Posted on Tue, Sep 07, 2010
Posted by Brittny Bird on September 7, 2010
September is National Whole Grains Month. On behalf of everyone at Great Harvest, I want to thank you for choosing healthy whole grains to feed your family. Whole grains are a powerhouse of nutrition and provide many essential vitamins and minerals. By choosing whole grains and eating 3 ounces everyday, you are reducing your risk of many chronic diseases, including heart disease, type 2 diabetes, digestive cancers and stroke. You are also helping your body maintain or even lose weight. Your children have a lower risk of obesity and diabetes, and are less likely to have asthma and acne. Another bonus -- we all feel more full and satisfied after eating whole grains.
So you know that whole grains are better for you and your family, but have you ever wondered what makes a whole grain a whole grain? All grains start out as a whole grain. Grains have three parts: the
bran, the germ and the endosperm. If after processing (milling, grinding, etc.) all three parts are still there, it is a whole grain. If any parts are removed, like removing the bran and germ for white flour, it can’t be a whole grain. Whole wheat flour used at Great Harvest is fresh ground each and every day. Nothing is added and nothing is removed leaving our flour as 100% whole grain.
Why does your family choose whole grains? taste? nutrition? something else?
Posted on Tue, Aug 24, 2010
Posted by Brittny Bird on August 24, 2010
I would like to see white flour try to beat these benefits. The Whole Grains Council collected research on whole grains and found that by eating the recommended 3 ounces of whole grains each day along with other plant foods and foods low in saturated fat and cholesterol you reduce your risk of many chronic diseases including:
Heart disease by 25-36%
Type 2 Diabetes by 21-27%
Digestive Cancers by 21-43%
and Stroke by 37%
Plus it has been shown that people who eat 3 ounces of whole grains each day weigh less than those who don’t. That’s reason enough for me!
The best part about these incredible health benefits is how easy it
is to get 3 ounces of whole grains every day. Each slice of Great Harvest bread is right around 2 ounces. So your turkey sandwich for lunch on two slices of Honey Whole Wheat gave you 4 ounces of whole grains and helped reduce your risk of Type 2 Diabetes by 21-27%.
Who knew something that tasted so good could be that good for you?
Posted on Wed, Aug 04, 2010
Posted by Brittny Bird on August 4, 2010
Although not every fruit, vegetable and grain is ready this month, August is a perfect time to celebrate the harvest. If you have your own garden, you have enjoyed the fruits of your labor all summer long. Even the produce in the grocery store
and farmer’s markets are booming with freshness. We love fresh ingredients and this month we celebrate our key fresh ingredient -- wheat!
Appropriately named the Golden Triangle, the high plains of Montana produce some of the world’s best bread baking wheat. The cold winters rid the wheat of bugs and disease. The hot, arid summers give the wheat extra protein. Each fall, we test scores of wheat lots to make sure our bakeries get only the wheat that bakes the best bread. Our relationship with local farmers gives us the first pick of the harvest.
After wheat has been picked it is shipped to each b
akery where it is milled fresh everyday! The flour is used within 48 hours so it keeps all the nutrients found in the original grain. That is the Great Harvest difference.
Have any of you watched the wheat harvest in Montana?
Posted on Tue, Jul 27, 2010
Posted July 27, 2010 by Brittny BirdYou have probably heard that whole grains are good for you but do you really know why? In addition to many great health benefits like a reduced risk of many chronic diseases,
whole grains have many vitamins and minerals that are essential for us to be healthy. They include carbohydrates, antioxidants, phytonutrients, B-vitamins, folic acid, iron, magnesium, selenium, zinc, potassium and fiber.
Hopefully you have heard of a few of these but do you know why they are essential? The vitamins and minerals found in whole grains are important parts of:
- Metabolism (using energy from the foods you eat)
- Healthy immune systems
- Building bones
- Making red blood cells and carrying oxygen in the blood
- Keeping your heart beating and nerves working
- Protection against many chronic diseases
- Keeping you feeling full and satisfied for longer – weight management
- Lower cholesterol and blood pressure
- Keeping blood sugars normal
Many studies also show that eating the food is better than just taking a supplement. Our bodies know what is good for them. It’s a good thing that Great Harvest whole grains give you all these nutrients and taste phenomenal!
What are your tips for getting vitamins and minerals from food instead of supplements?
Posted on Tue, Jul 13, 2010
Posted by Brittny Bird on July 13, 2010
Any way you slice it, fresh bread just tastes better! At Great 
Harvest, we take freshness a step beyond ordinary. Each day our bakers mill hundreds of pounds of Montana grown hard red wheat berries. The whole wheat flour is then used within 48 hours to make bread and sweets for you. We use fresh flour for a few reasons but taste is definitely number one.
Slice for slice and loaf for loaf, Great Harvest breads are just bigger. The generous size and density is largely because of fresh ground flour. Other bakeries use dough conditioners to boost loaf volume, but this leaves the bread tasting airy and not flavorful and hearty like whole grain bread should be.
Most vitamins and minerals are afraid of light, heat and air. As soon as the grain kernel is broken or fresh vegetables are cut, vitamins and minerals start to leave. As time goes on, more and more leave. Granted eating any form of whole grains, fruit and vegetables is better than not e
ating them at all, but fresh has the best nutrition. By milling our own flour, you get superior nutrition to any other whole grain product. The fact that it taste better too, is a nice side benefit!
What is your favorite whole wheat product from Great Harvest?
Posted on Fri, Jun 18, 2010
Posted by Debbie Huber on June 18, 2010
We love whole grains, but it's not something we are used to hearing about in the news. Maybe that's why a couple blog posts
and some traditional media coverage this week have us pumped up and giddy!
Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health released a study comparing white rice and brown rice consumption in the U.S. to the development of type 2 diabetes. They looked at three study groups and data from 1986 to 2006. They found that the people who ate higher amounts of white rice were more likely to develop type 2 diabetes. Also, the people who ate brown rice were less likely to develop the disease. Of course this only shows a correlation, not cause and effect, but it is consistent with other studies.
The study's conclusion is that "Substitution of whole grains, including brown rice, for white rice may lower risk of type 2 diabetes. These data support the recommendation that most carbohydrate intake should come from whole grains rather than refined grains to help prevent type 2 diabetes."
Unfortunately, some of the best tasting whole grain choices, whole wheat bread and brown rice, are not foods that the average American grew up eating. We can pat ourselves on the back for eating a sandwich on Great Harvest whole wheat bread and be happy that we found a way to get our whole grains today, but how do we help educate the entire country about the health benefits of whole grains?
Posted on Tue, May 25, 2010
Posted by Brittny Bird on May 25, 2010
A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words
I have always known that whole grains are better for you, but sometimes it is hard convincing others. Even astonishing facts like "removing the bran and the germ for white flour takes out 17 key nutrients and 25% of the protein" and "whole grains have 3 to 5 times the nutrients found in refined grains" sound great, but are just facts until you can really see the difference. Imagine my excitement when I saw this picture from the Whole Grains Council that illustrates the nutrients in refined and enriched flours compared to whole wheat flour:
If this was whole wheat, all of the nutrient bars would be over to the 100% line. The light colored bars show what is left in refined white flour and the dark maroon bars show which nutrients are added back into enriched white flour.
All I have to say is "WOW"! There really is an incredible nutritional advantage when I eat a slice of Great Harvest Honey Whole Wheat bread.
What do you like to eat to get your whole wheat flour or other whole grains?
Posted on Wed, Apr 07, 2010
Posted by Brittny Bird on April 7, 2010
Have you ever looked at claims made on supplements? It is not uncommon to see something about cancer, either prevention or cure. But instead of becoming a pill popper or specialty drink connoisseur, wouldn't it be nice to prevent cancer just by eating normal food? Here come the whole grains!
In conjunction with a diet full of fruits and vegetables, eating 3 
ounces of whole grains every day helps prevent many chronic diseases. That means your daily sandwich on Honey Whole Wheat can reduce your risk of digestive cancers by 21-43%, pancreatic cancer by 30%, gastric cancer by 43%, colon and rectum cancer by 21%, endometrial cancer by 10-45% and ovarian cancer by 37-40%. WOW! (sources: The Whole Grains Council and Jacobs et al. articles based on the Iowa Women's Health Study in the American Journal of Public Health, 1998;68:248-257and the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1998;89:322)
There are many reasons for whole grain's impressive stand against cancer but fiber and antioxidants are the main culprits. Going head-to-head, wheat and oats equal broccoli and spinach in antioxidant activity! Just imagine the cancer fighting benefits you get from a slice of whole wheat Popeye or Spinach Feta.
What's your favorite way to eat healthy?
Posted on Wed, Mar 24, 2010
Posted by Brittny Bird on March 24, 2010
A common question I hear is "what is the difference between white flour, enriched white flour and whole grain flour?" Since this month is National Flour Month, it is time to tackle this simple misunderstanding.
Every grain starts out as a whole grain and has three parts: the bran, the germ and the endosperm. Milling the grains to make flour just puts them into a more usable form. Whole grain flours stop here and are whole grains because they still have all three parts of the original grain. White flour has a little more processing to remove the coarse bran and germ (which has some healthy unsaturated fats that go rancid if left too long). Unfortunately, removing the bran and germ also takes away a lot of the vitamins and nutrients. The B-vitamins - thiamin, niacin, riboflavin and folic acid, and the mineral irons and sometimes calcium are added back into the flour to make enriched white flour.
All the versions of flour have some health benefits but whole wheat flour is by far the best. It is not 
only in a more natural form but has all of the same nutrients found in the original grain. Whole grain flour has 17 more nutrients and 25% more protein than white flour. But like all foods, nutrients start to leave as they sit on the shelf (unless a few chemicals are added), that is why all of the Great Harvest bakeries mill their flour fresh each and every day inside the bakery and use the flour within 48 hours. Unbeatable fresh taste, superior whole grain nutrition - that is the Great Harvest way.
What other questions do you have about whole grain flour?
Posted on Tue, Feb 23, 2010
Posted by Brittny Bird on Feb. 23, 2010
Today's million dollar question: What makes a whole grain a whole grain?
If you are like most Americans, your answer probably included saying that whole grain is brown, only wheat, only fiber, only the bran, the same as multi-grain, tastes bad and is never sweet. Hopefully if you have eaten at Great Harvest, you didn't include the last two in your answer.
The truth is every grain starts out as a whole grain. Grains have three parts: the bran, the germ and the endosperm. If after processing (milling, grinding, etc.) all three parts are still there, it is a whole grain. If any parts are removed, like removing the bran and germ for white flour, it can't be a whole grain.
Did you know that whole wheat is the same as whole grain? Whole wheat just specifies which type of grain is the whole grain. At Great Harvest, all of our whole wheat products are made from our daily fresh ground whole wheat flour - nothing is added and nothing is removed!
What's your favorite whole grain food? We'd love to hear.