Why Did I Start Grinding my Own Wheat?

"Why?", I ask myself , would any sane woman grind her own wheat and make her own bread? Why would she MAKE WORK for herself? Those were my thoughts as I listened to my crazy zealous friends tell me that they baked all of their own bread.


A couple of years later I was attending a Homeschool Bookfair in my area. By 9:30am I had found (and purchased) everything that I needed for my next year's curriculum. I had scheduled a babysitter for the better part of the day and there was NO WAY I was going home this early.


About 9:45am, I bumped into a friend of mine at the Bread Beckers booth and was amazed to find out that this reasonably normal woman made her own bread also. I was thinking again, "What is the DEAL with these women?" As I was talking with my friend, I noticed that a a seminar titled "The Bread of Idleness" was about to start at 10am. Well, my curiousity got the best of me and I decided that I had to go hear what these people were telling everyone to get them to make their own bread. Just to clarify, I went in to the seminar with a very skeptical attitude and felt more like a spy in ememy territory than a student.

Well, believe it or not, I cried about 5 times during the 45 minute seminar on BREAD. Yeah, yeah - very funny. Bread - go figure. I was crying because I realized that I HAD to begin grinding my own wheat. Never mind that I was 8 months pregnant with our fourth child and feeling overwhelmed already. Honestly, I think I was sad because now that I had heard the truth, I was responsible to act on it. After all, about six months before this bookfair I had prayed and asked God to help me to provide healthier meals for my family.


In case you don't have time to click on the links above to learn more, I'll tell you these nuggets that amazed me:

• Of the 44 known essential nutrients needed by our bodies and naturally obtained from foods, only 4 are missing from wheat--vitamin A, B12, and C, and the mineral iodine.


• Within about 72 hours of milling, 90% of over 30 nutrients are virtually gone.


• Refined white flour (like you buy at the grocery store) is missing up to 80% of the nutrients found in the original wheat kernel

Now, 3 years later, I'm still grinding my own wheat and making my own bread. I make five loaves a week. Unlike before, if the kids aren't eating the meal I prepared for them and they ask for another piece of bread, I say YES. Simply because the bread is healthier than whatever else I've cooked. My fourth child, Austin (3 years old), is my healthiest child: No asthma, no allergies, no eczema. I began eating this type of bread during the last month of my pregnancy with him, ate it while I nursed him, and fed it to him as soon as he could eat solids. I don't have any proof that it's the bread, but I personally believe that it is. There are a lot of testimonies on the Bread Beckers website.

If you've read this far, you may want to request a free CD from the Bread Beckers, but be careful! Once you hear the whole seminar, you may be compelled to make YOUR own bread. Then we can all call YOU crazy.