the beauty of sharing: whole grains

Showing posts with label whole grains. Show all posts

Monday, November 23, 2015

Pumpkin-Cranberry Streusel Muffins

I've officially discovered the world's best muffin. Don't be jealous, I'm posting the recipe right here for you to try. ;) I took a basic recipe for pumpkin muffins and cut out most of the fat and a lot of the sugar and then added delicious, All Natural flavors and Whole Grains. Oh if only you could smell my house right now!

Don't forget to stop by my previous post for Stuffed Acorn Squash and leave your favorite healthy Fall recipe! I'ts quick and easy and a great way to share all of the healthy recipes out there with others!

You Will Need:

1 cup *Whole Grain Flour (see below for options)

1 cup Oat flour

2 tablespoons flax meal mixed in 1/4 cup tepid water

1/4 cup Wheat Germ

1 cup light brown sugar + 2 tablespoons for topping

1 cup *pumpkin puree

1 cup fresh cranberries + 1/4 cup chopped for topping

1 cup walnuts chopped + 1/4 cup for topping

1/4 cup oil

1/4 cup applesauce

1/2 tsp Kosher salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice OR 1/2 t cinnamon, 1/4 t ground ginger, 1/8 t allspice, 1/8 t nutmeg

Putting it all Together:

Pre-heat oven to 400F. Prepare muffin pan by lightly rubbing Crisco on the inside of the tins and then lightly dusting flour over the inside of tins. * Crisco doesn't absorb into the batter like butter, oil or baking spray's.

In a large bowl, combine all dry ingredients. In the bowl of a stand mixer beat oil, applesauce and sugar. Add egg, beat until well combined. Add pumpkin beat 2 more minutes. Add dry ingredients half at a time. Mix to combine. Fold in cranberries and nuts, don't over mix.

Spoon batter into muffin tins almost to top. In a small bowl combine chopped cranberries, chopped walnuts and brown sugar. Sprinkle onto top of muffins. Bake at 400F for 20-23 minutes until toothpick comes out dry. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack.

* Important Health Note on Whole Grains

Whole grains are cereal grains that contain germ, endosperm, and bran, in contrast to refined grains, which retain only the endosperm. Whole grains can generally be sprouted while refined grains generally will not sprout. Wholemeal products are made by grinding whole grains in order to make wholegrain flour. Whole grains are a natural source of protein as well as a source of carbohydrates and are made into many different kinds of foods.

Wholegrain products can be identified by the ingredients list. Typically, if the ingredient lists "wholewheat," "wholemeal," or "whole corn" as the first ingredient, the product is a wholegrain food item. On the other hand, terms such as "enriched" and "bromated," among others, could indicate that the food lacks wholegrain. Whole grains are healthier than their enriched counterparts.[citation needed]

*** "Wheat flour" (as opposed to "wholegrain wheat flour" or "wholewheat flour") as the first ingredient is not a clear indicator of the product's wholegrain content. If two ingredients are listed as grain products but only the second is listed as wholegrain, the entire product may contain between 1% and 49% whole grain.[1] Many breads are colored brown (often with molasses) and made to look like wholegrain, but are not. In addition, some food manufacturers make foods with whole-grain ingredients, but, because whole-grain ingredients are not the dominant ingredient, they are not wholegrain products. Contrary to popular belief, fiber is not indicative of whole grains. The amount of fiber varies from grain to grain, and some products may have things like bran, peas, or other foods added to boost the fiber content

* Common whole grains include:

Wheat

Oat

Barley - Hulled and Dehulled (not Pearl)

Maize

Brown rice

Farro

Emmer

Einkorn

Rye

Spelt

Millet

Quinoa

Amaranth

Triticale

Teff

Sprouted Grains

Monday, September 7, 2015

Black Bean, Butternut Squash & Millet Stuffed Poblano Peppers with Ancho-Guajillo Chile Sauce #SundaySupper

Do you love authentic chile Rellenos but don't want to make a production out of making them yourself? These {vegetarian} stuffed poblano chiles are seriously simple and insanely good. I've cut the preparation time in half with a few tricks I've picked up over the years and can't wait to share the recipe with you.

The first thing I scan the menu for when at a Mexican food restaurant is always Chile Rellenos. Swoon. More often than not unfortunately, they fail to impress. Greasy cheese, deep fried in batter and usually lacking in the stuffings department which is the best part! Making them myself however seemed such a chore. Up until now.

Simply stuffed chile rellenos aka poblano peppers. Be still my heart.

I'm the first to say that home made sauces are head over heals better than the jarred variety. However, I'm also the first to admit that I don't always have the energy to make sauces from scratch..... or clean up the mess. If you can find a good quality jarred (preferably not canned) Ancho Chile sauce no one will be the wiser.

Secret ingredient and show stopper? Creamy, crumbled sweet and tangy goat cheese that slowly melts into a thick creme in the hot chile sauce. Goat cheese perfectly compliments the butternut squash in these peppers.

Poblano peppers are very mild on the heat radar as are Ancho peppers which have a mouth watering smokey taste when roasted, Guajillo peppers which have just a bit of heat to them give this dish the authentic finishing touch. The butternut squash and corn give these a touch of natural sweetness. Black beans, mushrooms and whole grain Millet make this a very filling dish even meat eaters will love.

Millet provides several nutrients and has a sweet nutty flavor, and is considered to be one of the most digestible and non-allergenic grains available. It is one of the few grains that is alkalizing to the body.
Millet is high in protein, is a smart carb toting lots of fiber. It's low on the glycemic index and has been shown to produce lower blood sugar levels than wheat or rice making it a great substitute.

Roasting and Preparing the Poblano Peppers

Place top rack 5-6" away from the top of the oven/broiler. Preheat your broiler. In a dry cast iron skillet place washed and dried peppers. Broil for 8-10 minutes then using tongs carefully flip the peppers over. Broil another 8-10 minutes till very charred and skin begins to peel away.

Carefully place peppers into a large ice water bath. Let soak a minute till cool. Now you can easily peel the skins off using your fingers. The pepper will probably naturally break open, remove the seeds carefully by swishing in the water. Don't let the pepper fall apart.

Time Saver!

Look for pre chopped butternut squash at your supermarket. I get mine at Costco and it freezes well.

Instead of using meat, use beans and mushrooms.

Black Bean, Butternut Squash & Millet Stuffed Poblano Peppers with Ancho-Guajillo Chile Sauce

PREP TIME 15 MINUTES BAKE 30 MINUTES SERVES 3-4

You Will Need

4 poblano peppers
1 cup diced butternut squash
1 cup cooked or canned black beans
1 cup sweet corn
1/2 cup cooked millet
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
4 mushrooms, wiped clean and chopped
1 tablespoon oil for sautéing
1 jar ancho guajillo sauce
1 cup shredded Jack cheese
1 cup crumbled goat cheese
cilantro for garnish

Char and clean poblanos using above directions. Lower heat in oven to 450F. Saute onions, mushrooms and diced squash over medium heat for 5-7 minutes until onions are translucent. Add beans, corn and cooked millet. Stir to combine. Remove from heat.

In a shallow baking dish, spoon some of the chile sauce to cover the bottom. Arrange Poblano pepper on top of sauce. Using a spoon, stuff the filling into the peppers. Spoon more sauce over veggies reserving some for later. Cover loosely with foil and bake at 450F for 20-25 minutes or until squash is tender.

Carefully remove the foil and sprinkle with Jack cheese. Bake uncovered for another 10 minutes until cheese is bubbly and melted. Remove from oven. Place peppers on plate and sprinkle with goat cheese and cilantro. Serve with more sauce.

Thursday, July 30, 2015

Crock Pot Barley Pilaf with Summer Squash, Sugar Snap Peas and Fresh Berries with Citrus-Mint Dressing

This is another recipe that I came up with out of necessity for a few reasons.

One. It's to stinking hot to even consider turning the stove on. The thought of it makes me tired and cranky.

Two. My budget is less than glamorous at the moment and so I'm having to get really creative with my meatless dinner recipes so as not to have a full on revolt happening. Four meat loving kids and a hungry husband can be dangerous unless I come up with something filling and flavorful for dinner.

Three. I have a big bag of barley in my pantry that has been staring at me for the last several weeks asking me why it's been neglected.

Well, necessity is the mother of invention right? And this one turned out so very good that I decided to share it with you lovely people. Barley is a whole grain and very healthy. When I think of barley my mind goes straight to barley soup made with mushrooms, carrots and maybe beef. I can't even imagine eating soup while it's 118F degrees outside so I went with my usual flawless plan; a crock pot, more veggies and a bit of fruit to sweeten it up. Bravo!

Throwing the barley and dried mushrooms (best invention ever) into the crock pot with home made chicken stock was simple and sweat free. I tossed in some summer squash and sugar snap peas, raw and threw together a simple mint vinaigrette using my cute little hydroponic mint plant really pulled this together into a sweet dinner. Even the kids liked it!

TIME 4 HOURS (CROCK POT) SERVES 6

Ingredients:

1 cup dried barley
3 cups chicken broth (preferably home made)
handful of dried mushrooms (I used shitake)
1 teaspoon salt
3 summer squash (yellow)
large handful sugar snap peas
large handful fresh blueberries
4-6 fresh strawberries, sliced
1/2 cup slivered almonds or nut of choice
chopped lettuce to serve on (I used a head of red leaf because it was cheaper)

Place barley, broth, salt and dried mushrooms in crock pot. Cook on med-high heat for about 4 hours checking after 3 hours.

Meanwhile, chop squash into small bite size pieces, slice strawberries and sugar snap peas. When barley is done spoon on top of chopped lettuce and sprinkle veggies and fruits and nuts over top. Serve with Citrus Mint Dressing. (A Strawberry Vinegraitte would be nice too)

FOR THE DRESSING

1/4 cup fresh mint leaves from your cute little indoor herb garden
1 clove garlic or shallot
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lime or orange juice depending on your fancy
1/4 cup EVOO or grape seed oil
if you prefer you could use vinegar instead of citrus. I've used both.
1/3 cup white wine or champagne vinegar

Blend all ingredients in a blender until combined. You can whisk if you'd like but I find the ingredients tend to separate much faster.

This post is linked to:

Fresh Food Friday
Seasonal Saturdays
21st Century House Wife
Tasty Tuesday's

Monday, March 16, 2015

Carrot-Date Energy Ballz

Right now in the valley of the sun it smells sickly sweet like orange blossom heaven. It only last for a few short days when the dozens of orange trees that line so many streets here in Arizona start to bloom. The petite white flowers make me swoon as I drive home from work taking in deep breaths of the fragrant, cool March air. Add that to the brilliant multi colored desert sunsets behind the darkening mountains that surround us here and I am in euphoria.

It makes me miss one of my closest and dearest friends, Becky. She went to school with me here in Phoenix ~~many, many years~~ not to long ago and the blooming orange trees were one of her most favorite things. She moved back to her home town of Indianapolis shortly after we graduated but she keeps coming back here to visit me as often as life permits...... usually around orange blossom season. I so do wish I could bottle up natures most perfect fragrance for her.

PHOTO CREDIT

I'm glad that this no-cook, no-fuss sweet and healthy snack that I'm going to share with you has orange zest in the ingredient list, otherwise my little story would seem superfluous, because I always have a well thought out point to my ramblings and didn't want to throw you all off...... errrr.

I just love healthy grab-and-go snacks, especially when they take all of 10 minutes to throw together. I cringe when I see people with all of the boxed, processed "health" snacks in their carts and wonder if they really believe that they are healthy and convenient.

I found this recipe on Skinny Jeans Food and was pleasantly surprised at how amazing these little snacks were. I was a bit skeptical about the raw oat thing but they turned out to be one of our new favorite snacks. Sweet, simple and the orange zest really made the flavors POP.

Eight ingredients, THAT'S IT!

Using a food processor to finely shred your carrots is key to getting the ballz to stick together.

Chia Seeds are an excellent source of fiber, fatty acids, proteins, vitamins, and antioxidants. They are also the richest source of Omega-3 fatty acids among non-marine whole food items

I used barley oats instead of regular oats because they were in my freezer but after doing some research it seems that barley oats are higher in {nutritional} calories and a bit lower in fiber and protein than regular oats. So unless someone knows of a good reason other than to help your teenage wrestling champion put on some weight than I'm going to stick with regular whole oats next time.

Grind the oats to a fine consistency in your food processor.

Silvia at Skinny Jeans Foods named these wonderful goodies Amaze Ballz and fittingly so. I enjoyed them at work for an afternoon pick me up and just two of them kept me satisfied until dinner. I brought a couple with me hiking for an energy boost and packed them in kids lunch boxes for a fun surprise.

Skinny Foods site is dedicated to single serving portions for those of you without an army to feed. I obviously had to double this recipe. They didn't last long between school snacks and me grabbing a couple every day to take with me on my adventures. Next time I will make even more as they keep well in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Amaze Ballz

1/2 cup rolled oats

5 medjool dates (the organic ones at whole foods are amazing!)

7 walnut halves, chopped

1 TB chia seeds

zest of one orange

1/2 TB maple syrup

1/2 ts vanilla extract

1 carrot, grated

Pour the rolled oats in the food processor and chop until finely ground. Remove the pit of the medjool dates, and chop them with a knife. Add piece by piece to the ground oatmeal flour (so that they distribute better). Process long enough that the mix starts to get sticky. Now add the remaining ingredients, and processes until the mix comes together (quite a sticky dough). Take small portions and roll them between your hands in a ball like shape. Store in the fridge! Enjoy!

1 amazeball: 54kcal

This post is linked to:

Sunday, March 15, 2015

Home Made Banana-Chocolate Crisp Granola Bars {and a Secret-Under Cover Give Away!}

I'm always thinking of healthy, home made snacks I can throw together for myself and the troops. I love a good snack that is loaded with good ingredients. One that will keep you feeling satisfied and energetic (not too energetic when it comes to the kids, there's a fine line...) and most importantly, one that is grab and go! Go. Go. Go. We are always on the run here; play dates, park outings, sports, practices, errand running, Dr. appointments and so on and so forth. There's nothing worse than being out and about with cranky hungry kids (and mommies) and having to go through a drive-thru or stop and a 'convienience' market for a processed, uber unhealthy, over priced snack. *yuchh!

At the very least I try to grab a re-usable/home-made bag {snack bag} of mixed nuts and dried fruit and maybe some cheese sticks to take with me. Keeping a bag of mixed nuts in your cars center console will come in handy for emergency snacking and help you keep off that weight and save money! All good things in my book.

Then there's the issue of healthy school snacks. You know how I feel about that right? Passionate.
I've mentioned my thoughts on sending processed and sugary snacks to school for my kids. It really, really isn't very hard to make home made granola bars, whole grain cookies or fruit bars. They come in so many forms your bound to find one that works for your family.

Also, again at the very least send fruit (yes, your kids will eat it if they are hungry and they know that holding out and whining will get them 'fruit' gummies or twinkies). Some of our favorite school and at home snacks are; Whole fruits, veggie medley with hummus or buttermilk-poppy seed dip, mixed nuts and dried fruit, cheese sticks, Greek yogurt with pumpkin seeds and dried fruit, whole grain crackers with nut butter etc. These all work for you too! All are wonderful mid-afternoon pick-me-up's!

There are lots of simple, school box friendly snacks for you right........ here on my blog. Go on, try one!

Let me know what you think and your favorite ideas for school snacks, I'd LOVE to know!

The secret to these granola bars is this cereal. It's very gently kissed with chocolate.

Who doesn't want to be kissed by chocolate?

I'm not talking about the 'other' chocolaty cereals that are loaded with sugar.

This brown rice cereal is just ever-so-slightly sweetened and a whole grain to boot.

Secret Under Cover Give Away!

O.K. If any of you can tell me what type of plant I have dangling in the background I will send you TWO of my home made, super cute reusable snack bags! (pics coming soon)

{To the first person with the correct anwnser!}

For the Banana-Chocolate Crisp Granola Bars

You Will Need:

1 cup slivered almonds
1 cups cashews, coarsely chopped
1 cup banana chips, chopped
1 1/2 cups rolled oats (I use Coach's Oats)
1 1/2 cups {chocolate flavored} brown rice crisp cereal
* 1 cup brown rice syrup (sold at Whole Foods and other “natural” stores)
1/4 cup Grade B maple syrup
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Putting them together:

Preheat the oven to 350°. Spread the oats, almonds and cashews on a cookie sheet and toast them in the oven for 8-10 minutes, or until they start to brown a bit. Remove from oven and let cool.
In the meantime, line a 9 x 13 baking dish with parchment paper and set aside {can use butter or coconut oil}. Now, mix the rice cereal, banana chips and cinnamon in a big bowl. Add the oats and nuts once they’ve cooled.

In a small saucepan, heat the syrups, salt and vanilla extract over medium-high heat, stirring constantly to avoid burning. Once the syrups come to a gentle boil, continue to cook for an additional 3-4 minutes until the syrup begins to thicken, then pour it over the oats and nuts mixture. Mix everything together so that the syrup evenly coats everything in the bowl.

While it’s still warm, pour the contents of the bowl into your prepared baking dish. Using a rubber spatula, pat everything down so it’s nice and compacted (I did this again after about 10 minutes to make them nice and compressed). Let cool to room temperature. You can also put them in the fridge for a bit since this’ll make cutting easier.

Cut them into square or rectangles as you please. Store them in a airtight container in the refrigerator.

recipe very slightly adapted from Bitchen Camero

*Brown Rice Syrup

* brown rice syrup = rice syrup = rice bran syrup = rice malt = yinnie syrup

Notes: Health buffs like this because it contains complex sugars, which are absorbed more slowly into the bloodstream. It's about half as sweet as ordinary table sugar. Some rice syrups include barley malt, and may pose a problem for people with gluten allergies. Substitutes: maple syrup (substitute 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons liquid for each cup of brown rice syrup) OR molasses (substitute 1/2 cup for each cup of brown rice syrup) OR barley malt syrup (substitute 3/4 cup for each cup of brown rice syrup) OR honey (substitute 3/4 C honey plus 2 tablespoons liquid for every cup of brown rice syrup)

The Cooks Thesaurus