White flour has something very important missing

White flour. Most of us were raised eating it. It’s so smooth and tasty! How did we get away from eating whole grains that are so good for us? Why in the world did manufacturers come up with the idea of bleaching healthy whole grain flour with chemicals and turning it into a ‘food’ that has lead to complications in American’s health?

Most everything is done to make money. We’ve all figured that out. Many things that are new and different will sell. White flour was so different and beautiful that it had no trouble deceiving us. And advertising is so misleading. The ads can make us believe almost anything, if we aren’t wise!

But we are getting wiser and smarter when it comes to food that goes into our body. Because everything we eat makes an impact on our health, whether it is for or against it. The manufacturers of white flour first remove the wheat seed’s bran, it’s 6 outer layers, and the germ which contains 76% of the vitamins and minerals. 97% of the dietary fiber is also lost.

Then it’s bleached, preserved, and aged with chlorine dioxide. It is further whitened by adding chalk, alum, and ammonium carbonate to make it look and feel more appealing to the consumer. An anti-salting agent called sorbitan mono-saturate is added in the final stage.

A few synthetic nutrients are then added back into the white flour and it’s called ‘enriched’. Actually, there has been no ‘enrichment’ of the original product, but destruction of the life-giving properties of a perfect food.

The more refined foods a person eats, the more insulin must be produced to manage it. Insulin promotes the storage of fat, making way for rapid weight gain and elevated triglyceride levels, which can lead to heart disease. Over time, the pancreas gets so overworked that insulin production grinds to a halt, and hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) or diabetes sets in. Your body is getting little or no fuel from the food you eat and tries to convert muscle and fat into energy.

It’s amazing to me how hard it is to break a food habit. I was raised eating white flour but now I know how much I am missing not eating whole wheat. I have finally come to the point that whole wheat really does taste much better than white. And the more I learn about healthy foods, the better they taste! Part of enjoying good food for me is to think about how it is helping my body as it is digested.

I know that cookies and cakes and brownies are bad for me. These things just aren’t the same made from whole wheat flour. Plus they have sugar which I have come to know makes me feel bad. It’s easier to not eat things when you know you will feel bad later. Not to mention the “I wish I hadn’t eaten that” thing I do.

But I can say now that I have completely broken the white flour habit. I read the ingredients on packages and make sure that the first ingredient is ‘Whole wheat flour’. Some products say “Enriched wheat flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, folic acid, riboflavin)” and I know that means that the wheat germ and ‘good stuff’ have been removed and a pitiful spray of ‘vitamins’ have been added.

I mentioned brownies before. Here on the box of brownie mix (which I love but am better off without!) has the first ingredient ‘sugar’. There is always more of the first ingredient listed in the product. Next is ‘enriched bleached flour (wheat flour, niacin, iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid)’ partially hydrogenated soybean oil……and so on with the rest.

Someone gave me a box of crackers during Christmas. On the box is says “Multi-grain all natural”. But I look at the ingredients and the first is “Enriched wheat flour (niacin, iron, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid). They also contain “degermed yellow corn grits and sugar.

I don’t mean to attack these products. I have just chosen not to eat these ingredients. I know sometimes I do eat things like this at a friend’s house or a church dinner but I don’t eat them daily and I don’t have them in my house. (I keep the brownies to bake for company and at Christmas many boxes were eating by others!) I know my body is healthier by my decision to not eat white flour.

Here is a wonderful recipe that my daughter created. When you are eating this you are assured that your body is thanking you for it!

“Healthy” Banana Nut Bread

½ cup whole wheat flour

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

¼ cup flax meal

1 teaspoon baking soda

¾ teaspoon salt

1 cup honey

½ cup cooking oil

2 eggs (also tastes great without the eggs!)

1/3 cup water

1 cup pecans ( or omit them, still just as tasty)

1/3 cup orange juice

3 ripe mashed banana

Combine the 3 flours, baking soda and salt. In another bowl combine honey, oil, eggs, water, orange juice, and bananas and pecans. Mix the two bowl mixtures together. Spray a 9 by 13 pan and pour in. Cook at 350 for 33 minutes. (33 minutes is exactly what is right for my oven).

I use honey, even though it is a simple sugar. I try to avoid cake mixes, bread and crackers which contain high fructose corn syrup, soda pop, and anything else that I read on its label as containing sugar products. So when I make this banana nut bread, I feel ok sweetening it with honey. It's much better for me than the other stuff and it's a healthy treat! Tweak this recipe to your own liking. I assure you no one will know this is healthy because it tastes so good! Sad that people think of healthy foods as having no taste!!

For healthy pumpkin bread, use 1 can pumpkin instead of the bananas and add 2 teaspoons of cinnamon. If you try it, please tell me how you like it!

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