Coffee Grinder

[RawMagnolia]

I'm thinking about buying a coffee grinder. I don't want to go out and buy all sorts of gadgets & things that I may not make long term use of (as I have a tendancy to not be able to say no to myself... aka SAD addictions). But I am eating flax seeds in my smoothies, and would like to start putting the flax seed meal on my pets food.

I'm just wondering how much does everyone use their coffee grinder? And what sorts of things do you grind up in there? Oh and, how is the cleanup??

Thanks!!
Sandra

P.S. I would love to buy a dehydrator as well... to help make this transition easier, but I'm imagining that they cost pretty highly. I guess if you have the time could you post what items you "have" purchased and get regularly used.

[Rawkinlocs]

Coffee grinders are waaay cheap! I forgot how much I paid for mine, but it wasn't even $15. There are some that are more expensive..certain brands or larger-sized ones...mine is small and I would like a larger one, but I'll be getting a Vitamix soon with the dry canister, so won't need to get another grinder.

But I use mine often! I grind up:

flax seeds
cashews for cashew flour (some recipes call for this)
sunflower seeds when I need them more finely ground than what my processor can do
I've dried my own onions, herbs, etc. and ground them in there
I've purchased cumin seeds and ground into cumin powder
I've dried tomatoes, ground them up in the grinder, added onion and garlic powder and a little cayenne to make a coating for dehydrated chips and crackers

If you don't own a Vita Mix or other powerful blender that can grind, you'll definitely benefit from getting a coffee grinder!

Other items I purchased and use all the time are my food processor, citrus juicer (for making orange juice or juicing lemons for recipes) blender, and dehydrator. I have a Champion juicer, but I don't use it that much as I prefer smoothies to juice, but I've used it for juice and making almond butter.

[Cinnamon]

Like Rawkinlocs I sure do use my coffee grinder a lot! I got the one I am using now from a friend at her garage sale for $1.00 and it was still new and in the box. I use a little brush to clean it out when I am only using it for nuts and seeds.

Flax seeds and sunflower seeds are the things I grind the most but also I've made almond flour for either raw cookies or it is a really easy way to make a small amount of almond butter. I just add a bit of water (or some might use olive oil) and stir it up!

I am going to buy a coffee grinder for my brother as one of his birthday gifts in April along with a bag of flax seeds. I am slowly helping him transition to a healthier diet!

You asked what other items we use regularly and for me that would be an electric juicer for citrus juices, a Vita-Mix for smoothies and many other uses, and a food processor. Although I do have a dehydrater and veggie juicer, and even a mill grinder for grains, and probably other fun gadgets around here I am forgetting about, these are the main ones I use.