WonderMill Electric Grain Mill Review & Giveaway

~~~THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED~~~

Eating plenty of whole grains is so important to our health and studies are continuously proving this fact. By eating fruits and veggies soon after harvest you will reap the maximum amount of vitamins and minerals from the produce before it starts to break down. It is also just important to have freshly ground grains for the same reasons. When I started eating and cooking healthier for me and my family I became more educated on these whole food nutrition basics and an electric grain mill quickly found its way on my must have kitchen item list. I would like to share a few of these whole food facts so you will understand the importance of fresh grains for your whole family.

 

Whole Wheat Berry

Click on photo to enlarge

Understanding the importance of fresh grains!
Every time I go to the grocery store or see a new food commercial on TV I cringe because the new marketing tactic is all about slapping "whole grains" on lots of processed foods that, in my opinion, have no truth to them. Businesses know the "whole grain" food market is a huge and they are cashing in on it. Sadly, the majority of our society does not understand whole food nutrition and what these processed products contain or do not contain. Packaged foods contain added vitamins and minerals because the 'whole grain' used in the products were not made with whole wheat berry. These also typically contain preservatives. When purchasing whole wheat flour you are buying a flour that has been stripped of the germ so it has a longer shelf life at the grocery store. Even though the flour does not contain the germ, you may not know that flour has turned rancid before you even purchase it. How can your body benefit from these processed products??

Don't you agree what our children eat is even more important? One of baby's "first foods" that most parents give their baby is rice cereal. Lets take a look at the nutrition label of the popular brand of rice cereal.

click to enlarge

I think the label speaks for itself loaded with preservatives and products that could more than possibly be GMOs (Genetically Modified Organism)! How can your baby's body benefit from these processed products?

Now, here's the nutrition facts for the same serving size of brown rice flour that you can simply grind from brown rice in your own electric grain mill at home. Freshly ground and you know your baby is getting the best nutrition! No preservatives and just ONE ingredient going into that little tummy.

Why a WonderMill?
Over a year I researched grain mills and the pros and cons of several brands. Each time I came back to the WonderMill being at the top of my list of the best electric grain mill available on the market. The WonderMill truly is the top of the line when it comes to grain mills. It has a large 1250 Watt LG Electronics motor that is built to easily grind small grains like millet and up to the size of larger beans such as garbanzos. Check out http://www.willitgrind.com/ for a substantial list of what the WonderMill will grind including video demonstrations. This machine is built to do a lot of grinding. Watch the video below to see the WonderMill continuously grain 1000 lbs of grain in just 9.5 hours! Impressive!

I was so excited when WonderMill said they would send me their electric grain mill to review! I received the mill the month after I had my baby, which was the perfect time. My body was trying to recover from having a baby and I was breastfeeding so I needed the best nutrition possible. Fresh grains to bake and cook with would really help my body receive the nutrition needed. I made a trip to the health food store and bought a few pounds of organic whole wheat white berries to grind.

There are 3 settings to grind flour, Pastry, Bread or Course. I set my WonderMill on the 'bread' setting to run through my wheat berries because I planned on making tortillas with the flour.

I turned out the machine and was surprised it wasn't as loud as I was expecting. I slowly poured in the wheat berries and it did not take it long to grind the 3 cups of berries I poured into the hopper.

After the WonderMill was finished I opened up the canister to find the most beautiful soft fresh flour! I also enjoyed the aroma of warm, freshly ground flour. The fresh flour made delicious tortillas that night!

Since the initial use of the WonderMill, I have used it numerous times in my kitchen. For some reason, I thought that grinding flour whenever I needed it would be time consuming. It has been far from that! It only takes me a couple of minutes to get the WonderMill out of my pantry and for it to grind up a couple cups of wheat berries. I typically grind enough to last me 3 or 4 days and keep the freshly ground flour in an air tight BPA free plastic container in the fridge.

It has been wonderful to have fresh flour when I need it. I am still experimenting with grinding different types of grains and what baked goods to include them in. I have seen a huge difference in the quality and taste of my baked goods from using fresh ground flour. Knowing that I am also getting the best nutrition from grinding my own flour is just a bonus. My baby just turned 5 months old so it won't be much longer until he will start to eat some solid foods. I'm so happy to have the grain mill in order to grind fresh whole grain cereals for him! Be on the lookout in the near future of recipes I will be posting for "Babies First Cereals".

Grinding my own organic whole wheat flour is also saving me a lot of money! I was purchasing my whole wheat berries at a large chained health food store in the bulk food section, but recently purchased a 25 lb bag of berries from a health food co-op at more than 50% savings! Definitely do some checking where the best price for purchasing whole grains in your area. A grain mill can quickly pay for itself.

BUY IT! You can purchase the WonderMill Electric Grain Mill from this list of retailers.


WIN IT! WonderMill is generously giving away a WonderMill Electric Grain Mill to a Take Time to Smell the Rose Reader!
 

You have the chance to enter several entries by the doing the following. Each one counts as 1 entry unless otherwise specified. I am now making it a requirement to follow my blog publicly on Google Friend Connect to enter my giveaways.

• MANDATORY ENTRY(You also must be following my blog publicly on Google Friend Connect)-COUNTS AS 1 TOTAL: AND visit WonderMill. Find the Dealer who sells WonderMill in your state and post this information in your comment. 

• Subscribe to my blog via email with Feedburner (on right side bar).
  

• Blog about my giveaway, linking back to this giveaway and WonderMill. Leave the URL where you blogged. 6 entries! Leave a comment for each entry.

• Grab my  Take Time to Smell the Rose button. Leave URL where it is posted.

• Follow Smell_the_Rose  on Twitter AND tweet about this giveaway. After initial "tweet" you may gain an extra entry each day. Limit 1 tweet a day.  Leave URL where you tweeted in your comment. Please use this copy & paste tweet:

I have entered to #Win a WonderMill #grain mill to grind #healthy #organic grains at home!  @Smell_the_Rose  #giveaway http://tiny.cc/WonderMill

•  'Like' Take Time to Smell the Rose on Facebook. 3 entries! Leave a comment for each entry (even if you are already a fan)

**Leave your email on each comment. You must do this in order to win!**

Giveaway ends Saturday, October 1, 2011 at 9:00 p.m.(CST) Winner will be drawn by the random number generator at Random.org and will be notified by email. Winner will also be announced on this blog. Winner will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be drawn.

This giveaway is open to USA residents ONLY . Must be 18 years old or older to win.

The thoughts and opinions expressed on my blog are my own and are not swayed by any monetary or product compensation. WonderMill generously provided me with the items mentioned in the review and no other compensation was received. O

~~~THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED~~~