Practical Preparedness and Healthy Eating

Sour-dough Banana Bread (Muffins)

2010-04-20T20:27:00.000-06:00

I ended up with an extra 10 lbs of bananas today, and my new sourdough was ready to cook with. So I did a search for sourdough banana bread and came up with this recipe. Since I have had good success with other info from this site I decided to give it a go. I didn't follow their recipe, but modified it and it turned out great!

1/2 cup pureed white beans
1 cup mashed banana
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup molasses
2 (scant) cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 cup sourdough starter (preferably whole grain start)
1 Tbl olive or coconut oil
3/4 cup chopped walnuts (I forgot to add these, I am sure they would taste great!)
1 tsp vanilla or 1 tsp grated orange rind (I also forgot this, but I am sure it would add to the flavor)

Blend the beans, banana, honey and molasses in the blender until smooth. Pour into a large bowl (larger than you think) and add sourdough start, salt, cinnamon, soda, baking powder, vanilla, nuts, whole wheat flour and oil. Stir gently until all ingredients are moistened.
Put into greased 9x5 bread pan or muffin pan.
Bake bread at 350 for 50-60 minutes.
For muffins, preheat oven to 450. Fill muffin cups all the way to the top. Sprinkle tops with cinnamon and sugar (I did only because I have had a bowl sitting on my counter for several months and I wanted to use it up). Put into 450 degree oven, set time for 5 minutes then turn oven down to 350 and bake for another 20-25 minutes. (I learned this tip here ) This may not be quite enough for 12 muffins, probably more like 9 if you fill them really full.

Minestrone Soup

2010-04-10T16:12:00.000-06:00

I love soups.

I am sad to see soup season disappear, I just don't like soup in the warm weather. It snowed this week so I was excited to get to make this soup at least once more before warm weather appeared.

It is also my first go to recipe when I have too many veggies in the fridge. It is a good way to use up odds and ends. I'll write the basic recipe out, then include a few tips at the end.

Ingredients.

1-2 T oil of choice

2 potatoes

2 carrots

1 zucchini

1 c green beans

1 c shredded cabbage (I have used green, napa and red, they all work fine, just use what you have on hand)

1/2 c celery

1 onion

3-4 cloves garlic, minced

2 t Italien seasoning

1-2 t oregano

4 c stock

15 oz can tomatoes

1 small can tomato sauce (opt, it does give greater depth if not cooking all day)

15 oz kidney beans

2 c water

4 oz dry pasta

Chop the vegetables how ever you would like.

Saute the first 8 vegetables in oil until crisp tender. Stir in seasonings, cook 1-2 minutes more. Add everything but the pasta and heat to boiling. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Heat to boiling and add pasta, let simmer until pasta is al dente (10-12 minutes).

Serve and enjoy.

My kids really like a little fresh parmesan cheese sprinkled over the top.

A few tips. I usually add at least 1 cup of chopped greens to the vegetable mixture. I have added spinach, kale, collards, really whatever I have on hand. I usually add too many vegetables and I end up with 2 gallons of soup and I take one to a neighbor. Occasionally if I am feeling really decadent, I will saute 1/4 lb bacon or italien sausage and then saute the veggies in the drippings. This makes the soup even richer, I then crumble the bacon and add it in just before serving. I usually leave out the pasta, mainly because I put in so many veggies I don't think the pasta adds anything.

In the summer when I have veggies coming out my ears, I chop my veggies and freeze them in the proper amounts in quart bags. Then I can dump them in and make this soup even easier. Frozen vegetables from the store work well too.

This soup works great in a crockpot, I just skip the sauteing step if I am in a hurry and cook on low 6-8 hours.

If you are out of one particular ingredient, substitute something that you do have on hand. I frequently blend up fresh tomatoes in place of the can of tomatoes and it works great.

The can of tomato sauce is something I only add if I am not going to let the soup simmer for a few hours to give the flavor of a longer simmering time.

Creamy Lemon Dressing

2010-01-26T09:25:00.001-07:00

This dressing is so good! I have been using it all over the place, but especially on my favorite salad.
Ingredients
1/4 c sugar (I used sucanat, but agave would work as well, you might be able to even decrease to 2 TB agave!)
1/2 c lemon juice
2 t onion
1/2 t salt
2/3 c Olive oil
1-2 T Poppy Seeds (Opt.)

Combine everything but the oil and poppy seeds in blender or food processor, blend until well blended. Slowly add oil in steady stream until slightly thickened and smooth. Add poppy seeds and blend for a few seconds.
Serve on your favorite salad, especially great with salads that have fruit in them. This is enough for 2 good size salads.

My Favorite Salad (Right Now) Mango Kiwi Salad

2010-01-26T09:16:00.001-07:00

Ingredients:

Spinach, or romaine lettuce, or a mix of your favorite greens.

2-3 mangos peeled and diced

3-4 kiwis peeled and diced

1/4 c dried Cranberries

1/2 c chopped almonds

Lemon Dressing

Place clean greens in a large bowl Pile remaining ingredients on the top and drizzle with dressing.

Serve and enjoy.

To make chopping the mango easier, if you are like me and terrible at it, peel them first. Then set them on your cutting board and cut down lengthwise about 1/3 in from the side. Continue to make small slice in from the side to get as close to the seeds as possible. Then flip and repeat for the remaining 3 sides. The pieces that have been cut off are then easy to slice cleanly. I then scarp all that I can from the seed/pit with my teeth and throw it in the compost heap.

Mexican Squash Soup

2010-01-08T19:58:00.002-07:00

This is yummy! I made it a few years ago and we all liked and I forgot I had the recipe. We made it tonight and loved it, the kids even ate it.

Spiced Mexican Squash Soup

1 ½ T Olive Oil
2C chopped Onion
6 garlic cloves (minced)
1 tsp Oregano
1 Butternut Squash (peel and dice into ½ inch cubes)
3 C Water
1 tsp Salt
¼-1/2 tsp. Cumin
1 ½ tsp chili Powder
2 C fresh Tomatoes (diced) or 1 can
2C Red or Green Peppes (chopped)
2 C Corn Kernels
1 can black Beans (15 oz- drained and rinsed)

Saute Onion/Garlic with Oregano
Add in Squash with the water and remaining spices. Simmer 5-10 min, add tomatoes and peppers and simmer 10 more minute.
Stir in corn and black beans and simmer few more minutes until corn is tender.

Serve with Tortilla chips and avocado dices
(optional: serve with sour cream and shredded cheese)

Clean Food

2009-12-07T11:19:00.002-07:00

My Mom bought this book and I am loving it. Clean Food: A Seasonal Guide to Eating Close to the Source with More than 200 Recipes for a Healthy and Sustainable You by Terry Walters. (Sterling Epicure, 2009)
My favorite features:
1. Has recipes divided into the four seasons using the fresh produce available.
2. Everything is Healthy.
3. The index is search able by ingredient particularly by vegetable. For example there are 13 recipes using Kale, 11 with lemons, 5 with parsnips, 9 for Quinoa, 20 with tomatoes and the list goes on
4. Recipes call for few ingredients and are simple
5. The intro has some great info.

We have tried the cookies and the Pad Thai and are trying more this week- black bean burgers and shepherds pie.

Available on AMAZON HERE

Banana Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies

2009-12-07T11:06:00.004-07:00

These are so yummy, you would have no idea they were healthy. These are definitely"guest" worthy. I get nervous about serving our 'healthy food' to other people, but definitely not these cookies. The original recipe is listed and my changes are in the parentheses. Also next time I might add in some ground flax just for fun. They would also be yummy with raisins, cranberries, nuts, be creative.

Banana Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 bananas, mashed
1/4 cup canola oil (I used melted Unrefined Coconut Oil)
1/4 cup Maple Syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup rolled oats
2/3 c brown rice flour ( I used whole wheat)
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
pinch of sea salt
1/4 cup chocolate chips (or raisins, carob chips etc.)

Preheat oven to 350. F
In medium bowl or stand mixer combine bananas, oil, syrup and vanilla. Mix until combined well and banana is well mushed. In a separate bowl mix together, oats, flour, baking soda, coconut and salt. Add to the banana mixture and lightly mix until just combined (do not over stir.) Fold in Chocolate Chips.

Place on baking sheet lined with parchment paper or silicone baking sheet. Bake for 14-15 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and place cookies on wire rack.

Makes about 1 1/2 dozen (we doubled it).

2009-09-25T09:09:00.008-06:00

I am doing a bulk buy on the following items. Please order in 5 lb increments. Tax is being charged on these items. We should have them by the end of October. I do need payment before I order. I think the order due date will be the week of the 5th of October, but I am not absolutely sure. So For now please plan on getting Money to me or Melissa by the 5th. All prices are per pound, unless noted.

Item Price/lb Price w/Tax 5lb 10lb 15lb 20lb 25lb

Almonds 3.25 3.46 17.30 34.60 51.90 69.20 86.50

Pecan Halves 5.25 5.60 28.00 56.00 84.00 112.00 140.00

Sunflower Seeds 1.87 2.00 10.00 20.00 30.00 40.00 50.00

Pumpkin Seeds 3.43 3.66 18.30 36.60 54.90 73.20 91.50

Cashew Pieces 4.31 4.60 23.00 46.00 69.00 92.00 115.00

Sesame Seeds 2.25 2.40 12.00 24.00 36.00 48.00 60.00

Chia Seeds 4.95 5.28 26.40 52.80 79.20 105.60 132.00

Organic Flax seeds 1.89 2.02 10.10 20.20 30.30 40.40 50.50

Dattes (Chopped) 1.65 1.76 8.80 17.60 26.40 35.20 44.00

Diced Apricots 3.15 3.26 16.30 32.60 81.50 97.80 114.10

Shredded Coconut 1.91 2.04 10.20 20.40 30.60 40.80 51.00

Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil 1 gallon 48.00 51.17 with tax

Organic, Raw, Dark Agave 1 gallon 35.00 37.31 with tax

We are not shipping these Items out. This is for local people in Utah Valley and the Salt Lake Valley, unless you can make arrangements for someone to come and pick your things up. If you live out of the area you can order things yourself on green smoothie girl's website. She does ask that you not start ordering until Tuesday as she will be out of town.

Thanks! Heidi

Apricot Almond or Raspberry Almond Muffins/Bread

2009-08-10T15:36:00.003-06:00

I've had a raspberry almond bread recipe that is one of my favorite quick bread recipes for over 15 years. I looked forward to raspberries every year just to make this bread. I have slowly been making it healthier, and this year I think I reached a point it is worth sharing. I also fixed the problem of how overly crumbly it was. I made it once this week with apricots, and the next day with Raspberries. It was great with both.

Ingredients:

2 c Whole Wheat Flour

2 Tbsp Fresh groudn Flax Seed

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp almond extract

1/2 c yogurt

1/2 c milk (You can substitue 1 Tbsp lemon juice and 1 cup of rice milk for the yogurt and milk)

2 eggs (or an additional 2 tbsp flax mixed with 1/4 c water)

1/2 sugar

1/2 c coconut oil

3/4 c toasted almonds

1 c diced apricots or Raspberries, or fruit of your choice. I used fresh in both cases, but I can't see why dried fruit wouldn't work. I also nkow that frozen raspberries work well, just keep them frozen until you add them to the batter.

If you are using the milk and lemon juice option, mix them together and set aside.

If you are using the Flax and water in place of eggs, mis together and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix all dry ingredients together.

Melt coconut oil by placing in a bowl within a bowl of hot water.

Mix the coconut oil into the dry ingredients until it resembles wet sand.

Add the milk, yogurt, eggs and almond extract. Mix until evenly mixed and no dry pockets remain.

Gently fold in the nuts and fruit.

Makes 1 9x5 loaf or about 18 muffins

The muffins take about 20-25 minutes (Mine were perfect after 23).

The bread will take 50 minutes to just over an hour.

Bake until toothpick comes out clean.

If baking in loaf pan let cool ten minutes before inverting or it will fall apart. Both the muffins and the bread will firm up as they stand.

No Cook Ketchup

2009-08-02T08:24:00.004-06:00

This was great- I don't think we'll ever buy ketchup again. It's so much cheaper to make your own.

1- 4 ox can tomato paste
1- 4 oz can water
1/3 c Honey
1 Tb Molasses
1 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1 tsp Onion Powder
1 tsp Salt

Mix in a bowl. If you want to fill a Ketchup bottle then double this recipe.

BTW: I recently found these blogs and can't wait to try out some new recipes
http://www.greenereating.com/
http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/

Vegetable Fritters

2009-07-28T19:18:00.005-06:00

Ingredients:

1 Medium Zucchini

1 Large Carrot

1 Walla-walla onion along with 2 inches of the stem

Chard (I used 2 stems, you could use more)
4 cloves Garlic

1/4 c bread crumbs

2 eggs (If you don't use eggs, this would work great with 2 T ground flax seed soaked in 1/4 c water)

Basil

Thyme

Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Grate Zucchini and Carrot, place in Medium mixing bowl

2. Roll Chard into a bundle with Herbs and chop roughly, Add to bowl

3. Dice onion add to bowl. *

4. Mince Garlic and add to bowl. *

5. Add bread crumbs and eggs to the bowl along with salt and pepper. Mix.

*If your family has issues with onion blend the onions, garlic and even the herbs together in the blender.

Red Onions would make this even prettier, but it wouldn't taste quite as sweet.

Take 1/4 cup at a time and fry in a lightly oiled frying pan (Non-stick really works best). Let cook 3-5 minutes then flip and cook through.

Serve- These would be great with a little tahini warmed and drizzled over the top, some Aioli, or just plain.

This would be great with a little tahini warmed and drizzled over the top, some Aioli, or just plain.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

2009-07-28T19:04:00.005-06:00

After Melissa's Sandwich post I thought some of you might like this recipe. We have been eating it non-stop for the last month. I found the original here, but it had quite a kick. Some in my family don't like that much kick (Or any kick for that matter) so I tweaked it just a bit and came up with this. It still has all of the great flavor without the kick.

1 can or 2 c Garbanzo Beans

4 Oz Roasted Red Pepper (About 1 Red Pepper)

3 T Lemon Juice

1 T Olive Oil

1 1/2 T Cumin

1/2 t Salt

3 T Tahini

3 T Water

1 T Paprika

3 Garlic Cloves

Place all ingredients in food processor or blender. Blend until Smooth.

Use as a dip for veggies, a spread on sandwiches or any other way you might enjoy.

Tahini

2009-07-28T18:48:00.005-06:00

1 c Sesame Seeds

1/4 c Olive Oil

Place sesame seeds in frying pan over medium heat (NO oil yet). Stir until starting to lightly brown. Put into blender and add olive oil. Blend until smooth.

The Vegetable Sandwich

2009-07-23T16:31:00.006-06:00

This recipe is for Liz, by special request.
Thank you to Courtney for introducing me to these.

Step 1: Cut up your fresh veggies. Whatever you like. (as long as it

is a vegetable. - sorry no bacon here.) Almost any veggie will work. Be sure to add the avocado, with it, you won't miss the cheese and meat. As a grown up, if you don't like some veggies, slice them super thin and put them on anyways, you won't know they are there - but your kids will and eventually they will eat it too, if they see you eating it.

We like spinach or lettuce, sprouts, carrots (grate or use your vegetable peeler to make thin slices,) cucumber, tomato, peppers -red yellow or green, avocado, onion, zuchinni (again with the vegetable peeler), and fresh herbs (cilantro or basil.) Try to get as many different colors as you can - then you will be getting a wider range of nutrients.

Step 2: Pick a sandwich spread --mayonaise, vegenaise, soy mayo substitute, pesto; spread it on a couple of slices of whole wheat bread. Layer on the veggies. Everyone gets to pick what they want on their sandwich. If they don't want it on their sandwich, they get to try it anyways-just one bite. Just make sure they have something to dip it in. Top off your sandwich with some salt and pepper, and a squeeze of lime.

Step 3: Eat it. yumm.

Then make another one and eat it too. Its ok, its just vegetables.

My girls really do actually eat this, they call it the "begetable sandwich". Its funny though because the vegetables they want usually changes each time we have it. And sometimes they want to pick their sandwich apart and eat it bit by bit seperately, thats ok too.

Also, we like veggies in a tortilla or pita with hummus. Delish!

Eat more fresh veggies! They supply your body with enzymes that help you digest your food, anti-oxidants to stop cancer causing free radicals, lots of vitamins and minerals, and fiber to maintain a healthy digestive system.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Smoothie

2009-07-19T08:36:00.004-06:00

I found this recipe HERE. We ALL loved it. We could definitely drink this smoothie everyday.
(the bag is to hide my messy counter)

Peanut Butter Chocolate Smoothie

2 C Rice Milk
2 Handfuls Spinach
2 Tb Peanut Butter
2 Tb Honey
2 to 3 Frzn Bananas
Ice (optional)
Small Handful Chocolate or Carob Chips

Blend all ingredients in Blender.

Cabbage Rolls!

2009-07-06T19:58:00.003-06:00

Not as complicated as they look and so Yummy! My husband just kept eating them and eating them and eating them... (I used couscous instead of Bulgar, brown rice would probably be good as well)

Bulgar Stuffed Cabbage

½ cup cooked bulgar or Couscous

1 head cabbage (remove tough outer leaves)

2 tsp olive oil

1 red onion, chopped

1 red pepper, chopped

4 oz sliced mushrooms (optional)

1 zucchini (sliced)

½ tsp basil

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp thyme

¼ tsp pepper

1 egg white

2 tsps lemon juice

1 can 8oz tomato sauce

Serve with Rye bread and Green Salad

Prep 25 minutes, cooking 1 hour

Serves 4 Adults

Cook couscous or bulgar and set aside
Place cabbage in boiling water for about two minutes, then remove four leaves, repeat until you have 12 leaves
Heat oil in skillet over moderate heat and sauté onion, red pepper, and mushrooms, sauté 5 min
Stir in zucchini and cook for a few more minutes, until tender
Remove from heat add to couscous, stir in lemon juice and egg white
Stuff each cabbage leave like a burrito with the filling
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place rolls in baking dish, then spread tomato paste along top.
Cover with aluminum foil and cook 25 min, remove foil and cook 10 more minutes

P.S. The leftover cabbage was really good in stir-fry the next day.

10 to Buy Organic

2009-06-26T12:29:00.001-06:00

I am not entirely convinced on the whole organic movement (mainly because of cost) but I found this list and thought it was cool. I found the list HERE

To Buy Organic (the numbers to the side show the percentage of washed fruit that still contains pesticides):

Nectarines – 97.3%
Celery – 94.5%
Pears – 94.4%
Peaches – 93.7%
Apples – 91%
Cherries – 91%
Strawberries – 90%
Imported Grapes – 86%
Spinach – 83.4%
Potatoes – 79.3%

Probably Okay to Buy Conventional:

Asparagus
Avocados
Bananas
Broccoli
Cauliflower
Kiwi
Mangoes
Onions
Papaya
Sweet Peas

Notice that most of the ones that are not so scary to eat conventional are those with tough skins. So, that's probably a good rule of thumb, if it's protected by inedible skin, save the money and buy conventional. Then spend your savings on good organic raspberries!

Granola

2009-06-26T08:47:00.005-06:00

We are big fans of oatmeal around here, but in the summer a steaming bowl of oatmeal just doesn't sound right. So we eat granola.

Here is the Recipe:
Mix the following in a large bowl:
3 1/2 cups old fashioned oats - not the 1 minute kind

1/2 cup coconut

3 T Flax seeds

3 T Sesame seeds

1/4 c Sunflower or pumpkin seeds

1/2 c nuts - your choice I used sliced almonds

2 t Cinnamon

In a smaller microwaveable bowl mix:

1 t salt

1/4 cup Brown Sugar

4 T Honey, Maple Syrup and / or Molasses in any combiniation

**trick #1** Melt / caramelize the sweeteners in the microwave for 1 minute so they will coat the granola evenly.

Then add:

2 t vanilla

1/4 c oil

Stir together and add to the dry ingredients.

Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Spread out the granola on the sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes stirring twice. The second time you stir lightly press down the granola so it sticks together. Remove from oven when it is the right color of golden brown. **trick #2** this is very important: Do not stir after you take it out of the oven. Let it sit in the pan until it is completely cool. This will allow the caramelized sugar to make the granola stick together like it should. Then break it apart and add:

2 cups of dried fruit. I usually use raisins, but I am loving dried blueberries too.

Store in jars or Ziploc bags. I double or triple this recipe to make enough to last for a month.

We eat this with milk for breakfast, or with yogurt and fruit for lunch, and on top of ice cream with some strawberry jam for dessert. Not all three everyday of course. And if you are not used to eating flax seeds go easy until your body adjusts.

Dehydrating 101 In videos.

2009-06-01T09:57:00.003-06:00

I came across these videos on you Tube a few months ago. She has recently added several more. They are the best videos and demonstrations I have found on dehydrating food. There are 10 vidoes on the series. She also has videos on making your own herbal teas that I thought were great as well. If you have thought about dehydrating, I would strongly recommend watching this series.

Video 1

After you watch the first video a link will come up for the second and on it will go until you finish.

I don't remember how I first found her videos. I am sure it was probably off of someone elses blog. I'm sorry I can't give credit.

Taco Bar

2009-05-06T08:42:00.004-06:00

This is how we make Tacos- take whatever vegetables you have, slice, them dice them, out them in bowls and Enjoy!

Cheese-less Tacos
2 cups Rice
2 cups cooked beans (refried, black, Kidney)
1 yellow Onio, diced finely
1 cup Corn
Spices; Taco Seasoning, Cumin, Salt
Corn Tortillas
Vegetables

Cook the rice in a rice cooker or on the stove, add in 3 Tb lime juice, 1 Tb honey and some chopped fresh cilantro.
While rice is cooking prepare your beans. First saute your onion in a little olive oil, can add in garlic too. Add your beans, corn, about 1/4 cup water and spices to taste. Heat through.
Tacos fixing can include:

grated Carrot

grated zucchini
diced tomatoes
diced avocado
diced bell peppers
chopped red cabbage (optional)
greens (optional)

Golden Flax

2009-05-06T08:15:00.005-06:00

We are always hearing about the benefits of eating flax because of it's Omega 3's. Other foods which include those essential Omega3 fatty acids are fish, especially Salmon, but those of us with Vegan tendencies need to eat Flax, Kiwis, hemp, flax and pumpkin seeds and oils, walnuts and leafy green vegetables... Omega 3's can be found in many plant foods.
This is one of our favorite breakfast cereals. It is made with whole grain wheat and toasted flax, one variety comes with dried Berries.

We toasted some flax seeds to add to cereal so we could make our own version of Uncle Sam's.

1. Set the oven to 350 degrees, spread your flax evenly onto a baking sheet.

2. Bake 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

3. Let cool and store in a jar.

Vegetarian? Maybe?

2009-04-20T17:31:00.001-06:00

Anyone thinking about becoming a vegetarian or leaning that way might want to read THIS. It is a vegetarian starter kit article. I thought it was very informative. For my family we are almost strictly Vegan, but we do eat eggs and meat occasionally.
http://www.vegetariantimes.com/2007/pdf/vegetarian_starter_kit.pdf

New Finds

2009-04-18T15:49:00.005-06:00

This first one is a great for those of us who aren't ready to cut out chocolate entirely and make the switch to Carob. These are the "wholest" choc-chips I have found. and they weren't as expensive as I expected. The ingredients are Evaporated Cane Juice, Chocolate Liqour and Non-Dairy Cocoa Butter.
Secondly, as we are trying to cut back on our peanut butter consumption I have been trying to introduce my girls to new flavors of nuts and seeds. This is fast becoming a favorite- Sunflower Seed Butter. It is really spreadable even though it is refrigerated after you open it.

I was able to find both of these at our grocery store, Hy-vee, in their awesome Health Food market.

Creamsicle Green Smoothie

2009-04-18T12:45:00.003-06:00

This smoothie is amazing. I have been meaning to try it for awhile and we finally did. My two year-old said "I love this green ice cream". It really tastes so much like an orange creamsicle.
I wish I could take credit for this amazing recipe, but I found it HERE.

Creamsicle Smoothie

1/2 to 1 cup water
1 cup vanilla Rice milk
(or use plain and add 1 tsp vanilla)
2 large Tbsp. Orange Juice Concentrate
2 Big Handfuls of Spinach (or more)
2+ Cups Frozen Peaches

Put in blender and Puree to your hearts content. Enjoy.

Dehydrated Strawberries

2009-03-31T20:17:00.006-06:00

I was at the grocery store when I noticed a display case of strawberries marked down to 75 cents per pound. I grabbed 4 and on the way home pondered what to do with my bounty. I decided to try dehydrating them.

It worked so well! I wish I would have been able to find my egg slicer, but I think I threw it out on my last kitchen purge, so I cut them up the slow way.

Here are the steps I followed

1. Spray strawberries with white vinegar and rinse.

2. Hull Strawberries (Remove the section with the leaves.)

3. Slice strawberries. I sliced them about 1/8 of an inch thick. I have read to do up to 1/4 inch. They dry a lot faster if they are thin, but they take up more room in your dehydrator.

4. Lay the strawberries out carefully but not touching.

5. Set dehydrator to 135 and let dehydrate for 4-5 hours. You can set it lower, they will just take longer. They are done when they are still slightly pliable, but no longer squishy. Some of the thinner ones were almost crisp.

6. Place all strawberries in a jar and put a lid on shake every few hours so the hydration of all strawberries evens out.

Use as a snack, in granola, cereal, or however you would like. In waffles, pancakes. Oh the possibilities are endless.

I also dehydrated some bananas that were about to move past their prime. Exact same steps, but add a soak in lemon juice or spray with lemon juice. I soaked mine and I can taste the lemon juice so next time I will just lightly spray them

Now that I can make strawberry season last all year, I can't wait for it to begin.

Whole Wheat Pasta

2009-03-16T20:41:00.001-06:00

I was lucky enough to grow up in a home where my mom made homemade noodles on a fairly regular basis. My little brother liked to come home from school and make them for his afterschool meal. They are really easy, once you get the hang of it. I love them because I can make them whole wheat and add yummy things like spinach to them.

Ingredients

2 c Whole Wheat flour (can be made with white flour as well If possible when using white flour use 1/3-1/2 of the volume of flour as semolina flour)

3 lg eggs (I use 3 T powdered eggs and 6 t water)

2 c fresh spinach (I add a few handfuls of baby spinach, the more you use the darker they are)

Extra flour and water to adjust consistency

Directions:
Food Processor (the easiest method)

Place four and spinach in bowl of food processor. Process until spinach is pulverized and mixed thoroughly with the flour.

Add eggs and process for about 1 minute. The mass should form one main ball, about the consistency of playdough. If it is just in little chunks add water 1-2 tsp at a time until it comes together. If it is too sticky, add flour 1 Tbsp at a time until it is manageable.

If you don't have a food processor, blend the eggs and spinach up in a blender. I don't know why but when I do it this way more the noodles loose more color (and I assume other goodies) when they are cooked, it doesn't happen when I pulverize the spinach with the flour. Form the flour into a well and pour the egg and spinach mixture into the well. Mix the flour into the egg until a dough is formed Knead 5-10 minutes adding more flour or water if necessary.

Wrap in plastic wrap, or place in covered bowl and let sit 20 minutes. If using 100% whole wheat flour this is especially important to allow the flour to hydrate.

Then roll it out. If you are especially strong, you can roll it out by hand. I don't know anyone who can roll whole wheat thin enough by hand, but you can give it a try. I run it through a pasta roller. It is one of my favorite kitchen gadgets. They are often found at thrift stores and garage sales, as well as most kitchen stores. If you have a kitchenaid they make a roller attachement I have used, and I loved it. You can also find motors for the regular machines but they can be pricey. The motor (or Kitchenaid) makes it easy for one person to do by themselves. Without the motor I would recommend 2 people. 1 to crank and 1 to feed the dough and catch it as it comes out. For JR prom this was the "activity" we went to one young mans house and made pasta. I think it upset he and his parents that I had actually done it before, but I was the only one out of a group of about 10 people.

Most pasta machines come with 2 attachements, one for making spaghetti and one for making fettucini noodles. You can also just roll it onut in flat sheets for use in lasagna (no precooking necessary) or filled pastas. I love to make ravioli's in bulk and freeze them for later meals.

Once the pasta is rolled out you can add it to boiling water and cook 4-5 minutes, less if you roll it really thin.

If you make more pasta than you can eat in one sitting, you can dry the leftover pasta. I ALWAYS do this. It only adds a few minutes of rolling out, but I will make enough for 4-5 meals all at once. I either hang it on wooden spoons or dowels to dry, and I recently started laying it out in my dehydrator to dry. It only takes about 45 minutes in a dehydrator, and worked great.

You can also do variations adding fresh herbs or other vegetables. The possibilities are endless.

Good Luck!

Not Necessarily Green Smoothie

2009-03-13T08:46:00.005-06:00

In our attempt to get the recommended 7-9 servings of fruits and vegetables daily we have begun incorporating green smoothies into our breakfasts. I will admit, at first they are hardly palatable, but once we tried a few different recipes we found they were quite good. The one year old loves them and can't get enough (the two 1/2 year-old still needs some coaxing).
Dr. Fuhrman, who wrote the book "Eat to Live" suggests that each adult eat 1 lb of leafy greens a day. Knowing we can't eat an elephant all at once, we have been taking it one bite or one drink at a time.
I have read up on the fancy $400 blenders, but haven't been able to swallow it yet. So far our Kitchen-Aid blender has done great. Just don't get too impatient and let it blend for a while, sometimes you may need to add more liquid (water, fruit juice, rice milk).

Here are some of our favorite recipes so far.
This first one is what I like to call the beginner smoothie- once you think this one tastes good, it is time to move on to more advanced smoothies.

Beginner Smoothie:
2 cups of frozen mixed berries (blueberries, raspberries, blackberries etc.)
1-2 cups frozen spinach
liquid as needed

In this smoothie the tartness of the berries overpower the spinach. Note: I buy a big bag of frozen berries at Sam's Club, as well as my frozen strawberries, mangos and tropical fruit.
Start with frozen spinach then move on to fresh. The fresh has a stronger flavor.

Idea #1
1/2 head of romaine lettuce
1 cup pineapple (I used canned with it's own juice)
1 large mango (I used frozen chunks)

Idea #2
1 cup pineapple (I used canned)
1 frozen banana
2 sticks of celery
1 handful of greens (whatever you like)

Idea #3
1 peeled orange with pith removed
1 apple cored
3 sticks celery
2 handfuls of fresh spinach
1 cup ice cubes

P.S. A good smoothie is said to be 60% fresh fruit and 40% greens- so go ahead and experiment.

Western Grains Casserole and Lemon Chicken

2009-01-12T17:53:00.003-07:00

Western Grains Casserole
(taken from the Feel Good Cook book which adapted it from the "Nut Tree Restaurant" in Vacaville, CA)

When we made this I halved the recipe, then it made 4-6 large servings.

4 cups brown rice
1 cup of grains (whole wheat, barley, rye or other whole grain or mixture of grains)
10 cups of water
2-4 cans of cut green beans (drained and rinsed)

Gravy:
1/2 c whole wheat flour
3 cups water
1 tsp. salt
3 Tb. healthy mayo (Vegenaise)
Pepper to taste

Steam grains and water in rice cooker. Combine gravy ingredients in a small saucepan and simmer until thick and bubbly, stirring to prevent scorching. When grains are cooked (about 30 min) fold in green beans and gravy mixture. Optional: sprinkle top with Parmesan cheese before serving.

Our personal thoughts: we wanted more green beans, I think it would work with an even higher ratio of grains to rice, the original recipe didn't call for pepper

Lemon Chicken
This was a good compliment with the rice dish.

4-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts, thawed (we actually used skinless thighs)
1 large onion, cut into thin wedges (like whole orange segments)
2-3 large carrots, diced
2-3 stalks of celery, diced

Sauce:
1/2 c whole wheat flour
3 cups warm water
1/2 Tb salt
1 lemon juiced
1 Tb each of honey, onion powder, and basil

Saute chicken and vegetables in olive oil in a large skillet (may need to add a cup of water to help keep chicken from sticking and aid in cooking the chicken). Meanwhile, blend sauce ingredients and when chicken is done pour over. Simmer until bubbly. Serve over brown rice.

Creamy (or not) Vegetable Soup

2008-12-02T13:06:00.004-07:00

This is one of our favorite soups, partly because it tastes so good and partly because it is so easy.
The recipe as is makes 4 servings, so I doubled it last time and then put a bag of soup in my freezer.

The Creamy Way (your veggies can be cubed pretty large)
1 Turnip, peeled and cubed
3 potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 carrot, cut in chunks
1 celery stick, cut in pieces, leave the greens on
1 small onion, quartered
2 Tb tomato paste or 1 large tomato
2 tsp salt
5 Cups water
1 Tb vegetable bouillon
Pepper to taste

Put all ingredients in a pot, bring to boil, reduce to simmer and cook until veggies are soft about 45 min. DO NOT drain. Blend in blender.

The Chunky Way (as the picture shows)
My husband much prefers chunky soup, so I cut my veggies smaller, then I cooked it the same. Instead of blenderizing all of the soup I only put about half in the blender, lightly pureed it then added it back in.

This was delicious with homemade rolls. My girls loved it!

Whole Wheat Rolls

2008-12-02T12:50:00.005-07:00

So I have tried, rather unsuccessfully, in the past, to make some really good whole wheat rolls that do not have a lot of butter in them. I confess my favorite whole wheat recipe calls for 8 sticks of butter and yes they taste good, but I think you lose the 'healthy' part with all that butter.
So here goes our favorite healthy whole wheat rolls. To get it to fit in my KitchenAid I halve the recipe.
Note: These were quick to about an hour total.

Mix and rest 15 min:
3 1/2 cups warm water
3/4 c sucanat or 1/2 c honey
1 cup Olive oil
6 Tb Yeast

Then add:
1 Tb salt
10 1/2 c whole wheat flour
3 eggs (or energy egg replacer or 3 Tb ground flax mixed with 3/4 cup water)
3 Tb vital wheat gluten or you can use Dough Enhancer

Knead for about 5 minutes. Shape into rolls, cover and let rise until double (30min-1 hour). Bake 425' for 10-12 minutes.
One more thing- I used this recipe to make cinnamon rolls and they were good as well.

**** a few notes about eggs*** after reading books like 'The Omnivore's Dilemma" and then realizing there was no way we could raise our own healthy chickens, my husband an I did some research; This is where our opinion now stands... after doing some reading and then taste testing we have decided that buying Cage-free eggs really does make a difference. We are able to get a dozen cage-free brown eggs at Sam's club for about $2.20. We don't eat very many eggs maybe about 18 a month, but I do believe a small amount of eggs are good for us when used sparingly.

Magelby's Muffins

2008-11-17T09:34:00.003-07:00

Anyone who has lived in Utah has probably eaten here and they have delectably good rolls and muffins. Here is a recipe for their muffins, healthified of course. I will write in the recipe as I have it, but in parenthesis I'll write in my variations.
I usually complain that whole wheat muffins are too dry, these are anything but. They are super moist.
Apparently the real secret to the muffins is the "secret caramel nut topping"; out of laziness I didn't do it and the muffins were still great!

Magelby's Muffins

Cream:
10 TB butter (I used some butter and some coconut oil- the coconut gives great flavor)
1 1/4 cup honey (I used about 3/4 C Sucanat and 1/2 c Honey)

Add in:
2 eggs
1 Tb Vanilla

Add and blend until creamy:
1 1/2 Tb Baking Powder
1/2 Tb Salt
1 1/3 C Whole Wheat Flour

Add and stir until lumpy:
2 cups each, rice milk and whole wheat flour

Fold in one of the variations below:
Blueberry or Raspberry: 1 cup fresh or frozen
Pumpkin Carob Chip: Substitute 1 cup pumpkin for 1/2 c milk; add 1/2 Tb cinnamon, 1 tsp cloves, and 1 cup carob chips
Lemon Poppy Seed: substitute 1/2 c lemon juice for 1/2 c milk, add 1 Tb poppy seeds
Carrot Raisin: substitute 1 c grated carrots for 1/2 milk, add 1/2 c raisins
Banana Nut: substitute 1 c mashed banana for 1/2 c milk, add 1/2 c chopped nuts
Zucchini: substitute 1 c grated zucchini for 1/2 c milk, add 1/2 c chopped nuts

Pour into greased muffin tins. (I filled them 2/3 thinking they would rise, but they didn't so go ahead and fill them) It makes about 2 dozen. Sprinkle warm "secret caramel nut topping" over each.
Bake 350' for 12 minutes, then turn down oven to 250' and bake 12-14 minutes more. When they are just firm to the touch they are done.

"Secret Caramel Nut Topping"
Saute until bubbly:
4 Tb butter
1/2 c honey
Add and simmer 1 minute:
1 cup chopped nuts
1 Tb cinnamon
Spoon warm nut topping over muffins before baking.

As I said, they didn't rise like I expected, but they were so moist and sweet, that I didn;t mind. Next time I am going to try the lemon poppy seed variation.

Pumpkin, Zucchini or Banana Bread

2008-11-12T13:27:00.002-07:00

I have found this recipe to be very versatile and we just love it. The last batch I made I used the pumpkin recipe but added 3 cups of zucchini as well as the pumpkin- Super Yummy!
(I would also like to try adding some grated carrot or other squash)

Pumpkin Bread
1 cup honey
4 eggs
1/3 c oil + 1/3 c applesauce
1 (16 oz) can pureed pumpkin
2/3 c water
3 1/3 c whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp each of cinnamon and ground cloves
Chopped nuts and chopped prunes (the prunes look and feel like chocolate chips)

Cream honey and eggs. Add other wet ingredients. Add dry stuff and mix well. Bake in 350 oven for 1 hour in greased bread pans. Small pans take about 45 minutes.

Zucchini Bread
Same as above, only substitute 3 cups of zucchini for pumpkin and add 2 tsp. vanilla.

Banana Bread
Same as above, only substitute 3-4 mashed bananas for pumpkin.

How do you afford to eat this way?

2008-11-08T08:20:00.005-07:00

I get asked this question a lot. I have become more and more disenchanted with traditional grocery stores. So much of the food that they offer I don't want in my home, let alone my body. I have really started to look for alternative ways to buy food. I thought I would share a little of what I have found. I am sure some of you have some great tips as well, and I hope you will share them in the comments.

A garden is the best way to get fresh fruits and vegetables economically. Plus it allows you to know exactly how they were produced and the level of chemicals used. I recently discovered a great book called Four Seasons Harvest. The author, Eliot Coleman, lives in main so I know his tips should work in my cold climate. I hope to get someone to help me build some of the cold frames.... However, in all honesty I am not a very good Gardner. I am working on it and get a little better every year. This year I actually got at least one of everything that I planted (with the exception of Butternut squash, I just couldn't save them from the silly snails).

What is the alternative for those of us that aren't great gardners? A CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), which provides a mutually beneficial arrangement between farmers and consumers. People join by purchasing a "share" of produce pre-season, then pick up their weekly produce from a central drop point in their area during the harvest season.
CSA Benefits for the farmer? When signing up, you dedicate yourself to being a customer for the season, providing the farmer a secure market. CSAs enable farms to share the risk and abundance of producing food with the consumer, resulting in a more direct and rewarding link between farmer and community. (Payment in the Spring also provides cash to the farmer when it is needed most. )
CSA Benefits for the shareholder? No more guessing where your food comes from! Members receive a weekly supply of diverse produce with "the farmer’s face on it." You can talk with the farmer, and many offer opportunities to visit the farms. Your produce is harvested and delivered directly to you, generally via a drop–off point, ensuring the freshest produce with a high nutritional value. You also get the satisfaction of knowing you are supporting a local farm. I found the ones in my area by going to http://www.slowfoodusa.org/ then clicking on my state and following the links. I found out about these too late to be able to join last year, but I am already working on which I will join for next year. The cost was a little daunting to me to start with, so I broke it down and started setting aside some money so this year I will have enough saved to be able to pay for my share up front. Then I can save what I would have spent on produce to be able to pay for next years share. Where I am, the CSA's generally go from June-October, some areas may be longer or shorter depending on the growing season.

Farmers Markets are another great alternative. I followed the same links to find out about the farmers markets in my area. However, the early bird gets the worm at most Farmers Markets. I am not an early bird so I didn't fare very well. Hopefully I will improve at that as well.

Food Co-ops are another great way to get your food. I have friends that have found amazing food co-ops in their areas, Here we only have one and it isn't as nice as the others I have heard about, but still better than nothings. Food co-ops work like this, a group of people get together to order in bulk and share the work and the benefits of bulk buying. You can find local co-ops through the same link above.

What if there aren't any co-ops in your area? See if you can start your own. Start talking to everyone you know. See if they would be interested in splitting large orders of things. You can buy a 50 pound bag of flax seed for much cheaper than buying it in single pound bags. Then divide it up. I have ordered from a few different companies locally, but I think my new favorite is Azure Standard. They have an amazing selection and really reasonable shipping if you are willing to meet the truck at their drop point. In my area, if our order is over $200 then shipping is only $5. I have had no problem finding $200 worth of food that I want, and it is even easier if you have a group that wants to split a few items. I am ordering bulk grains and beans, as well as seasonings this month. I hope to start ordering from them every other month or so. They have specials every month as well. Ordering is very simple, you can do it by phone or online. I personally hate using the phone so I use the online method. It was very simple and they also allow you to change your order up until a few days before it ships. They ship on a rotating schedule so that each delivery area gets one delivery a month. They deliver to the following states Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. I think they will ship UPS to areas they don't drive to.

There are several other companies you can order through. If you start asking around, you will be surprised how many people might be interested in sharing bulk items. As you start to ask around you will find others who are interested in the same type of orders. They will let you know about deals they have found and it will start to snowball. I started asking around in August, and I have already started to find a network of people who are interested in sharing bulk buys. We have bought Honey, Almonds, Agave nectar and several different grains and legumes to share this way.

Buying in bulk may be intimidating at first, but once you start it is a wonderful way to always have a wide variety of grains and other items on hand at a more affordable price. Sharing with others allows you to try new things and find out what your family loves, and what they don't love so much... Sharing also increases your resources for new recipes and tips from the people you share with.

I hope this helps someone. If you have any questions, be sure to ask and I will answer as best I can!

Veggie Lasagana!

2008-11-05T10:16:00.003-07:00

I have tried many a veggie lasagna recipes and this one is far superior!. The consistency was good and it tasted delicious, all of us had seconds, even Afton and Madelyn.

(Makes on 9x13) (I actually halved the original recipe, so you could easily double it and freeze one for later.)

1 Pkg. whole wheat lasagna noodles

Mock Ricotta Filling:
1 (10 oz) box Firm Tofu
1 Tb olive oil
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
2 Tb. Parmesan Cheese (I like buying the grateable kind, it has much better flavor and you can use less)
1 Tb. Parsley Flakes

Veggie Filling:
1 cloves garlic, crushed (I actually just sprinkled in powder)
2 Tb. olive oil
2-3 cups grated Zucchini
1 cup fresh or frozen Spinach (if you use frozen, thaw a little)
1 tsp Basil
1 tsp Oregano
1/4 tsp Paprika
1/4 tsp. salt and pepper
2 cans (15 oz) diced tomatoes

1 (8oz) can tomato sauce

Cook only 1/3 of your noodles (so probably 4) for the top layer of lasagna, leave the rest uncooked. (Sounds weird but worked great). Layer ingredients in lasagna pan. First put about 1/4 cup of tomato paste on the bottom. Then place a layer of noodles (3), then veggie filling, then Ricotta filling and repeat.. Top with a layer of noodles (the ones that are already cooked), some tomato sauce sprinkled over with a few tablespoons of Parmesan cheese and Parsley flakes. Bake covered at 375' for 50-60 minutes, uncover and bake 5 more minutes. Let cool 10 minutes before serving.
SUPER YUMMY!

If you have never used Tofu, give it a try. It takes on the flavor of whatever you are making so it works well in a lot of things. It is a healthier alternative to cheese in this recipe.

Cafe Rio- Healthified!

2008-10-24T11:46:00.002-06:00

This recipe is for the Cafe Rio salad or Burrito, even though it looks like a lot of work it isn't too bad and you end up with a ton of leftovers- so it's worth trying.

Salad:
Warm whole grain tortillas (just buy these, it took me a lot of practice to make them well)
Sweet Lime Cilantro Rice
Black Beans
1 head romaine lettuce or salad greens, shredded

Toppings:
Diced Tomatoes
Guacamole
Tortilla Strips
Creamy Tomatillo Dressing

THE RECIPE

Sweet Lime Cilantro Rice
4 cups vegetable broth
2 cups brown rice
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tb. each of lime juice, Vegenaise and honey
1 Tb. Cilantro

Stir ingredients in rice cooker, press on. Or cook on stove for 45 minutes or until tender.

Black Beans
2 cups dry black beans
5 cups water
1/2 Tb salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 onion diced
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 Tb Cumin

Pre- soak black beans according to package, then rinse them, add the rest of the ingredients and simmer 3-4 hours until tender.

Black Beans (QUICK)
2 cans black beans, drained
1 cup tomato salsa or stewed tomatoes
1 Tb Cumin

Warm and serve.

Guacamole (our favorite way)
1-2 ripe avocados, mashed
salt, pepper to taste
1-2 Tb. lemon juice or lime juice

Mix and enjoy.

Tortilla Strips
Slice corn tortillas in 1/3" strips and cut in half lengthwise. Spread thinly on cookie sheet and toast in 350 degree oven 10-12 minutes. Serve (they keep well in Ziploc for a few weeks)

Creamy Tomatillo Dressing
If you really like this dressing, make the whole batch and use it on other salads and in Shrimp Tacos.
1 cup ranch dressing (3 cups Vegenaise, 1 lemon squeezed, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 Tb parsley)
1 (12 ounce) can Tomatillos drained, then pureed (found with Mexican food, look like green tomatoes)
1/2 bunch cilantro, finely chopped
1/4 tsp cayenne or hot pepper sauce

Measure ingredients into a large liquid measuring cup. Blend with hand blender and enjoy.
I use this dressing for a lot of things as well as the extra Ranch, so it's worth making the 3 cups of Ranch first.

Vegenaise- this is also referred to as healthy mayo, it looks and tastes a lot like mayo, but way healthier. It is found in the health food section in the cooler, by like the Tofu and soy cheeses and comes in a jar. The jars are great for storing the extra dressing in.

Wheat Thins

2008-09-30T13:34:00.004-06:00

I made these with friend. I was surprised how easy they were to make.

Ingredients

1 1/4 c whole wheat flour

1 1/2 T sugar

1/2 t salt (+ more for dusting the top if desired)

1/4 t paprika

4 T butter

1/4 c water

Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Cut in the butter until it is pea sized. Add the water and knead until smooth (like play dough)
Preheat oven to 400

Divide the dough into 4 pieces. Keep the other pieces covered while you work with one.

Dust work surface with flour and roll into a square (I am not talented enough to make a square) Roll to about 1/16 of an inch thick. Cut into strips using a pizza or rotary cutter (a knife will work too)

Place on a lined baking tray and bake 7 minutes or until starting to brown. Mine took 10 minutes, but watch closely. They are so thin they can burn quickly.

I sprinkled salt only over half of the crackers. The salt is only necessary if you are going to eat them plain. If you add a topping I don't think you need to add salt.

Butternut Squash Soup

2008-09-30T13:22:00.002-06:00

This was so yummy! I ate all of the leftovers by myself. Just thinking about it makes me want to make it again.

Ingredients:

1 butternut squash

1/2 c chopped onion (I used 2 T dried minced onion)

2 cans chicken stock (4 cups)

1/2 t marjoram

1/4 t ground black pepper

1/8 t cayenne pepper

8 oz cream cheese.

Cut squash in half and remove seeds. Brush with olive oil and place cut side down on a baking sheet and roast in oven 30 minutes at 350. Once roasted, remove from skin. You can do this several days in advance it that is easier.

Blend squash and cream cheese in blender or food processor until smooth.

Place in large pot and use whisk to combine with remaining ingredients, bring to a simmer, not a full boil and serve.

If you want this soup to be truly smooth, I would also blend the onions with the squash. You could even blend the whole lot up in your blender if you wanted!

Delicious! We served it with fresh bread and it was an awesome meal. I totally loved it. I think you could leave the cream cheese out, it just wouldn't be as rich.

Calzones

2008-09-25T20:16:00.005-06:00

Super yummy! I made both sauces (the white and red), because I wanted white and Rich wanted a red sauce. This was easy and good.

Bread Recipe:

2 c warm water
3 tb. dry yeast
1/2 tb. honey
1/2 tsp. salt
4-5 c whole wheat flour
(I actually halved this and made 5 Calzones instead of 8-10)
Combine water, yeast and honey and let sit for 5-10 min. (it will bubble up) Add salt and flour and knead for 5 minutes. Divide into 8 balls and roll out onto floured surface into individual pizza size crusts, fill, fold over and let rise 15 minutes. Bake 475 for 12 minutes.

Filling:

Chop veggies for filling:
1 onion
2 cups mushrooms
1 (6oz) can olives
1 green pepper, finely diced
1 tomato
optional: chunks of ham or chicken
optional: grated parmesan

Saute veggies all together in a little olive oil, I then added some chopped fresh roma tomatoes.

Sauces:

Red Pizza Sauce
(we actually used leftover canned spaghetti sauce)
1 (4oz) can tomato paste
1 (6oz) can tomato sauce
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp onion powder
salt to taste

Creamy White Pizza Sauce
(I halved it and it was enough for 3 Calzones)
3 cups water
1/2 c wheat flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tb Vegenaise
1 tsp. Italian seasoning

Whisk together on stove over medium heat.

Chocolate Cake

2008-09-13T18:39:00.004-06:00

Yes, you can have your cake and eat it too!!!

I first made a pan of chocolate cake. Then after it cooled we cut it into squares and layered it with coconut whipped creme and raspberries then a layer of cake and then berries and creme. It was amazingly good!

Chocolate Cake (taken from Tam's blog)

1 ½ cups whole wheat flour

3 T. sifted carob powder (I used cocoa powder)
1 t. baking soda
1 c. Sucanat
1/2 t. sea salt
5 T. coconut oil
1 T. white vinegar
1 T. vanilla
1 cup cold water

Put your flour into mixing bowl, add carob, baking soda, sugar and salt and mix well.Make three deep holes in the dry mixture. Into one, pour the oil, into the next, pour the vinegar, into the next, pour the vanilla.Pour the water into the bowl, over all of this.Mix the wet and dry ingredients together until there aren't any more lumps and pour into a 9x9 inch baking pan.Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, test with fork.Can also be made into cupcakes, bake for 15 minutes.

Whipped Creme

Take a can of coconut milk (not light kind) and get cold in fridge or freezer (don’t let freeze though) Then open the can and with a spoon, spoon out only the thick stuff. Put into a small food processor or blender add about 3-4 Tablespoons raw or organic sugar more if you like it sweeter and ½ teaspoon vanilla. Blend until smooth and creamy use like whipped creme.

Hamburger Buns

2008-09-02T23:08:00.007-06:00

I am so sick of not being able to find good buns at the store, or having them cost more than the meat. So I started making my own in June. I tried a half dozen recipes with some success, but the ones I made this weekend were fabulous. Even my husband said they were great. He hasn't been a fan of my other tries, asking why we couldn't just buy hamburger buns...

5-6 cups of whole wheat flour
2 T yeast (I used regular old fashioned active dry yeast, but I'm sure any would do)
1/3 cup powdered milk
2 cups warm water (or substitute 2c. rice milk, soy milk or whatever for the water and pwd milk)
1/4 c oil
2 T honey
2 eggs
2 t salt
2 T dough enhancer

Mix the yeast, liquid and 3 cups of flour together. Dump everything else in and knead 10 minutes, or until gluten is well developed. The dough should just clean the sides of the bowl, but still be a little tacky to the touch. Let rise until double.

Form into buns. I made balls and flattened them. Preheat oven to 350. Let dough rise about 20 minutes then place in hot oven and bake 18-20 minutes.

This recipe made 13 good size buns. They held together beautifully and we nice and soft.

Granola Bars-Success

2008-08-20T15:18:00.007-06:00

Wahoo!
I came up with a recipe that meets our criteria.
They are made from whole foods.
They stick together and can be eaten on the go.
They taste great! In fact your kids will probably just call them cookies.
And they are simple to make. Really, they are.

Cinnamon Raisin Granola Bars

1/3c brown sugar
1/4 c room temp. butter, unsalted
1 medium egg
1 t. vanilla
1 1/4 c old fashioned rolled oats
1/4 c whole wheat flour
1/3 c bran (wheat or oat, whatever you have on hand)
1 t cinnamon
1/4 t salt
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t baking powder
1/4 c flax seed, ground
3/4 c raisins
1 T boiling water

Place raisins in a bowl and pour boiling water over them. Cover and let steam.
Preheat oven to 350
Cream butter and sugar. Add egg and vanilla and cream until light and fluffy.
Combine dry ingredients.
Add dry ingredients and raisins, including any water left in the bowl, to wet ingredients. Stir until blended.
Form into balls, press together firmly. Place on lined baking sheet. Flatten balls slightly with wet fingers (it will help to keep it from stinking to your fingers)
Bake 14 minutes. Let cool on sheet. Transfer to airtight container, if there are any left.

The first night they were a little crumbly and crisp, the next day they were soft and moist and held together perfectly. These are more on the chewy side, I am not a huge fan of super crispy granola bars and neither are my kids but these are great. So much healthier than the granola bars from the store, cheaper, and tastier too.

I had so much success with the first batch I decided to try another flavor

Apricot Almond Granola Bars
Just a few changes:
Omit the water and raisins. Cut up 1/2 c dried apricots in small chunks.
Omit the Bran instead pulverize 1/4 c almonds into flour like consistency.
Add 1/4 t almond extract (more to taste)
Add 1/4 c toasted almonds, coarsely chopped
Then proceed with the recipe above.
I am sure you can think of endless varieties. I can't wait to try them with some sesame seeds, dried cranberries, etc.
Enjoy!

Peak Times- Fruits and Veggies

2008-08-17T21:01:00.003-06:00

I found this listing of peak times for fruits and vegetables and thought it would be useful for us all as a reference. This is for Nebraska, but I don't think other states will be too far off (other than CA and FL).

January
February
March
April	Asparagus
May	Apricots Asparagus Blueberries Cherries Mango Nectarines Peaches Plums	Leaf Lettuce (Romaine, Green) Radishes Spinach Turnips
June	Apricots Beets Blueberries Cherries Mango Nectarines Peaches Plums Strawberries Sweet Potato	Broccoli Bell Peppers Cabbage Carrots Cauliflower Eggplant Green Beans Leaf Lettuce Onions Peas Potato Radishes Snow Peas Spinach Squash Tomatoes Turnips Zucchini
July	Apricots Beets Blueberries Cantaloupe Cherries Honeydew Mango Nectarines Peaches Plums Strawberries Sweet Potato	Broccoli Cabbage Carrots Cauliflower Corn Cucumbers Eggplant Green Beans Leaf Lettuce Onions Peas Potato Snow Peas Squash Tomatoes Zucchini
August	Apples Apricots Blueberries Cantaloupe Cherries Grapes Honeydew Mango Nectarines Peaches Plums Strawberries Sweet Potato Watermelon	Cabbage Carrots Corn Cucumbers Eggplant Green Beans Leaf Lettuce Onions Peas Potato Snow Peas Squash Tomatoes Zucchini
September	Apples Blueberries Cantaloupe Grapes Honeydew Mango Nectarines Plums Peaches Strawberries Sweet Potato Watermelon	Cabbage Carrots Corn Cucumbers Eggplant Green Beans Leaf Lettuce Onions Peas Potato Snow Peas Squash Tomatoes Zucchini
October	Apples Plums Sweet Potato	Cabbage Corn Green Beans Leaf Lettuce Onions Peas Potato Snow Peas Squash Tomatoes Zucchini
November	Pomegranate
December	Pomegranate

All year: (These are mainly imported so we can get them all year)

Avocado
Banana
Grapefruit
Kiwifruit
Oranges
Papaya
Pears
Pineapple
Artichokes
Bean Sprouts
Black-eyed Peas
Celery
Leeks
Mushrooms

Granola Bars - Take One

2008-08-17T14:11:00.005-06:00

Granola bars seem like a healthy food. But most of what you find at the store, really isn't that good for you - and if it is, it is so expensive you wouldn't give it to your kids.
So, is it possible to make you own? We tried, and well, we are going to try it again.

Granola Bar Recipe #1 - Kind of like a sweet bread but a bar. It was dense but yummy because we added chocolate chips. It fell apart when we cut it into bars the first day we made it, it was easier to cut the second day, but we still wouldn't give it to our kids inside the house or car.
Granola Bar Recipe #2 This one was lighter than #1, but fell apart just the same. With fruit inside it would have been just like a nutrigrain bar (w/out the nasty aftertaste). But the not staying together part was not working for us.
Granola Bar Recipe #3 Recipe adapted from Alton Brown's Granola Bars. This was more traditional granola made into a bar. This one stuck together better, still not what we would expect of a treat that is supposed to be portable. It had fruit and nuts and oats and a carmel type sauce that helped it stick together. Cutting it proved to be difficult because it had a mind of its own.
Granola Bar Recipe #4 Honey Almond Granola Bars. This recipe tasted really good. It had no sugar - just honey and was not too sweet. Broke apart though when we tried to cut it into bars.
Granola Bar Recipe #5 Oatmeal Cookie Granola Bars. This was a recipe for regular granola that said to press it into a pan before baking to make it into granola bars. It turned back into granola after I tried to cut it. It tasted just like an oatmeal cookie.

So every recipe had the same basic problem: Falls apart too easily. Could never feed it to the kids because of the mess it would make.

So we are still looking for the perfect granola bar recipe. These are our rules:

1. It has to be made from whole foods - no over processed fake food or trans fat.

2. It has to stick together(not fall apart) and be easy to eat on the go.

3. It has to actually taste good.

Homemade Babyfood

2008-08-16T13:09:00.002-06:00

Our ward just had an enrichment all about babies. We had classes on breastfeeding, scheduling and one on homemade baby food. I taught the baby food class and thought I would just pass along the information that I taught the ladies and the handout I made.

Homemade Baby Food

1^st Foods

Start with single pureed fruits and vegetables

Raw Foods

Buy Frozen, then thaw, then blend with a little liquid (formula, water or breast milk)

Buy Fresh, Steam or Boil, then Blend with a little liquid

Other

Banana

Avocado

Peaches (peel first)

Nectarines

Plums

Strawberries

Apricot

Pears

* Sometimes can be runny so mix in cereal when serving to baby

* Wouldn’t recommend Citrus, Grapes or Melons

Frozen bagged veggies-

peas, carrots, green beans

*I have found my kids don’t like broccoli or corn and it doesn’t puree or digest well at first

Squash

Sweet Potatoes/Yams

Zucchini

Canned Pumpkin

Applesauce (natural, unsweetened)

* Note if you buy canned fruit make sure it is canned in it’s own juice, not in syrup.

2^nd Foods- These are much like the 1^st purees , but you can start mixing flavors and add some finger foods

Fruit Combinations

Vegetable Combinations

Strawberry and Banana

Strawberry and Peach

Banana and Applesauce

Strawberry and Applesauce

*Fruits are easy to mix and most fruits go well together

Peas and Carrots

Bag of Mixed Veggies

Squash and Sweet Potatoes

3rd Foods- They are almost ready for table food, so pretty much anything unprocessed

Some Examples to chop in blender

- Whole Wheat Spaghetti and some Sauce

- Broccoli and Chicken and Brown Rice

How- To Prepare and Store your Purees

Puree:
Frozen Veggies: Microwave or cook on stove until no longer frozen with a few tablespoons of water (doesn’t need to be hot). When veggies are cool put them in the blender until pureed
Fruits: Many of these need to be peeled first. For things like peaches and nectarines the easiest way to get the skin off is to blanch them (dip them in boiling water for 20 sec, then cold water) then peel the skin right off. Then you cut it into chunks, add a few tablespoons of water and puree as usual.
Fresh vegetables: Cut up the vegetable into 1 inch cubes then in a small pan boil an inch or two of water. Turn stove down to a 3 or 4, then add in your vegetables and steam then. Put the lid on, but do stir every minute or so. After about 5 minutes it should be soft enough to mush with a fork. Dump water and vegetable into blender and puree.
Storing:

Once your puree is made you are ready to freeze it for later use. I like to use an ice cube tray that has a slide on lid. Pour your puree into the ice cube trays and freeze until hard (4-6 hours?). When your puree is frozen you dump your ice cubes into a ziplock bag. Use a separate bag for each kind and be sure to write the flavor on the outside and the date. These can be frozen for 3 months or so.

Using:
When ready to use the puree- you just pull out the bag that has the flavor you want out of the freezer. Remove about 2 ice cubes (depends on how hungry your baby is). Then put them in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for about 30 seconds, until it is thawed. If your puree is too runny then add some rice cereal and it will thicken right up.

Baby teething sticks:

Ingredients:

2/3 cup milk
4 Tbsp butter, melted & cooled
1 cup whole wheat flour, approx.
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 cup plain un-toasted wheat germ

Directions :
Beat together the milk, butter & sugar.
Stir in the wheat germ and enough flour to make a dough.
Knead until smooth & satiny for about 8 to 10 minutes.
Pinch off balls of dough & roll them into sticks about 1 / 2 inches thick and 4 inches long (1.25 cm x 10 cm).
Bake on a greased cookie sheet at 350° F (175°C) for about 35 minutes or until browned and hard.
Yield : 20 sticks

Meal Planning

2008-08-10T18:26:00.003-06:00

I have found that for me to keep my family eating healthy I have to plan ahead. Which means each week I spend about 15 minutes and write out a menu for the week and a shopping list.
Recently I acquired a laminated weekly meal planner and it has been great. I am usually good about planning out dinner, but I am really bad at getting a variety when it comes to snacks and breakfast (we eat way too much cold cereal). This planner has really helped.
I use a Vis-a-Vis pen, so it wipes clean with water. I generally plan out breakfast, dinner and a snack for each day and I try to vary the food groups. If we have fruit with breakfast then the snack is typically a vegetable. The dinner days often get switched around, because I don't always like what I picked for dinner, but the general calendaring helps.
Here is a sample of our week:
The second thing I made on our computer and it is a weekly food planner on one side and shopping list on the other. It is very good for keeping your shopping list organized and I like having the menu on the other side as a reference.
I keep it posted on the fridge and add to it during the week.

Ezekiel Bread

2008-08-01T19:14:00.003-06:00

Ezekiel 4:9 "Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentiles, and millet, and ^afitches, and put them in one vessel, and make thee bread thereof..."

This was really good and easy if you do some prep ahead of time. I halved the recipe and got two large loaves, if I had a bigger mixer I would have made all of it. Note: You need a wheat grinder or find the mixture pre-ground.

In the grinder put in:
7 cups hard white or red wheat
1/4 c pinto beans
1/4 c soy beans
1 c barley
1/4 c lentils
1/3 c millet
1 c Rye ( we didn't have this so we used brown rice)
Mill at a medium flour.
Other Ingredients:
5 C hot tap water
1/2 c honey
1/2 c oil
1 1/2 T. real salt
3 T. SAF instant Yeast
1/2 vital wheat gluten
2 T. dough enhancer

After you have made your flour, in your mixer combine the hot water and 7 cups flour. Add oil, honey, yeast, salt and gluten and mix together. With the mixer running add flour until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Knead 8 minutes. Add dough enhancer and knead until mixed through. Shape into 4 loaves and let rise until double. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.

* This recipe was designed for a Bosch but I used my KitchenAid. My husband made all the flour, but I only used half once I realized there way no way it would all fit.

* A few things about DOUGH ENHANCER; this is the first time I have bought it and it was great. Someone once told me that it was just vital wheat gluten, that is false. Dough Enhancer has soy lecithin, pectin and acidic acid among other things in addition to the wheat gluten. My husband would like us to try making it ourselves.

English Muffins

2008-07-02T11:13:00.006-06:00

Since it's too hot to bake, I need to get my bread fix in other ways. These were surprisingly easy to make. I have wanted to make them for a long time, but I thought they would be too hard. I was wrong. I will be making these a lot from here on out. My kids loved them, and so did I.

Ingredients:

1/2 c Yogurt

1 c warm water

1T yeast (I used regular active dry yeast)

2 c whole wheat flour.

Mix these together and leave to rise until doubled, or overnight.

The longer you leave them, the more sour flavor will develop. I used cold water and left mine overnight, I didn't think they were at all sour.

Add to this mixture:

1 t. salt

1/2 t. baking soda

1/3/4 cup whole wheat flour.

Knead for twice as long as you would usually knead bread dough for. The dough should be sticky.

Let rise until doubled.

Roll out on a lightly floured surface to 1/2" thick. Cut into rounds.

Dust both sides with cornmeal. Let rise until double. If you let the dough sit overnight it might take up to 2 hours.*

Cook on a 400 degree griddle for 5-8 minutes per side.

*This is where I messed up. I put them on the hot griddle as soon as I rolled them out. I realized my mistake about a minute later and pulled them off to rise for a little bit. Even though I can't follow directions they still turned out great.

These are easier than making bread. They take a little planning, but not much actual time. Next time I will try using warmer water to see if I can create more of a sour flavor.

Rhubarb Pineapple Jam

2008-06-23T20:41:00.008-06:00

This is not the healthiest thing I have made this year (But still healthier than others...) But it is delicious. I thought I would share as I found it easy to make. I happily had all of the ingredients on hand and liked that it didn't require pectin, which I didn't have, and did call for some things that desperately needed to be used from my food storage. (Jello??? Why did I buy so much Jello? My tastes sure have changed over the last few years.) It has a lot less sugar than most other jams I have seen recipes for, so if you have a Rhubarb plant and want to try a new recipe, this one is great.

Ingredients:

5 cups chopped Rhubarb

Zest from 1 Orange

8 oz can crushed Pineapple, undrained (I used chunks as that was what I had on hand, it worked fine)

2 1/2 c Sugar

1 3-oz package of Strawberry Jello (I used all no-name brands with great success)

In large Sauce pan combine Rhubarb, pineapple, zest and sugar. Bring to a boil and boil for 10 minutes stirring constantly. You want to use a big pot so that as it boils it doesn't pop all over you and everything else making a sticky mess. I also found that if I chopped the rhubarb coarse or fine it didn't matter at all, because you stir it for 30 minutes it pretty much breaks down. The finer you chop it the smoother the final product is, but even with 2 inch long pieces no one would call my final product lumpy.

Cool 30 Minutes
Add Jello to cooled mixture until dissolved.
Put into 5 clean hot 8-oz jars and store in fridge for up to 1 month or in freezer for several months, or as long as it lasts.

Beans and Legumes - Basics

2008-06-04T15:33:00.005-06:00

Beans and Legumes are a food bargain. They are a good source of protein (combined with rice, wheat or corn, they are a complete protein) as well as calcium, vitamins A and C, Thiamine, potassium, iron and fiber.
There are many varieties of beans and legumes. Lentils, soybeans, garbanzo beans, pinto beans, great northern beans, kidney beans, Lima beans, black eye beans, black turtle beans, red beans, small white beans, navy beans, pink beans, dry split peas, and dry whole peas.

There are four ways to cook dry beans:
Overnight soak: Sort through and remove any discolored legumes and rocks; rinse well and drain. Cover with water at least 1 inch above the legumes and soak overnight. Cook the next morning by discarding the soaking water and adding beans to fresh water. For each pound of dried beans, add 6 cups of hot water. (1 c beans to 3 c water) Boil the water and then add the beans, boil gently uncovered (adding water if necessary) until tender. (1-2 hours) Yield 6-7 cups of cooked beans per pound of dried beans.
Quick Soak: Bring cleaned beans and water to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes. Remove from pan from the stove and allow beans to stand for 1 hour in the covered saucepan. Rinse beans and discard the water. Cook the same as the overnight soak method.
Crock Pot: Add unsoaked, clean beans and water to crock Pot. Place on High setting for 3-4 hours or low overnight. (smaller beans cook faster)
Pressure Cooker: Follow the directions that came with the pressure cooker; generally 3 c of water to 1 c beans, bring to full steam, cook for 30 minutes.
Beans can be ground into flour. This is a very good way to use very old beans. Add the flour in small amounts to any recipe. Can be used to thicken gravies, soups and sauces. Beans in this form are easier to digest

Sprouting Beans: Sprouting beans before they are cooked will give you much more nutrition and less gas. After the sprouts are 1 inch long, they must be refrigerated or they will spoil.

Helpful Hints: 1. Add salt if needed the last 10 minutes of cooking never before. 2. Add a tablespoon of butter to prevent foam from forming. 3. Acids slow down cooking time for beans, add tomatoes, vinegar, etc when beans are tender. 4. Lentils and split peas do not need to be soaked. 5. Beans can cause gas. To cut down on this problem, add 1 teaspoon of meat tenderizer into cooked pot of beans. Or try Beano. (they aren't called a magical fruit for nothing)

Dried Beans are 1/2 the cost (or less) of Canned Beans:
Canned: One 15 oz can prepared beans costs around $1.00 or around $0.50 if you shop sales.
Dried:
1 lb (2 cups) of dry beans will make 6 to 7 cups of cooked beans (equivalent to
four 15oz cans of beans.)
1 lb (2 cups) of dry beans is about $1.60 or $.75 cents if you buy in bulk.
equal to $.20 to $.40 cents per can - compare to $1.00 per can already prepared!

Storing Beans:
Beans store well in 5 gallon buckets, #10 cans, or Mylar bags. Pick what works best for your food storage situation.
Kept air tight and bug free in a cool dark place, dried beans will last a long time. Canned beans will last about 2 years.

How to make your bean storage accessible (so you can use it!):
1. Do not expect to go through the whole cooking dried beans process every time you need a cup of beans. It will take too long, and you will never do it.
2. Be efficient - cook up a bunch of beans (1 or 2 lbs) and divide them into quart freezer bags (1 ½ to 2 cups ea) and put them in the freezer. (1 lb dried = 4 quart bags frozen)
3. Lay them flat to freeze, then when frozen they can be stood on end to save room.
4. To use, just run under cool water.
5. Add to recipes just like you would use canned beans.

All about Yeast

2008-06-04T09:54:00.006-06:00

I am going to attempt to explain some of the differences in yeast. It used to be yeast was yeast. You went to the store, bought what was on the shelf and used it in your recipe. That has changed. Now there are several different types of yeast out there, and the way you use them varies slightly. If a recipe calls for a specific type, and you make a substitution sometimes you get a very different result. I hope to explain what the difference is, and what changes you need to make when substituting different yeasts in recipes.
Compressed Yeast: Often called cake yeast. It only lasts about 2 weeks and must be refrigerated. I actually haven't seen it in the US, but I used it in Europe. It is basically a soft block of yeast that needs to be placed in water to break it up. It is equal to 1T of regular yeast.

Active Dry Yeast: When a recipe calls for yeast, this is mostly likely what they are talking about. It is sometimes abbreviated ADY. This yeast need to be rehydrated in liquid at temperatures between 105 and 115` F (If your pinky is comfy, your yeast probably is too!). If you use hotter liquid, you risk killing the yeast, cooler and the yeast membrane gets too porous and can allow the cell contents to leak out and become ineffective. If your dough is sticky and inelastic, that is a probable cause. Active dry yeast has the largest cell size of the yeasts. To see if your yeast is still good and active, rehydrate in a 1c water with 1/4t sugar per tablespoon of yeast. If you see yeast bubbles coming to the surface after 5-10 minutes, you have healthy active yeast and you can proceed with your recipe. If you don't you need to buy fresh yeast, or adjust the temperature of the water.

Rapid Rise Yeast and Instant dry yeasts (IDY) were developed to overcome several of the problems with Active Dry yeast. They can both be added directly to recipes without rehydrating first. They tolerate higher temperatures of water and are harder to kill. They both have shorter fermentation periods. This means you don't have to let your dough rise for as long to achieve the same results. Instant dry yeast works even faster than rapid Rise yeast. The cells of instant dry yeast are skinnier and longer. Instant dry yeast can cut the rising time even further.

To substitute Instant Dry yeast or Rapid Rise yeast for a recipe calling for regular yeast, you can skip the step of rehydrating in the water, to keep things simple I add things in the order called for in the recipe, but I don't let the yeast and water sit together for 5-10 minutes. I add all of the liquid, the yeast, sugar, flour and start mixing, adding the remaining ingredients and then slowly adding the rest of the flour. Just watch the rising times as they may be faster than what you are used to, or called for in the recipe.
To substitutre active dry yeast in a recipe calling for SAF yeast, Instant dry yeast, or rapid rise yeast make sure to mix the liquids, some of the sugar and the yeast together first. Allow it to sit until it starts to bubble and you can tell the yeast is alive and working. Then continue with the recipe. Adjust your rising time by adding extra time, I usually find it takes up to twice as long to achieve the same amount of rise with active dry yeast.
I definitely prefer Instant dry yeast (SAF is a common brand of IDY) for my whole grain bread making. My bread rises at least 10% better with IDY yeast versus rapid rise yeast and a good 25% higher than with active dry yeast. I use regular yeast and rapid rise yeast in my pita breads,flat breads and rolls that I am not in a hurry with.

Instant Dry Yeast (I buy it at Sam's Club, it comes with 2 1pound packages, they feel like bricks) Make sure it says IDY or SAF yeast

Rapid Rise yeast You can find it like this at almost any grocery store, it also comes in little jars. Sometimes called Bread Machine Yeast

Active Dry Yeast. Available at most grocery stores. Also available in 4 oz jars.

I took some close ups to try and demonstrate the differences in the types of yeast. My IDY yeast has some rapid rise and active dry yeast mixed in, that is why there are different sizes.
If you look closely, the rapid rise and active dry yeast are both slightly lighter in color than the IDY. The active dry yeast has the largest cells, then the rapid rise, and Instant dry yeast has the smallest. The IDY yeast cells are narrower, but slightly longer than the Rapid rise yeast.

Top: Rapid Rise Yeast, Instant Dry Yeast

Bottom: Active Dry Yeast

Easy, Versatile Whole Wheat Bread

2008-05-30T19:25:00.004-06:00

This is by far the easiest whole wheat bread recipe I have ever found. I loved it so much I went through my cook book and threw out all my other bread recipes. The next night we used this recipe for pizza dough and it was excellent. I look forward to trying it for rolls, bread sticks and cinnamon rolls. (With Pizza dough I recommend that after you roll out your dough that you place it in your pizza pan and bake it a few minutes before you add toppings.) Picture

Best Yet Whole Wheat Bread

Hand Method: Yep I still don't have a mixer ;) (yields 2 loaves)
1/3 Cup honey

1/3 Cup extra virgin olive oil

2 1/2 Cup Warm Water

1 1/2 Tablespoons Yeast

2 1/2 teaspoons Real Salt

6-7 Cups Fresh Ground Whole Wheat Flour (I used hard white wheat)

1 1/2 Tablespoons Vital Wheat Gluten

Combine the warm water, yeast, and 2 Cups of fresh whole wheat flour in a large mixing bowl. Allow to sponge for 15 minutes. Add the honey, oil, dough enhancer, salt and 4-5 Cups additional flour until the dough begins to clean the sides of the mixing bowl. Do not allow the dough to get too stiff (too dry). Dough should be smooth and elastic. It is a common mistake for the beginning bakers to add too much flour.

Knead the bread by hand 7-10 minutes or until it is very smooth, elastic, and small bubbles or blisters appear beneath the surface of the dough. If you are kneading by hand, be sure to add the minimum amount of flour to keep the dough soft and pliable by using a tsp of oil on your hands and kneading surface.

Form the dough into 2 loaves and put in greased loaf pans or 5-6 loaves balls if making bread bowls and place on cookie sheet. Allow to rise in a slightly warmed oven or other warm place until doubled in size (about 30-60 minutes).

Bake loaves for 25-30 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Bread is cooked through when it sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom, and when the top and sides are a golden brown color.

This Bread Recipe is VERSATILE! Use it to make cinnamon rolls, pizza, bread sticks, and more.

(This is where I found the recipe- this woman's website is fun to look at for food ideas.)

Easy, Healthy Family Meal #2- Pita Pockets

2008-05-30T19:11:00.004-06:00

We loved this, even my picky two year old ate most of hers. To get her to eat one bit is a challenge so 4 bites means she loved it. My husband said this was the best Pita Bread he's ever had. I had to agree with him.
It took a few hours to make, rising and that, however you could put it in the bread maker. I am going to try that next time. You would put it on the dough setting and the ingredients in this order; water, sweetener, oil, salt, flour, yeast.
As quoted from the site I found the recipe on:
"Why make your own pita when it's readily available at supermarkets? One bite of these, fresh and warm from the oven, will tell you exactly why. The dough is simple to make, and because the dough rounds are thin, they bake in less than 5 minutes. But if you don't have time to make your own, store-bought pita can be warmed, wrapped in foil, in a preheated 350°F oven."

Active time: 30 min Start to finish: 3 hr

Servings: Makes 8 (6-inch) pita loaves.

1 (1/4-oz) package active dry yeast (2 1/2 teaspoons)
1 teaspoon honey
1 1/4 cups warm water (105–115°F)
3 cups whole wheat flour (can use a mixture of milled flax, bran)
3 Tb vital wheat Gluten
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
Could add thyme, or sesame to dough
Cornmeal for sprinkling baking sheetStir together yeast, honey, and 1/2 cup warm water in a large bowl, then let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If mixture doesn't foam, discard and start over with new yeast.)

While yeast mixture stands, stir together flours in another bowl. Whisk 1/2 cup flour mixture into yeast mixture until smooth, then cover with plastic wrap and let stand in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk and bubbly, about 45 minutes. Stir in oil, salt, remaining 3/4 cup warm water, and remaining 2 1/2 cups flour mixture until a dough forms.

Turn out dough onto a floured surface and knead, working in just enough additional flour to keep dough from sticking, until dough is smooth and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes. Form dough into a ball and put in an oiled large bowl, turning to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rise in draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Punch down dough and cut into 8 pieces. Form each piece into a ball. Flatten 1 ball, then roll out into a 6 1/2- to 7-inch round on floured surface with a floured rolling pin. Transfer round to 1 of 2 baking sheets lightly sprinkled with cornmeal. Make 7 more rounds in same manner, arranging them on baking sheets. Loosely cover pitas with 2 clean kitchen towels (not terry cloth) and let stand at room temperature 30 minutes.

Set oven rack in lower third of oven and remove other racks. Preheat oven to 500°F.

Transfer 4 pitas, 1 at a time, directly onto oven rack. Bake until just puffed and pale golden, about 2 minutes. Turn over with tongs and bake 1 minute more. Cool pitas on a cooling rack 2 minutes, then stack and wrap loosely in a kitchen towel to keep pitas warm. Bake remaining 4 pitas in same manner. Serve warm.

FILLING: So Delicious!
2 1/2 cups, cubed, cooked chicken breast (about 1 lb)
1 c matchstick cut carrots
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tsp dill
1 8oz can crushed pineapple draine
8 romaine lettuce leaves

Cook chicken. Combine all ingredients, except lettuce. Fill a half Pita with mixture add lettuce and enjoy. So easy and we loved it.

Easy, Healthy Family Meals- Chicken Pot Pie

2008-05-30T18:54:00.003-06:00

We made this the other night and added enough extra vegetables that I got two pans out of it.
Chicken Pot Pie (a hodge podge of other recipes). Picture

Crust: (Biscuit like topping on the top) ( This is for 2 tops)
4c Whole Wheat Flour
1 tsp salt
8 tsp baking soda
6 Tb butter
2 c milk

Filling:
2lbs chicken, cubed and cooked, (I used boneless skinless chicken breasts that I grilled int he dutch oven)
6 small potatoes, cubed and cooked, (I boiled them until soft but not mushy, then drained that water)
2 c Chicken broth
2 c Milk
Salt, Pepper
2 med bags of frozen mixed Veggies, peas, carrots, beans, peas
Cornstarch

Preheat oven to 350. Cook Chicken, set aside. Cook potatoes, set aside. In dutch oven or large pot combine chicken, potatoes, broth and milk, simmer then add vegetables, bring to simmer again. Boil until it thickens, with the FF milk it might need some cornstarch whisked in.

When mixture has thicken pour into two baking dishes. I used a dutch oven and an oval dish I had. It doesn't really matter.

Make your biscuit dough. Divide it in half. With your fingers you will just kind of spread the dough on top of the mixture to make the top.

Bake in oven at 350 fo 30 min until browned on top. (If freezing one of them, don't bake it wait until you are ready to use it. Then thaw it before trying to cook it, otherwise you'll be cooking if for 2 hours like I was and it was still cold in the middle)

Makes about 12 huge servings.

Cowboy Caviar

2008-05-21T14:41:00.004-06:00

Sorry, no picture, we ate it all. This is a great way to keep eating those beans all summer long. This was so yummy. My mom got the recipe from a friend and it is so easy and good for you.
Mix the following in a large bowl:

4 cups of beans (canned, drained or I make my own, I like to use Kidney, black and pinto, but I think most any would work)
4 roma tomatoes, chopped up
1 can corn, drained
2-3 avacados , chopped
1 bunch cilantro, finely chop up the leaves
1 buch of green onion, finely chopped
1 packet of dry Italian seasoning

Mix this all together in a bowl and put it in the fridge to get cool. You can serve it with Tortilla chips are just eat it with a spoon. The flavor is mild enough that kids will eat it too.

A few notes on beans:
Dry beans contain no cholesterol. They're low in sodium, full of complex carbohydrates, contains lot's of dietary fiber and have good vitamins in them like folacin. Along with that they also have iron, calcium, phosphorus and potassium. 1/2 cup of cooked beans is equal to one vegetable serving and 1 cup is equal to a meat/protein serving. So the moral is... eat your beans they're good for you.
(It is really easy to soak and cook your own beans, and cheaper too! Just follow the directions on the package, but remember you have to soak and cook them, I made the mistake of thinking all you had to do was soak them. Needless to say dinner that night was not the best.)

Wheat Bread -that does not resemble a brick

2008-05-20T18:47:00.005-06:00

Today it was so much fun to have Christy and Kim came over to make bread with me. (Sorry no picture again, we ate all the bread.)
Here is the recipe that we made:
Put in your mixer:
4 cups of water
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup powdered milk
1/2 cup oats or 6 grain
3 cups whole wheat flour
mix until smooth and bubbly, then add:
2 Tablespoons Saf yeast
2 Tablespoons Dough Enhancer
1/2 c gluten flour - if your flour is wimpy and doesn't rise
mix again until smooth, then add
2 Tablespoons salt
4-5 more cups flour depending on what you need
Add flour last, a little at a time. Stop adding flour when the dough pulls away from the edge of the bowl, and you can start to see the bottom of the bowl as the attachment goes around.
Then let it mix for 10-12 minutes. The dough will be soft and smooth and the bowl will be clean.
Preheat the oven to 150 degrees - then turn it off.
Divide dough into three, and shape with hands into loaves. Place in greased loaf pans and set in oven to rise for about 30 minutes. After it has doubled in size, turn the oven on to 350 degrees and bake for 35-45 minutes until it is golden brown. Turn out of pans, brush top with butter and let cool on a rack. Yummy!

Homemade Yogurt

2008-05-14T17:31:00.005-06:00

Homemade yogurt is easy, I promise! Better for you - because you control the ingredients, and cheaper than what you can get at the store. I found the recipe here and I followed it exactly. This is a website I found earlier this week, and I love it! She has some great ideas about food storage and healthy eating. There is a video of how to make yogurt. So it is super easy.
I will say one thing about the cooler she has. I didn't want to buy another cooler so I used one of my smaller coolers for this. It only fit 3 jars. So I put the three in and wrapped them up with a fleece blanket just like she showed. I wrapped the other one up in warm towels and put it on my counter in a warm spot. The yogurt in the cooler was really thick and creamy and still warm when I pulled it out 9 hours later. The one on the counter, was not very thick, and not very creamy, and cold when it was all over. So I am probably going to look for one of the styrofoam coolers that will fit all four jars - so all my yogurt turns out right.

It was cheap too, it cost me less than half for more than double the amount of yogurt that I ususally buy. - less than $1.50 for 4 pints (8 cups) of yogurt. (because milk was on sale - if you were paying $3/gallon, it would still cost less than $2)

The 411 on Powdered Milk

2008-05-14T17:13:00.005-06:00

Why Store Milk?
#1 - you use it a lot and your kids like it. Can't really live without it now, you wouldn't want to live without it in an emergency. Powdered milk contains all the nutrients found in fresh milk except the fat. It is also easy to cook with. You could also make yogurt and cheese with powered milk if you wanted to.

How Much to Store?
The LDS Church’s Home Production and Storage Manual suggests that you store 60 lbs of dry milk for an adult and 30 lbs for a child for your one year supply. This is based on 3 cups of milk per day for adults and 1.5 cups of milk per day for children. For a 3 month supply you would need 4 #10 cans per adult and 2 #10 cans per child if you use this much milk on a regular basis. That being said, you should store what is best for your family based on what your family normally uses.
When calculating how much to store, be aware of different concentrations of milk powder. Western Family powdered milk is the least concentrated; using 1/3 c powder to 1 cup of water. Milk from the cannery and the Provident Pantry brand are both 2/3 c powder to 1 quart of water.

What to Store?
Powdered milk comes in instant or regular, real milk or milk substitute. There is no nutrient difference between instant and regular. Instant milk mixes easier with water and is more expensive. Real powdered non-fat milk will have only one ingredient: Pasteurized skim milk. Milk “Drinks” are not the same as real dried milk - do not buy it. Morning Moos is a milk drink, made mostly of whey (a byproduct of making cheese.) Milk substitute drinks do not contain the milk solids that are necessary in making yogurt or cheese but they may taste better. Real non-fat dry milk can cost twice as much as does a substitute.
You can also store evaporated milk, cream substitutes, powdered cheese or butter, and don’t forget baby formula if you have a baby.

How long does it last?
The church says its #10 can of non-fat dried milk will last 20 years. This is not optimal, you can imagine the effects of time on the nutritional value and taste. Milk is extremely sensitive to temperature. At 50˚F it will store for 48 months, at 90˚F just 3 months. The #10 cans store longer because it is not exposed to the air.

How to use it:
Substitute powdered milk for milk in all your cooking to rotate your supply. You can also use reconstituted powdered milk with a little vanilla extract on your cereal in the morning. If you want to drink powdered milk expect that it will taste different from regular milk. And it has to be really, really cold! And it is so easy to use it to make this yogurt!

The Fluffiest Whole Wheat Pancakes Ever

2008-05-10T08:45:00.003-06:00

This is my other favorite pancake recipe. And if you can't imagine anything made with whole wheat being fluffy, you have to try these.

3 cups whole wheat flour
2 Tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons sugar
4 egg yolks
3 cups milk
1/3 cup oil
4 egg whites

Mix the four, baking powder, salt and sugar together. In a seperate bowl, mix the egg yolks, milk and oil together. In yet another bowl beat the egg whites until stiff. Add the egg yolk mixture to the dry ingredients and mix together. Then gently fold in the egg whites. Cook on a hot griddle. Serve with syrup or jam.

These pancakes are so so so yummy. It is a lot of work not to mention 3 bowls to make them. So, sometimes I cheat and I don't beat the egg whites. And I usually have a freezer bag of this mix in my freezer with powdered eggs and dried instant milk so all I have to add is water and oil. Either way, they still taste good, but the egg whites make these pancakes unbelieveably fluffy and soft.

My New Favorite Peanut Butter

2008-05-07T08:56:00.002-06:00

Have you seen this at your local Wally's?
I found this little gem when I was in Montanna last month, at Walmart of all places. It is so very good for you, and your kids. Most peanut butter is made with hydrogenated oil, which we compare to dog poo around here. (If there is a little dog poo in your food would you still eat it?) I usually try to buy the Adam's brand natural peanut butter which is just peanuts and salt. But this Naturally More doesn't have any hydrogenated oils, or preservatives, AND it has less fat, more fiber, more protein, folic acid, and omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids. If your kids don't like salmon, this is an easy way to get them to eat the omega fatty acids. They really couldn't have packed any more nutrition in there. It's so worth paying a little more for! But, they don't have it here in Utah!! Check their website www.peanutsnack.com to see if it is available in your area. Sorry this sounds like an advertisement, but I just get really excited when I find something commercially prepared that I feel good/excited about feeding to my kids!

All About Buckwheat

2008-05-05T21:14:00.005-06:00

The protein found in buckwheat contains the eight essential amino acids -making it a complete protein.
Buckwheat is rich in B vitamins as well as phosphorus, magnesium, iron, zinc, copper and manganese.
Buckwheat is a good oil source of Alpha-Linolenic Acid, which is one of the two essential fatty acids we must have to be healthy.
Buckwheat is high in fiber. A single cup of cooked buckwheat groats contains over 4 grams of dietary fiber.
Buckwheat contains a rich supply of flavonoids.
Buckwheat lowers glucose levels and is beneficial for managing diabetes.
Buckwheat has been found to lower blood pressure and reduce cholesterol.
Buckwheat is a fruit seed and is a gluten-free alternative to grains. Buckwheat is not wheat at all.

Although buckwheat has many grain-like characteristics, it is from an entirely different botanical family, and is actually a fruit. Since buckwheat is unrelated to the classic cereal grains, those who are allergic to wheat can usually tolerate buckwheat.

Make these pancakes and try it today!

Multigrain Pancake Mix

2008-05-05T17:38:00.006-06:00

I have two favorite pancake recipes, this is one. I found it here.

This is my version:
10 cups of whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups buckwheat flour (find this at the health food store - make sure you get the flour, the actual buckwheat is like putting little rocks in your pancakes - don't ask how I know this)
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 1/2 cups oatmeal (put it in a blender or food processor until it is powder)
2 cups buttermilk powder
5 TBL baking Powder
2 TBL baking Soda
1 cup sugar
2 TBL salt
1 cup whole powdered eggs

Don't be afraid of the buckwheat! It is so good for you - see here. Mix it up all ingredients in a big bowl with whisk. Put it in a container or ziploc freezer bag, store in the freezer. No need to ever buy bisquik again. - and this is so much healthier and doesn't have that nasty aftertaste! Write the instructions below on the outside of the bag so they are handy.

To make pancakes:
1 cup pancake mix
2 TBL vegetable oil
Enough water to get the consistancy you want (around 2/3 cup)
Cook on a hot griddle as usual.

Refrigerator Bran Muffins

2008-05-03T10:05:00.002-06:00

1 c hot water
3 cups bran cereal (I use raisin bran or what ever I have on hand. I have even used mini-wheats...)
1 c chopped dates or raisins (I have used craisins on occasion)
Pour hot water over cereal and raisins. Let stand while you prepare the remaining ingredients

Mix together (Blender is suggested, I'm too lazy and I dont want to clean it so I just wisk everything together):
1/3-1/2 c oil
2 c Buttermilk or Yogurt
2 eggs
1/3-3/4 c sugar or honey

Combine:
2 1/2 c Whole wheat flour
2 t soda
3/4 t salt

Now combine all three sets of ingredients, just until mixed. Then don't stir it again
Bake at 400 for 15-18 minutes
The batter can be stored in the fridge, for up to a month, for fresh muffins anytime .
If you are super lazy like my I skip the first step and mix everything together the night before and let it sit in the fridge overnight and then bake. Works great.

Wheat Berry Dinner Rolls

2008-04-30T10:45:00.004-06:00

I made these rolls try to another way of using wheat. Sprouted wheat is unbelievably nutritious, and it's easy to do.
1 2/3 c water
2 T powdered milk
1 C sprouted wheat berries
1 ½ T yeast
1 T brown sugar
1 T oil
1 T salt (I used ¾ T salt since this seemed like a lot to me)
5 cups whole wheat flour
Put wheat berries, milk and water in blender. Blend briefly on med speed. Pour over yeast and sugar in a large bowl. After the yeast has bubbled up add the oil, salt and flour. Cover and let rise 10 minutes. Knead dough again briefly and shape. Let rise until doubled. Bake at 375 for 15-20 minutes. on greased pans sprinkled with cornmeal*. Makes 24 rolls.To make as freeze and serve rolls, after double bake at 275 for 30 minutes. Cool on pan 15 minutes then remove from pans and let cool completely. Refrigerate up to 2 weeks or freeze. To brown rolls heat oven to 450 and bake thawed rolls 20 minutes.
*Note I use silpats on my pans instead of greasing them
Also, just a word to others who are as inexperienced as I am. You only need to sprout about 1/3 cup of wheat to get enough for this recipe. I sprouted a whole cup of wheat and ended up with
enough to quadruple the recipe!
Here are directions for sprouting wheat
Soak at a ratio of 4:1 (4 cups of water to 1 cup of wheat) for about 12 hours.
Rinse and drain. You can then transfer them to a sprouter or use a mason jar with cheese cloth over the opening.
Rinse every 12 hours for 2 days, or until the little sprout tails are as long as the grains of wheat, then use in your favorite recipe or refrigerate up to 2 weeks.

If your wheat doesn't sprout it may be because of the way it was stored. Wheat that has been treated will not sprout. This includes wheat that has been stored with oxygen packets. I would recommend getting some fresh wheat and trying again. If you like it I would try and store half of your wheat without oxygen. I have had success sprouting wheat that was at least 30 years old. If you can't get your wheat to sprout you could make wheat berries by boiling your wheat, I usually just put mine in the crock pot overnight with the same ratios as you used for soaking. Any extra water can be drained off, and if cooking in the crock pot you can skip the soaking step.
If any of this doesn't make sense please let me know and I will try to clear up any confusion

All About Wheat

2008-04-29T21:50:00.003-06:00

Why Store Wheat?

Wheat is one of the most versatile and nutritious foods you can store and it also stores the longest –Making it a perfect staple for your long term food storage. However, if you do no experience with wheat, and have no intentions on learning, then it would be a waste of your money to buy wheat. If you want to learn, good news! It’s easy to get started using wheat! Wheat can be eaten whole, ground into flour, popped, and sprouted. If you are storing wheat, make sure you have wheat grinder. A good hand wheat grinder will cost around $60. An electric wheat grinder ranges from $159 to $300+.

How Much to Store?

For a one year supply, it is suggested that you store 300 lbs of grains per adult. It is also suggested that 150 lbs of this should be wheat. You can include other grains such as oats, cornmeal, barley, rice and pasta to make up the other 150 lbs. As usual, store what you and your family like to eat.

How long will it last?

When properly stored in an oxygen free container, wheat will last 30+ years. (see the beginning of this section for the effects of time on the taste and nutrition quality of food) Flour will store for 3-5 years.

How to store?

For best results, store wheat or flour in tightly sealed plastic or metal containers. Keep in a cool dry place. Do not store directly on concrete floor or near any moisture. To guard against hatching of insect eggs, treat with dry ice: On top of an almost full five gallon container, place ¼ lb dry ice on a piece of craft paper (not to touch food.) Press lid down gently so some air can escape. After about 20 to 30 min, check to see if the dry ice has completely evaporated, remove material and seal container.

Where to get it locally:

Lindon Home Storage Center
Lehi Roller Mills

Honeyville Grain

Withdrawals

2008-04-29T20:10:00.000-06:00

I am having Food Storage Specialist withdrawals since being released from that calling in my ward. So, I am going to post all of the information plus more interesting things that I learn in a section called Food Storage 101. (links located to the right) Enjoy!