Super Granola

       This past weekend I made a recipe that I had never made before, though I had eaten it many times.  I was rummaging through my recipe box and found "Mom's Granola".  My mom concocted this recipe many years ago and it was the main ingredient at our family breakfast table all my growing up years.  So, I decided to try it out on my kids.  They were more than enthusiastic, and I have already made a second batch because they scarfed down the last one so quickly!
     I called it "Super Granola" for many reasons: it's super easy, super yummy, and super healthy for you!  Your kids will think you are super mom if you make this for them and you'll feel super because it is so much better than store bought cereal.  Here's the recipe:

Preheat oven to 300.  Combine in a large bowl:

               6 cups old fashioned rolled oats

               3/4 cup wheat germ

               1/4 cup sesame seeds

               1 cup walnuts ( I had pecans)

               1/2 cup powdered milk

               1/4 cup flax seed

                1/2 cup flaked coconut

    Then combine in a small saucepan:

                 1/2 cup brown sugar

                 2/3 cup honey

                 1/3 cup butter

                 1/3 cup oil (I used coconut, of course!)

                 2 tbsp water

                 1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Heat on low until just melted.  Don't let it boil or your brown sugar and butter will turn to caramel!

Pour the sugar mixture over the oat mixture and mix well.  Spread onto a greased flat pan.  Bake for 20 minutes, then stir.  Return to the oven for another 15-20 minutes until golden brown and slightly crispy around the edges.  Let cool and then break up with a butter knife and store in a glass jar. Enjoy for breakfast, or any other time as a quick snack!  You can substitute many other grains and nuts.  You can also add raisins, cranberries or other dried fruits, just stir them in after it has baked and cooled.  Enjoy!

Breakfast

   

      Yes, moms all across the ages have been saying it for years: "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day."  And they are right.  Let's take a look at the first meal of the day.
     First of all, the very name can teach us a lot.  Breakfast comes from "break the fast".  You have been ( or should have been) sleeping all night.  Your body has been on a fast (unless you are a midnight snacker!).  Your metabolism has slowed down significantly.  When you get up, your body is hungry and needs some nourishment.  Breakfast is the fuel that your body needs to get going and make it through the day.  It awakens your brain as well!  Breakfast helps to curb your hunger and keeps you from binge eating throughout the day.  It has been proven that kids do better in school when they have eaten a good breakfast. 
     The key word in the above paragraph is "good".  Let's investigate some of the common breakfast foods that we often eat.  Walk down your local grocery store's cereal aisle and you are overwhelmed with colors and kinds and flavors.  Have you ever noticed that the junkiest cereals are the cheapest?  As a health conscious and budget conscious shopper, that fact alone drives me nuts.  Why are the cereals that go through the most processing and have the most ingredients in them and are advertised the most have the lowest price?  Supply and demand  my dear, supply and demand.  There is more demand for the colorful, sugar infested foods and so the ones that are the healthiest cost the most.  Argh.  And then there are the pop tarts.  These have become staple in the American diet.  A dry chunk of goo and cardboard, supposedly loaded with 11 essential vitamins and minerals, that you just pop into your toaster and you are ready to go!?!?  Sugar has become the staple ingredient of breakfast foods.  We all think sweet when we want breakfast.  Yet, sugar is the worst thing you can put in a body that has been fasting.

     Do you know how to read sugar content in foods?  It's pretty easy.  Look at the nutrition facts on a package.  Near the bottom you will see "sugars" and an amount in grams.  Divide that number by 5 and that will tell you how many teaspoons of sugar are in one serving of that particular item.  Notice the following picture:

     19 grams of sugar calculates to about 4 teaspoons of sugar.  Have you guessed what these "nutrition" facts are for??  Yes, pop tarts.  My husband is addicted.  I can tell my kids what to eat, but I can't tell him!  So, for each  pastry, there are 4 teaspoons of sugar.  Of course, Kellogg's puts them 2 in a package so you think that 2 is a serving.  So in reality you are getting more like 10 teaspoons of sugar!!  Wow.  Pay attention next time you buy something to the serving size on a common food you eat.  Usually they give a small portion size so the nutrition facts look better.  Deceptive!
     Eating sugar for breakfast makes you feel energetic at first and then drops your energy level quickly.  Sugar is one of the foods that digests the fastest, so you feel its effects quickly and then feel empty sooner.    A better choice for breakfast foods would be to choose something with more protein that takes longer to digest and stays with you longer. You will feel fuller longer, you won't get that sinking feeling at 10 a.m. and go looking for more sugar to fill you up.  Did you know that white, processed flour and corn and rice also turn to sugar in your system?  Isn't interesting that most popular cereals are  made of these ingredients.   If you must eat something sweet, balance it with an egg or bacon or some REAL whole grain bread.
     Eggs are a perfect breakfast food.  They are full of super protein.  When I eat eggs for breakfast I don't feel hungry again until lunch time.  I fact, I have read of a diet that consists of eating 30 grams of protein for breakfast (about 6 eggs!!), and starting your day full and giving you the boost of energy and fuel that you need.   Many people would lose weight quickly if they followed this plan.
     One of the complaints about breakfast is that you don't feel hungry at that time of the day.  Yes, stress about your day can complicate the feeling of needing food.  You also can stifle the hunger pangs after a certain length of fasting.  Find something you do like.  Change the breakfast menu and eat meat and potatoes, or soup, or a sandwich for breakfast!
     One of my favorite breakfast recipes is the following pancake recipe.  Yes, is has some sugar in it, but the balance comes from the whole wheat, oil and eggs.  No, I don't get up at 5 a.m. to make these. I make them during the day and freeze them (Eggo had the right idea!) and then just pop them in the toaster or microwave for a happy kid's breakfast.  My kids like maple syrup, apple butter, powdered sugar (slight amount! ) and even honey or just butter.  They are super easy to make and a very flexible recipe to shape to your family's needs.

Whole Grain Pancakes
 *Makes approx. a dozen medium sized pancakes.  I cook them in coconut oil  (or butter, or olive oil) on my griddle set at 300.

1 1/2 cups buttermilk (or milk, cream, canned milk, water, juice, yogurt...)
1 egg
2 Tbsp. oil (hint: use the same measuring spoon for the honey and it will slide right out!)
2 Tbsp. honey
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour ( I often add half oat flour, or ground flax for added nutrition)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. soda
2 tsp. baking powder

     Combine all ingredients.  If you like thin pancakes, add more liquid;  add more flour if you like thick pancakes.  Fry in oil or butter (coconut oil seems the best!).   Cool on a cooling rack if you are planning to freeze them.  I freeze them in bags of a dozen (yes, I triple the recipe).


     So, let me encourage you to start your day with a good foundation.  Nothing for breakfast is not good, but a junky breakfast is not good either.  Take the time to think about what you are ingesting and make choices that will help you get through your day feeling more energetic and better about yourself!

Add a little love...er, nutrition.

     I have some very picky eaters in my family.  I have a 5 year old who doesn't eat anything with sauce or cheese on it, so that leaves out your typical kid foods!   It is a struggle that every mom goes through, wondering if her kids are getting enough nutrition from chicken nuggets and Kraft mac-n-cheese. 

     A few years ago, I came across a cookbook that told about hiding different vegetables in "normal" meals in a way that would not be detectable to the typical child's taste.  This lady had a whole system of pureeing various vegetables once a week and freezing them in portion sizes and then using them in her various recipes.  Seemed like a lot of work, but I did like the idea of adding nutrition to every meal. 

     I can remember how my mom dealt with picky eaters when I was growing up.  I recall she would juice fresh green beans and put it in spaghetti sauce.  She would make jello and add yogurt to it (yummy, I may have to ask her about that to try on the kids!), or make special "cookies" with wheat germ and bran in them!
As we got older, we were wise to her tricks, but we also learned to like the good food she cooked and could tolerate a small portion of something that wasn't our favorite.
     So, our next simple step to healthier living, is to try getting some good veggies or protein in your picky eaters by adding it to something they normally eat.  My kids love veggies, but don't like a lot of protein, so I often add refried beans or puree'd black beans to spaghetti sauce.  I've made brownies with spinach and carrots in them and chocolate pudding made with avocado.  I've juiced fresh carrot and celery juice and made jello with it.  I add ground flax and oat flour to cookies and banana bread. I have a great recipe for sweet potato pound cake that everyone loves-- and I make it with whole wheat flour and coconut oil!

     One of my favorite ways to get my kids to eat good vegetables, is to let them eat them in a different way than they normally do.  My kids love frozen peas fresh from the freezer, or a slice of raw sweet potato.  We have eaten carrots with peanut butter raisins on it (celery,too). I just recently found out that my kids love beets, I guess just for the purple color! 

    I would recommend the book Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld (Yes, married to Jerry).  She is the queen of hiding veggies in things.  Her recipes are a little dry because she also cooks extremely low fat (not the best for you-- as we will discuss another time), so instead of using egg whites and lowfat margarine in her recipes, I use whole eggs and butter.  Some of the baking recipes are a little dry and could use another egg or some buttermilk or oat flour to moisten things up. She does tell all about making the puree's in advance and freezing them, if you are interested in that.  I came across another book recently titled How to Cheat on your Man (In the Kitchen) by the Sneaky Chef.  Most of those recipes are things that guys would love with a little extra love added in there!

     I would love to hear your ideas on getting your family to eat right, or some favorite recipes that have some extra goodies added in!