Eat your wheaties

My dear dear boy is a hoarder. Not the scary every-newspaper-since-1976 kind but more like a boy scout--always prepared. That is why our new storage room he built (remind me to show you how awesome a job he did!) has many many 5 gallon buckets of food staples. Like beans, chickpeas, and this:

Yup. A huge a$$ bucket of whole wheat. Not whole wheat flour. Actual whole wheat. And what do you do with whole wheat, you ask?

Step one: Purchase grain mill (reviews here). Attach to sturdy work bench and get your arm muscles ready.

Step two: Add wheat. Now you know what whole wheat really looks like!

Step three: Skip the gym and get your workout by giving the mill a good ol' crank. Catch the flour in a bowl.

Step four (optional): Sift out the bigger bran pieces for a finer whole wheat flour. We saved the bran to add back into bran muffins or mix with granola for yogurt or for beefing up instant oatmeal.

Bran left, flour right

Step five: Make something yummy with your fresh whole wheat flour. We cut ours 50/50 with store bought all-purpose flour for bread and pizza dough (didn't want the dough to be too heavy). Both were awesome and eaten before I had a chance to take a picture! I promise to stop back with the recipe when the boy tells me which one he used...

Tip that I learned from the boy (he's such a foodie): Whole wheat flour lasts longer if you keep it in an air tight container in the fridge. We actually use the vacuum sealer so it does not get damp. I had no idea flour actually went bad... Go figure!