Whole Grain Pancakes

I needed a new recipe for pancakes. I just wanted to create one that was whole grain, but not too heavy. This recipe combines cornmeal, buckwheat, and wheat flour to produce a light, but hearty pancake. It's also oil and refined-sugar free. That means I can eat like...five of them, right? ;-)

Ingredients:

1 cup white flour

1/3 + 1/4 cup buckwheat flour

1/3 cup cornmeal

1/3 + 1/4 cup whole wheat flour

3 1/2 tsp. aluminum free baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1 scant tsp. cinnamon (opt.)

4 Tb. unsweetened applesauce

4 Tb. maple syrup

2 cups unsweetened almond milk (or other non-dairy milk)

1 Tb. vanilla

Instructions:

Mix dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Whisk together wet ingredients and add to dry ingredients, mixing to combine. 

Pour 1/3 cup of batter onto hot non-stick skillet and cook for 2-3 minutes until bottom is beautifully golden brown. Flip and cook for another minute or two. Serve with peanut butter, applesauce, or any other toppings you desire. Warm thickened fruit sauce is delicious!

Curried Cauliflower Salad (Aloo Gobhi style)

This salad is a twist on one of my favorite Indian dishes: Aloo Gobhi. The blend of flavors and textures is just so good. I had some leftover roasted potatoes from breakfast and thought that this would be a creative and delicious way to "repurpose" them! :-)

Ingredients:

1 head cauliflower, rinsed
1 cup roasted russet potatoes
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/4 cup cilantro, rinsed well and chopped
2 Tb. red onion, minced
1 serrano pepper, deseeded and minced

Dressing:
2 Tb. mango juice (nectar)
2 Tb. olive oil
1 Tb. apple cider vinegar
1 Tb. curry powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar or other sweetener

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. After rinsing cauliflower, cut the head into bite size florets. On a cookie sheet, toss florets with olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Roast for 15-20 minutes at 400 until cauliflower is somewhat browned and wilted. Remove from oven and set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together dressing ingredients. Toss in chopped cilantro and whisk.

In a medium serving bowl, mix together roasted cauliflower,  roasted potatoes, peas, red onion, and serrano pepper. Drizzle dressing over the vegetables and stir to combine. Check seasonings and adjust to taste.

Servings: 2 - 4 (Although if you are like me, I'd eat the whole bowl!)

Chicken Noodle Soup

Also known in our house as Grandma's famous "chickie-noo-noo", chicken noodle soup is a staple. It's simple, satisfying, and the ultimate comfort food, right? 

You can use your own favorite pasta in this recipe. Wide egg noodles are a favorite, short vermicelli are a close second. 

I wanted to highlight one of my favorite vegetarian seasonings, Seitenbacher, on the blog today. I was looking for a chicken style broth base and my local health food store didn't have the brand I usually use. They did, however, have Seitenbacher. I decided I'd give it a try and it's become one of my favorites! It has a different combination of herbs and isn't as high in sodium as another leading brand. Look for it at your health food store. 

Also, if you're looking to add a meaty element to your soup, you could add a few diced chicken patties or reconstituted soy curls to your soup. I tend to leave the meat substitutes out. 

Ingredients:

1 Tb. oil of choice

1 small onion, diced

1 carrot, diced

1 celery stalk, diced

8 cups water

1/2 cup vegetarian chicken seasoning (McKays, Bills Best, Vegetarian Express, Seitenbacher)

2 tsp. granulated garlic

1 TB. Nutritional yeast flakes

4-5 oz. vermicelli or angel hair pasta, broken up into 2 in. pieces

Salt, to taste 

Instructions:

In a large pot, sauté vegetables in oil until crisp-tender. Add water and seasonings and bring to a boil. Add noodles of choice and reduce heat to simmer. Simmer until noodles are cooked through and veggies are tender, about 10-12 minutes. 

Serves 6. 

My New Craze

It may seem like a small thing-everyone has already probably discovered this delicious treat-but I absolutely LOVE it. Like can't keep my hands out of the bowl love. It doesn't stay around very long so I've made it four times this week already. Kettle Corn. Better-for-You Kettle Corn, 'cause I use coconut oil instead of regular oil. 

Ingredients: 

2 Tb. Coconut oil, unrefined

2 Tb. Brown sugar or cane sugar

1/2 tsp. salt (or to taste)

1/2 cup popping corn 

In a Whirly-Pop type mechanism, heat oil, sugar, and salt over medium high heat then add popping corn and continuously turn the handle until corn begins to pop and it gets too difficult/full to turn. Pour into a large bowl. I usually double this recipe for our family of six. 

Enjoy this super easy, super tasty snack! 

This recipe was inspired/created by my friend, Stephanie Howard, during an evening of fun fellowship.

Going Green

It's a brand new morning! There's nothing better than waking up early, spending time in quiet reflection and prayer, getting a good run in and rebooting my metabolism with an awesome green juice. 

I'd like to share my favorite green juice recipe with you. We invested in a Breville Juice Fountain a year ago, after watching a documentary on the benefits of juicing. I try to juice at least a few times a week, not as a weight loss method, but to add a nutrient boost to my diet. 

I call this Pineapple Limeade. 

Ingredients:

2 leaves curly kale, washed

Handful of mint, washed

2 small green apples

1 medium lemon, washed and half of peel removed

1 medium lime, washed and half of peel removed

Quarter sized 1/4-in. thick slice of ginger, peeled 

1/3 of a pineapple, peeled (of course!)

Feed through your juicer and enjoy the tangy sweet zinger! 

Makes 24 oz. 

Southwestern Quinoa Soup

This soup is pretty versatile. Swap chickpeas for black beans and add curry powder (to taste) for a different twist on flavor. Throw in a few handfuls of chopped kale during the last several minutes of cooking time for an added nutritional boost. If you're not fond of cilantro, you can omit that ingredient. 

2 Tbs. Oil

1 sweet potato, peeled and diced

1/2 red pepper, diced

1/2 yellow or orange pepper, diced

1/2 onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 15-oz can black beans, rinsed

1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed

6 cups vegetable broth or water

1 Tb. Vegetarian chicken seasoning 

1 tsp (or more) cumin

Salt, to taste

Dash oregano

Handful of cilantro, chopped

1/2 a lime, squeezed (opt)

Sauté all veggies (except beans) in oil until softened. Add quinoa and cook for a few minutes. Add beans, broth, and seasonings. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a medium boil until veggies are cooked through and potatoes and quinoa are tender. Add lime juice and cilantro during the last few minutes of cook time. Adjust seasonings to your taste. 

Serves 4-6

Monster Breakfast Cookies

As a busy wife and mother, I'm always looking for new ways to provide a nutritious and quick breakfast for my family. These breakfast cookies pack a protein punch with a combination of almond butter, chia seeds, and crunchy almond pieces. Plus, you get some hearty omega-3 action from the addition of ground flax seeds. I hope you enjoy these tasty, breakfast-on-the-run style cookies.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup margarine (such as Earth Balance)

1/2 cup unrefined coconut oil

2/3 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. baking powder (I use aluminum free.)

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

6 Tb. chia gel (made from 2 Tb. chia seeds mixed with 1 cup water and allowed to set)

2 tsp. pure vanilla

1 1/2 cups Gluten Free flour blend (I used King Arthur's, but you can use your favorite.) or 

                regular all-purpose flour

2 1/4 cups regular or rolled oats (I used half quick, half rolled oats.)

1/3 cup ground flax seeds

1 heaping Tb. almond or peanut butter

1 1/2 cups dried fruit, nuts, coconut, etc.

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375. In a medium sized bowl, cream margarine and coconut oil together. A hand mixer works well for this. Add brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and beat to combine. Spoon chia gel and vanilla extract into mixture and once again beat to combine, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary. Beat in flour, oats, flax and nut butter until well combined. Stir nuts, dried fruits, chocolate chips of whatever combination you desire into the dough. (I used 2/3 cup chopped almonds, 2/3 cup dried cranberries, and a handful of unsweetened coconut flakes.) 

Using a large ice cream scoop or 1/3 cup measure, scoop dough out and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Using the palm of your hand, gently press each cookie into a 4-inch circle. 

Bake for 12 minutes or so, until the tops of the cookies are lightly browned. Cool on the pan for a minute or so. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely. After cooled, wrap individual cookies in plastic wrap for optimum freshness. :-)

Yield: 11 cookies

Approx. 298 calories per cookie (This depends on the nut and fruit combos, too.)

Enjoy!