Monthly Archives: October 2012

Whole Food Wheatberry Ginger Breakfast Bread (Sugar-Free)

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I’m running out of preschool breakfast ideas so I’ve been making these easy “breakfast breads” because they’re so good and so easy to heat up on busy mornings. I usually serve them toasted with almond butter but since they do not allow any nuts at school, I’ve been serving it plain with sliced bananas topped with hemp seeds and unsweetened coconut. Our 15 month loves these too and I enjoy a few extra minutes in the morning to enjoy my cup of coffee instead of making my usual somewhat complicated breakfast menu. 😉

Oh and your kids will NEVER notice there are lentils and zucchini in this bread!!!

Whole Food Wheatberry Ginger Breakfast Bread

Whole Food Wheatberry Ginger Breakfast Bread

The original recipe is from my FAVORITE chef Melody from Melomeals!! I’ve featured many of her recipes because they are staples in our house and I have to share them with you!! Please check out her blog and LIKE her on Facebook!!! 

I make this and her Coconut Ginger Carrot Breakfast Bread (Sugar, Soy & Wheat-Free). We love both of them and highly recommend trying them!! This are really the only “breads” we eat besides the occasional Ezekiel slice. 

Whole Food Wheatberry Ginger Breakfast Bread

  • 1 lb dry wheatberries ground into flour (around 3 ½ cups) – original recipe calls for barley but I bet anything would do. Rolled oats have worked for me in the past as well.
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 3 tablespoons cinnamon
  • heaping ¼ teaspoon each nutmeg, cloves and cardamom
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon Kal Stevia Powder
  • 2 cups cooked lentils – I’ve also used the Organic Sprouted Trio mix from Costco I was talking about on Facebook 🙂
  • 5 small, 3 medium or 2 large zucchinis
  • 1 ½ cups water
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce – I use the cinnamon flavor
  • 4-5 tablespoons fresh ginger
  • 2 teaspoons vinegar – I use apple cider vinegar 

Directions:

  1. Pre-heat oven to 375
  2. Grind the flour (I use my VitaMix), place in large bowl with the dry ingredients
  3. In a large blender, add the rest of the ingredients and blend until totally smooth
  4. Make a well and pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
  5. Mix very well
  6. Grease a 9 by 13 pan and bake for 45 min – 1 hour, rotating pan halfway through
It is VERY important to let these cool completely before eating so the stevia flavor has a chance to settle down and mingle with the spices and moisture from the veggies/beans. The taste changes completely! 

 

Grind flour and place in large bowl. Blend the rest of the ingredients until smooth.

Add wet to dry and mix well

Smooth into 9″ x 13″ pan and bake for 45 min – 1 hour (I prefer 45 minutes, makes it a bit more chewy)

Allow to cool completely then cut and serve. Well…. I never get that far because I eat one small piece right when it comes out of the oven 😉

Quick and easy breakfast!!

Carrot Dogs

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“Carrot what?”

“Carrot dogs, you know… like hot dogs but carrots”

My husband was very confused with this one which says a lot because he’s so used to eating my random weird concoctions. He was confused for only a minute though because once he tried them he LOVED them! He said the guys at the station would love them and if you know firefighters, that says a lot.

We don’t usually eat a ton of bread but I really wanted to try these for camping so I bought some buns instead of wrapping them in collard wraps or something else creative. I had to give my hubby the full “hot dog” experience, right!?!

Carrot Dogs

Here goes the test bite…

Looks tasty!

He loved it!!!

Original recipe from Healthy Slow Cooking. I found this one on Pinterest!!

All Natural Carrot Dogs
soy-free gluten-free
serves 4 but can be easily doubled or even tripled (I doubled the recipe)

  • 4 carrots (cut into bun lengths)
  • 1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar (or apple cider vinegar and a dash of salt)
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil (Optional – I used bean liquid)
  • 2 tablespoons coconut aminos (can sub soy sauce but use unseasoned vinegar)
  • 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (or 1/2 clove garlic minced)
  • a dash or two liquid smoke
  • pepper to taste
  • Ezekiel sprouted hot dog buns

Fill a pot about half-way full of water, heat it on high until it boils. Turn down to medium heat and add the carrots. Cook until you can just pierce it through with a fork. You want it to still have a snap when you eat it. Run cold water over them to stop them from cooking more.

Combine the other ingredients to make the marinade. Use a container that has a tight lid so you can easily shake it without spraying it all over your kitchen. Marinate at least 3 to 4 hours, though they are fine for almost 2 days.

Put the carrots in the container and marinade for a few hours to up to a few days. If you marinate them longer they take on more of the vinegar flavor. If the carrots are very skinny I would not marinade them for more than 1 1/2 days so they don’t taste too sour.

To serve heat the carrots in a 350 degree oven or on in a grill pan on a hot grill until heated through. It should take about 10 to 15 minutes.

Serve in a toasted hot dog bun with your favorite toppings. They’re great the southern way  topped with chili and cole slaw! Prep these on a weekend and you’re ready for a quick weeknight treat.

You could also cook them in your slow cooker in the marinade. You will need to check on them so they do not get mushy, so it’s not an overnight or all day affair. If they get mushy when you re-heat them it will make a mess. Cook until a fork just goes through the carrot, but the carrot is still slightly firm.

Cut carrots into bun lengths – I cut the leftovers to add in too, testers!

Boil carrots until you can pierce with a fork but they’re still crisp – I think mine went about 4 minutes but they needed a bit longer. Remove from water and rinse with cold water to stop from cooking any more.

I left my carrots in the marinade for about 1 1/2 days.

Cook at 350 until heated through OR grill them. I used my toaster oven because my hubby was anxious to try them. Top with your favorite toppings!

It looks like a real hot dog….

Carrot Oatmeal Breakfast “Cookies”

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I’m always looking for ways to pack a bunch of nutrition into my preschoolers tiny breakfast/lunch box all while keeping the mess to a minimum. It’s not easy packing whole food plant-based meals sometimes so anything in a muffin, bar or cookie form is perfect. I very rarely use flour or other processed foods so that poses a bit of a challenge when cooking such things. These breakfast “cookies” are made with leftover No-Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal and they are very good! I’m sure you could use regular leftover oatmeal but I don’t think they’d be as good as these.

Carrot Oatmeal Breakfast “Cookies”

Recipe from Melomeals!!! What would I do without her!?!?! She has mad skills when it comes to the recreation of leftovers!!

Leftover Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies

½ batch ( around 1.5 cups ) No-Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal
1 c dry rolled oats
2 carrots, pulsed really well in the food processor
½ c raisins or dried fruit
1/8 t Kal Stevia (optional)
¼ t baking powder
Around ¼ c liquid ( non dairy milk )

Method:
Mix well. Taste batter and add more spices if desired as well. Add to parchment paper.

Bake for 20 minutes  at 375 – I used an ice cream scoop to make bigger cookies and I found that 20 minutes was the right amount of baking time. The original recipe calls for 11 minutes so try that first if you’re making regular sized cookies.

Add leftover oatmeal with carrots, raisins, oats, stevia (if using) and non-dairy milk and mix well

Spoon onto cookie sheet lined with parchment paper – I used a larger ice cream scoop and flattened the cookies before baking

Flattened and shaped’ish

Allow them to cool completely. Ready to pack in our preschooler’s breakfast box!!!

 

 

 

 

No-Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

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I’ve been making this recipe a few times a month for the past year so I decided to share it with you in case you haven’t already seen it. We eat oatmeal for breakfast most days so I’m always looking for new flavors to add to our menu. The funny thing about this oatmeal is there’s absolutely NO pumpkin in the recipe! That’s okay because it still tastes like it and my kids love it! Sorry for my usual lack of extensive photo creativity but my 14 month old was screaming in his high chair so this is what I’ve got for you. You’ll just have to trust me when I say it’s good! 😉 PLUS you can make Carrot Oatmeal Breakfast “Cookies” with the leftovers!!!!

No-Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal

The original recipe is from my favorite food blog Melomeals. PLEASE check out her blog because it is the best!!

Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal 
2 large or 3 small servings

2 large carrots
1 c cooked white beans
2 c water
Pinch salt (optional)
1 1/2 c old fashioned oats
1 tsp cinnamon
Pinch cardamom
Pinch cloves
1/8 tsp nutmeg
½  tsp balsamic vinegar
Sweetener or Stevia to taste ( I use 1-2 dates and blend them with the carrot/bean/water mixture )

Method:
Blend the carrots, white beans, dates (if using) and water until totally smooth. Pour into saucepan along with the oats and spices. Heat over medium heat stirring now and then to prevent sticking for around 20 minutes. Stir in the balsamic vinegar and sweetener.

Blend beans, carrots, dates and water in a high speed blender until smooth. If you don’t have one, use your food processor but soak the dates in hot water for 15 minutes first.

Do you like my shiny new VitaMix??? My old one broke after 2 years of use and Costco gave me a new one!!!!! YAY!!!!!

Pour mixture into saucepan over oats and spices

Cook on medium heat stirring occasionally for about 10-15 minutes. Add balsamic vinegar and stevia, if using

Cauliflower Chickpea Curry

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I’ve been craving curry with cauliflower and chickpeas for a while now so I decided to try this since cauliflower is on sale at Sprouts this week. This was really good and pretty easy to make. My hubby ate two small bowls of it before I even started the quinoa and our 14 month old son ate a ton of it! He’s learning how to use a spoon and did quite well with this dish! I served this over quinoa but I bet brown rice would work too.I also doubled the recipe in order to have lots of leftovers.

Cauliflower Chickpea Curry

Yummy!

Ingredients:

1⁄2 yellow onion, finely chopped

1⁄2 head cauliflower (about 1 pound), cut into florets

2 tablespoons curry powder – I used Kashmiri Curry from World Spice

1 vine-ripened tomato, chopped OR 1 can diced tomatoes

1 1⁄2 cups chickpeas, cooked OR 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 can full-fat coconut milk – (I used one can of regular and one can of lite)

1 tablespoon ume plum vinegar or apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger root

1/3 cup cilantro leaves, chopped – a few extra for garnish

Cooked quinoa – I served this over quinoa and it was really good! You could use brown rice too.

Procedure

  1. Water sauté the onion and cauliflower. Cook until the onions caramelize and the cauliflower is browned.
  2. Add the curry powder and tomatoes. Cook, stirring, until the tomatoes break down and soften, about 6 minutes.
  3. Mix in the chickpeas, tomato paste, ginger and coconut milk. Stir everything together. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until the cauliflower istender, about 15 to 20 minutes.
  4. Uncover and continue cooking until the excess moisture has evaporated and the cauliflower and chickpeas are coated with a thick gravy. Add ume vinegar/apple cider vinegar. Garnish with cilantro before serving.

    Saute cauliflower and onions until onions are caramelized and cauliflower is brown

    Add curry powder and tomatoes, cook until tomatoes break down and soften

    Add coconut milk, tomato paste and chickpeas… stir, cover and simmer for about 15-20 minutes

    Uncover and cook until most of the excess liquid cooks and a nice thick sauce is left

    Add chopped cilantro, stir and cook a few more minutes

    Serve over quinoa, garnish with cilantro!