Homemade Flour

When I made the choice to start eating healthier, it was very daunting.  I would walk down the health food aisle at the grocery store and be blown away by the odd selection and even more so, the prices.  What was "healthy"?  What was worth the price?  Will eating this really help me lose weight?

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You can still buy a pizza in the health food aisle, you might just have to pay $15.00 instead of a $2.00 Roma.  What is in this magical "healthy" pizza that makes it so expensive?!  Probably not a lot, which is why you need to take control and do your own research and compare ingredients.  People have been made to believe that eating "healthy" is more expensive than eating junk.  False... If you do it right.

Since getting into the habit of reading ingredient lists, foods that have a longer ingredient list make me nervous.  I try to live by the rule: "if you don't know how to pronounce an ingredient, your body probably doesn't know how to digest it".

For example, I will admit, I am a sucker for McDonald's Shamrock Shakes.  Every.dang.year.  I used to get one every other day.  Not kidding.  This last year, a friend sent me this:

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Why does a milkshake need 54 ingredients?!

I had two Shamrock Shakes this year.  Two.  I'm making progress.  While I'll probably never give up the tradition of getting a Shamrock Shake (it's understandable to not give up EVERYTHING), I will never go back to having one every day.

There are some things that you wouldn't even think to read the ingredient list since you assume you're buying what you get.  One example is flour.  While I'm not a baker, I do use flour for many recipes.  Buying organic or whole wheat flour can get pricey, so I wanted to find an alternative.

I looked at the ingredients for whole wheat flour and there was one lone ingredient: oats.

Ever since, I have made my own whole wheat flour at home.

I went to Weaver's, an awesome store in Fall Creek that sells food in bulk, and got this 7.25 pound bag of oats for only $4.71!

You can't beat that kind of deal!  This bag has lasted me for over a year now and I've even shared with a couple of friends.

I fill my coffee grinder with oats, grind them up, and put them in a sealable jar.  Ta-da... Flour!

I've used this in all of my baking and cooking recipes and I've never had an issue.  I can't tell a difference from white flour (but then again, I don't taste a huge difference between milk and almond milk).

It may not be rocket science, but it's one step closer to making baked goods a healthier treat!  Give it a try!

What do you use for flour in your home?

Do you have any alternatives for things with a hefty ingredient list?