Simple Life – Whole Grain Recipes – Living in the Moments
Last week I mentioned that whole grains were loaded with nutrients that a body needs to fuel the Simple Life. Multigrain, enriched, and organic do not mean the same thing as whole grain. Whole means all – you get all the nutrients of the grain in one place.
Simple. Done. Potential maximized.
I was on a quest to adapt my current go-to grain recipes into something at least on the way to whole grain. Instead of using all-purpose flour or white rice, I changed up a few of my recipes.
That’s what I’m sharing with you today – recipes that we use at our house. Some of these have been revised a few times during the years, for less sugar, less ingredients, better taste, etc.
Let’s start with a couple of breakfast recipes…
Muffins with Whole Wheat – Adapt to Your Taste!
1/2 cup white sugar, brown sugar, or honey
1/4 cup oil – vegetable, canola, or coconut
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce or pureed pumpkin or squash
3/4 cup milk – regular, lactose-free, almond, rice, soya
1 cup white flour – unbleached or all-purpose
Flavouring (optional) – 1/2 cup chocolate chips or chopped/ground nuts, 1 cup fruit (blueberries, cranberries, chopped strawberries, peaches, banana, etc. – you can add 2 tsp grated lemon/orange peel with fruit)
Preheat oven to 400 F. Add paper cups to muffin container if necessary. (Silicone cups work great!)
Beat together sweetener, oil, egg, puree, and milk (and grated peel if using) in a large bowl.
Add flours, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and flavouring to wet mixture.
Stir until blended, batter will still be lumpy.
1/2 cup chocolate chips or raisins or chopped/ground nuts (optional)
Beat together oats, milk egg, sweetener, oil, and vanilla in a large bowl.
Add flours, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and chocolate chips/raisins/nuts if using.
Mix together until well blended. Add more milk if still too dry.
A new favourite lunch recipe of mine…
2 cups cooked quinoa or rice (use brown or wild rice for whole grains)
1 small onion – red, white, shallots
1 cup diced vegetables – mushrooms, peppers, etc.
1 cup cooked black beans (1/2 of 19 oz. can, drained)
Heat olive oil over medium-high heat frying pan.
Add onion and garlic and vegetables to hot oil and sautee for about 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring often.
Turn heat to low and add chili sauce and black beans to vegetable mixture.
Add vegetable mixture to rice/quinoa once grains are cooked.
Stir all together, refrigerate or freeze portions for later use if needed.
Makes 3 meal-sized servings.
*Adapted from a recipe on Frugalwoods.com
And a favourite for movie night at our house…
Pizza Dough With Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 cup plus 1-2 tbsp olive oil
Mix together warm water, yeast and sugar in large bowl. Let sit for 5-10 minutes or until foamy on top.
Add flours, salt, and 1/2 cup olive oil. Mix and knead together until all ingredients are combined well and dough is elastic (you can move the dough onto a floured surface to complete this step if needed).
Take dough out of bowl and lightly coat bowl with 1-2 tbsp olive oil. Place dough back in bowl and turn over once to coat with oil.
Cover bowl with plastic wrap or tea towel and let dough rise in warm, draft-free area for 30-60 minutes or until dough is about double in size.
Roll out dough on floured surface. You can make 2-3 rectangle pizzas to fit on large baking sheets. OR you can freeze dough for later, thaw out overnight before using.
Top pizza dough with sauce, cheese, and other toppings.
Bake for about 20 minutes or until crust is golden brown on top.
I have also been trying my hand at homemade bread, and so far it’s going well, but I need to find some whole grain recipes for that. And then on to buns for burgers and sandwiches and rolls for roasts and stews.
It’s s work in progress, but I am more eager to get into the kitchen than I have been for a while. It’s wonderful to have a new direction and focus and a simple, basic approach to what should be happening in the kitchen.
Do you have any whole grain recipes to share? I’d love to try them out!
Next Meeting Oliver