A lot of times people just getting started with their food storage have a big hang-up about wheat and how to use it. We are told to store hundreds of pounds of this food that we actually NEVER cook with in our daily cooking. For a long time we decided we wouldn't store any wheat until we had a wheat grinder so that we could “use it”. We didn't realize how many wonderful things you can do with simple wheat berries.
If you already have a wheat grinder, we highly recommend you check out our recent newsletter on 17 Ways to Use a Wheat Grinder for lots of ideas on how to use wheat and other grains and legumes (you can subscribe to receive future newsletters at that link as well). If you don’t have a wheat grinder, read on for 7 great ways you can use wheat WITHOUT a wheat grinder!
1. Thermos Wheat
Bring 1 c. of wheat kernels, 2 c. water, and 1 t. salt to a boil in a medium saucepan. Pour into a heated stainless steel or glass-lined thermos bottle. Secure cap. Place bottle on side. In the morning, pour off any additional water, add butter and honey, and serve hot.
2. Cooked Wheat Berries
Add some of your plain dry wheat kernels to a pot of water. Bring it to a boil and cook for a few minutes. Then let simmer for about 45 minutes. Drain the wheat berries and stick them in a tupperware container in the fridge. These are delicious to add to yogurt or to use to replace some meat in recipes. You can also use it in place of brown rice in a lot of recipes.
3. Popped Wheat
Take 1 cup of your cooked wheat berries (see above) and add to a frying pan of pot with two tablespoons of oil in it. Cover with a lid and cook over a hot stove shaking the pan while it cooks. After about 4-5 minutes the kernels will be nice and toasted. Put the popped wheat on a paper towel to get the extra oil off, and sprinkle with your choice of seasonings. Try it with salt, seasoned salt, garlic, barbecue salt, onion salt, cinnamon and sugar or any combination you desire. These are delicious on salads as a topping, mixed with trail mix, or as toppings for a desserts or just as a healthy snack.
4. Wheat Grass
Most people have heard how healthy wheat grass is for you, but most people DON’T know that you can make your own wheat grass at home for free with just a little bit of your food storage wheat. Check out this step by step tutorial on How to Grow Wheat Grass if you want to try it yourself! It is so easy and fun to do with the kids. Then you can snip bits off and add them to your fruit smoothies, or if you have a juicer you can use them in other healthy juice drinks.
5. Cracked Wheat
You can crack wheat in a blender or a coffee grinder. To do it in a blender you simply put in about 1/4-1/3 cups of wheat and pulse it until it looks like little cracked kernels. These kernels will cook much faster than regular wheat, and cook up in the same way that you cook rice on the stove or in the microwave. You can use cracked wheat to make hot cereal, add it into bread, or cook it up and use as a meat filler.
6. Wheat Sprouts
Making wheat sprouts is a different method than making wheat grass. You can sprout wheat just like any other vegetable seeds, legumes, or other grains. Make sure to review our tutorial on how to grow sprouts. Most people like wheat sprouts to be very small, just barely sprouted. These are delicious to throw on salads or to add into your whole wheat bread for a little extra texture and flavor.
7. Blender Wheat Flour
If you are cooking a recipe for something like pancakes or waffles, you can EASILY use your whole wheat kernels, mix the whole recipe in your blender, and pour it straight from there onto a griddle or waffle-maker. Just make sure to add the liquid for your recipe into the blender, then add in your wheat kernels and blend for about 5 minutes. Then add the rest of the ingredients.
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Please note: Don’t go trying all of these ideas all at once! If you add TOO MUCH wheat into your diet TOO FAST it can give you digestion problems, and we promise you don’t want to have that.
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One more really nice thing to do with wheat is Tabbouleh Salad. It is a great summer addition to a meal using your own organic garden veggies. Recipe below:
Ingredients
1 C bulghur or regular wheat
1 1/2 C boiling water
1/4 C freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
1/4 C Extra Virgin olive oil
3 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 cup whole minced scallions
1 C chopped fresh mint leaves (1 bunch)
1 C chopped flat-leaf parsley (1 bunch)
1 cucumber,seeded, diced
2 C cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 teasp freshly ground black pepper
Directions
Place the wheat in large bowl, pour on boiling water, add lemon juice, olive oil, and salt. Stir, allow to stand at room temperature 1 hour.
Add scallions, mint, parsley, cucumber, tomatoes, 2 teaspoons salt, and the pepper; mix well. Season, to taste, and serve or cover and refrigerate. Flavor improves if it sits for a few hours.
for #3 did you mean frying pan OR pot?
what about just chewing wheat berries raw? i’ve done it, without ill effects. probably not ideal for a staple food, but in small amounts it’s no problem. isn’t that what jesus’ followers were gleaning from the fields on the sabbath when he defended their actions to the priests?
We did that every year when I was little. As soon as the wheat was hard in the heads, we rubbed the chaff off and chewed a handful of berries. You had to practice a little, but if you swallow the starch as you chew, the gluten turns to gum, which we loved since we didn’t get “real” gum too often. I still grab some and chew it occasionally. Worth trying!