More Freezing Techniques for More Real Food!!

I don't know about you but I've been pretty busy around here. Always seems this way at the beginning of the school year. Getting the kids set up, starting back into routines, new activities & friends-- getting the house back together after the tornado of summer -- putting away outgrown toys and clothes (not something to be done unless all little people are out of the house!!) and lastly-- trying to get all the abundance of summer and fall produce into long term storage.

One of my all time favorite household tools that makes my life easier in this busy time is the freezer! I know I've spent what seems like an excessive amount of time extolling the virtues of the freezer, but when you are committed to eating real food, it is an absolute necessity! Even though I've talked about some of these in past posts, I'd like to kind of get everything combined into one entry here. Hopefully these techniques will help you  1) save time  2) save money and 3) eat better.

Let's begin with materials.  Its not necessary to go out an buy a vacuum sealer or any fancy gadgets. The main items I use are found in most kitchens: a small size baking sheet (you know the one that doesn't even really hold a dozen cookies but comes in the set anyways?), some wax paper and an ice-cream scoop (the old-fashioned kind with the lever that blops out the scoop) and a supersized box of high-quality zipper freezer bags.

Saving Time: My Favorite Convenience Foods

(note: I almost never cook for the freezer, I just make extra when I'm already making stuff!)



1) Pasta:  Cook your pasta as directed on the package. Drain thoroughly. Cool and pour into gallon ziptop bag. Gently press out excess air and zip closed. Lay baggie flat on its size on the baking sheet and freeze overnight. The next day, whack the bag on your counter gently until the pasta separates into its pieces. This works best with piece-y types of pasta-- penne, macaroni, wheels, bow-ties, etc.

To use: Scoop out desired amount of pasta into a microwave safe bowl. Cover with water. Microwave single servings for approx. 3 min. Drain water, top with pasta sauce, butter/parmesan or pesto!  This is a great way to get your kids off of that blue box junk and takes the same amount of time!

2) Mashed potatoes: Prepare potatoes as you would normally. Allow to cool completely. Use your ice-cream scoop to dish out approx. 1/2 cup servings onto wax paper lined baking sheet. Freeze uncovered overnight. Put frozen potato blops into gallon ziptop bag, press out air, seal and return to freezer.

To use: 1 scoop is a pretty good sized serving for a kid, an adult will probably want 2. Put scoops into a microwave safe bowl or plate and cook for approx. 1-2 minutes. You may need to add butter or milk if they have dried a little but wait until they are completely heated to decide. You can get surprised at how the texture changes when the temperature does. Pair this with a quick seared piece of chicken or fish and a salad and you've got dinner on the table in less than 15 minutes!!

NOTE: Any side dish with a scoopable texture will work well here-- I've had good success with cooled homemade refried beans, sweet potatoes, stuffing, as well as mac-n-cheese. Follow directions as above. If reheating something with cheese or a LOT of butter, you may want to reheat on low to prevent the sauce from separating.

3) Ready Meals: Double recipes when making casseroles and soups. My favorite freezer meals include Chicken Tortilla Soup, Taco-sagna and spaghetti. I just make as usual but increase the quantity. Then, I portion out the leftovers into either freezer safe containers or quart size baggies. My hubby, in particular, gets almost all of his work lunches this way. For him, I always put things into freezer/microwave safe containers. My favorite right now are by Pyrex. They are made of glass (so no yucky plastic!) and have a lid with a rubber seal. His food starts frozen but by the time he gets to lunch time, its pretty well defrosted and ready for the microwave. Since you can't safely take glass from the freezer to the oven/microwave, for at home leftovers, I'd use the baggies. Then, when I was reheating it, I'd be sure to put it in a microwave safe NON-PLASTIC container. You really don't want to be heating up your food in plastic-- this is when most of the chemical transfer occurs. I strictly stick to glass (I do have a LOT of vintage Pyrex and Corelle) or ceramic dishes for hot dishes or reheating.

4) Waffles, Pancakes and Muffins: These I know I've covered extensively. See assorted recipes here, here and here. I always make a double batch of these items.

To use: Waffles in particular are a popular weekday breakfast. Just like the ones from the store, you can take these straight from your freezer to the toaster. For pancakes, place in a single layer on a microwave safe plate. Microwave on high for 30 seconds, flip each pancake and cook for 20 additional seconds. Add time as needed. Muffins also take 30-45 seconds to defrost, depending on size. My oldest actually likes muffins for his mid-morning snack. So, I send his frozen (to prevent breakage!) and by the time he gets to first recess, its thawed and ready to go!

5) Precooked meats. When the hubby is grilling, I always have him throw a few extra on. This is especially good with chicken parts and burgers. If you have grilled chicken in the freezer, and some mashed potatoes or pasta, you can get a dinner together in less than 10 minutes (which should beat the time it takes to pick up food!). Simply wait for food to cool and bag.

Saving Money: Things You Can Buy in Bulk and Freeze!

1) Any Bread Item: If you've found a bread, bun, bagel, pita, etc. that you like and its on sale BUY it! Bread items freeze beautifully! You can also, of course, freeze any homemade baked items! In general, I've found that these things will last a good 6 months or so without any noticeable freezer burn.

To use: If you are toasting, any of these items can go straight from the freezer to the toaster. If you want it defrosted right away, you only need 10-15 sec. in the microwave. Be sure to flip your slices after heating or you may end up with dry spots. The easiest (and most effective way) is to just put the package on the counter at room temperature for a few hours. This works especially well for loaves of bread.

2) Butter: I did not know until about a year ago that you could freeze butter! Now that I am trying to use pastured butter, which tends to be expensive, whenever its on sale, I buy as much as I can carry. Last time I ended up with 8 or 9 pounds. The check out clerk might look at you funny but it can definitely be worth it! Leave the butter in its wrapper and cardboard box. Stack 4 or 5 boxes in a gallon ziptop bag (just to prevent odor transfer and drying) and seal. This should last 6-12 months.

To use: Put the whole box of butter in your fridge overnight and by morning it will be ready to go. It should be completely indistinguishable from fresh. I have never been able to notice a difference in taste, texture or color!

3) Meat:  Of course we all know about this. My only advice here is to portion when you get home. It doesn't do you any good to have 3 lbs of ground grass fed beef if its all in one frozen brick. Separate it into useful units-- do you use it by the pound or 1/2 pound? Would patties be better? A little bit of work when you get home from the market (or the day after) will save you a lot of hassle (and probably wasted meat) when its in a convenient and ready to use portion.

To use: I will probably incite the ire of food safety personnel somewhere but for quick defrosting, I prefer the water method. I know you are supposed to defrost overnight in the fridge ideally but realistically, I might not decide what I feel like eating or cooking that night for dinner until an hour before. And if you've ever tried to defrost meat in the microwave, you know what a losing job that is-- all you are likely to end up with is cooked edges and a frozen center. So, for the water method, I take the meat in question and LEAVE it in its freezer baggie. I submerge it in a big pot or sink full of water (usually room temp/luke warm) for about a 1/2 hour. For chicken breasts and fish, this is usually sufficient. Big chunks of ground beef might take slightly longer.

Eating Better!

To get a variety of fruits and veggies, you can freeze at the peak of the season. This lets you buy at the best prices, get the best quality and often has higher nutritional values of canned or shipped out of season produce. Here are a few of my favorite techniques.

1) Fruit: Wash fruit and drain or pat dry. Prepare the fruit as you'd like to eat it- I usually leave berries whole, pit & peel peaches and plums, peel and halve bananas for example. Spread an even layer on a wax paper lined baking tray. Freeze overnight. Transfer to ziptop bag, remove excess air and seal.

To use: Fruit that has been frozen will have had all water/juice burst the cells. This means that this fruit isn't really suitable for out-of-hand eating. But it is great in cereals (hot or cold!); swirled into yogurt for a nice parfait; mixed into baked goods-- muffins, pancakes, waffles, breads; smoothies (you're just going to blend it up anyways!); jam/preserve making; desserts-- pies, tarts, etc. and you can make fruit leather as well.

2) Corn-- Cook first-- anyway you choose but I have to say I'm partial to grilling! After it cools, use a sharp knife to CAREFULLY cut the kernels off the cob. Put in a baggie and freeze!

3) Broccoli/ cauliflower: cut florets off stem, bag and freeze. I often get a better price buying bagged raw broccoli and freezing it over buying bagged frozen broccoli.

4) Fresh Herbs: rinse, pat dry and prepare as you would normally (de-stem, etc). Lightly macerate in food processor or blender with a SMALL amount of water or olive oil. Something like basil that I know will be going into an Italian sauce I'd use olive oil. Something like cilantro I might use water. You only want enough to keep it from getting pasty. Then fill up an ice cube tray with your mix. Freeze overnight. Pop out cubes and store in baggie.

5) Prepared sauces: A great way to save a lot of seasonal produce is to turn them into the sauce you use the most. Around this time of year, I'm making large batches of pesto-- freezing it in 1/2 cup portions. I also just got finished making about 2 gallons (not exaggerating!) of salsa! For that, I'm treating it like a soup. Pouring it into the gallon baggie, laying it flat and freezing overnight. When we want it, I'll defrost the bag in the fridge and pour it into a jar or container for use. This saves me having to buy a lot of expensive jars or containers AND it saves space by lying flat in the freezer!  Tomorrow I have a big ol' load of apples that I'll be turning into applesauce and doing the exact same thing.

Bag #1, there are 4 others stacked on top!

I'm sure there are more ideas out there and I'd love to hear about them. If you have a great idea to add to our freezer prep list , please let us know in the comments below!

Remember if you "like" us, you'll get each new post in your Facebook newsfeed!

Some Thoughts on Real Food -- a year later...

Last year when I started in on the real food path, we made a lot of changes in the food we bought. We have really tried to stick to the organic, whole grain, unprocessed version of foods whenever I can get them. We do eat out occasionally and don't worry too much about it (a good rule of thumb I read somewhere was the 80/20-- where you try to keep on track at least 80% of the time and you can be more relaxed on the rules 20% of the time).

When we were thinking about doing this big change, I had some questions. I wondered how eating real food would affect my health. Would I lose weight? (I have a good bit I could stand to lose!) Would it be difficult to stick to-- like a diet?

After a year of this new lifestyle, I finally have some answers.

First, as relates to my health, I have found that I consistently rock my blood pressure & blood sugar tests. I'm not at the doctor all the time but I had a pretty detailed work up recently. I know the doctor was really expecting some weight related issues to come up but BOY was she surprised! All my levels were well within a healthy range-- even though I am just over the border into the "obese" side of the weight range for my height. I hadn't had my cholesterol done before and I was EXTREMELY curious to see what it would show. When I got my results, I was ecstatic! Not only were all my "bad" cholesterol/lipid levels low but my "good" cholesterol/lipid levels were where they should have been as well.

Interestingly enough, my diet includes a decent amount of butter (pastured when I can get it and organic otherwise), eggs (mainly pastured) several times a week, full fat (organic) dairy-- cheeses, sour cream, etc. and beef (mainly pastured) and olive oil but absolutely NO processed oils (corn oil, canola, etc.). If a conventionally educated nutritionist looked at this menu they'd probably freak out. But I think this definitely goes to show that our grandparents had it right. A diet based on real foods, as straight from nature as possible will be a good choice-- even if you cover everything in cheese and butter. Yes, real food might have a lot more fat and calories but we are finding that natural fats are actually necessary for key body functions. In addition, they provide a source of long lasting energy.

While a group of one (me) is hardly a sound scientific study, I can at least say that this "high fat" type of diet has had no negative effects on my cholesterol, lipid levels or weight-- I've neither lost nor gained over a full year. So, this answers one of my questions about fat-- does eating fat make you fat? I think, for me, the answer is clearly "NO". So long as the fats in question are the right kind!

My last question was how hard this lifestyle would be to live/maintain. Honestly, for the most part its been pretty easy. The beginning was hard. I had to change grocery stores and spent double the time shopping just from reading labels alone! Now that I've gotten into a routine and have learned to recognize the brands that don't have processed ingredients, a grocery trip is back to the usual amount of time. In the beginning, I also did a good amount of making foods to replace boxed items (in particular I spent a lot of time developing my recipe for fruit and grain bars as my oldest was addicted to them) But as we've found other new foods and gotten away from the boxed things, we don't really miss them as much as we did in the beginning. And I'm not spending much more time in the kitchen than I did before. The only real challenge I still have is finding quality baked goods (bread, bagels, etc.) that are minimally processed with basic ingredients-- that I actually like the taste and texture of. But I have found a few and I've learned how to do some baking and between the two, I'm getting the job done.

All in all, I think I find the satisfaction of knowing I'm feeding my family quality food from quality ingredients is worth the (occasional) hassle that might come from buying or preparing real foods. I am definitely thinking this will be a true lifestyle change and something that we will be doing permanently!

So what's next for the future?

Since I haven't lost much weight (um... I could still use a little work on portions.....), I guess I should consider working on that. Of course the modern culture of dieting would have me replace all of my real foods with prepackaged/processed low-fat diet foods. Not really something that I'm interested in doing!

So then, what if I don't lose weight?  Can you be both fat AND healthy? Typical medical practitioners would automatically say "no" but more and more information is coming to light that may, in fact go against that.  I've read a few interesting articles this year about how they are discovering that being slightly overweight is actually beneficial to long term health. This one from the NY Times was particularly interesting. The basic sum up from the article (and others like it) is this-- being fit is more important than being fat.  This means an overweight individual who is fit is actually healthier (and have lower mortality) than a person who isn't overweight but is unfit!

I think that for me then, I have "internal" fitness. That is, all my health indicators-- blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, etc., are showing a pretty healthy person. However, my level of outward fitness -- how much energy, stamina and endurance I have, is sort of so-so. So instead of focusing on a specific weight or size, I should instead be looking at my overall fitness.

I don't think I am where I want to be yet. We definitely need to incorporate more activity in our daily lives. Unfortunately, we do not have the time, interest or money to invest in a gym membership. Plus, my hubby and I have different needs when it comes to exercising. I am hopeful that if we actually take into account our individual interests and actual time available for exercise, we'll find something that will work for each of us!

It will be interesting to see how the next year goes as we enter "phase two" of our healthy lifestyle makeover!

Kale Chips!!

Okay, I figured I owed you some nutritional penance to make up for the bunny snack mix recipe I posted-- here it is (and relatively painless!)--- kale chips!

If you are like me, you've been hearing about these as they've been rocketing in popularity over the last year or so. I'm never one to jump on the bandwagon right away (especially when it comes to food fads!). But once again, the box of veggies that magically appears on my doorstep once a month has forced me to get out of my food rut and try something new.

A few weeks ago we ended up with not one or two but THREE big bunches of kale in the box. I took that as a sign that I really needed to try some kale recipes. Even though I've really been enjoying the chard (I even planted some in my garden!) the dark green and potentially bitter kale leaves still had me apprehensive.

After rejecting an assortment of recipes for soups and salads, I came across recipe after recipe after recipe for kale chips. After the beet chip debacle, I was a little leery. But it really seemed like a veggie chip recipe that has a minimum of fussing and would get consistent results. Turns out that you can do (pretty much) anything to kale and the results are (practically) fool-proof!

If you haven't tried kale chips, they are worth an experiment. Once cooked, they have the texture of the lightest potato chip ever. Just very light and crisp. A great snack!

For this recipe, I'm using one bunch of kale. After the first test batch passed the rigorous testing from the hubby (a noted crunch-o-holic), I found that Trader Joe's (and other stores) sell bagged kale pieces. All you need to do is sort out any big stems and you are ready to go!

As a side note, I made a big batch of these to have at a game night we were hosting at our house. I was using a bagged kale which was mostly curly kale. The curly leaf bits end up thinner than the flat leaf kale. One guest described them as "ephemeral". They were sooo thin and fragile that we had a bit of a problem with tiny kale bits dropping around the table (and unfortunately getting stuck in guests' teeth!). They were enjoyed nevertheless, although we did have to break out the box of toothpicks at one point. If you are bringing this dish to share, stick with flat leaf varieties (and if you are eating at home, check your teeth before you go out!)

Recipe: Kale Chips

1 bunch (or bag) of kale
1-2 Tbs olive oil
salt to taste

1) Wash and spin or pat dry your leaves.
2) Remove woody stems and cut or tear leaves into chip (1" x 2" ish) pieces
3) Pour 1 Tbs of olive oil into a gallon size baggie (recycled produce bag okay, too)
4) Add in kale pieces. Twist top of bag to trap air inside with leaves. Shake, shake, shake until all leaves are coated. If you have a lot of leaves and the oil isn't coating them all, add the extra olive oil and repeat.
5) Pour out leaves onto baking sheet covered with parchment paper or silpat. Try not to overload the tray. The leaves will need some air space to dry evenly.
6) Lightly sprinkle with salt (I found a little goes a long ways here)
7) Bake at 350 F for 15 minutes. Stir leaves so outside leaves get to middle & vice versa. Try to separate clumps and space out pieces for even drying.
8) Bake for a further 10 minutes. Check for doneness. Dry leaves will sit loosely on the tray and if you shake it, they will slide and make a little dry leaf-type noise. If all the leaves are dry, take out tray. If not, stir and cook for 5 more minutes. Repeat until all leaves are dry.
9) Let cool for 5 minutes. Eat!

These make a great substitute for light snacks like potato chips or popcorn. By making them yourself, you are saving a ridiculous amount of money. I saw this week at the grocery store, a small potato chip size bag of kale chips (an ounce or less) was running $5.99. That's just INSANE. A whole bag of chopped kale cost me $2.29 and made about 6 servings. So let's see that's a savings of over 90%. Nice!

If you are looking for fancy flavors, we gave garlic/parmesan a try and it was a big hit. I just added a teaspoon of crushed garlic to the oil before adding the kale and then sprinkled parmesan over the leaves before cooking instead of salt. I think next I'll try substituting sesame oil for some of the olive oil and sprinkling on sesame seeds.

For more ideas, try looking at this site:  http://www.refinery29.com/kale-chips . They have suggestions for 10 different flavorings to try.

As always, I'd love to hear what you think or how this worked for you! Feel free to comment below. Click the "like" button to add us to your facebook newsfeed.

100% Whole Wheat Bagels (2 hour recipe)

Okay, so with the real food thing, finding ready made baked goods-- bread and the like-- has been the hardest part. The difficulties in finding unprocessed (or minimally so) products has led me to do plenty of baking experiments on my own. Thankfully we do not have to rely completely on me as the family baker as I did finally find a whole wheat sandwich bread with no extra ingredients that the kids like and a whole wheat loaf that the grown ups like (a little chewier, I use it for sandwiches and toast mainly). I have also been able to find tortillas (both whole wheat and white) with basic ingredients and no additives at both Trader Joe's and Whole Foods.

One thing that I haven't been able to find is preservative or dough conditioner-free whole wheat bagels. Our 6 year old goes through phases where he's really in the mood for certain foods and will eat mainly that for breakfast. Lately its been waffles which I've been cranking out regularly to keep the freezer stocked. But in the last 2 weeks he's asked for a bagel 3 or so times, so I guess its time to make another batch. I made the first one a few months ago as an experiment. I thought they actually came out pretty good. But I wanted to repeat it (the scientist in me!) to make sure the results were the same before sharing it with you. Now that I've got the second batch out of the oven, I think I can safely pass this on to you!

The yield on this recipe will vary depending on what size bagel you make. The first time I divided the dough into 12 equal parts. This made small bagels about the size of the "mini" bagels they sell in the store. Really about perfect for a small child.  This time I opted to divide it into 8 parts as it was a little unsatisfying for the adults and the little dude has been pretty hungry lately (growth spurt coming, I think). The bagels are definitely full size without being ridiculous. If you really want a BIG bagel, you could divide the dough into 6 parts.

Now if you are a bagel snob, you might be disappointed. There are things that are typically done to bagel dough traditionally that we are skipping-- mostly because I do not want to be hunting down specialty ingredients or get involved in a recipe that takes 2 days. However, I personally don't notice the difference and you will get a nice chewy bagel out of this that toasts up great!

Recipe: 100% Whole Wheat Bagels

yield: 6 extra large, 8 large or 12 mini bagels

adapted from: http://www.the-baker-chick.com/2012/02/27/whole-wheat-everything-bagels/

1 1/2 cup warm water
1 package (or 2 1/2 tsp) yeast
3 Tbs sugar
2 tsp salt
3 1/2 -4 cups whole wheat flour (I like King Arthur's white whole wheat)

1) In a large mixing bowl, pour warm water. Whisk in yeast package and sugar. Let sit until foamy, approximately 5 min.
2) Stir in salt and gradually stir in 3 cups of the flour.
3) Turn out dough and knead in additional flour 1/4 cup at a time until dough is lightly tacky but not sticky--about 5-8 minutes.
4) Return dough to covered bowl and allow to rise until doubled (approx. 1 hour)
5) After dough has risen, preheat oven to 400 F.
6) Fill large pot with approximately 2 quarts of water with 2 Tbs of sugar stirred in. Bring to a simmer.
7) While oven and pot of water are heating, divide dough into desired number of portions.
8) Roll each portion into a ball. Flatten lightly and use one finger to poke a hole in the center. Gently stretch the hole until it is about half again WIDER than you want your final bagel hole. (This time I didn't stretch enough and all my bagels ended up looking like belly buttons because their holes closed up!)

9) Carefully drop one bagel into the boiling pot of water (I recommend topside down for better looking bagels). Let simmer for 30 seconds and then use a spoon or tongs to flip. Allow other side to simmer for 30 seconds. Remove from water, allow to drain and place on parchment covered baking sheet.
10) Repeat for remaining bagels. When all the bagels are finished, if desired, brush with an egg wash and top with sesame seeds, dried onion, poppy seeds or some combination of these.
11) Bake in 400 F oven for 30-35 minutes.
12) Allow to cool completely. Store in airtight container in fridge or freezer!

  

I'd love to get someone else's opinion on these-- are they true enough to traditional bagels? Comment below and let us know what you think!

Click the "like" button to add us to your facebook newsfeed.

The New "Normal"

So, I know I was totally supposed to meet back with y'all on Monday to do menu planning but since I had so many extras last week AND I forgot to plan in corned beef and cabbage for St. Patty's day, I ended up with enough meals planned to take me through this week as well. I ended up substituting a ready made rotisserie chicken for the grilled chicken late last week and then turned the leftover chicken half into a very nice chicken and rice soup (I just threw the whole carcass into the crock pot with veggies and added a bag of wild rice at the end!).

I have a back load of new recipes to share and one food project I'm working out the recipe for (its going to be AWESOME when its perfect!). But I don't really feel like talking about those today. I have been stewing for the last few days about something I was told. I just haven't been able to stop thinking about it.

My youngest attends a preschool on the campus of the local elementary school. We do drop off and pick up in the front of the school and while we are waiting, there is often chitchat in the group of parents.  On Thursday, one of the moms was talking about her recent experiences in trying to get her son onto a gluten-free diet. One mom was sharing her story of complete failure and I wanted to offer some encouragement. I suggested a few of the real food blogs and resources I like online in the hopes that it might give her some meal planning ideas. She was not interested. Her reply was,"I just want to be able to feed him normal food, you know human food."

Since when did processed junk in a box become NORMAL HUMAN food? Yikes!

It seems to me, that this is the basic problem with our diet. Food from a box IS the new normal. Its what's expected. Its what the average person eats. Taking away someone's boxes is cause for panic! Now, I will admit, giving up the boxes is a challenge. It is difficult because it does take more time and effort to do it yourself. I really wanted to help this mom out but she really isn't ready. Here is what I wanted to share with her-

If you need a box or pre-prepared foods, there are some great (healthy, real food) options out there. These are my favorite packaged foods I buy:

1) Bagged salad-- Grill up some chicken or fish, whisk up a quick vinegarette and presto!
2) Rotisserie chicken-- watch out for seasonings & spices which may have additives and colors-- try to get a "naked" one if possible.
3) Instant oatmeal-- mix in a scoop of frozen fruit with the water before cooking it (stove top or microwave) to make your own flavored varieties. Bob's red mill makes a gluten free variety.
4) Bagged frozen rice-- comes in white or brown. 2 minutes in the microwave, not 20 minutes at the stove.
5) Organic jarred marinara-- cook up some pasta (whole wheat, gluten free or whatever floats your boat), toss with a jar of sauce, add a salad or some veggies and done!
6) Bagged frozen fruit-- grab some to add to cereal, oatmeal, stir into plain yogurt or mix into smoothies.
7) Snack mix-- we love getting dried fruits, nuts or a combo. Some stores have bulk bins where you can really go wild. Our current favorite actually comes from Sam's club -- cashews, raisins, dried pineapple and coconut.
8) Peanut butter-- what doesn't taste better with peanut butter? Opt for no sugar added or peanut only varieties. We're liking Whole Foods 365 unsweetened organic no stir right now.
9) Precut/prewashed bagged veggies-- broccoli is a favorite (raw for a quick snack with dip or steamed in the microwave for a fast side dish) but we've also recently enjoyed the precut chard and kale. And I threw a whole bag of peeled baby carrots into the crockpot with my corned beef. So easy!
10) Pre-mashed (sweet) potatoes: For a ready to go side, these are awesome. We've been getting this from Trader Joe's. It is a bag of frozen mashed sweet potato "discs". Dole out how much you need, microwave and season to personal taste! No added ingredients, just mashed sweet potatoes!

Anyways, thanks for listening. I'm just frustrated that I actually have information that could possibly help another person and I didn't get to share.

I'd love to hear about your favorite box substitutes. What ready to go items do you like from the store? Comment below and let us know!

Monday Menu Planning 3/11

Howdy! I know I've been away for awhile and I'd like to say I've totally been busy with lots of important projects but really-- not so much. I'm not going to give a bunch of excuses because really I've just been tired and completely unmotivated. I've got a sewing project collecting dust on my work table for the last 2 weeks and the very end of that knitted pillow has been sitting for at least 2 weeks as well. Haven't been doing much of anything inspiring in the kitchen either. Not sure if its just the end of winter blahs or what. But I'm going to try to get it together here and I thought having a little accountability- to you!--would at least shame me into action.

One of the things that has been particularly lackluster has been the meals around here. Unmotivated and tired, my hubby and I have spent many an evening looking at each other (around 4:30) and asking, "what's for dinner". While I always have "options" many of them require long preps or just too much effort (like peeling potatoes, sigh)-- leaving us with poorly planned, partial meals that we can either slap together or...... give up on and go pick something up. Lately there has been a LOT of pick up. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much. Now, I'm not saying a dinner out is a bad thing but really once a week (or every other week) should be sufficient. Its supposed to be treat, not a lifeline!

So I've decided to start getting serious about my menu planning. I need to make sure that I have all of the ingredients for each recipe and that I'm being honest with myself about the effort involved and whether I'm really going to do it (or not). Going along with that is planning a meal (or 2) that the hubby can do or help with, so I'm not having to do it all by myself. I know he's willing to help but if the whole week is fancy new recipes or complicated preps, that's just not going to happen.

So first of all, I always plan more than 7 meals because, well, um, I'm kind of a picky eater and sometimes I'm just not in the mood for certain foods-- so I need to have "extra" meals for backup to swap out. That is one of the many reasons my freezer is my favorite appliance at home!

Got this super cute spring menu planning form from: www.heavenlyhomemakers.com
Search their site for other cute seasonal forms!

 

The shopping trip:

This week I've gone to Trader Joe's but most of these items are available at any grocery store (although you might have to go with non-organic).

Breakfasts:

• Milk- organic, whole
• Cereal- Trader Joe's shredded wheat- plain
• non fat organic greek yogurt cups x4
• cantaloupe spears
• 2lb of strawberries
• (already have eggs, frozen homemade whole wheat waffles, will make zucchini muffins)

Lunch:

• mini whole wheat pitas (for the little dude's homemade pizza lunchables-- I add a disk of frozen org. tomato sauce and a small baggie of shredded cheese)
• Loaf of whole wheat tuscan pane (4 ingredient whole wheat bread similar to sourdough but not sour)
• sliced provolone
• sliced black forest ham
• sliced turkey
• organic bananas
• organic tangerines

Dinners:
1) Italian chopped salad:

• Organic romaine hearts (chopped fine)
• Can of sliced black olives
• Jar of yellow/red fire roasted peppers
• sliced pepperoni (chopped fine)
• Organic shredded mozzarella
• Organic sugar plum tomatoes (quartered)
• [uncured salami left over from last week's sandwiches, chopped fine]
• [croutons, left overs if not stale or make fresh]
• [balsamic vinegar + olive oil vinegarette]

2)Seared Tuna + Fried Rice + Stir fried veggies:  going for a teppan style dinner here

• frozen ahi tuna steaks (about 1 lb for 3 eaters)
• frozen org. microwaveable Jasmine rice pouches (3, 2 cup pouches in a box)
• [veg on hand: zucchini, carrots, onion]
• [seasonings, rice add-ons: soy sauce, egg, toasted sesame oil, olive oil, butter, lemon, jarred crushed garlic]

3)Salmon + Baby potatoes + Creamed Chard

• Wild coho salmon- frozen (about 1 lb) (bake or grill)
• Bagged kaleidoscope (rainbow) chard (see previous post for recipe)
• 1lb bag teeny tiny (fingerling) potatoes (roast or boil)
• [butter, milk, flour, garlic, salt]

4)Spaghetti

• 1lb grassfed 80% ground beef
• 1 lb whole wheat spaghetti
• 1 jar organic basil marinara
• romaine salad (leftovers from 1st dinner)
• garlic bread (use tuscan pane)
• [garlic, olive oil, butter, balsamic vinegar]

5)Grilled Chicken + Broccoli + Smashed sweet potatoes

• organic chicken breasts
• bagged organic broccoli
• [bagged frozen smashed sweet potatoes-- 1 ingredient! purchased last week]
• [if steaming broccoli, add butter, if roasting, add olive oil + parmesan]

Swap-outs:
A) Crockpot chicken curry (already in freezer!) see www.mamaandbabylove.com for recipe. Add rice or whole wheat noodles for serving.
B)Cilantro shrimp tacos (uses leftover 1/2 lb of frozen shrimp from last week, corn tortillas, lettuce, tomato, cilantro)
C)Tacosagna (requires batch of crockpot refried beans that I really need to do this week anyways...) See previous post for recipe!
D) Butternut Squash Lasagna: I've got a recipe pinned and I've got the squash (boy do I have a LOT of butternut squash right now!) and lasagna noodles. Just depends on if I have the time, effort to pre-roast the squash and if the preshredded mozzarella doesn't get used up.


Okay. So I'm all planned out! That's 5 definite meals plus 4 more swap out options. That ought to get me through 7 days. My grocery total (just the items I bought new this week) was $111.60. Perfectly reasonable IF I STICK TO MY PLAN!!!! I will also have some leftovers (both bulk items like the extra rice bags and chicken breasts) and individual meals for hubby's lunches.

I don't know if this will help anyone but me. All I know is that just wishing for a healthy, delicious meal to magically appear on the table at dinner time just hasn't been working out! I'll let you know next Monday how the plan worked and if I really stuck to it (or got lazy).

Feel free to comment below and/or follow us on facebook (just hit the "like" button).

Date Night Dinner: Lemon Pasta with Capers & Artichoke Hearts

Hello All!   I guess I haven't posted in longer than it seems! I've been pretty busy with projects around here.... they are not quite ready for posting yet as most of them are scheduled as gifts! I've also taken up KNITTING! I took a 2 night basic class and I've been attempting to finish an "easy" 9 square pillow project kit I purchased 6 (!) years ago-- intending to learn then. I've just about got that sucker finished but I don't think its going to be suitable for public display. On the other hand I've gotten a lot of practice and learned a lot of technique along the way- thank goodness for the internet and youtube! I'm looking forward to finishing this up and moving on to something that hopefully won't look like the dog made it :P

I know Valentine's day was last week (as was our anniversary-- 13 years, yay us!). We went out for our anniversary but I opted to make something special for the whole family for V-day. I paired this up with some beautiful seared scallops (a special holiday splurge) that I seared off with nothing but a small sprinkling of simple salt and pepper. You could also do shrimp or grilled chicken or leave it vegetarian. Completing the simple approach was a nice side salad-- we dressed ours with a homemade blue cheese dressing but a vinegrette would also be good here. Paired with white wine for the grown ups and a sparkling apple cider for the kids, we had a special mid-week dinner that the whole family loved!

Note: For this recipe I actually had "extra" artichokes in the fridge (this is pretty much the ONLY time I've ever had this happen). So, I actually made the artichoke heart pieces BUT feel free to just grab a can from the store-- but be sure to NOT get the marinated ones!

I used 4 smallish artichokes. To prep your own artichoke hearts, first cut off the stem as close to the base of the artichoke as possible. Then, using a firm hand, grasp a leaf and pull up sharply until it snaps off at the base. Discard leaf. Repeat until the leaves are very very thin and you should see a dent or wrinkle between the base of the artichoke and the tip. Cut all the leaves off at that point and discard. Cut the artichoke in half lengthwise (stem to tip) and use a small metal spoon to scoop out the fuzzy, thistle --the "choke". Discard. Cut each half heart lengthwise into 3rds or 4ths and toss into a pan of water. Boil until slightly yielding but not overly soft-- kind of "al dente" - 10ish minutes, depending on how big your heart pieces are.  Drain and set aside.

Recipe: Lemon Pasta with Capers and Artichoke Hearts

8 oz fettucini
2 lemons
2 cloves garlic, crushed (or 1 tsp jarred)
3 Tbs capers, rinsed
14 oz can or pre-prepped artichoke hearts, drained
3 Tbs butter
1/4 cup grated parmesan

1) Cook pasta according to package instructions.
2) Zest 1 of the lemons, set aside
3) Juice both lemons -- be sure to remove any seeds that escape-- I like juicing over my tea strainer!
4) While pasta is draining, melt butter in emptied pasta pan.
5) Once butter is melted, add in lemon juice, zest, garlic, capers, and artichoke hearts.
6) Return pasta to pan and toss to coat. Add parmesan and salt to taste. Toss again.
7) Top with seared scallops, shrimp or chicken, if desired!

Lest you think I am super amazing, there was also a special dessert I made to go with this. Cute little heart shaped strawberry hand pies (all the rage all over Pinterest). Unfortunately, my continued struggles with pie crust and the fact that I only had whole wheat flour in the house yielded some cute but nearly inedible desserts. Thankfully I had purchased some vanilla ice cream to go with the pies. A scoop of ice cream and a sprinkling of chopped strawberries over top and it wasn't too bad.

As always, feel free to comment or leave questions below. I'd love to know how this recipe works for you!

Like us on Facebook to add us to your newsfeed!

A Tale of Two Veggies.....

Last year, one of my goals in improving our eating was to include more fruits and veggies.  One way I was interested in doing that was by joining a CSA.

• Those of you who aren't familiar with them, a CSA is community sponsored agriculture--a farm shares type of investment in a local farm. You might pay a set amount for a whole season (and get proportional shares of the crops) or you might pay a subscription amount per week or box of fruits/veggies you get.

Unfortunately, I found that out here, there isn't much active farm left (except for orange groves). But, luckily there are a lot of farm communities nearby (say w/in 50-100 miles). I found a co-op that several farms contribute to and then you purchase a box (paying by the size & frequency). Its all organic and....... it comes delivered to the DOOR! How awesome is that?

We signed up last June and I decided to start small-- a less frequent delivery but a bigger box. I figured that way we'd get lots of variety and maybe enough extra fruits and veggies to put something away for later. We started with every other week but I was quickly finding that with 2 (and a half) eaters, we just couldn't keep up and I didn't want to keep composting it all. So, now we're at once every 4 weeks and that is working out pretty well for me.

One of the most interesting things I've been learning is what's in season--right here, right now. Its really helped me in the grocery store, as I can look at certain fruits and veggies and now I KNOW right off the bat that they've been imported (probably from Chile, our opposite season partner). I've also been learning A LOT about new fruits and veggies. In our box, you get what's being grown at the partner farms. So, quite frequently I've pulled everything out of my box and had to check the packing list just to identify one (or more!) of the items. I'll admit that most of these things are not particularly exotic but with a Midwest/farm based food heritage, my food exposures were pretty basic. Fruits were apples, oranges, bananas. Maybe some peaches or apricots or grapes for excitement. Veggies were iceberg lettuce, canned green beans, peas, corn and the like.

With each box, I've been trying at least one new thing-- some I've liked and some well...... not so much. But I have to say its been a great example to the little people to see Mom and Dad dive into trying all these new foods. We've had a LOT less arguing and complaining when we are ALL trying something new!

Today I'm gonna tell you the tale of two veggies (I bet you were wondering when I was EVER gonna get around to those!) that if you haven't tried yet, you won't be sorry! To those in-the-know, these are AMAZING! But I definitely never would have tried either if they weren't staring me in the face every time I opened the fridge. So, while I can't magically send some to your fridge to stare at you, I will instead send my encouragement to get out there and TRY SOMETHING NEW!!

First up: LEEKS!
 The first leek we had looked about the size and shape of a green baseball bat! It was HUGE!!!! I had NO idea what to do with that thing. And, I'll admit it.... I kind of dithered, then I delayed and then I put it off a bit more until.... OH DARN, too wilted to use. When our next box had 3 of them, I knew I couldn't let them all go. So I flipped on the computer and did some research.

 

What in the heck is a leek? It turns out its a relative of onions. They are kind of like green onions from the land of giants. I don't have a great love of onions-- I like their flavor but they don't agree with my digestion and raw is completely out of the question. So I was a more than a little nervous about experimenting with them. But I gathered my courage and I started subbing leeks into any recipe that I'd normally put some onion into and WOW! great (light) onion flavor and NO digestive problems!

How to prep a leek: As they are often grown in sandy/gritty soil, you will definitely need to rinse these well. It is usually recommended to rinse AFTER you cut since the layers are so tight. You can either do one long cut lengthwise and pull the layers apart to rinse (kinda like celery) or slice them thinly crossways and drop into a bowl of water. Let the grit settle to the bottom and scoop the floating pieces from the top. When you are cutting, you typically only use the white and light green portions.


Veggie #2: Swiss Chard
We've been getting LOTS of leafy greens lately -- lettuces of all types, radiccio, spinach and lately chard. I've seen chard called "swiss chard" and "rainbow chard". If you haven't seen chard before, it looks like a big spinach leaf with a colored stem--this can be either light green or colored with pinks, oranges or purples! When we got a bunch of these leaves, with each stem's leaf around the size of an elephant ear (okay, maybe a baby elephant....) I was certainly a bit nervous. I freely admit that big green leafy things do still make me a bit anxious (the lingering 5 year old inside me, perhaps?) I do like spinach occasionally but haven't gotten on board (yet) with the great kale craze that's going on and not having much for southern relatives, I've not had any experience with many other types of greens (collards and the like).

I was greatly encouraged when several sites on the internet described the flavor of chard as being like a mild spinach. I thought "okay, I can do that!". The best suggestion I read was to blanch the leaves before adding to your recipe-- apparently this will reduce any potential bitterness that may be found in these deep green leafies.

To prep chard: Rinse and pat dry individual leaves. Cut out (or yank) the hard center stem and discard. Chop leaves into manageable strips or pieces. I cut mine into rectangles about 2" x 1" and that worked well. Drop into a pot of boiling water for 3 minutes. Drain well. Use any place you might use other cooked greens like baby spinach or kale.

I was so excited about chard that I've actually just planted 9 (!!) little baby plants into the beginning of this year's garden (along with some romaine and arugula). I'm very excited to see if baby chard tastes like baby spinach. I'll get to find out in a few weeks!!

Summary: Any place you would use an onion, you can use leeks. Any place you'd use a green like spinach, kale or collards, you can use chard.

One of the things I love about this recipe is that it took an old favorite (scalloped potatoes and ham) which had little nutrient value (besides calories....) and really beefed it up. Loaded with leafy green chard and leeks, it actually resembles a balanced meal!

 

 

Recipe: Scalloped Potatoes and Ham with Leeks and Swiss Chard

(This was for a VERY large casserole, 14" x 10" x 3")

8 medium/large russet potatoes, peeled and sliced thinly (about 1/8 inch)
1 LARGE leek (white and light green parts) sliced thinly and cleaned
8 LARGE ribs swiss chard, ribs removed, chopped and blanched in boiling water 3 min.
8 oz cooked ham, cubed (about 1/2")
8 Tbs butter
8-10 Tbs flour
6 cups milk

1) In your casserole dish, arrange potato slices in a single layer. Add approximately 1/3 of your prepared leeks, chard and ham evenly over the bottom. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the layer.

 

2) Repeat step one 2 more times (for a total of 3 layers)
3) Spread any remaining potato slices over the top.
4) Prepare thin white sauce:

1. Melt butter in a large sauce pan over med/low heat.
2. Sprinkle in flour, stirring constantly until all butter is absorbed and a paste forms.
3. Pour in milk and whisk to dissolve any lumps.
4. Cook over med/low heat until sauce begins to thicken slightly (it should be able to coat a spoon)

5) Pour prepared white sauce over entire casserole. Sprinkle salt and pepper over top. Cover casserole with foil.

6) Bake at 350 F for 60-90 minutes (until potatoes are cooked through and easily pierce with a fork or knife). Time will vary GREATLY depending on how thin your slices are-- the thinner you slice, the faster yours will cook!  Remove foil after 30 minutes of cook time. Replace foil if top of casserole begins to over brown. Enjoy!

Feel free to leave comments below. Have you tried either of these veggies? What did you think?

Click the "like" button to add us to your facebook feed.

The Fallacy of "Healthy": Why you must read every food label

Americans know they are in trouble. We've seen the facts, figures and unflattering photos. We've got epidemic levels of obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Now those problems are beginning to filter down to our children and we are realizing that "business as usual" isn't going to get the job done!

 It seems to me that one big difficulty in solving this huge dilemma we are facing is that there are a million differing opinions on how to deal with it. The one thing that most people can agree on is that the way we eat is the primary contributing factor to these rising health problems. While some people think its simply a matter of diet and exercise, the numbers show that we DO diet and that we DO exercise (or at least spend staggering amounts of money in the diet and fitness industries....) but there has been no positive change.

So, what is the solution? It's my belief that we have to completely rethink what we put into our bodies. Rather that focusing on quantity (calories, fat grams, carbohydrates) we need to be thinking about QUALITY.  One key finding of ALL nations and groups of healthy people (whole communities with consistently healthy weights, low incidences of type 2 diabetes, low levels of heart disease, etc) is that their diet is made up of mainly unprocessed foods (or minimally so): whole grains, dairy, quality proteins and fresh fruits/vegetables, all with no added chemicals- like artificial flavors, salt, sugars, colors or preservatives.

Is the food that you are eating really food?

Chances are, probably not. The food industry has decided to cash in on our concerns and it seems like everything you look at in the grocery store has some type of "healthy" label: TRANS-FAT FREE, MADE FROM REAL FRUIT, LOW FAT, NO SUGAR ADDED, MADE WITH WHOLE GRAINS, NO ARTIFICIAL FLAVORS and my personal favorite: ALL NATURAL.

None of these means anything, at all. Chances are, if you turn these packages around, you will find a long, long list of ingredients. Each probably processed to a fare-the-well.

To get the long term health we desire, we have to do our due-diligence. We've got to check EACH and EVERY item we put into our grocery carts. If you want to keep it simple, if something has more than 5 ingredients and any of them aren't things you'd stock in your pantry, put it BACK! Avoid products made primarily with sugar or white flour (also known as "enriched" flour). This will mean a few extra long grocery trips or even a few trips where you come out with half of what you needed or wanted. It might mean trying a different store than you are used to. A year ago when I began doing this, I had trips like these. Now, a year later, I know which products are quality, REAL foods and which to avoid.

As you start to really read labels, you'll be surprised at what you find.

Take the following as an example: Quaker granola bars-- the following is from their own product website, cut and pasted. Notice the buzz words: "whole grain", "no high fructose corn syrup"

 

 

Now, let's take a look at the back of the package (again from their own website):





 

How many different ingredients went into this "wholesome" product? I'm counting 37 ingredients. If you break it down into its individual components: sugar has been added 9 times in various forms including corn syrup and salt has been added 3 times. There is also the undisclosed "natural and artificial flavors".

 

Products like these aggravate me to no end. They advertise as a "healthy" choice and yet there is really nothing healthy about them. You'd be better off making a batch of oatmeal cookies at home and serving that up! Every time I go shopping or turn on the TV, I see some ridiculous food trying to pass itself off as healthy-- gummy candies (MADE WITH REAL FRUIT JUICE), sugar loaded breakfast cereals (MADE WITH WHOLE GRAINS), high fructose-artificially dyed yogurt tubes (LOW FAT). Most of these are geared towards kids and they wonder why we are unhealthy?!? Sheesh.

 

So, my advice to you-- Start now. Read! Read! Read! Forget anything you see on the front of a package, only the ingredients matter. If your family asks why you don't buy something, tell them. After a year of doing this for my 5 year old, he understands why I buy the food I do. He also understands what constitutes a healthy choice and what is a treat. If we each do this (and its never too late to begin!) we will begin to turn the tide and help our children lead healthier, longer lives.

 

Feel free to comment below. Also if you click on the "like" button, you can add us to your facebook feed.

 

 

 



Best of 2012

Doing a little end of year/beginning of year evaluations on myself. Overall I'm very happy with the changes we've been able to make around the house as well as our eating habits. There are still plenty of projects and goals for the new year, though!

Here are my personal favorite projects of 2012:

1) Dryer Woolie Balls: These had a minimal cost in both $$ and time. I still use them with every load of laundry (so pretty much every day). I love that I can add scent as needed, keeping a very, very light clean scent in our laundry w/o any softners or chemical additives!

2) Bye, Bye Papertowels: This project was also simple and cheap (is there a theme here?) I did have to go back and hem the cut edges of the washcloths I used, but that only cost me about 30 minutes or so of sewing. We keep these in a shoe box size bin right behind the kitchen faucet. Easy to grab and easy to refill. I have seen some people's "unpaper towels" projects with cute fabric on one side and terry cloth on the other side and then snaps on the ends. Then they roll the whole thing up on their paper towel dispenser. I love that idea but our little bin is soooooooo easy to refill (no snapping, no rolling) and if I hadn't wanted to cut the washcloths down to "select a size" paper towel dimensions (that we were used to using) there wouldn't have been any sewing at all. With a total cost of under $10, it also beats the pants of the cutesy ones. Now, I'll admit my cloths are just a basic beige (which thus far is hiding stains remarkably well) but no one is afraid to use them either as I've heard some people complain about with the fancy fabric rolled towels. I think the key to my long term success here is that I have a dedicated small bathroom size trash bin in the pantry to throw the dirty towels in. I have enough towels to fill my box 2x, so one set can be in use while one set is in the laundry.

3) Swapping coconut oil for processed vegetable oils: I wasn't sure if I would be tempted down the line to have a bottle of canola or vegetable oil on hand but once we used up what we had, I haven't needed to use ANY! Between olive oil, coconut oil and butter, I'm able to meet all of my cooking needs. No spray needed either! Silicone muffin liners have been a big help in this regard. I keep about half of my coconut oil in a oil dispensing bottle (that I got at the dollar store). I take the metal pour spout off and pop it in the microwave for 30 seconds and voila! liquid oil ready for pouring!



My Favorite Recipes of 2012:

We tend to go through cycles of eating a lot of one thing in particular and then getting into something else. But there are a few favorites that I tend to enjoy over and over again!

1) Muffins: I know I've done a few posts about muffins ( Pumpkin, Zucchini) but I also have a few favorites that I haven't posted up (like Banana nut).  I make a dozen or two with what ever fruit is on hand (or in the freezer) and use whole wheat flour. After they are cooked, I keep them in the freezer so they are always ready to go. They make a great, quick breakfast for me when I'm running late and  I also send them frozen with the little guy to school.  By the time he has is morning snack break, its defrosted and ready to go!  Right now in our freezer is whole wheat cranberry muffin with a cream cheese swirl. Yum!

2) Whole Wheat Waffles: I got a new waffle maker for my birthday (thanks Bro!) and I've been making lots of waffles since then (probably 4 or 5 huge batches). I get around 20 or so waffles from my mix , so I'm able to stock up the freezer for a few weeks at a time. Both little guy and myself have been enjoying them immensely. The last 2 batches have had chocolate chips stirred in and then we use strawberry or blackberry jam on top (instead of syrup) and its soooooooo good! But I'm almost out and that means I'll be probably be doing a big batch this weekend. I'm thinking that I might have to do the next ones blueberry!

3)Whole Wheat Baking Mix: If you grew up in a certain generation, Bisquick forms the basis of a lot of quick breads, breakfasts and dinners. But when you are trying to avoid processed food, things in boxes with lots of ingredients are incompatible. I love that my version of the baking mix uses ONLY whole wheat and that it mixes up in the kitchen very quickly.

4) Spinach & Basil Pesto: Maybe its because I just ate some last night but I love this recipe! I made a giant batch months ago and I still have cups of this stuff (which costs an arm & a leg at the store) in our freezer. Last night I wasn't too energetic, so I boiled up some whole wheat pasta, sauteed a salmon fillet (cut into chunks) and tossed the whole thing with 1/2 cup of pesto, delish! The whole prep was maybe 10 minutes of work (and that was mostly skinning and deboning the salmon!)

I'd love it if you left a comment below to let me know what was YOUR favorite post of 2012!

Click the like button below to follow us on Facebook!

Real Food, Real Easy: 100% Whole Wheat Waffles

So, with the new year comes a renewed commitment (for most of us) to do better, health-wise. A simple easy start is to make sure that you are eating breakfast everyday! In our busy lives, I know it can be difficult to make good choices-- when you are short on time, do you skip a meal or pick up something in the drive through? Neither is a great option.  Knowing that I'm always pushed for time, instead of making things everyday, I make up a big batch of food on the weekend (usually Sundays). Then I freeze or refrigerate the leftovers and I've got a healthy grab and go breakfasts ready anytime!

This recipe is a great substitute for prepackaged frozen waffles. A few minutes at the waffle-maker and you'll have a week (or more!) worth of ready-to-go WHOLE WHEAT waffles. Plus the base recipe is a wonderful blank canvas for add ins. My favorite stir-in is chocolate chips but you can also up the flavor (and nutrients!) with any kind of fruit -- think blueberries, sliced bananas or strawberries. If you are in a real rush, consider topping the waffle with cream cheese or peanut butter for a less messy, eat-on-the-run meal.(plus it'll get you a nice bit of protein as well!)

Recipe: 100% Whole Wheat Waffles

makes approx. 20 waffles (if 1/4 cup batter used)

3 cups whole wheat flour (I like white whole wheat by King Arthur or Trader Joe's)
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbs baking powder
2-2 1/4 cups whole milk
1/2 cup melted butter or coconut oil (use refined to reduce "coconut" flavor)
2 eggs, lightly beaten

Optional add-ins:
1 cup- chocolate chips OR blueberries  OR sliced bananas OR sliced strawberries


1) Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Whisk to incorporate.
2) Add liquid ingredients and stir until well mixed-- start with 2 cups of milk. Add more until batter is pourable-- it shouldn't be either runny or pasty. Stir in optional add-ins, if including.
3) Heat up waffle iron. Butter or oil compartments as necessary.
4) Spoon or scoop approximately 1/4 cup of batter into center of each waffle compartment. If you have a smaller waffle-maker, this should fill it up. If you have a GIANT belgian waffle-maker like mine, you'll see that my waffles aren't quite filled up. This is okay because one, full-size waffle was TOO big!

5) Cook until LIGHTLY browned and set. This is probably less done than you'd want if you are eating them out of the cooker-- you are deliberately slightly undercooking to ensure that they don't get too dark when you run them through the toaster to reheat!
6) Remove waffles and set aside to cool completely.

7) Package in gallon size zip bag or other airtight container and freeze.

To Reheat: Take waffle directly from freezer to toaster. Cook on normal toast setting (with defrost, if available). Top with butter, syrup, jam, diced fruit, cream cheese, peanut butter or anything else I've missed!

We typically alternate waffles with some of the whole wheat muffins I've made (and keep in the freezer as well). I've also taken to experimenting with whole wheat bagel making. With a constantly changing flavors and types of whole wheat pre-baked breakfasts, the family doesn't get bored of one thing or option. Plus I love knowing that no matter how hurried I get, there is always something I can grab that isn't full of empty calories or tastes like cardboard!

 As always, feel free to comment below and let me know what you think of the recipe or how it worked for you!

Like us on Facebook to add us to your newsfeed.