What are whole grains and foods anyway? Any food in it's raw, unrefined form. This includes all the grains, beans, vegetables and meat. There are many reasons why we should get back to our roots for successful eating. Some of them include:
Nutrition:
It seems the more we process our foods, the less nutrition remains in them. A whole book could be written on this subject. One of the more interesting things about seeds is they contain, in general, the necessary nutrients to make them digestible and healthy for our bodies. This same idea can be repeated over and over again with the refined foods we eat. Our bodies need many nutrients to metabolize food correctly. And they are almost in every case found in whole foods before processing. Yet we as a society take the nutrients out to make them more palatable or easier to prepare.
Expense:
Probably the greatest reason I like whole grains and foods is because of the cost. Whether we are talking about everyday eating or long term storage for a rainy day, we can eat for a very small fraction of the cost if we are using whole foods. Instead of spending dollars for every meal, we need only spend pennies. This is true for foods purchased in the grocery store or long term storage foods. Looking specifically at the long term storage foods, for example, although freeze-dried food is extremely convenient and a good idea to have around for emergencies, whole grains and legumes only cost 3 to 6 percent of typically priced freeze dried goods. Military MRE's (Meal, Ready to Eat) cost about the same but weigh more, and take up more storage space. Simply put, for the average person wishing to put away several months of food, the expense of processed foods quickly puts them out of reach.
Storage Life:
Whole grains and legumes, if properly stored, can last for many years. Compare this to the short days of storage life for perishable goods at the grocery store or the 1 or 2 years of life of wet canned goods. This alone makes whole grains and legumes very attractive for long term food needs.
Storage Space Required:
You probably can't find a more compressed source of nutrition than whole grains and legumes. This is very important as many of us have limited storage space. For example, it would take 88 cubic feet of storage space to store a year supply of MRE's for one person for a year. (No one would want to eat MRE's for a year. This is shown for comparison purposes only.) Using whole grains and legumes and powdered dairy products, it would require only 16 cubic feet per person/year.