Using Whole Grains

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As much as we'd like to see it happen, we're aware that not all of MOTHER'S readers will be able to swing a visit to our Eco-Village research center here in the wooded hills of western North Carolina. And unfortunately, those who can't come will miss the many on-site working presentations of doing-more-with-less knowledge . . . and our daily Show-Hows, which are "live" demonstration classes. These seminars cover a wide variety of subjects, ranging from garden preparation to wood-gas fuel generation, and are taught by staffers whose expertise has been acquired in the tough school of hands-on experience.

So, for those of you who haven't yet been able to make a personal visit, here are a few of the highlights (and only the highlights, since space doesn't permit us to repeat all of the information that's presented in the 90-minute-long classes!) from the "Use of Whole Grains" Show-How . . . with a sidebar detailing MOTHER'S favorite bread recipe, taken from the breadmaking class. It's our hope that this brace of how-to's will whet your appetite for cooking with healthful whole grains and for a visit to the Eco-Village, should you someday find yourself in MOTHER's beautiful neck of the woods.

WHOLESOME WHOLE GRAINS

Let's begin with an assertion: The frequent consumption of a variety of unrefined whole grains, in thoughtful combination with nutritionally complementary foods, will provide you with a source of protein and other nutrients that is more healthful, economical, and interesting than a diet based heavily on meat and refined foods.

Now we're not saying that everyone should give up meat and refined foods completely . . .only that most of us could afford—in more ways than one—to cut down on our consumption of such products and to substantially increase out intake of natural whole grains. Barley, corn, millet, oats, rice, rye, sorghum, and triticale (a high-prorein hybrid of durum wheat and rye), when combined with foods such as beans, nuts, peas, and dairy products that furnish the complementary amino acids needed to form complete protein, provide the health- and economy-conscious gourmet with dishes that are equal or superior in protein content to meat. But then again, protein isn't the whole story: Natural grains offer ample vitamins, minerals, and all-important fiber roughage, as well.