> ... the only flour I buy is from a mom-and-pop
> grain mill about 100 miles away, but there isn’t
> really any guarantee on that either, it seems...
It is possible to buy heirloom einkorn, but even that is a case of “eat early neolithic grains, get early neolithic ailments” like the iceman Otzi did (bad teeth and heart disease).
It may come as a shock to FR readers, but your government’s advice on what to eat is a complete and utter disaster, and once understood, both completely explains the disastrous trends in non-infectious disease over the last 40 years, and also points to how to jump off those rising curves.
Doing almost anything other than following the USDA’s MyPlateOfMetabolicSyndrome would be an improvement, but the “paleo/primal/LCHF” movements are apt to be the near-term optimal alternatives. One such program that seems to have it all nailed is Davis’ “Wheat Belly”. I’m about halfway through his latest book “Wheat Belly Total Health”, and it is way far more than just avoiding wheat.
To get back today’s story, another report had the USDA saying that it would be safe to eat this GM wheat. How would they know? They tell us (when you can nail them down) to get 60% of our calories from carbs, mostly “whole grains”, which means most runt mutant goat grass (sold to you as “semi-dwarf hybrid wheat”). This stuff is a multiple threat human toxin, largely responsible for the T2D epidemic.
See either “Death by Food Pyramid” (Minger) or “The Big Fat Surprise” (Teicholz) for the whole facepalm story of we got a food pyramid that’s essentially upside down.
Having been brought up on a ranch, living in the country and eating the paleo way is natural for me-heavy on the meat and non-starch veggie protein, no refined or processed food, and fresh fruit is the “sweets”. Those of us who have continued to eat that way are not overweight and are healthy.
My female relatives thought that stupid pyramid was a joke-and I don’t think the new govt “plate” is any better-carbs make you fat, protein builds muscle. If someone had served my male relatives one of the starchy, meatless meals on Michelle’s menu, they would have started a riot-you don’t chase after livestock fueled on potatoes, lettuce and French toast...
The only packaged thing I buy on a regular basis-besides natural yogurt-is crunchy granola bars that I carry when I hike and in my truck for my lunch, with fruit-almost every box and can label you read says either fructose this, wheat that, corn syrup-stuff that doesn’t have anything to do with a healthy diet based on “real” food.
Grains and other starch are not a big part of my diet- sometimes brown rice, and in winter, bread I make with whole grain flour from the aforementioned mill, sometimes sourdough French bread-I barter most of the bread I make for dairy stuff like goat’s milk cheese, honey etc, since I don’t keep livestock or bees yet-I hope to change that soon.
Corn tortillas were the grain of choice when I was a kid, homemade with masa from cornmeal, but I seldom eat those now-making them is not my favorite chore...
There are a couple of mills that advertise all natural, stone ground grains on the ‘net, but I don’t have any idea if it really is.