I know I talk a big game when it comes to going off-grid. I know I seem all hard core sometimes fantasizing about doing things the old-fashioned way without the ease of modern conveniences.
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But to be completely honest… there are a few appliances I just don’t wanna have to go without: a dishwasher, a washing machine… and now, my NutriMill Electric Grain Mill.
Could I survive without them? Sure. Do I have a backup plan just in case I can’t plug in my best homemaking friends? Of course.
But seriously, hand grinding 4-5 cups of flour every single day just to make a loaf of bread, plus more if I wanted to make anything else to eat… well, it just got to be too much.
I love my Wonder Junior Deluxe Hand Mill, it works extremely well. It’s just that it takes forever to stand and grind so much wheat on an almost daily basis.
I just couldn’t keep it up. We were seriously lacking in the baked goods department.
But then Lehman’s answered my prayers and so incredibly generously agreed to send me a NutriMill to review (isn’t she beautiful?!), and I’ve been grinding in bliss ever since!
I can totally understand what the housewife of way-back-when must have felt like the first time she plugged in an electric washing machine, “Look! Just press the button and it does all of the work for you!!” *Giddy laughter*.
The kids all crowded around in awe as I took her for a test run. I poured the grains into the hopper, closed the lid, checked the manual one more time, and turned her on.
It sounds a bit like a vacuum cleaner, just not quite as loud. To me, the humming was beautiful. It was the sound of my wheat being ground… effortlessly!! I could hardly contain myself.
In just a tad bit over a minute (1 min. 8 sec. to be exact), 2 cups of wheat berries were finely ground into 3 cups of gorgeous flour. Amazing!
I’d read reviews of some electric grinders being messy, and resulting in a cloud of flour all over the place. People complained that they had to do their grinding outdoors or in the garage. I was very pleased to find that with the NutriMill I had no dust whatsoever on my countertop after grinding my wheat.
I cannot even begin to tell you how pleased I am with my new electric wheat mill. Yes, I would still highly recommend a hand mill for emergency situations.
But if you plan on grinding wheat daily, and I’d highly recommend feeding your family fresh baked whole wheat breads, you do not wanna be without a NutriMill.
So, that’s what I’ve been up to all week… grinding and baking… and baking some more! What about you? Do anything interesting lately?
A city girl learning to homestead on an acre of land in the country. Wife and homeschooling mother of four. Enjoying life, and everything that has to do with self sufficient living.
That grain mill sounds awesome….a bit pricey, but obviously worth it. I will put that on my wish list, and hope to grow my own wheat next year. I love to bake bread and have been buying local stone ground whole wheat flour. I think it’s time to make my own 🙂
I would love one of these! I make bread once a week and rolls at least twice a week — this would be something I would use. Thanks for the great review! 🙂
Trixi,
I have both the Family Grain Mill AND the Nutrimill, and you are right, the Nutrimill grinds much finer…I love it, love it, love it!
Can’t recommend it enough. I also am a fan or Lehman’s and have ordered many big (BIG) ticket items from them and have always had good dealings with them.
Lehman’s and New Life on a Homestead…a perfect friendship!
i think that is really neat. Hubby & I have been slowly getting prepared and slowly moving to a more off grid life. It has been easy in some ways and difficult in others lol. I’ll have to add a mill to my must have list though i think electric will be out of our price range.
Have you had any luck with finding grain local or are you using Whole Foods type place or online? I am uncertain if i can find it local, though i’m in the ‘upstate’ of SC with tons of farms but most are cattle & goat. I found a few places online but was wondering if they are ‘fresh’.
I have this grinder & absolutely love it, too! Holly
where did you get it
I have a family grain mill, which I bought because of the versatility of having a hand crank base and an electric base. However, my grain does not grind as fine as it looks like yours is. I think I may need to look into getting a Nutrimill. I have had mine for about 5 yrs., so I might can justify a new one!
I am so happy for you that you have a nutrimill. I can’t wait to get one, just not in our finances right now. One day, I too will be happily grinding my own grain. I have heard only wonderful things about it.
I was working on my grain mill post and it just went up today, too! Must be the day for it, lol 🙂
I have the KoMo Fidibus Classic Mill and LOVE it. My review is here: http://likeabubblingbrook.com/2011/02/komo-fidibus-classic-grain-mill-review/
It’s self-cleaning; that was really important to me since my last mill was somewhat difficult to clean.
My hand crank family grain mill just arrived Saturday, purchased it used on ebay and can’t wait to try it out. The cool thing is you can purchase an adapter to hook it up to your Bosch mixer (I don’t own one), but it’s a cool option. However the Nutrimill is still on my wish list too, I am sooooo happy for you!!! 🙂
Oh yes… Having used several mills over the years, this is the all time family favorite!!!!! …and if you want to stop it before you are done, you can easily take out some flour fron the base.We did try the hand grinding… for a family of 11… I will use a battery or solar if the power goes out rather than try that again. 😉
I agree about Lehmans… very nice people to buy from. :)www.lehmans.com
Chris, the health food stores usually give a discount if you get the whole sack. We actually found the Prairie Gold wheat berries at Walmart! Sue Gregg is in Riverside, CA and may know where to get it. http://www.suegregg.com
Great article..THANK YOU!
I LOVE my Nutrimill!!! Invaluable to me and something that I use almost daily, often more than once a day if I’m doing a lot of baking. 🙂
Ohhhh love this review!
I am planning on purchasing the Nutrimill OR the Bosch Universal.
Visiting from the Barn Hop!
happy day!
Amy,
This may seem like a silly question but where do you get your grain to grind? I live in San Diego and it seems like my two options are Whole Foods and Henry’s Markets. Both of which aren’t making the effort of grinding my own grain economical. I read about tons of people grinding their own but, beyond growing it yourself, where can I get some? Thanks.
Chris
I have a Nutrimill as well and I love it. I agree with the previous poster, definitely make sure you push the bowl in all the way. Or expect a huge mess if you don’t. Another word of advice – don’t forget the filter. I somehow missed putting it back on 1 time and was greeted with a cloud of dust when I turned on the mill.
That being said, I absolutely love my Nutrimill and couldn’t imagine life without it. I just picked up a 50 lb bag of wheat berries over the weekend to replenish my stock.
I love Lehman’s by the way. We go up to Amish country once a summer and always have to visit their store. You can spend hours in there just looking at everything they carry.
Love this thing! My sis and I split one about 2 years ago. Now we really want a hand grinder, we were discussing that today. I was also posted on Granny Miller’s page today, I really like your blog and you are saying the things that I’m thinking. Thanks for sharing, I’ll be back!
Jane in Alaska
I agree! There are some electric appliances well worth the money it costs to run them and an electric mill is right there at the top of my list! Love mine and when I think of the possibility of a long term outage, my mind almost immediately thinks of missing an electric mill. Let me say this… those pioneer gals were NO WIMPS!
I’ve had mine for three years–LOVE IT!!! It can make a HUGE mess, unless you push the bottom in all the way. Ask me how I know. 😉 The YES/NO lines on the base really matter.