Monday, April 16, 2012

Too Darn Tasty to be Healthy

Hey,
It's been a while.. I am not a good multi-tasker, so I basically took an Internet hiatus while getting my bearings on everything else in my life.

So, I lost the filter to my wheat grinder a couple weeks ago, and thought I might try grinding some wheat without it.. after all, it's just a little spongy disk thing.. I was sure I could get away without it until I got a new one.


Yeah.. not so much.

That is just a small little sample of what the rest of my kitchen looked like. I quickly got on the Internet and ordered some replacements. But they wouldn't arrive for who knows how long, so it was a long and unhealthy week of white dinner rolls, pancakes, and noodles (yum). Store bought wheat tortillas (eh), and bread (yuck). I think the kids were in bleached flour heaven, but I was missing my fresh ground whole wheat like crazy!

Once my new filters arrived, balance was restored and I have a weeks worth of whole wheat recipes to share.

Last night we had breakfast for dinner. I'm not usually in the mood to mess my kitchen up first thing in the morning, so we like to go all out at dinner time.

What you see below looks too gooey and delicious to be healthy, but I'll shed some light on exactly what is in the photo. And let me assure you it is certainly at least as good as it looks.


These are Whole wheat pancakes, sugar omitted, and coconut oil added. Coconut oil is really good for you, it's actually the only oil that is stable enough to withstand heat, according to this dude. (BTW, if you click on any link, it will take you to studies and listed health benefits)

On top of the pancake, you will find 100% natural peanut butter, bananas, and topped with walnuts toasted in 100% natural maple syrup, and then drizzled with said syrup. (Not too much. It's already pretty sweet.)

And that's it.

The recipe I use (and adapted) is Marianne's. I think she's married to Andrea's brother.. Anyway, I got it from our trusty Orton Family Cookbook. Just a little shout out to Marianne here; Her recipes have been some of my favorites, and I hope if she reads this she'll feel inspired to contribute to all the recipe Fridays.

Marrianne's Favorite Pancakes

1 1/4 cup Flour (whole wheat)
3 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 T sugar (which I omit)
1 egg, beaten
1 cup milk
2 T oil (I melt the coconut oil in pan and add to the mix. stir fast so that it blends well.. it's hot)

Combine dry ingredients. in separate bowl combine egg, milk, and oil. Add to dry ingredients. Cook on medium heat in lightly greased skillet until golden brown and set. Turn once. Yields about 6-8







10 comments:

  1. That looks SO good. I dunno about my kids. They are so hooked on drenching breakfast food in fake sugary maple flavored syrup that I don't know if they'd fall for the p.b. and banana trick. It's certainly worth a try to find out. If they don't like it, well, then I guess I'll have to eat it all.

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  2. I do this to my pancakes (same recipe - Marianne, you ARE healthy!), too. But never thought to add the nuts. Yum! My kids will have nothing to do with it, however. So I still let them have "regular" syrup - regular because it has sugar in it, "regular" because I make it. At least it doesn't have any extra crap added to it that way. It's how I justify it.

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  3. I served real maple syrup this weekend (on French toast, not that healthy) and absolutely LOVED it! Truman ate it without comment (a good sign).

    I can't get over my fear of grinding my own wheat. I know it's unrealistic, but...perhaps a cousin could see fit to take me up on my free plane ticket offer and come show a girl how to make bread!

    Love the site, ladies! Thanks for putting great (healthy) recipes at my fingertips!

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    1. If you're offering to fly me out there, just email me the itinerary :)

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  4. Oh my goodness! I feel so honored! I'm glad you enjoy my recipes. I think you definitely improved it, though. I'm really enjoying this new blog of yours and Andrea's. My journey toward eating less processed foods is starting out very slow and feeling very up hill, but thanks to you two I'm feeling very inspired to keep going. I just got a wheat grinder and am going to try making bread for my first time! Wish me luck!

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    1. good luck! Just remember, it takes a few times to get the hang of it, and then it's not a big deal to throw it together. don't give up. And let me know if you decide 6 loaves at a time (freeze them), so you don't have to make it as often is something that appeals to you. Alls you need is a bosch (power). My recipe is super easy and delish. I don't even have to measure the flour. Just throw in a #10 can of wheat (ground).. anyway, I endorse it.

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  5. P.S.

    I just read the article about coconut oil, and I'm sold! Wow! I've already started using it, but I had no idea it was that amazing! I do have a question: have you noticed your food tasting like coconut? I used it in cake on Sunday (I know, it's not healthy, but at least I tried to make a little better for me), and the would-be chocolate cake turned into a coconut chocolate cake. Almost everyone was okay with it (everyone except the little girl I made the cake for!), but there are some things I don't want to take on the coconut flavor. Do I just have to get used to it or is it only certain kinds that will do that (the jar I have is Virgin and Unrefined)?

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    1. It does have a coconutty flavor, and it does seem to affect the taste of most things i put in it.. that said. I love the flavor and put it in without any real consideration of who is eating it. I haven't tried it with a cake, because I haven't made one in such a long time, and I have gone nazi only recently. I still use butter where called for. I use coconut oil in bread, which I didn't notice any difference, and neither did my family. (If anything, they ate more when it came out all warm from the oven, than usual) I also used it to saute some veggies and there was a subtle coconut flavor mixed in with the garlic, and other seasonings, but I really liked it. My advice would be to make adjustment that work for you. WIth me, my food prep methods are ever evolving.

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  6. Love your blog. I stay away from sugar and white flour.

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    1. Thanks, and welcome. We look forward to your comments and recipes :)

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