Whole Grain Pancakes (My new favorite)

These are my new favorite whole grain pancakes. They have a secret ingredient (ricotta) that made them light. They were gobbled up by my family. I was looking for left overs for lunch and they were all gone. You can put on your favorite topping. My favorite topping is homemade berry jam.

Ingredients

1 1/2 C whole grain flour (I used spelt)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 T coconut oil
2 eggs beaten
1 1/4 C cashew milk or milk of your choice
1/2 C ricotta
2 T honey
1/4 tsp vanilla
cooking spray
topping of your choice

Directions  Serves 4-6

1. In a pour in flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and blend with wire whisk. Blend in coconut oil with the whisk until it is all incorporated.
2. In a small bowl beat together eggs, milk ricotta, honey and vanilla. Fold into flour mixture. Blend until all combined.
3. Heat skillet spray with cooking spray. When hot pour on pancakes batter. Cook on both sides.
4. Serve hot with your favorite topping. Enjoy

Berry Berry Muffins

 I love Berries! It was fun to add them to muffins. My little grandchildren gobbled them up. That is always a good sign.

Ingredients
1/2 C coconut oil
1/2 C honey
1/2 C water
1/2 C almond or cashew milk
2 eggs
1/4 c chia
2 tsp baking powder
2 C wheat flour
1 C thawed mixed berries (Blueberries, raspberries, strawberries)

Directions  heat oven to 350  makes 1 dozen
1. Beat together oil, honey, water and milk. Then beat in eggs one at a time.
2. Then in another bowl mix together chia, baking powder, and flour. Fold into wet batter until combined.
3. Scoop into greased muffin cups and place in heated oven.  Bake for 15- 20 min or until done.
4. Take out of muffin tins and cool on cooling rack.

Chocolate Chip Muffins (whole grain)

This is a super easy recipe that is whole grain. I chopped up the chocolate chips which added a little bit of chocolate in every bite. They make a great little snack or a nice addition to a meal. 

Ingredients

2/3 C honey

1/2 C olive oil or coconut oil

1/2 C almond milk

1/2 C water

2 eggs

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 C chia

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 C whole wheat flour 

1/2 C dark chocolate chips chopped up

Directions make 12 mini muffins Heat oven to 400

1. Beat or stir together honey, oil, water. Beat or stir in the eggs. Set aside.

2. In a small bowl mix together salt, chia, baking powder, and flour. 

3. Fold flour mixture into wet mixture stir until all combined. 

4. Fold in chocolate chips. 

5. Grease muffin tin. Scoop muffin mix into tins. 

6. Bake 12-15 min. 

7. Take out of muffin tins and let cool on wire rack. Enjoy

Whole Grain Oatmeal Rolls or Bread

After dough has risen

Whole Grain Oatmeal Bread

Yum!

It was fun making this bread. The taste of it reminded me of the bread that I love at the restaurants that has oatmeal on the outside of it. It was fun to find a whole grain bread that had the same flavor. I am guessing the the bread at the restaurant is not all whole grains. Its just a hunch. I will be making this again soon. :) It took a little time to make it, but the end result was worth it. :)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 C old fashioned oatmeal
1/2 C honey
2 T butter or coconut oil
1 1/2 C water boiling water
2 C warm water (about 110 Degrees)
3 1/2 tsp yeast
1 T honey
1/4 C chia * optional
2 eggs
6 1/2 to 7 C Whole Grain Four (I used 4 C wheat & 3 C Spelt )
1 T salt
1 1/2 C rolled oatmeal (for the outside of the loaf)

Directions:

1. In a metal bowl pour in oatmeal, honey and coconut oil or butter. Then pour over boiling water. Stir until all mixed then put aside and let cool till room temperature. (You could start the soaking process the night before and let it sit overnight in the fridge covered.)

2. In another bowl pour in water, yeast, honey, and chia. Stir until all combined. Let the mixture sit for 15-20 min. You should see bubbles in the mixture if yeast is active.

3. Pour both the oatmeal mixture and yeast mixture into bosh or mixer with bread hook. Add the eggs and mix until all combined. Add the salt and 1 C of flour at a time until combined. (If you dont have a bread mixer you could stir all mixtures in a bowl until combined. Then pour onto floured or oiled surface and knead until a smooth consistency. 

4. Let the Bread mixer go for 3 to 4 min. Until the dough pulls away from the bowl. (But don't let it get too dry. The dough should be sticky) Let the dough rest for 10 min. Then turn on the mixer and let knead 2 more min. (With hands that have a little oil on for easier handling)

5. Then place dough in bowl that has oil on sides. Rise dough until doubles in size. Rub dough on top with oil. Cover the dough with plastic and let rise till doubles in size. (You then can deflate the dough by punching it down, and let double one more time or proceed to putting it in the greased pans. Extra rising time results in a slightly lighter bread)

6. Punch down the dough after rising process is complete. Divide the dough in half. Roll into a loaf. Pour 3/4 C of the oatmeal on to a rectangle piece of parchment paper. Spread the dry oatmeal in a rectangle, and then roll the  dough on to the dry oatmeal on all the sides.

7.  For bread place in  2 greased bread pan. (9x5x3) Cover with plastic. Again let it double till it is 1 inch over the bread pan. 

8. For rolls form into balls and then roll the rolls into dry oatmeal that is on the wax paper or parchment paper. 

7. Heat the oven to 400.

8. Bake for about 45 min. Till the internal temperature is 200 degrees. Should be a nice golden brown when all done.

9. Rub the bread or rolls with butter if desired, it keeps the crust soft. Place the bread on it's side (Keeps the loaf from falling) on a wire rack to cool. If it lasts that long. We love to eat it when it is warm.

Pumpkin Chocolate Bars

We had a wonderful weekend. The weather was even nice enough to go on a walk. I love being outside. I heard inspiring stories at church yesterday that made me want to be better. I wish the weekend could last longer they go by too fast.  My son that is serving an LDS mission wrote today and he is so happy. It is a great day. 

I made these yesterday and they were moist and tasted soo good. The added ingredients of the mashed bananas added a natural sweetness to the bars and a nice moistness too. 

Ingredients 
3 1/2 C spelt flour or whole grain flour
1/2 C chia
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp nutmeg
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 C cocoa 
1 15-oz. can pumpkin, or 2 C fresh pumpkin puree
1/2 C olive oil  or another of your choice
2 eggs
1/2 C water
1 C maple syrup
1 C  vanilla Almond Milk unsweetened
1 C smashed bananas


Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease   13 x 9 pan (stoneware works best for whole grains) with cooking spray. (You could also do muffins instead.)

2. Mix together dry ingredients in a large bowl. In another bowl, combine pumpkin, oil, water,  almond milk, maple syrup, and bananas.

3. Mix together wet and dry ingredients until just combined. Pour into pan.

4. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. About 30 minutes.

Peanut Butter and Jam Sandwich Bars

These are a fun tasty snack. They could also be a fun thing to eat for lunch in place of a sandwich. It is a yummy combination of flavors your will love. I love eating peanut butter and jam together on toast. If you love peanut butter and jam sandwiches you will love these. My grandchildren will love them too.


Ingredients

1 C old fashioned oatmeal
1 C spelt flour or whole grain flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 C coconut oil
1/2 C honey
1 C creamy peanut butter (natural)
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
1 C fruit only (no sugar) jam  flavor of your choice

Directions

1. In a small bowl mix together oatmeal, flour, and baking powder. Set the bowl aside.
2. In a medium bowl beat together oil, honey, and peanut butter. Then beat in vanilla.
3. Beat in eggs one at a time. The mixture should be smooth and creamy.
4. Beat or stir in the dry ingredients into the peanut butter mixture until all combined.
5. In an 8 X 8 square pan Scoop in half of the dough. Smooth out on to the bottom of the pan.
6. Then drop spoonfuls of the jam on top of the dough in the pan and smooth out with the back of a spoon or a spatula.
7. Drop the remaining dough on top of the jam. In spoonfuls all over. Then spread gently with a butter knife or spatula. Try not to disturb the jam too much.
8. Place in heated oven. Cooking time 20-25 min. or until golden colored. Take out of the oven and let cool for 10 min. It gives the jam a chance to thicken up.
9. Cut into squares and serve. Store leftovers in air tight container.

Whole Grain Cornbread

It is fun to make cornbread. I love to make it with wholegrain flours too. It was a great addition to the layered cornbread salad that I made.

Ingredients

6 T melted coconut oil
2 eggs
1 1/2 T honey
1 1/2 C buttermilk (I used 1% milk and added 1 1/2 T vinegar let sit for 5 to 10 min)
1 C cornmeal
3/4 C whole grain flour (I used spelt)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Directions Bake at 400 degrees

1. Beat together oil, eggs, honey and buttermilk in small bowl. Set the bowl aside.
2. In a medium bowl stir together the remaining ingredients.
3. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Stir until all combined.
4. Pour into greased square pan. I love to cook whole grains in stoneware.
5. Bake about 25 min or until done.
6. Take out and  rub coconut oil on top and let cool. Then serve.

Chocolate Pumpkin Lava Cake

I am having a lot of fun this season creating a lot of things out of pumpkin. Here is a delcious dessert.

This was a recipe my girls used to love to make. I thought it was time for a healthier remake. This cake has completely whole grain flour, no white sugar, and it is incredibly moist. A lot of people think you have to sacrifice flavor when you cook desserts with whole grains, but this proves everybody wrong. This cake is incredibly gooey with a hot fudge sauce inside. Your holiday guests would be so impressed with this dish!

I changed it up by adding pumpkin to it.

Ingredients:

1 C whole grain flour ( I used spelt)

2 tsp baking powder

2 T cocoa
3/4 C canned pumpkin

dash of salt *optional

1/2 C almond milk

2 Tbsp melted coconut oil

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 C honey

Topping

1/2 C honey

4 Tbsp cocoa

1 Tbsp whole grain flour

Directions

1. In a large bowl, stir together flour, baking powder. cocoa, pumpkin and salt. Sift together so that it is all combined evenly.
2. Stir in milk, oil, vanilla, and honey until just incorporated. Pour dough evenly into 4 to 5 ramekins. (You could also use an 8×8 pan instead of the ramekins, but you would have to change the baking time.)

3. In a small bowl, mix together honey, cocoa, and 1 Tbsp flour. You will have a thick, wet batter. Dividing the mixture evenly between the ramekins, scoop the new batter on top of each uncooked cake, spreading it gently. Try to keep it away from the edges as much as possible. 

4. Now take about 1/2 C of water and distribute it gently between all the ramekins, on top of each cake. Each ramekin should have about 1/4 inch water sitting on top, although it will soak in quickly. Place on a cookie sheet to bake them. Easier to get them in and out. 

5. Cook at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes, or until top looks done. The cake may have chocolate sauce seeping around the edges, and the middle will still be moist.

6. Cool just until it won’t burn off your taste buds.  Leave plain or top with whipped coconut cream, whipped cream, or ice cream. Then devour!

Whole Grain Honey Rolls

We had a delicious day yesterday. I love to go to church. We had my Mom over for dinner along with some of our children. The Summer weather was beautiful. We enjoyed eating outside. One of our favorite parts of Summer. Is eating out in our gazebo together. These rolls were the best part of the meal. They were light and yummy. 

Ingredients:
2 1/2 T Yeast
2 C Warm Water
1 1/2 C Almond milk (You could use another kind of milk)*
1/3 C +1 T. Honey
1/3 Coconut Oil Or oil of your choice
1 egg
3/4 T Salt
5 C Kamut flour
5 C Spelt  flour (add more if needed)

Directions:

1. Pour warm water into a bowl with yeast and 1 T honey. Let sit till bubbles. 10-15 min. (If it doesn't bubble your yeast is not good. I don't even stir the yeast in. Just pour it on top of the water. No need to stir.)

2. Then add to the water the milk*, honey, oil, egg, salt, mix together in bread mixer.

3. Then add the flour one cup at a time. While kneading in bread mixer.  and knead for 3-4 min. Don't over knead. You want the dough to be sticky to the touch. Rub oil all over the dough.

5. Place in bowl cover and let rise until double about an hour.

6. Grease cookie sheets. Put oil on hands, and from the dough into rolls. Place on cookie sheet.

7. Let rise until about double.

8. Bake 350 15-18 minutes . Watch them they should be golden on top. Rub some butter on them when you take them out. They taste great with honey on them. =) Made 24 large rolls. (could be more)

They taste delicious with home made honey butter. Beat softened butter and honey together. Yum!

* If you use regular milk heat until it starts to steam, just prior to boiling. Cool off before you pour into yeast mixture.

Whole Grain Pumpkin Pancakes

We had these for dinner tonight. It is fun to switch it up sometimes. I like pancakes better at dinnertime than for breakfast. I was thinking about making pumpkin pancakes the other night so, I decided tonight was a great night to make them. I LOVE pumpkin. I like eating it all year long. These tasted great!

Ingredients:

2 C whole grain flour (spelt, kamut, oats) or whatever mix you want
3-4 T coconut sugar or sweetener of your choice
1 T Baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
pinch of cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1 3/4 C Kefir, milk or plain yogurt (*may need to add a couple T of flour if you use milk. )
1/2 C canned pumpkin
1/4 C coconut oil or oil of your choice

Directions:

1. In bowl mix the flour, sugar, spices, salt, baking powder. Cut in the coconut oil till its all combined. If using another oil just stir it all in to dry mixture.

2. Then stir in the pumpkin, and kefir or milk. Mixture will be lumpy. Don't over stir. Just stir until completely moistened.

3. Pour on to hot griddle. Cook 1 to 2 min on each side. Top with you favorite topping.

*Options: 1. You could put mini chips in or even the regular size. 2. You could put candied nuts on them. 3. We put on homemade raspberry jam and a dab of cream. 4. Cinnamon and sugar with butter. Lots of options. =)

Whole Grain Vegetable Spinach Wraps/ Tortillas

Happy New Year! I have been busy with grand children this week. Which is a great thing. I was in search of new ideas for recipes. I talked to Jeanie, and she gave me a great idea of making spinach wraps. So I gave it a try, and this is what I came up with. It was a very exciting project, and gave me some ideas for the future. I was thrilled how they turned out. My family liked them too. Thank you Jeanie!

1. First I put about a cup of water in a sauce pan and then a colander, and then put the lid on and heated up the pan on medium high heat. I let it steam for about 8 min. When I was done steaming. It was about 1 cup. I then put it in the blender and pulsed it for a couple min.

2. This is what the pulsed mixture looked like.
3. This is what it looked after the flour was all mixed in.
4. I then formed it into balls. It made 13 of them.
5. This is the finished product.
6. I made 13 of them. I can use now and freeze some too. Sorry the color didn't turn out well.
This is the finished wrap ready to eat. It was good!

Ingredients:
3 C fresh spinach (was 1 cup after I steamed it)
1/2 C warm water (I used the water from the pan I steamed in. )
1 T fresh marjoram (optional)
1 1/2 T fresh Basil leaves (optional)
1/2 C warm water
2 peeled carrots
1 T dried onion minced
1/2 tsp garlic powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 leek washed
1/4 C olive oil
4 C whole grain flour (I used 1 C spelt, 1/2 C qunioa, 1/2 C brown rice, 1/2 C brown rice, then I ground them in my grinder. Came out to 4 C.)

1. Steam the spinach for about 8 min until soft. Then Pulse in the blender with the water, for a couple minutes. Then add the herbs, carrots, onion, garlic powder, salt and leek. Pulse for another couple minutes.

2. Pour the mixture into mixing bowl , add the olive oil. Then knead and add the flour slowly. Until mixture pulls away from the bowl. It should be a nice soft mixture.

3. Then put oil on hands and separate into balls. I have found keeping the balls moist really helps.

4. Then cook on tortilla maker according to manufacture instructions. (I have a Chef Pro) You could roll out and try it on a frying pan.

5. I then made this guacamole. Spread on a thin layer of guacamole on tortilla, then put on a thin layer of fresh spinach, pepper jack cheese slices, turkey slices, purple onion and tomatoes and roll the wrap/tortilla. Success Enjoy! You can come up with your own variation. ;))

6. This morning I scrambled some egg with pepper jack cheese, and put into the wrap for a breakfast burrito.

7. Then I put turkey and cheese in it, for a wrap for my sons lunch. There are lots of ways to use the wraps.

* Sorry the lighting didn't work as well on some of the pics.