Posted by tntmck on Nov 27, 2012 in
Grains, Beans, Legumes and Nuts 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
- Mix all ingredients together, cover, and sit out on counter overnight.
- 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.
- Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until internal temperature is 200°.
TIPS
Tags: bread, grain, recipe, soaked, whole grain
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
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
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a bowl whisk together the eggs, rapadura, syrup, butter, vanilla, and salt. Fold in the pecans and chocolate chips.
- Pour the filling into the prepared crust and bake until pie is set, about 20 – 25 minutes.
- Let cool for 5 or 10 minutes before serving.
Tags: dessert, grain, holiday, recipe, whole grain
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!
Well, we had a completely fun-filled, outdoor weekend for sure! The boys got to stay with their favorite babysitter, while we went canoeing with some friends. Then, we spent a day off with extended family… outside, of course! This week, I also embarked on a new adventure to make some soaked-grain breads for the freezer. The boys got to enjoy them for a snack and seemed to like them quite well. I still love making things for the freezer as they make life so much easier and a fun, holiday weekend more enjoyable without having to constantly eat out or eat packaged food.
Food Description
Soaking really isn’t difficult at all. It is just an extra step to remember the day before you to plan to bake. I actually find that it makes the process easier by breaking up the time needed for preparation. I made blueberry muffins and banana bread this week. Both used whole grain flours soaked overnight.
Process
You don’t see any grains or liquids in these pictures, because those are actually in the white bowls in the background with plates on top since they were soaked overnight.
Soaked Whole Grain Banana Bread
INGREDIENTS
2 cups flour or more, depending on consistency, (I use spelt, kamut, or whole wheat) and dash of salt
½ cup extra virgin coconut oil
½ cup sour milk (you can use regular milk just add a few drops of vinegar to sour it)
½ cup warm water (only for soaking)
¾ cup raw honey
2 eggs
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup walnuts (optional)
SOAKING
The night before baking, combine the flour, oil, milk, and warm water.
Cover and leave at room temperature 12-24 hours.
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350.
Add honey and eggs and mix thoroughly.
Fold in the mashed bananas.
Quickly mix in the salt and baking soda.
Pour mixture into a buttered loaf pan.
Bake for 45-60 minutes. Cool on a rack.
Soaked Whole Grain Blueberry Muffins
INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2/3 cup coconut oil, melted
2 TBS kefir or buttermilk (for soaking)
water (for soaking)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup rapadura or sucanat
1 1/2 cups blueberries, frozen
2 eggs, well beaten
SOAKING
The night before baking, combine the flour, oil, kefir or buttermilk, and just enough water to get all the flour wet.
Cover and leave at room temperature 12-24 hours.
DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 400.
Add remaining ingredients to soaked flour and mix well.
Pour mixture into 12 muffin cups.
Bake for 15-20 minutes. Cool.
What I Learned
Freezing is a great option for breads. Based on your needs, freeze in slices or in half loaves. Preheat the oven to 350 and reheat for 10-12 minutes. If you do loaves or half loaves, you will need to take them out of the freezer the night before.
Reaction
The boys loved these, but they love anything in bread form.
Summary
I love, love, love bread. I am officially a carb lover and soaking the grains and using healthy ingredients like coconut oil makes me feel better about mine and my family’s grain consumption.
Tags: banana, batch, blueberry, bread, Freeze, grain, muffin, recipe, weekly
Posted by tntmck on Aug 22, 2010 in
Grains, Beans, Legumes and Nuts,
Weekly Well, I officially have 18 month old boys. I know everyone says it, but time really does fly! And, these boys really are on the move. They are getting faster and faster every day. We had well-visit checkups this week and they are 1″ different in height and 4lb 10oz different in weight. They also couldn’t be more different in every area of personality, looks, demeanor, and development. They really do everything different and have a different means to the same end for almost every task, except for one. They climb the stairs the exact same way: right hand, right knee, then left foot, left hand. It really is in perfect synchronization as we go up for naps or baths each day.
Food Description
We didn’t do too much knew on the food front this week, but I did enjoy a few hours of mommy time as I left the boys home with dad to head out for a haircut. Anyway, we did introduce almond butter and the boys, of course, loved it!
Process
Almond Butter
We buy organic, raw, creamy almond butter from Trader Joe’s, but I think you can find various kinds at various stores.
- The obvious choice is to spread almond butter on bread or toast.
- For some added taste, include some slices of banana and honey. Local honey is best…try your farmer’s market.
- Almond butter is also yummy on vegetable sticks. My boys don’t eat raw vegetables yet as I’m not sure they would be able to chew them well enough, but this is a good lunch or snack for me!
What I Learned
I didn’t learn much except that neither of my boys is allergic to almonds…phew. I will soon have to introduce the dreaded peanut.
Reaction
The boys love almond butter and seem to enjoy the stickiness of it all!
Summary
This is a great way to get some healthy fats into a quick and easy snack or lunch. I love, love, love having this new alternative for meals. Spreading a healthy nut butter on bread makes prep and cleanup super fast!
Tags: nuts, vegetable, weekly
Summer nights are just wonderful for grilling. And, what mom doesn’t love enjoying dinner outside with LESS CLEANUP? I do, that’s for sure.
Food Description
Pizza is one of my favorite foods ever. It just is. It’s wonderful. Well, to be healthier and know our ingredients, I’ve started making the dough, sauce, and preparing the toppings…all for the grill. Another wonderful thing is to pop something you might normally bake and freeze for the little ones onto the grill while you’re enjoying your meal and closing the lid.
Process
Pizza Sauce
INGREDIENTS
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
{I used organic, canned versions of the above, but pureeing and making your own would be great!}
1 TBS ground oregano
1 1/2 tsp dried minced garlic
1 tsp ground paprika
DIRECTIONS
Mix all together.
Pizza Dough
INGREDIENTS
1 cup warm water
1 tsp raw honey
1 TBS yeast
2.5-3 cups flour (I use spelt or whole wheat or a mixture of both.)
1 tsp sale
toppings of your choice
shredded cheese of your choice
DIRECTIONS
Dissolve yeast and honey in warm water and stir. Set aside until frothy (7-10 minutes).
Pour yeast mixture into large bowl and add salt and flour (slowly). Mix together. Add more flour if needed to make dough consistency.
Knead 5-10 minutes.
Let rise for thicker dough.
HOW TO COOK IN OVEN
(Adapt for your grilling on pizza stone or directly on grate. Use parchment paper under pizza placed directly on the grill, for easy transfers.)
Grease your pizza pan or stone with extra virgin coconut oil.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place kneaded dough on pan and spread. Add sauce, toppings, and cheese and cook for 25-30 minutes.
Blend olive oil and fresh garlic and spread with brush on the crust.
Grill-Baked Butternut Squash
- Cut lengthwise down the middle.
- Scoop out the seeds.
- Lightly coat the exposed flesh of the squash with butter or olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste. Add cinnamon and/or nutmeg to spice it up a little bit.
- Place cutside up on the grill and cook with lid closed until fork tender, about 1 hour.
What I Learned
I’ve made this quite a few times now and still haven’t quite perfected the soaking of the grains for the dough. It turns out quite chewy, but with a great taste. I’m still working on it, so if you have any tips, please share. You can also easily freeze this uncooked dough in freezer bags.
Reaction
The boys love pizza, much to my delight! It is something that I’m careful to cut into small bites, especially with the chewy dough, and this is not an easy task. The squash turned out well and I just stored it in the refrigerator. This made it easy to cut into bite-size pieces and warm up for a few lunches the rest of the weekend.
Summary
Homemade pizza is one of my favorites and personalizing it with your own toppings can give it that perfect taste your wanting. I love the yummy taste from the grill, but the recipe works well on the pizza stone in the oven too. We will continue to enjoy pizza this way through the fall and winter to come.
Tags: grilling, soak, tomato, vegetable, whole grain
This week was all about breakfast and trying out some new things. Some were successful. Some were not. One was so good that we also enjoyed it for dessert. Owen is now feeding himself well from a spoon and a fork. He needs some help with scooping and stabbing, but the rest is mastered. Wyatt is just starting to be willing to even hold the utensil for a few minutes of a meal. Both boys enjoy drinking water straight from a cup and getting about 5% in their mouths and the rest down the front of their shirts. This is a great outside summer activity!
Food Description
Eggs and healthy grains are a great way to start out your day. Add in some fresh fruit and vegetables and you’ll really be off to a great start. We find breakfast an important meal in the day and really enjoy this time together before we all go about our days.
Process
Easy Breakfast Frittata
INGREDIENTS
1/2 onion, minced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 cup thinly sliced mushrooms
1/2 tomato, seeds removed and diced
4 large eggs
splash of milk
3 T fresh basil, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
DIRECTIONS
Cook onion over medium-low heat for about 3 minutes or until translucent and soft.
Add garlic, mushrooms and saute for 2 min. Add tomato, salt and pepper and cook for another minute. Stir well.
Beat eggs well with a splash of milk and season with salt and pepper. Mix in basil. Pour eggs over veggies evenly and turn heat to low. Cover and cook about 5 minutes or until firm. Cut into wedges and serve.
Cinnamon Sugar Muffins
adapted from Muffins that Taste Like Donuts
INGREDIENTS FOR MUFFINS
1 3/4 cup Spelt Flour (or whole wheat)
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Nutmeg
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/3 cup Coconut Oil
3/4 cup Rapadura (or sugar)
1 whole Egg
3/4 cup Milk
INGREDIENTS FOR TOPPING
1/4 cup Butter
1/3 cup White Sugar (I used Rapadura)
1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
DIRECTIONS
Grease one standard size muffin pan with butter or coconut oil.
Mix together flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon.
Mix together oil, sugar, egg and milk. Add dry ingredients and stir only to combine.
Fill standard sized muffin tins with the 1/4 cup batter per muffin.
Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes.
Melt the butter in a bowl. Combine the Rapadura (sugar) with the cinnamon in another bowl. Shake muffins out of pan while still hot. Dip muffin tops in butter, then into the sugar/cinnamon mix. Let cool.
Makes 1 dozen.
German Pancakes
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup flour (I used whole wheat, but bread flour may rise more)
1/2 cup milk
3 eggs
pinch of salt
1/8 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS
Melt 4 TBS butter in 8″ or 10″ cast iron skillet in oven to while preheating to 400°. (9×9 pan will work as well, or double recipe for 9×12 pan)
Mix all ingredients together.
Pour into hot pan, allowing butter to rise to the top.
Bake for 20-25 mintues.
Serve with pure maple syrup or your choice of toppings. Consider fruit or cinnamon in the mix or on top.
What I Learned
Breakfast has always been a favorite meal of mine, but I realized recently that we were having scrambled eggs and fruit way too often. It was time to change it up a little. Variety is good and breakfast is yummy.
Reaction
Both boys enjoy most everything at breakfast, so these have also been a big hit. The German Pancakes and Muffins were a true highlight to our week. We even enjoyed the rest of the muffins for a few after-dinner desserts the rest of the week.
Summary
These foods have been added to the weekly rotation as Jonathan would say. When I get that comment, then I know it’s good.
Tags: breakfast, egg, family, omega-3, recipe, whole grain
Oh, so much changes in just one short year. As my boys approached their first birthday, I grew weepy thinking back on all we had experienced with the joy of life during the exciting first year.
Here are notes from our schedule for 10-12 months.
MONTH 10
Cereal was consistent and we were adding more fruits and vegetables throughout the day. While following the 3-5 day wait rule, I added various fruits for breakfast, green veggies for lunch, and orange veggies for dinner. The boys were taking 2 full naps and a third catnap in the late afternoon. I got them up for the day at 7:00am and they had a bottle and ate breakfast. They had another bottle and ate lunch at 11:00. Then, they would have another bottle and eat their afternoon meal at 3:00pm. The last feeding of the day was just a bottle at 7:00pm right before being laid down for bedtime. This 4 hour schedule worked well for a while.
MONTH 11
This month, we were down to just 2 naps around 9:00am and 1:00pm. The eating schedule stayed about the same while adding more and more quantities as well as mixing flavors. Some favorites were mango, blueberries, pears, avocado, banana, sweet potato, zucchini, squash, and carrots.
MONTH 12
Our sleeping and eating schedules stayed generally the same with lunch and the afternoon meal each moving about 30 minutes later. We kept increasing food amounts, varieties, textures, and mixtures. At this point, the boys were generally eating about 26-32 oz formula, 6-8 oz fruit, 1/2 cup porridge, and 6-8 oz vegetables every day. This was split up as follows:
- 7:00am – bottle, porridge, fruit (sometimes yogurt with berries or banana)
- 11:30am – bottle, green vegetable, fruit, and protein
- 3:30pm – bottle, snack (cheese, graham crackers, cheerios, or fruit)
- 7:00pm – water, yellow vegetable, grain (porridge from rice or millet or whole grain pasta)
RESOURCES
I’ve mentioned these before, but my two favorite resources have been Super Baby Food
by Ruth Yaron and wholesomebabyfood.com. Please share any other interesting or helpful resources. You may also benefit from some of these TIPS.
Be sure to also see these previous posts.
SAMPLE BABY FEEDING SCHEDULES: 10-12 Months (you are here)
SAMPLE BABY FEEDING SCHEDULES: 7-9 Months
SAMPLE BABY FEEDING SCHEDULES: 4-6 Months
SAMPLE BABY FEEDING SCHEDULES: 0-3 Months
SAMPLE BABY FEEDING SCHEDULES: Introduction
ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS
As always, be sure to discuss any feeding options, ideas, struggles, or issues along the way with your pediatrician.
Consistency is key. Decide what you want your daily routine to be and stick with it. Babies, children, and adults enjoy routine and knowing what to expect next. You will, of course, need to change with your children as they grow, but getting this established early is something that you will be thankful for in the future.
Keep taking notes and writing what your baby eats, how much, and how often. It will great in knowing where to go next and noting any allergy triggers or sleep issues. Full tummies like their sleep. My boys also definitely eat better when they are well rested.
NOTE: A month references the time from turning that age until the next older month. So, if your baby was born on January 1st, then those first weeks are considered MONTH 1 until he reaches February 1st. From then until March 2nd is considered MONTH 2. Remember that there are 52 weeks in a year, so it’s not an even 4 weeks per month.
Please share your thoughts and ideas.
Tags: cereal, formula, fruit, porridge, routine, schedule, schedules, vegetable
This was a very fun time. I felt like we really hit a groove and many things with our routine such as sleeping and eating really fell into place and stayed consistent for a while. Both boys also started crawling and pulling up to stand during this period which is so fun.
Here are notes from our schedule for 7-9 months.
MONTH 7
Cereal was consistent and we were adding more fruits and vegetables throughout the day. While following the 3-5 day wait rule, I added various fruits for breakfast, green veggies for lunch, and orange veggies for dinner. The boys were taking 2 full naps and a third catnap in the late afternoon. I got them up for the day at 7:00am and they had a bottle and ate breakfast. They had another bottle and ate lunch at 11:00. Then, they would have another bottle and eat their afternoon meal at 3:00pm. The last feeding of the day was just a bottle at 7:00pm right before being laid down for bedtime. This 4 hour schedule worked well for a while.
MONTH 8
This month, we were down to just 2 naps around 9:00am and 1:00pm. The eating schedule stayed about the same while adding more and more quantities as well as mixing flavors. Some favorites were mango, blueberries, pears, avocado, banana, sweet potato, zucchini, squash, and carrots.
MONTH 9
Our sleeping and eating schedules stayed generally the same with lunch and the afternoon meal each moving about 30 minutes later. We kept increasing food amounts, varieties, textures, and mixtures. At this point, the boys were generally eating about 26-32 oz formula, 6-8 oz fruit, 1/2 cup porridge, and 6-8 oz vegetables every day. This was split up as follows:
- 7:00am – bottle, porridge, fruit
- 11:00/11:30am – bottle, green vegetable, fruit
- 3:00/3:30pm – bottle, porridge, orange vegetable, fruit
- 7:00pm – bottle
RESOURCES
I’ve mentioned these before, but my two favorite resources have been Super Baby Food by Ruth Yaron and wholesomebabyfood.com. Please share any other interesting or helpful resources. You may also benefit from some of these TIPS.
Be sure to also see these previous posts.
SAMPLE BABY FEEDING SCHEDULES: 10-12 Months
SAMPLE BABY FEEDING SCHEDULES: 7-9 Months (you are here)
SAMPLE BABY FEEDING SCHEDULES: 4-6 Months
SAMPLE BABY FEEDING SCHEDULES: 0-3 Months
SAMPLE BABY FEEDING SCHEDULES: Introduction
ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS
As always, be sure to discuss any feeding options, ideas, struggles, or issues along the way with your pediatrician.
Consistency is key. Decide what you want your daily routine to be and stick with it. Babies, children, and adults enjoy routine and knowing what to expect next. You will, of course, need to change with your children as they grow, but getting this established early is something that you will be thankful for in the future.
Keep taking notes and writing what your baby eats, how much, and how often. It will great in knowing where to go next and noting any allergy triggers or sleep issues. Full tummies like their sleep. My boys also definitely eat better when they are well rested.
NOTE: A month references the time from turning that age until the next older month. So, if your baby was born on January 1st, then those first weeks are considered MONTH 1 until he reaches February 1st. From then until March 2nd is considered MONTH 2. Remember that there are 52 weeks in a year, so it’s not an even 4 weeks per month.
Please share your thoughts and ideas.
::
Tags: cereal, formula, fruit, porridge, routine, schedules, vegetable
