Monday, February 25, 2013
We visited a farm
Sunday, February 24, 2013
Stevia
When I first learned of stevia, I did all kinds of research on it and I couldn't find anything negative. I started using it (a little). It is a strong sweetener, and I only liked it with cinnamon. I just found new research that makes me glad I never loved it.
http://nutritionfacts.org/video/is-stevia-good-for-you/
Basically, the video tells you not to eat too much of it because bacteria in our guts produce steviol glycosides, a mutagenic compound. as it moves through our guts. (How much is too much? 1.8 milligrams of stevia per pound of body weight is what you should stay under. In my stevia there are 40 milligrams of stevia per 1/4 teaspoon.)
Will I still eat it? Maybe here and there, but I will eat it less. I used to eat it most mornings on my oatmeal. I'm sure I was under the maximum amount that is considered safe.
What's my favorite sweetener? Maple Syrup. Someday, I'll do a post about why I like it! Really.
When I want a no or low glycemic sweetener, I will probably turn to erythitol as this video suggests it's safe, and that it contains antioxidants.
http://nutritionfacts.org/video/erythritol-may-be-a-sweet-antioxidant/
I'll keep watching for new research on the foods we eat and posting it here.
http://nutritionfacts.org/video/is-stevia-good-for-you/
Basically, the video tells you not to eat too much of it because bacteria in our guts produce steviol glycosides, a mutagenic compound. as it moves through our guts. (How much is too much? 1.8 milligrams of stevia per pound of body weight is what you should stay under. In my stevia there are 40 milligrams of stevia per 1/4 teaspoon.)
Will I still eat it? Maybe here and there, but I will eat it less. I used to eat it most mornings on my oatmeal. I'm sure I was under the maximum amount that is considered safe.
What's my favorite sweetener? Maple Syrup. Someday, I'll do a post about why I like it! Really.
When I want a no or low glycemic sweetener, I will probably turn to erythitol as this video suggests it's safe, and that it contains antioxidants.
http://nutritionfacts.org/video/erythritol-may-be-a-sweet-antioxidant/
I'll keep watching for new research on the foods we eat and posting it here.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Chocolate Fever...
Inspired by this yummy treat, I threw almond milk (~3 cups), 2 bananas, 2 tablespoons of raw cocoa, 2 tablespoons of maple syrup, some chocolate chips ~1/4 a cup and a lot of ice into our blender....
Yum... I should have taken a picture. Next time we make it, I will--trust me, there will be a next time. The girls decided that we should call this drink "Chocolate fever." Kira has a fever (and so do I), and it was yummy. She felt better after drinking it. I just feel tired. This cold is NO fun.
Oh, next time, I'll probably make it, then pour 1/2 out for Tia and Nat and then add a tablespoon or so of PB for Kira and me.
Note, when making stuff in a blender, it's very easy to guess and not be too precise in measuring. I just kind of "eyeball it" and see if it looks like the right texture. If it's too thick, I add more liquid. Usually, it's not thick enough. I usually add ice in that case. (You could add another banana if you wanted, but it might turn too banana-y.) I added the chocolate chips at the last minute 'cause it seemed to need a little more chocolate and I thought it would give it a nicer texture. Have fun with your blender! It's hard to go wrong!
Yum... I should have taken a picture. Next time we make it, I will--trust me, there will be a next time. The girls decided that we should call this drink "Chocolate fever." Kira has a fever (and so do I), and it was yummy. She felt better after drinking it. I just feel tired. This cold is NO fun.
Oh, next time, I'll probably make it, then pour 1/2 out for Tia and Nat and then add a tablespoon or so of PB for Kira and me.
Note, when making stuff in a blender, it's very easy to guess and not be too precise in measuring. I just kind of "eyeball it" and see if it looks like the right texture. If it's too thick, I add more liquid. Usually, it's not thick enough. I usually add ice in that case. (You could add another banana if you wanted, but it might turn too banana-y.) I added the chocolate chips at the last minute 'cause it seemed to need a little more chocolate and I thought it would give it a nicer texture. Have fun with your blender! It's hard to go wrong!
Tuesday, February 19, 2013
green x 5
Just cook them up... I added onion and sauteed in a little veggie broth.
I like them with a little soy sauce on them... or leave them plain and put black beans on them. They are super in wraps, too! They are super with quinoa, brown rice, or whole wheat noodles... Really, they are just super.
Monday, February 11, 2013
It's a wrap!
Sunday, February 10, 2013
One recipe, 3 varieties!
My Happy Healthy friend posted just in time for my birthday... as soon as I saw it, I knew I'd make it! She got it from a friend and it's yum. Of course, I made some modifications. That's what I do.
I made it pretty close to the recipe, but I added some baking powder. It didn't do that much, because these were gluten-free flour pancakes. (Nick's comment was they'd be better with some wheat gluten mixed in.) I also added a dash of salt. For making pancakes, I had to add more almond milk. The batter was probably the right consistency for waffles, but for pancakes it was too thick. I don't know how much extra almond milk I added. I just poured and stirred until it looked "right." Next time, I'll probably add some vanilla to the mix, just because I think a little vanilla makes everything taste better.
Oh, I need to tell you about the 3 varieties. Before I added the spices (see end of the recipe) I divided the mix up into 3 parts.
In part 1, I put no spices, but added chocolate chips! This was the "sinful" kind of pancakes. I added a thin layer of peanut butter on top of one of the cooked ones--oh my! It was like a healthy Reese's peanut butter cup.
In part 2, I put in both cinnamon and nutmeg.
In part 3, I just put cinnamon.
Of course, I liked part 1 best. BUT, for feeling healthy, I liked part 3 best. I made smaller pancakes than described. I won't tell you how many I ate, but after breakfast, I went to do Zumba so it's all good.
Super yum!! I wish I had a waffle maker, but I can't quite justify purchasing one. I am interested in the stainless steel kind that you cook with on the stove.
From Happy Healthy and her friend...
Ingredients:
1 cup of oats (rolled oats or steel-cut) I've used both. Rolled oats might grind more easily.
1 cup raw buckwheat groats
1/2 cup ground flax seeds/flax meal
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds (I used pumpkin seeds!)
1/4 cup raisins or currants
1 very ripe medium to large speckled banana
3 cups of unsweetened almond milk--or your favorite non-dairy milk. Water can also be used--although I've only made this with milk.
----------------
here's where you choose what you want to do regarding flavor.
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
some chocolate chips
Optional spices include: pumpkin pie, allspice, ginger, cloves, vanilla to taste
Preparation:
1. Before you start, soak the 1/4 cup of raisins in about 1 cup of the milk needed for the recipe.
2. SEPARATELY grind each of the grains & seeds in a power blender, like a VitaMix. Emptying the contents into a large bowl after each one is ground. Works beautifully--& this won't clog up your blender. DO NOT try to grind everything together at the same time. DO NOT GRIND or blend the raisins in anything--except the milk.
I'm sure a food processor will also work, but, I haven't tested that out.
NOTE: Raisins or currants are too gooey & must be blended separately with the milk, or they'll get stuck around the blades. Because the pumpkin seeds have fat in them, they don't grind up as "cleanly" as do the grains.
3. Pour the remaining milk--2 cups--into an empty blender, along with the raisins & their 1 cup of soaking milk & the banana.
(If you want, add the cinnamon & nutmeg & mix until well-blended.)
4. Pour the milk into the bowl with all the ground up grains & seeds & mix until just smooth with a whisk or a mixer on slow speed.
5. Preheat your griddle or non stick pan. (I have a green pan and it took a little oil to season it while cooking the first few pancakes and then the rest of the pancakes cooked and didn't stick and I didn't add any more.)
6. I made fairly small pancakes ('cause I think they are cuter that way, but they won't toast super well as leftovers--see #7 ... alas. I did make some big enough to toast.)
7. Store extras in the refrigerator or freeze them. Heat them up in a toaster oven for crispness. You can top them however you want... PB, PB2, Fruit, nothing, Maple Syrup, your choice!
I made it pretty close to the recipe, but I added some baking powder. It didn't do that much, because these were gluten-free flour pancakes. (Nick's comment was they'd be better with some wheat gluten mixed in.) I also added a dash of salt. For making pancakes, I had to add more almond milk. The batter was probably the right consistency for waffles, but for pancakes it was too thick. I don't know how much extra almond milk I added. I just poured and stirred until it looked "right." Next time, I'll probably add some vanilla to the mix, just because I think a little vanilla makes everything taste better.
Oh, I need to tell you about the 3 varieties. Before I added the spices (see end of the recipe) I divided the mix up into 3 parts.
In part 1, I put no spices, but added chocolate chips! This was the "sinful" kind of pancakes. I added a thin layer of peanut butter on top of one of the cooked ones--oh my! It was like a healthy Reese's peanut butter cup.
In part 2, I put in both cinnamon and nutmeg.
In part 3, I just put cinnamon.
Of course, I liked part 1 best. BUT, for feeling healthy, I liked part 3 best. I made smaller pancakes than described. I won't tell you how many I ate, but after breakfast, I went to do Zumba so it's all good.
Super yum!! I wish I had a waffle maker, but I can't quite justify purchasing one. I am interested in the stainless steel kind that you cook with on the stove.
From Happy Healthy and her friend...
Ingredients:
1 cup of oats (rolled oats or steel-cut) I've used both. Rolled oats might grind more easily.
1 cup raw buckwheat groats
1/2 cup ground flax seeds/flax meal
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds (I used pumpkin seeds!)
1/4 cup raisins or currants
1 very ripe medium to large speckled banana
3 cups of unsweetened almond milk--or your favorite non-dairy milk. Water can also be used--although I've only made this with milk.
----------------
here's where you choose what you want to do regarding flavor.
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
some chocolate chips
Optional spices include: pumpkin pie, allspice, ginger, cloves, vanilla to taste
Preparation:
1. Before you start, soak the 1/4 cup of raisins in about 1 cup of the milk needed for the recipe.
2. SEPARATELY grind each of the grains & seeds in a power blender, like a VitaMix. Emptying the contents into a large bowl after each one is ground. Works beautifully--& this won't clog up your blender. DO NOT try to grind everything together at the same time. DO NOT GRIND or blend the raisins in anything--except the milk.
I'm sure a food processor will also work, but, I haven't tested that out.
NOTE: Raisins or currants are too gooey & must be blended separately with the milk, or they'll get stuck around the blades. Because the pumpkin seeds have fat in them, they don't grind up as "cleanly" as do the grains.
3. Pour the remaining milk--2 cups--into an empty blender, along with the raisins & their 1 cup of soaking milk & the banana.
(If you want, add the cinnamon & nutmeg & mix until well-blended.)
4. Pour the milk into the bowl with all the ground up grains & seeds & mix until just smooth with a whisk or a mixer on slow speed.
5. Preheat your griddle or non stick pan. (I have a green pan and it took a little oil to season it while cooking the first few pancakes and then the rest of the pancakes cooked and didn't stick and I didn't add any more.)
6. I made fairly small pancakes ('cause I think they are cuter that way, but they won't toast super well as leftovers--see #7 ... alas. I did make some big enough to toast.)
7. Store extras in the refrigerator or freeze them. Heat them up in a toaster oven for crispness. You can top them however you want... PB, PB2, Fruit, nothing, Maple Syrup, your choice!
Saturday, February 2, 2013
At long last! Modified Pumpkin Squares!
Here's the old pumpkin squares recipe... Below is the new one! The first time I made the bars, with the old recipe, I used too few dates. I didn't have medjool dates. The bars with too few dates were just okay.
I used more dates the second time, but the bars still didn't taste as I expected they'd taste. They were good, but I wanted something a little more. I figured I still wasn't using enough dates so I did a google search and found that 10 medjool dates are supposed to have 660 calories and 180 carbohydrates. Wow. That's a lot of sugar. I only used about 1/2 that amount in the dates in my second attempt (about 350 calories worth of dates). I guess it's no wonder that the pumpkin squares were still a little flat.
(The sites where I read about medjool dates raved about them, so maybe the medjool date makes a huge difference, but wow... 660 calories and 180 carbs. I really like eating pumpkin squares and if I eat 1/4 of the pan in one sitting, um, that's a lot of sugar--even if it's date sugar. Not that I'd ever eat 1/4 of a pan in one sitting. No sir. Moving on.)
The calories in one medjool date X 10 for the old recipe...
I thought about the recipe and realized that I really like the taste of maple syrup, and that, most likely, if I used it, instead of dates, I'd be able to use less (so less sugar) and still get the taste I like. I decided to go with 1/3 of a cup (let's just round to 6 tablespoons). That's 314 calories and 80 carbs. Still a lot of sugar, but 1/2 as much as what the dates were contributing.
I also wanted to add my dark chocolate chips! I also wanted a teeny bit of fat in the mix so I added a little flax. Here's what I came up with:
1/3 cup dark chocolate chips
1/3 cup maple syrup
2/3 cup water
1.5 cups oat flour (use rolled oats grind your own if you have a blender)
1-2 tablespoons flax
1 15-oz. can cooked pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup almond milk
I made it and put it in my little silicone muffin cups. Perfect--12 servings for me! You can still eat 1/4 of the pan, but it's 3 muffins worth and after 2 muffins, I can usually stop.
I'm pleased that I reduced the sugar content by 1/2 and I really like the flavor. Someday, I have to do a post on sweetners, but for now, read about maple syrup here. Maple syrup is my favorite!
(I did add a little fat with the flax and chocolate chips, but apparently I took some out when I stopped using the dates 'cause As I calculated it, the original recipe had 4 grams of fat and 3 grams of saturated fat.)
Note, I cooked the muffins at 350 for 25-30 minutes. They come out of the oven very, um, gooey, in fact, almost undercooked. They firm up as they cool--I stick mine in the refrigerator.
I used more dates the second time, but the bars still didn't taste as I expected they'd taste. They were good, but I wanted something a little more. I figured I still wasn't using enough dates so I did a google search and found that 10 medjool dates are supposed to have 660 calories and 180 carbohydrates. Wow. That's a lot of sugar. I only used about 1/2 that amount in the dates in my second attempt (about 350 calories worth of dates). I guess it's no wonder that the pumpkin squares were still a little flat.
(The sites where I read about medjool dates raved about them, so maybe the medjool date makes a huge difference, but wow... 660 calories and 180 carbs. I really like eating pumpkin squares and if I eat 1/4 of the pan in one sitting, um, that's a lot of sugar--even if it's date sugar. Not that I'd ever eat 1/4 of a pan in one sitting. No sir. Moving on.)
The calories in one medjool date X 10 for the old recipe...
I thought about the recipe and realized that I really like the taste of maple syrup, and that, most likely, if I used it, instead of dates, I'd be able to use less (so less sugar) and still get the taste I like. I decided to go with 1/3 of a cup (let's just round to 6 tablespoons). That's 314 calories and 80 carbs. Still a lot of sugar, but 1/2 as much as what the dates were contributing.
I also wanted to add my dark chocolate chips! I also wanted a teeny bit of fat in the mix so I added a little flax. Here's what I came up with:
1/3 cup dark chocolate chips
1/3 cup maple syrup
2/3 cup water
1.5 cups oat flour (use rolled oats grind your own if you have a blender)
1-2 tablespoons flax
1 15-oz. can cooked pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup almond milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1.5 teaspoons of cinnamon
.5 - 1 teaspoon nutmeg
.5- 1 teaspoon of allspice
1/4 teaspoon of cloves if you want
1.5 teaspoons of cinnamon
.5 - 1 teaspoon nutmeg
.5- 1 teaspoon of allspice
1/4 teaspoon of cloves if you want
I made it and put it in my little silicone muffin cups. Perfect--12 servings for me! You can still eat 1/4 of the pan, but it's 3 muffins worth and after 2 muffins, I can usually stop.
(I did add a little fat with the flax and chocolate chips, but apparently I took some out when I stopped using the dates 'cause As I calculated it, the original recipe had 4 grams of fat and 3 grams of saturated fat.)
Note, I cooked the muffins at 350 for 25-30 minutes. They come out of the oven very, um, gooey, in fact, almost undercooked. They firm up as they cool--I stick mine in the refrigerator.
