Our Next Meeting

We are going to go back to basics and have a wheat workshop. This may be a repeat for the few of you that came to the wheat meeting last November.

This is a rough agenda:

*Basic whole wheat bread (and we can't have bread without taking some of the dough to make cinnamon rolls!)

*Pancakes made with whole wheat berries (no wheat grinder necessary)

*Some new recipes made with the whole berry (this will be a surprise, I want to make sure they actually work first, lol)

*A look at different kinds of wheat we can use (i.e. spelt, kamut, soft, red, white)

*A display of different kinds of wheat grinders, including a hand grinder.

If you have some berries you would like to have ground into flour, bring them that night and we will grind your wheat into flour (think Little Red Hen).

To keep you busy, here are some nutritional facts about the infamous wheat berry:

Nutrition Notes

Wheat berries are whole, unprocessed wheat kernels that contain all three parts of the grain, including the germ, bran and starchy endosperm. Only the hull, the inedible outer layer of the grain, has been removed. As a result, wheat berries retain all of the grain's vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals. All wheat products are made from wheat berries, including white and whole-wheat flour.

Whole grains, including wheat berries, have a long list of health benefits. Studies continue to show that consuming whole grains can help lower the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancer. Research has also shown that substituting whole grains for their refined counterparts can help with weight control. One study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition followed the eating habits of over 70,000 women and found that those who consumed the most whole grains consistently weighed less than those who ate the least.

Wheat berries, like all whole grains, get the nod for their exceptional nutrient profile. They're high in fibre, low in calories and packed with vitamins and minerals. A half-cup (125 ml) serving of cooked wheat berries is a great source of manganese, selenium, phosphorus and magnesium. Wheat berries also contain lignans, phytochemicals thought to guard against breast and prostate cancers.

Whole grains are the corner stone of a healthy diet.

Wheat berries contain gluten, so they're not suitable for people with celiac disease.

Nutrient information per ½ cup (125 ml) of cooked wheat berries:

Calories	111 kcal
Protein	3.5 g
Carbohydrate	24.9 g
Fibre	4.3 g
Fat	0.5 g
Sodium	3 mg
Cholesterol	0 mg

Source: The Complete Whole Grains Cookbook, 2008