Soaked Honey Wheat Bread

I think we’ve all recovered from stuffing our faces at Thanksgiving, so now we are back home and trying new ways to incorporate healthy, whole foods into our meals. I’ve always wanted to make my own bread and to stay away from the yucky additives. But, I also want to make sure it’s healthy and good for us by soaking the grains or using sprouted flour. Right now, I buy sprouted whole grain bread and feel good about the quality, but it is in a bag on the shelf at the store and isn’t cheap. I’m not sure I’ve made it to the point of continuously making our own bread, as other things are at the top of my priority list for now, but this recipe proved to be easy and good!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup room temperature water
• 1 Tbs yogurt
• 2 Tbs melted coconut oil (or other oil)
• 3 Tbs honey
• sprinkle of ginger
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 3 cups whole wheat flour

DIRECTIONS

1. Mix all ingredients together, cover, and sit out on counter overnight.
2. The next day, sprinkle 2 tsp yeast and 1 tsp salt on top of dough. Knead well. I used the dough blade on my food processor, watching to make sure it didn’t get too sticky. Shape dough into loaf and put into greased bread pan. Proof for 30 minutes.
3. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until internal temperature is 200°.

TIPS

• Remember, if you don’t eat the ends of the loaf, to save them and grind for your own, healthy breadcrumbs.
• If you like soaked grains, you might like these Soaked Whole Grain Banana Bread and Soaked Whole Grain Blueberry Muffins.
• I also love these Soaked Whole Grain Pancakes.

Tags: bread, grain, recipe, soaked, whole grain

Creamy Chicken Leftovers Makes Lunch

And baby makes three. 3 kids to feed, that is. With the boys being in preschool 2 days per week now, I really enjoy our lunches at home. They seem to be so much easier for me than packing a lunch to go. Maybe it’s because I often just warm up leftovers and cut up some fruit. Easy! And, Anna just loves to watch her brothers eat and they think it’s so fun that she gets to eat with them now.

Here’s a sample of my lunch for 3 this week. The boys had creamy chicken and black beans from the freezer, a leftover sweet potato from dinner the previous night and kiwi. Anna had porridge and sweet potato.

Creamy Chicken and Black Beans

in the slow cooker or crock pot

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 lb uncooked frozen boneless skinless chicken breast
• 15 oz can black beans, drained (or dried beans soaked overnight and cooked)
• 1 1/2 cups diced tomatoes OR 15 oz can of diced tomatoes, drained
• 16 oz jar salsa
• 8 oz whole fat cream cheese

DIRECTIONS

• Put frozen chicken breasts in crock pot, cover with black beans, tomatoes and salsa.
• Cook on high 4-5 hours or until chicken is cooked.
• Place block of cream cheese on top. Cook for an additional 30 minutes. Stir to incorporate cream cheese into sauce. The stirring
• should cause the chicken to shred.

SERVING IDEAS

• Serve with brown rice and guacamole.
• Roll in tortillas and add your sides of choice.
• Put a serving on top of salad greens and add any salsa, sour cream, or guacamole.
• Put on a tortilla and make into a quesadilla.
• This is a great recipe to freeze. I just store in serving size containers that I know I want to use for lunches.

Tags: chicken, Crock pot, Freeze, lunch, plate

Amounts of Food for Babies & Toddlers

How much food should I be feeding my baby? How many calories does my toddler need? Is he eating too much fruit? Should I be preparing more protein? It’s so easy to question everything from milk intake to bowel movements. Sometimes I think we might be just a little too close to the subject. I’ve had times where I’ve needed to just step back and make sure I’m seeing the forest for the trees.

I discovered the following website http://www.mypyramid.gov recently. This link shows the food pyramid specific to your child’s age and weight.  You can enter age and activity level for your child and it will calculate  the exact number of daily calories needed.  Oh my! I consider myself to be fairly Type A personality and this is too much for me! It seems to me that if you eat real food to fullness and true satisfaction, then things will fall in place. I think kids have this ability built into their little bodies. And, remember, they are growing. Things will ebb and flow. It is my job to present my children with healthy food options and encourage them to try things.

This government site goes so far as to provide a tracker to keep a tally of the daily requirements by grains, vegetables, fruits, milk, meat and beans. I seriously think I need to stay far, far away from this as it could easily become obsessive for no good reason at all!

I’ve shared some of my favorite meals in the past, but here’s another great place to find Toddler Meals. My philosophy is to share good food with my children and maybe we there will be a little chef in the making.

What do you think of the Super Tracker?

Tags: baby, plate, pre-toddler, toddler

Frozen Yogurt Bites

Ok, warmer weather is on the horizon. We love making our own cool Smoothies and Summertime Yogurt Pops, but here’s another quick idea for Frozen Yogurt Bites. Mix up whatever flavors you like best and freeze away. I could see freezing these in individual batches so you can just pull out a batch for the kids (and probably yourself) and enjoy a nice, cool treat!

Tags: batch, dairy, Freeze, summer, yogurt

How Many Meals Per Day?

There are many families like to eat smaller meals throughout the day and many who stick to a strictly 3 meals per day rule. I am a big believer in beginning with your young children the way you envision things for them and your family in the future. Personally, I don’t want my day to revolve around constant eating, so I don’t and we eat 3 meals with usually 1 snack, but I don’t think how many is what is important. I think the what, where, and how is more important.

WHAT
I would just make sure that all meals and snacks are healthy. I think many parents and kids take the word “snack” to mean cookie, cracker, cheese, fruit, or packaged goodies. There is nothing that says a snack can’t be carrot sticks and water or granola or yogurt. I’m not saying that fruit, crackers, or granola bars are bad or that we don’t buy and enjoy those as well, but my boys definitely don’t think a snack means we’re opening up a package of fruit chewies every day.

WHERE
I require all food and drink to be consumed in the kitchen. A cup can be on the counter or in the refrigerator with water when needed during the day. But, all food is eaten in a chair at a table or on the stool at the counter. This includes our outside family table or the kids’ picnic table. I think this is very important. Now, there are times like bad-timed doctor appointments or a road trip where we might need to take a snack with us, but this is the exception and not the norm. Oh, and we had a family Super Bowl party with food in front of the tv the other night. This by far an exception to the rule. Eating in front of the tv is definitely not allowed around here and definitely something I think contributes to laziness, obesity, and inappropriate views of food.

HOW
Basically, I want my kids to be grateful for food and eat what they are given. At almost 3, they still don’t get a choice in what they are served. They use appropriate table manners. They thank the one who has prepared or served them. They help clean up.

Tags: amount, routine, schedules, servings

Christmas Dessert Substitutions

First, let me say HAPPY NEW YEAR to everyone. I hope you had a good close to 2011 and are looking forward to a great 2012. I usually take desserts when traveling to visit relatives for a holiday. It’s just easier than prepping or cooking and trying to keep a vegetable or side dish ready to eat. This year, I tried something different. It’s not my grandma’s pecan pie by any means, but I think it turned out satisfactory. Yes, just ok. Now, I’m only judging from the reactions as I don’t care for pie myself, but overall it was all eaten and some even had it twice. I was told it was a little bitter (maybe the chocolate chips or the rapadura) and even a bit rich. And to some, just having the chocolate added made it just enough different to catch their attention. Anyway, I made this Shortcut Chocolate Pecan Pie from Lisa at 100 Days of Real Food with just a few minor substitutions. Check out her page for the original recipe and I’ll post mine with substitutions here.

INGREDIENTS

For the crust:

• I  cheated and used a spelt pie crust from Whole Foods

For the filling:

• 3 eggs
• ½ cup rapadura
• ¼ cup 100% pure maple syrup
• tablespoon melted butter, unsalted
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• cups pecans, chopped or whole
• ¾ cup dark chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. In a bowl whisk together the eggs, rapadura, syrup, butter, vanilla, and salt. Fold in the pecans and chocolate chips.
3. Pour the filling into the prepared crust and bake until pie is set, about 20 – 25 minutes.
4. Let cool for 5 or 10 minutes before serving.

Tags: dessert, grain, holiday, recipe, whole grain

GIVEAWAY: Custom Christmas Cards

I’m giving away custom Christmas cards to one lucky person. Choose from my 2011 Design Collection or let me create something custom just for you!
Just visit here TO ENTER.

Tags: christmas, Giveaway

Christmas Cards 2011

It’s been a while…a long while. I do have lots of content ready to write and post, but honestly just haven’t made the time.

I wanted to make a quick post today just to share something from my design site. I’m excited to announce my NEW Personal Stationery page where I have currently uploaded custom Christmas card pricing with an easy order form. If you have a family photo or just want a unique custom card this year, contact me at Design by Tracy.

Take advantage by becoming a fan on Facebook and receive 10% OFF! I’m also expanding my Personal Stationery and will be sharing some freebies soon, so you will want to stay in touch to hear out the details.

Tags: christmas, design, designbytracy

Peanut Butter Balls

I made these yummy High Protein Energy Balls from Maryea at Happy Healthy Mama this week. I put them in the freezer while I got the boys dressed and put a few in our cooler on the way to meet the cousins at the park. The boys and I each enjoyed them for a quick playground snack.

What could be better for a fun-filled, energy-packed morning of activity than peanut butter and protein? Yum!

TIP OF THE DAY: Condensed Soup Replacement

When preparing whole foods for the family, I avoid processed packaged items as much as possible. At first, I simply cut out lots of recipes. Slowly, I’m learning how to make or substitute for many of the ingredients myself. Here’s a quick white sauce for condensed soup substitution.

White Sauce
2 TBS olive oil
2 TBS whole wheat flour
1 cup stock (vegetable, beef, chicken, etc.)

Multiply this out for the number of cups you need for the recipe.