I promise to post later this week about my Blissdom Conference experiences, but for right now, I wanted to share a quick kitchen tip that has definitely been working for us.
I had been wanting to switch to whole wheat flour, instead of the unbleached white that I usually use. But, I was afraid of what everyone’s reaction might be in the house (and even my own). So, I decided to start by just mixing half white flour and half whole wheat flour in my flour container.
I have now been doing this for over six months, and nothing tastes different. Every so often, if the thing I’m making is very light colored, the whole wheat flour changes its color just a little bit, but even that is not a big deal. Nobody is noticing any differences, and I’m thrilled that I’m moving us toward a healthier flour option. (Of course, full whole wheat would be better, but 50/50 is better than all white flour.) I’m starting to think we might move to a little more wheat flour and a little less white in the mixture soon. Wish us luck!
Do you have any other tips for little ways to change to healthier options in foods?
This post is linked to Works for Me Wednesday.
Photo by The Stakhanovite Twins
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{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
That's what I did too! We really can't buy whole wheat anything over here (I get my WW flour directly from a mill), so it was way too much for my Japanese husband to go 100%. He just didn't get into the heavier whole wheat bread, in particular.
I have stuck with around 50% for most things, but I find I can get close to 100% with others without much complaint – it depends on the recipe.
You probably already do this, but I use olive oil to coat pans and that kind of thing, instead of canola or vegetable oil.
My husband and I like whole wheat. The kids prefer white
. I've found a happy medium by mixing.
50/50 is a great idea!
Another thing that will improve the texture of your baked items when using whole wheat is to use whole wheat PASTRY flour. It's ground finer and so it rises better and has a fluffier texture more similar to plain white flour.
Personally, I mix 50% Arrowhead Organig Whole Wheat Pastry Flour and 50% Bob's Red Mill Organic 6 Grain Flour. No one ever knows the difference. I do occasionally buy white flour for Christmas cookies, but I use the whole grain for everything else.
I find that another easy thing to do is stop using margarine (if you do) and use real butter. Big difference!
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Wow…..I like that! Very smart!
I think you have inspired me to make the change myself.
I've wanted to try that actually! Glad to hear it works!
I switched out ground beef for turkey several years back. My family actually raves about whatever I make with it. So….it's a keeper!
I think the 50/50 is great for things like yeast breads. I noticed that quick breads like muffins and even cookies can tolerate a much higher ratio of whole grain to not whole grain.
We've got two big buckets for our flours. So whenever I get more white flour, I add a good amount of wheat from the one bucket into the other. That way, when I refill my kitchen container, it's already mixed for me.
As for healthier ways of doing things, I know it sounds cliche, but I add vegetables to everything. I was blessed with kids that love their vegetables so I don't have to hide them, I just do it to get even more into them. But, even with kids that don't like vegetables, you can puree zucchini and add it to most anything. It is the ninja vegetable, with only a faint sweet taste of its own and easily absorbing the flavor of what it is in.
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That is awesome that no one can even tell the difference!! King Arthur's Flour has a white whole wheat flour that might be worth checking out. It tastes lighter than the regular whole wheat, so maybe you could mix in more of something like that. Just a thought. =)