bread and bread products baked with the freshly ground flour tastes! Whether its muffins or brownies or cake or bread, everything tastes better than anything I have ever bought from a store, and it is a million times healthier too! There are several types of wheat that use use for different things like bread or cake for instance, and it is much lighter and fluffier than all purpose or the store bought "whole wheat". Anyways, I'm done with my grain mill preaching now ;)
Jen
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-01-2004
Fri, 04-14-2006 - 12:41pm

Hi Jen,


That sounds great.

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iVillage Member
Registered: 01-08-2005
Fri, 04-14-2006 - 4:17pm
The one I have is called the Wondermill and there is another even better one called the Nurtimill. It is about the size of a food procesor and it has a separate canister that connects to the side. You just connect the canister and turn it on, then dump in the wheat or beans or combo of grains etc, and it shoots the flour into the canister which creates no dust of anykind. It takes like 30 seconds and then you just use the flour. I like to use a mixture of hard red wheat, barley, spelt, millet, and several types of beans to make a high protein flour that I use for bread, pancakes, waffles, muffins etc. The mill itself is self cleaning, so there is really no maintenance, and the collection canister just has a few parts to wash. I am lucky enough to have a great resource for all the grains etc locally and they also have an amazing recipe book with the yummiest moistest breads ever using all the freshly ground flours. I also use only sage honey as my sweetener in most breads, since it has been shown to have a completely different affect on insulin etc than the popular clover honey. The sage honey is even considered safe for diabetics to use. Then when I need to bake something that honey doesn't work well for, like brownies or cookies, I use Sucanat or Sucanat with honey. Sucanat is the purest form of sugar. It is just cane juice with the water evaporated out. It is a good replacement for brown sugar. The Sucanat with honey is a better replacement for white sugar. I prefer to use these when I can over splenda because they are so natural and have minerals even. I also use something called Real Salt which is a special sea salt from Utah that is full of minerals and tastes really good compared to any other salt I've tried. Anyways, hope this info is useful, let me know if you have more questions :)
Jen
iVillage Member
Registered: 04-01-2004
Fri, 04-14-2006 - 4:38pm
Very interesting.
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Registered: 05-26-2005
Fri, 04-14-2006 - 6:05pm
That's really intersting Jen - didn't even know such a thing existed! I love to bake, I've worked in bakeries and still make a lot of my own bread and baked goods. So this is something I would love to look into. But how do you find where you can buy the grains? I tried doing some searches on the web but didn't come up with anything. How do you think I could find out if I had a place locally that sells them?


















spring06sig2
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-08-2005
Sat, 04-15-2006 - 12:57am
I would start with health food stores and ask around. The only way I found out about my source was from word of mouth because they don't really advertise or anything that I know of, but it is a store not far from me and I never even would have known about it if my friend hadn't told me. One thing I have noticed is that a lot of groups of people who homeschool their kids get into the grain mills etc, and form co-ops to order the grains to get a good price. In terms of grain mills, I may have mentioned this already, but the 2 best brands are one called Wondermill, and one a little more expensive called Nutrimill. I have the Wondermill and love it. There are attachements you can buy for kitchenaid mixers to mill wheat, but they don't work all that well. You have to run the stuff through twice to get it to come out right and it is messy and dusty. THe Wondermill is easy fast and clean. The store I buy from has a website with some info on it, but it is expensive to ship the grain so it is best to find a local store or co-op. Their website is www.breadbeckers.com They have some religious sort of background that they talk a lot about in their stories on the website, but I don't really get into all that and just sort of ignore that part of it since I don't mill my flour for religious reasons, only health and taste reasons. The info they give in general though is all very accurate and I've found lots of other sources to confirm it all. If you do find a grain source to get started, I highly highly highly recommend ordering the Breadbecker's recipe collection, which they do sell on the website too. It is only like $6 and the recipes are the best ever for using freshly ground wheats. They also give useful info on conversions like if you want to use a recipe that calls for all purpose flour, it explains how to alter it etc. Also, if you find a source you can buy from, let me know and I'll explain what exactly you need to get started, like gluten, lecithin etc, so that you will know what to buy since it is all very confusing in the beginning. Let me know what else you need to know. I have gotten several friends started and none of them have regretted it.
iVillage Member
Registered: 07-01-2005
Wed, 04-19-2006 - 1:46am

Hi, Jen

I just started too. I'm on day 2 today. I have a similar problem in that the majority of my weight is around my middle. I truly do have that spare tire and as I'm short (not quite 5 foot 3) it's really noticeable. I was in college for two years and gained then but I've been plump for some time now (maybe 4 years) and I'm only 29! I'm not big on pasta, rice, or potatoes, but I do have sweet tooth for things like croissants and cakes and I always want dessert when I eat out. Anyway, welcome!

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-01-2005
Wed, 04-19-2006 - 2:00am

Hi, again

I just read all the other replies and wow, that is really interesting! I have an interest in whole foods and work part time at a natural foods grocery store. I'm on Phase 1 now but prior to this I ate spelt bread as I'm told I have a sensitivity to wheat. I finally found one I really like but it'd be great to make my own. Do you use spelt at all?