100% Whole Grain Waffle Recipe
by Tania
Filed under Food & Nutrition, Recipes
There is nothing yummier than waffles on a weekend morning, except perhaps the leftover waffles you get to eat the rest of the week.
We make our recipe healthier by adding flax meal, grapeseed oil, oat bran and using whole grains. It took a while to find the right combination… I’m confident you’ll find this recipe doesn’t sacrafice flavor and isn’t as heavy as the waffle iron you are cooking them on!
Ingredients
Dry Bowl
1 1/2 Cups of Organic Whole Grain Pastry Flour – Sift before measuring.
1/4 Cup of Oat Bran
2 1/2 Teaspoons of Baking Powder
1/4 Teaspoon of Salt
1 1/2 Tablespoons of Flax Meal
1 Tablespoon of Organic SugarLiquid Bowl
1 1/2 Cups of Milk
3 Egg Yolks
2 Tablespoons of Grapeseed Oil
1 Tablespoon of Melted Butter
1 Teaspoon of Vanilla3 Egg Whites – Beat these babies till they are stiff!
Instructions
Pre- Heat your waffle iron.
Combine all your dry ingredients in a large bowl, make a well, and set aside.
Separate your eggs. Place the egg whites in your mixing bowl.
Add your yolks to the milk, combine with you other liquid ingredients.
Pour your liquid ingredients into your “flour” well and mix gently… you want the mixture to have a slightly lumpy look without having large dry patches of flour.
Beat your egg whites till stiff. Fold the egg white mixture into the batter.
Brush the waffle iron with Grapeseed oil.
Spoon – I use a measuring 1/2 cup – onto the hot waffle iron gently pulling the batter into the coners.
Clean up while you wait!
Tip: You’ll know it’s time to check your waffle when you see the steam STOP piping out of the side of your waffle iron. DO NOT lift the iron while it is steaming. I sometimes have to go a little longer to get the more golden color I prefer from my waffle iron.
Make a double batch so there will be leftover waffles to freeze or enjoy for fast weekday breakfasts. This recipe should make about 6 waffles depending on your iron.
Healthier Whole Grain Spritz Cookies: Diva Recipe
I love it when I find a way to make conventional recipes healthier, even if it’s just a little bit better as in the case with this recipe. Spritz cookies are perfect for the holidays, but they are so much fun and so easy to make that once you get the hang of making them you won’t want to relegate them to the holidays! This recipe is 100% whole grain and the addition of oat bran adds to their flakiness.
Ingredients
• 2/3 cup Organic Butter
• 1/3 cup of Grapeseed Oil
• 2/3 cup sifted Organic Confectioners’ Sugar
• 1 Organic Free Range Egg – separated
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 1 teaspoon of Baking Powder
• 1 Cup Organic Whole Grain White Flour
• 1 Cup of Organic Whole Wheat
• 3/4 Cup of Organic Oat Flour
Organic Decorating Sugar or Confectioners’ Sugar for decoration
Directions
1. Bring Butter to room temp and blend with oil, cream together with the confectioner’s sugar in bowl until light and fluffy, using electric mixer at medium speed. Beat in egg white, then add egg yolk and vanilla; blend well.
2. Gradually stir flour into creamed mixture, mixing well.
3. Choose your design and place into cookie press. Place about 1/3 of the dough in cookie press at a time. I found it worked best when you made a nice tube out of the dough first then plop it in and press. Line up the press “grips” to engage the pressing action. Place the press on the cookie sheet, press and quickly but gently remove the press. Space cookies about 1 inch apart, on parchment or an ungreased baking sheets. The press takes time to get used to and get going… so don’t worry when you have a couple that don’t work, just toss them back in with your unpressed dough and have a redo.
4. If decorating with colored sugar, cherries, or jelly – add that before baking.
5. Bake in 400 degrees F oven 7-10 minutes or until set, not browned.
6 . Remove from baking sheets; cool on racks.
7. If decorating with confectioners sugar. Lightly dust once cool. Enjoy.
Whole Grain Bread Crumbs: Recipe
by Tania
Filed under Recipes, Simple Solutions
Whole grain bread crumbs are readily found at most health food stores, but they are not readily available at regular grocery stores. I hate having to make special trips to the “health food store” for ingredients like this. Not to mention they always cost a premium.
My family never eats bread heels, one day as I was throwing them out, I put it together. I should make Whole Grain Bread Crumbs out of our loaf heels.
Elegant Chef!
Take the heels and toast them, then let them sit and toast them again, let them sit till they are rock hard. Then I add them to the “heel bag”. When I have a bag full of toasted heels I run them through the food processor.
Super easy and a win-win. Eliminate an expensive specialty item by using something you just might be throwing away otherwise. Something from Nothing!
Are tips like these useful to you? My girlfriend Jennifer insisted that I post this one, but I’m not convinced. Share your thougths!
Lil' Diva loves to help!
100% Whole Grain Pancake Recipe
Whole Grain Pancake Recipe
This Whole Grain Pancake Recipe is from scratch friends. Pancakes can be made quickly and easily without a store bought mix and they can be 100% Whole Grain and scrumptious too!
And… as long as I don’t add fruit this whole grain pancake recipe passes the hubby test too! Either he’s getting used to my cooking or my cooking is getting better. Either way it’s a good thing!
I use organic ingredients whenever I can – the recipe will work either way of course.
My children love it when I use this whole grain pancake recipe as a base to make apple cinnamon pancakes. We’ll sprinkled with a little powdered sugar – chosen by the children instead of maple syrup, so it would be just like their favorite restaurant.
Whole Grain Pancake Recipe Ingredients
1 2/3 cup Sifted Whole Grain Organic Pastry Flour (sifting optional)
1/3 cup of Oat Bran
2 tsp Organic Sugar
1 tsp Salt
1 1/2 tsp of Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
2 Organic Free Range Eggs
1 3/4 Cups of Organic “Butter” Milk (Almost 1 3/4 cups of Milk with 2 tbs of Lemon Juice or Vinegar – total liquid 1 3/4 cups)
1/4 Cup of Grapeseed Oil
1 – 2 Tbs Ground Flax Meal
Whole Grain Pancake Recipe Instructions
Tip: Sift Flour before measuring for lighter pancakes – not essential
Add the remaining Dry Ingredients and combine well
Beat your eggs and add to the wet ingredients.
Add 90% of your wet ingredients to your dry and mix until still a little lumpy. Add remaining liquid until you get to your favored consistency. The thinner the mix, the thinner the pancakes and the thicker mix will give you a thicker pancake.
Heat your cooking surface and prepare with a small amount of oil (I’m trying to move past the spray oils), a splash of water that dances will tell you the surface is ready.
I use a 1/4 cup measuring scoop for pouring my batter onto the fry pan.
If you want to add fruit – this is when I do it. I sprinkle it right on top of the poured mix. When there are plenty of bubbles – it’s time to flip.
Added diced white nectarines – yum!
Apple Cinnamon – Dice apples, sprinkle with cinnamon add a few Tbs of water, cook in microwave until fruit is tender.
This whole grain pancake recipe will make about 20 smaller (4″) pancakes.
Making your own whole grain pancake recipe is SO easy, I don’t know why I kept thinking I needed a mix. It took all of 3 extra minutes to gather the extra ingredients. The first time I made it I didn’t add the flax, I knew hubby was eating them and didn’t want to scare him away. The next time, he wasn’t, so I threw it in. The truth is, once cooked you can’t tell it’s in there. The speckles blend in with the toasty color of the pancake tops.
Check out our other 100% Whole Grain Pancake Recipe with Pumpkin – Yum!
Enjoy.
Pumpkin Pie & Apple Crumble: Recipes
By Tania Reuben
While Dude won’t touch pumpkin pie, it wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without it!
With something in the range of 90% of all pumpkins grown used for decoration then trashed, I like to use our Halloween Sugar Pumpkins for the pie.
We bake our pumpkins. Start by cutting the pumpkins in half, scrape the seeds and stringy bits, then bake upside down in a cookie sheet for about 45 minutes at 350 Degrees.
Pumpkin Pie Recipe
2/3 Cup of Sugar
1 Teaspoon of Cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon of Nutmeg Pinch of Ground Cloves
1 Teaspoon of Vanilla
1 1/2 Cups of Pumpkin
1 1/2 Cups of Evaporated Milk (Non Fat)
2 Eggs
1/4 Cup of Brandy
1 ready made whole wheat pie crust (a worthwhile shortcut in my books).
INSTRUCTIONS
Preheat oven to 450 Degrees.
Take the baked pumpkin and scoop the pulp, puree using a mixer or food processor, place it in a sieve lined with cheesecloth to remove the excess water, allow to sit in the fridge at least 4 hours.
In a large bowl combine sugar and spices. Add pumpkin and mix well. I do this in the Kitchen Aid Mixer. Add Vanilla, evaporated milk and egg. Mix until smooth. Fold in brandy.
I like to pre bake the pie crust, line the crust with parchment paper and fill the crust with beans or rice. Bake for 15 minutes.
Pour the pumpkin into the par baked crust and bake for 10 minutes at 450, then reduce the temperature to 325 and bake for an additional 45 minutes. Keep your eyes on the crust, you will likely need to cover the edge with thin strips of foil to prevent over browning.
The pie is done if you can insert and remove a toothpick or knife and it comes out clean.
Apple Crumble
Another favorite in our family. We love apple pie and I figure it’s worth saving the calories, skipping the crust and making a crumble.
We love more topping than many crumble recipes, so if you prefer less cut the topping in half.
Filling
5 Cups chopped peeled apples
1 1/2 Teaspoons of Cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon of Nutmeg
1 Tablespoon of Lemon Juice
3/4 Cups cranberries (fresh or frozen)
3/4 Cup sugar or 2/3 Cup of agave
2 Tablespoons of whole wheat flour, add 1 extra Tablespoon if using agave.
Topping
2 cup oats (1/2 old-fashioned & 1/2 quick-cooking although either will work)
2 Tablespoons of Flax Meal
1 Teaspoon of Cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon of Nutmeg
1 1/2 Cup packed brown sugar
2/3 Cup whole wheat flour
3/4 Cup melted butter (I’ll often use 1/2 Earth Balance)
INSTRUCTIONS
Pre Heat oven to 350 Degrees
Filling
Peel and chop the apples.
Combine all ingredients, use most, but not all of the sugar. Then test the filling for sweetness, depending on the tartness of apples you may want to increase or decrease the amount of sugar.
Topping
Combine all the dry ingredients and mix in melted butter until crumbly. If it’s not crumbly enough add additional butter up to 1/4 cup.
I prepare this in advance and store the topping and filling in separate Zip-Loc bags for up to 4 days. Before the turkey comes out of the oven pour the filling in the bottom of a 4 quart casserole dish, add topping.
Before you sit down to eat, pop the crumble in the oven and bake for 55-60 minutes, almost the exact amount of time it takes to eat your dinner!
Serve with Vanilla Ice Cream or we like Haagen Daz Frozen Vanilla Yogurt.
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Why Choose Whole Grain Bread and Other Whole Grain Products?
by Tania
Filed under Food & Nutrition
By Tania Reuben
When feeding my family I buy 100% whole grain and 100% whole wheat products almost exclusively.
White flours and breads act much like sugar when they enter your body. They cause your blood sugar to spike. One article I read said it like this - White Flour–The Other Sugar.
On occasion we eat white flour products, primarily at restaurants (most of them) that doesn’t offer alternatives. They are treat, for my calories, if I’m going to have a treat I would much rather have an actual sweet treat, rather than something my body interprets that way. I say skip the white bread and pass the ice cream.
It’s all about your glycemic index – keeping it low and steady. White flour products spike it, like sugar. Whole grain products break down slowly and release the sugar into your body in a slow and steady manner. Good.
It’s shocking to me that approximately 80% of Americans haven’t made the switch to Whole Grains. It’s so easy! Yes, some of the products will taste a little bit different at first, but if I can get my husband, my Jewish In-Laws, and two toddler’s to eat them, anyone can do it.
Things I do:
- 100% whole wheat or whole grain bread
- 100% whole grain cereals
- 100% whole wheat or whole grain bread
- 100% whole wheat or whole grain tortillas
- 100% whole wheat or whole grain pasta – BTW – these are $1.29 at trader joe’s.
If Whole Grain Pasta is new to you, consider, the Barilla Whole Grain – it’s not 100% whole grain, but it has a good amount and it’s a great transitional product. The elbows are good for pasta salads too.
- 100% whole wheat no boil lasagna noodles.
- 100% whole wheat stuffed pastas, tortellini, raviolis
- Whole Grain bread crumbs – I make my own – but you can buy them.
- Rice – we use brown basmati rice – organic when I can find it in bulk otherwise regular.
- Whole Grain Pancake Mix, I also like buckwheat pancakes, which are a great whole grain, their dark color and nutty flavor aren’t for everyone.
For baking & cooking I use 100% whole grain pastry flour – a lighter texture than wheat, with whole grain benefits. I don’t bake cakes, so I can’t speak to it’s effectiveness for a light and fluffy cake, but I bet it could be done!
Some of the items I regularly purchase are not available at every grocery store, like the lasagna and the ravioli’s, so I purchase quite a few when do find them. You can also find some of the products online.
PAY ATTENTION TO THE LABELS!
It can be tricky to decipher the whole grain market. Look for the 100% whole grain logo on products for simplification. Pay attention to how many grams of Whole Grain per serving – you’ll want to find a minimum of 8gm. If you are choosing whole wheat which can be considered a whole grain – only select %100 Whole Wheat. Read the ingredients – wheat flour is not whole wheat flour – it’s plain white flour (which is made from wheat – thus wheat flour)!
There are so many choices for Whole Grain products on the market – there really is something for everyone’s taste buds.
The whole grain item that was probably the most difficult to track down was Whole Wheat No Boil Lasagna. It’s listed here my amazon selections, so you know what to look for or can purchase from Amazon and support Diva in the process.
