Tag: snacks

Oatmeal/7 Grain Chia Raisin Walnut Muffins

oatmeal whole grain cereal chia raisin muffins

Oh these muffins were fantastic! Surprisingly, rolled oats work well in place of flour in muffins. I also used Bob’s Red Mill 7 Grain hot cereal, but plain oat bran would work fine. Hmm, I also might try 100% rolled oats next time!

Muffins made from cereal are a quick & easy way to eat a healthy breakfast, especially when you have someone that generally doesn’t like hot cereal!

Like most muffins, these freeze well!

Oatmeal/7 Grain Chia Raisin Walnut Muffins Ingredients:

Makes 12 muffins

1 cup dry Bob’s Red Mill 7 Grain Hot Cereal
1 cup rolled oats
1 tsp salt
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 oz chopped Walnuts
1/4 cup Chia Seeds (I used Bob’s Red Mill brand)
1 cup Yogurt, Plain, Whole Milk
1 large Egg
1/4 cup Molasses
1 Tbsp Honey, optionally dissolved in 1/4 cup water
1/4 cup Olive Oil
84g Raisins (about 3/4 – 1 cup)

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350F
Whisk all dry ingredients (including nuts & chia seeds) in large bowl
Whisk wet ingredients in a large glass measuring cup
Mix wet into dry ingredients, then carefully mix in raisins
Divide into (12) paper-lined muffin pan(s)
Bake for about 18 minutes or until muffins are lightly browned & firm to touch
Remove from muffin pan(s) and allow to cool on rack
Enjoy!

oatmeal whole grain cereal chia raisin muffins

Nutritional Data

Calories: 214
Fat: 10g
Saturated: 1.6g
Poly-unsat: 1.8g
Mono-unsat: 3.8g
Cholesterol: 20mg
Sodium: 191mg
Potassium: 165mg
Carbs: 29g
Fiber: 4.7g
Sugar: 12g
Protein: 6g
Calcium: 12%
Iron: 8%

oatmeal whole grain cereal chia raisin muffins

Bob’s Red Mill Cereal Muffins with Peaches, Strawberries, & Raisins

I love making muffins using Bob’s Red Mill 7 Grain (or 10 grain) hot cereal. They’re similar to oat bran muffins, but so much better!

My husband enjoys eating muffins for an easy breakfast-on-the-go, and I always keep a batch in zip bags in the freezer for him. These muffins are especially great for those (like my DH) that do not like hot cereal! They make a great mid day snack too!

bob's red mill cereal muffins with peaches, strawberries and raisins

Here’s my recipe for muffins with peaches, strawberries and raisins:

Bob’s Red Mill 7 Grain Cereal Muffins with Peaches, Strawberries, & Raisins

Makes 18 muffins

Ingredients

  • 3 cups dry Bob’s Red Mill – 7 or 10 Grain Hot Cereal, or regular oat bran hot cereal
  • 1 tsp Kosher Salt
  • 3 tsp Baking Powder
  • 1/4 cup sugar or sucanat
  • 2 cups unsweetened Almond Milk (or any liquid equalling 2 cups: plain yogurt with water, regular milk, coconut milk, etc)
  • 1 large egg (or extra-large, jumbo, whatever you have on hand, muffins are so forgiving!)
  • 1/2 cup honey, preferably raw
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce, preferably organic
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp almond extract (optional)
  • 1 cup (not packed) raisins, preferably organic
  • fresh fruit: handful of strawberries, 2-3 peaches or nectarines, 3-4 plums, a cup of blueberries, etc.
  • Other optional ingredients like chopped nuts, seeds, etc.

Note: These muffins were sweet, so you can reduce the honey to 1/4 cup, which is what I will probably do next time I bake them.

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350°
  2. In very large mixing bowl, whisk all the dry ingredients: cereal, salt, baking powder, sugar
  3. In large glass measuring cup, combine milk/water, eggs, honey, applesauce, and extracts
  4. Pour wet ingredients into dry, mix carefully, try not to overmix.
  5. Stir in fresh fruit
  6. Spoon into muffin tins lined with paper – I use my Good Grips Medium Cookie Scoop that I picked up from Amazon last year. It isn’t overly large, so I need to usually scoop twice, but it works really well without too much mess.
  7. Bake for about 15-20 minutes, or until tops are no longer soft and mushy to touch.

Mind you, I am NOT a baker, but I do like making muffins because they are so forgiving. I don’t have to measure quite as precise as other baked goods, like cakes and pies. I can throw a bunch of dry and wet ingredients together, and if the consistency is too dry, I add a touch more liquid.

bob's red mill cereal muffins with peaches, strawberries and raisins

Nutritional Data

1 muffin (from batch of 18)

Calories: 179
Total Fat: 1.7g
Cholesterol: 13.6mg
Sodium: 162mg
Potassium: 111mg
Carbs: 39g
Fiber: 4.8g
Sugar: 18g
Protein: 5g
Vit A: 2.7%
Vit C: 4.3%
Calcium: 7.4%
Iron: 7%

As I said, the sugars are on the high side. Reducing the honey to 1/4 cup, lowers the sugar to 14g. If you also reduce the raisins to 1/2 cup, the sugar is lowered to 12g. Start off reducing the sweeteners slowly, and your taste buds will get used to it.

Masa Harina Corn Jalepeno Muffins Recipe

masa harina corn jalepeno muffins

This recipe is slightly inspired from the Cornbread Muffins recipe found on page 124 in the Power Food Cookbook by Rachael Anne Hill and Tamsin Burnett-Hall. I used their recipe as a base, but put my own spin on the ingredients according to what I had on hand.

It’s all about adapting to your own pantry!

I didn’t have any milk (dairy or non-dairy) but I did have a carton of powdered buttermilk in the fridge, so I figured that would work. I also added 2 Tbsp of local raw honey and used less wheat flour, adding a mix of different corn flours, including masa harina, which I bought weeks ago to make tortillas (still on my list of things to do.)

The original recipe included chili peppers and corn! I still have a stock of frozen chile peppers from the summer CSA and there was a half bag of Trader Joe’s frozen organic corn. The original recipe called for 2 Tbsp of baking powder, and in my opinion, that is just way too much, so I cut it in half.

Masa Harina Corn Jalepeno Muffins Recipe

1 cup whole wheat flour (pastry if you have it)
3/4 cup stoneground cornmeal
1/4 cup corn flour
1/4 cup masa harina flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
5 Tbsp powdered buttermilk
couple of grinds of fresh ground pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
1 fresh chile pepper, deseeded, deveined & minced
1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
1-1/3 cups water (or use milk and skip the powdered buttermilk above)
2 Tbsp honey (optional)
1 egg, beaten
4 Tbsp (1/4 cup) olive oil

  1. Whisk the powdered flours, baking powder, salt and powdered buttermilk in a large mixing bowl.
  2. Add black pepper, cumin, chile peppers, and corn, then mix to combine
  3. In large glass measuring cup, melt honey in about 1/2 cup of hot water and stir; once honey is completely dissolved, add the rest of the water to equal 1-1/3 cups liquid.
  4. Whisk in egg, and oil, then pour liquids into dry ingredients. Stir together until just mixed.
  5. Spoon into muffin tins, then bake in preheated 360F oven for 15-20 minutes until risen, firm, and lightly browned.
  6. Transfer muffins to cooling rack.

I thought these muffins were delicious. I loved the texture of the corn kernels, and the chile peppers didn’t add heat, but did add yummy flavor.

They were delicious for dinner, paired with a fried egg and sides of homemade cole slaw & cranberry sauce.

corn muffins with fried egg & coleslaw & apple cranberry sauce

I LOVE Chocolate! But There is a Dark Side!

I love dark chocolate, and it’s so good for you, as long as you’re eating 70% and higher!

But there is a secretive dark side to chocolate (no pun intended) and it’s hidden in the form of cheap, overly-available cocoa!

Cocoa products are in high demand, but the cocoa “market” demands low prices. To remain competitive and cut costs, many cocoa farmers force young children into slavery, pushing them to work endless hours on their farms, where they live in brutal conditions. They are exposed to toxic pesticides & fertilizers, dangerous tools like machetes, and countless beatings when they are too slow or try to escape.

This unspeakable abuse happens in Western Africa, where children from nearby countries are lured away from home with false promises and transported to farms in Côte d’Ivoire (also called the Ivory Coast) and Ghana. These two countries supply 75% of the world’s cocoa supply, selling to the main chocolate companies, Hershey, Nestle, Mars, and Kraft.

Luxurious Chocolate

Over the last few months, I’ve transitioned to purchasing local humanely-raised animal products. To balance the extra cost, I eat less of them.

How could I be so concerned about animal welfare, but turn a blind eye to humans being treated so poorly for a block of cheap chocolate?

In the same way, chocolate should be thought of as it was in the past, like a luxury; chocolate is not something to take for granted, something that we should have in small amounts for special occasions, savoring every bite.

So, I’m really going to make an effort to look for specific brands that are open and honest about the origin of their ingredients; this should ensure that the cocoa was farmed ethically with environmentally-friendly practices.

Yes, it will be more expensive, but just like I’m budgeting my food expenses, I’ll have to budget my chocolate intake.

This will cause me to appreciate chocolate a lot more, and really think about where it comes from. I am concerned about how my vegetables, fruit, meat and eggs are grown, so it should really apply to all foods I eat, chocolate included.

What’s On a Label?

So, how can we find “fair-trade” or slave-free cocoa products? Who can we trust?

Unfortunately, “fair trade” is a buzz-phrase we hear a lot when it comes to coffee and chocolate, as well as other products like bananas amp; sugar. But just as the labels “natural” and “free range” are abused in the meat industry, “fair trade” labels are also misunderstood and abused.

We cannot rely on the Fair Trade USA organization, as it’s recently been called out on their less than strict accreditation of requiring only 10% of fair-trade ingredients for a product to gain their label.

The Rainforest Alliance requires only 30% of ingredients be fair-trade and IMO Fair For Life requires 50% of ingredients be fair-trade.

That’s not good enough.

I found an unbiased list of recommended chocolate brands on FoodIsPower.org and I’ve saved it to my iPhone so I can refer to it when I’m shopping.

There are several online articles about the dark world of cocoa slavery, but their lists of recommended brands don’t always match the Food is Power list. That’s why I’d rather trust their list, as they don’t seem to be driven by labels and accreditation. They did their own research and came to their own conclusions.

Unfortunately, our regular brand Green & Black (owned by Kraft) is on their “not recommended” list, even though they have been recommended by other authors writing about “fair-trade” brands. I think I always knew in my heart, I wasn’t making the best choice, but Green & Black’s lower price was so tempting.

Changing the World – Vote With Our Forks

I can’t promise that every single thing I eat will be 100% ethical, but I’m willing to make a real effort for change.

We cannot rely on food companies and our governments to ensure that our food is produced safely and ethically. It’s up to each of us to “vote with our forks”

If we consciously make a choice to purchase chocolate and chocolate brands using ingredients that are 100% free of abusive child labor, then perhaps Hershey, Nestle, Mars and Kraft will take these matters more seriously. Plus, we will be supporting smaller food companies, and that is always a good thing!

Online Resources:

http://smallbites.andybellatti.com/?p=8471 – this is the article that convinced me to look more closely into the matter of cocoa slavery.
FoodisPower.org – offers a list of recommended chocolate brands that are open about their ingredients, and the details behind the project.
http://www.johnrobbins.info/blog/is-there-slavery-in-your-chocolate/ – great article, except that their recommended brands don’t exactly jive with the list from FoodIsPower.org, which looks to be a more comprehensive list.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1497785/ – Details on child labor in Ghana
My blog post about dark chocolate and what the % mean.
http://www1.american.edu/ted/chocolate-slave.htm – child slavery in Cote d’Ivoire (the Ivory Coast.) Includes the story of Aly Diabate, a little boy who was released from a cocoa slave farm.

October Unprocessed 2011 – UPDATE Day #8

october unprocessed 2011

Day #8 for the October Unprocessed 2011 challenge over at the Eating Rules blog.

It’s been going very well, maybe a tiny flub or two at the beginning, but for the most part, I’m going strong! I was already a fairly “clean” eater but participating in this challenge has forced me to look even deeper at ALL food products, and I’m finding a lot are not as unprocessed as I’d like.

Today was a big challenge. I went with my DH to his work for a few but I didn’t realize he was going to be there so long. Had I known, I would have brought a snack.

Well needless to say, I was hungry in no time and I didn’t think there was much to eat at the office. I was so tempted to sneak a bite-sized butterfinger candy from the snack bowl. But I stayed strong!

Yes, it would have been so easy to grab a highly processed piece of candy or snack, I mean there was no one looking over my shoulder waiting to arrest me for eating proceeded food. But I thought about it and realized that if I cheated on the challenge now, what would stop me from cheating again and again? And then what would be the point of continuing on with the challenge if I wasn’t taking it seriously?

So we were on the way out and passed the kitchen and DH asked if I wanted some of his peanut butter? Duh. I totally forgot he keeps a few healthy items at work for breakfast or lunch. He had a jar of whole foods 365 organic peanut butter in the fridge and an opened box of Barbara’s brand shredded wheat cereal. I took a big spoonful of pb along with a shredded wheat biscuit. it held me over until we got home.

I stayed strong even when DH ordered a subway sub at walmart while I returned something and bought new batteries for my bathroom scale.

I felt sooooo good about sticking to the challenge even in the face of desperate hunger! Yay!

October Unprocessed 2011 Some Considerations

october unprocessed 2011

I’ve been reading the Eating Rules blog trying to organize my pantry and fridge for the upcoming challenge to give up all processed foods for the month of October.

So here are a few of my challenges and concessions.

Chocolate

So many natural brands contain either soy lecithin, sugar or both. I’ve been working on finding an alternative. We enjoy a small bit of chocolate as a snack a few times a week, so I don’t want to spend a fortune on a $10 bar of chocolate that won’t last very long.

I found a homemade powerballs recipe on the 100 Days of Real Food web site and I just made a batch this afternoon. I pressed them into a square glass baking dish and they’re in the fridge now. I figure I can get 16 servings/pieces, and then we can add more nuts on top when we’re eating them.

We’ll see how it goes. If it’s not acceptable, I will cut back but will not compromise our chocolate needs. I will just find a brand that doesn’t use soy lecithin, and doesn’t cost a fortune, but we’ll have to make an exception for any added cane sugar.

Fruit jelly or jam

I’m a big fan of Crofters. It’s really low in sugar and the ingredients are organic. I buy the premium spreads which contain fruit as the first ingredient as opposed to their Just Fruit product which contains grape juice as the first ingredient. The problem is “sugar” as in processed white sugar isn’t allowed according to the “rules” and the “premium spread” jellies contain organic cane sugar. Since this brand is not inexpensive to buy, I don’t want to pay for fruit juice, so I will not be giving up my Crofters spread for October. Note: As I’ve been reading more and more comments over on the Eating Rules blog, I’m getting the feeling that some participants are a bit over the top. I’m don’t plan to be as strict & rigid, and that’s okay.

So Delicious Coconut Milk

I have an opened carton of the unsweetened milk in the fridge. It doesn’t pass the test for unprocessed because it contains guar gum and carrageenan, ingredients I wouldn’t expect to see in my own kitchen. Plus they enrich with vitamins and minerals. But since I opened the carton before I took the pledge, I will continue to use the coconut milk until it’s finished, and I won’t use it again until after October, if at all. I use So Delicious for baking and a tiny bit for my oatmeal, but I might consider a permanent switch to another kind of milk instead. Or maybe even a fresh non-homogenized dairy milk.

White Flour

I will still continue to use white flour – unbleached and un-enriched from King Arthur, but I will make a conscious effort to use more whole grain flours when baking bread, the way I used to when I first started baking. I’ve become a bit lax on that lately, adding up to half white flour. I’ll keep experimenting with barley, corn and rye flours as well as whole wheat. Oh and I’ll be also using vital wheat gluten.

Restaurants

I don’t think many of the big chain restaurants will qualify for unprocessed, even Chipotle Mexican Grill probably has something that breaks the rules by using sugar, soy, etc.

It was suggested on the blog to try local restaurants instead, but I’m not that sure they would be any better. Even if a restaurant boasts homemade food, how truly homemade is it. I’m sure there is some sort of processed ingredient, like soy sauce (not naturally made) or refined sugar.

So, I have to decide. Do I give myself one day a week to treat myself to a restaurant meal, as long as the meal is presumed to be fairly unprocessed? For instance, steamed chicken and veggies at the Asian restaurant or meat skewers & pork ribs at the Greek restaurant. Yes, I will add this to my list of concessions as well. One day a week, a healthy restaurant meal. NO chain restaurants.

Well I think that is all the issues I’ve encountered. I’m going to try to stick to the rules, but I refuse to spend a ton of extra money or waste food. Part of my challenge will be to stick to our budget!

Dastardly Donut

Ugh, the dastardly donut got me today at lunch. I was visiting DH and we ate lunch together in his work lunchroom, and there was a box of Dunkin Donuts that another co-worker brought in that morning. Of course, DH had to open it, and there were just a few left, all jelly filled. I couldn’t resist. Darn! I think this is the first day, in a long time, that I really felt guilty about something I ate!

Darn Dastardly Donut!

And then when I looked up the calories in one of those suckas, yikes! 290 calories! That’s criminal! I won’t be doing that again, so I suppose it’s a good thing then. Anytime you learn a lesson, it’s good. And yes, I learned!

#1, look up foods like donuts BEFORE you eat them, that way you can judge if the cost of calories is worth the “cheat treat”

#2, It was a good donut, but really not worth 300 calories!

Pretzels

This is why I don’t buy pretzels and other non nutritious snacks. I can’t stop eating them!

We’ve been on vacation this week, and we stopped for a snack after ATVing and against my better judgement, I was coerced into buying a 1 lb bag of pretzel sticks.

Let me tell you these things are really difficult to stop eating once you start! Most people think pretzels are a healthy snack, but truthfully they offer no nutritional value so they do not satisfy!

And because they don’t fill you up, you keep eating and eating and eating! They are addictive! I don’t like feeling out of control, and pretzel sticks make me eat uncontrollably!

Vacation! ATV Padding, Sugar Overload, & Fun

I haven’t officially weighed-in after coming back from our week-long vacation to the Moosehead Lake area of Maine, but I’m confident I haven’t gained anything permanent.

We had a really great time, the campground was on the ATV trail, so we could ride directly from the campground. Because of my weight loss, my back is a lot more “boney” than in years past. The seat on the ATV has a seam that digs/rubs into my back, and causes some pain. So, my funny story is I had to ride with a beach towel stuffed down the back of my pants for cushion! I love it!

We ate a lot of sugary foods like ice cream with hot fudge, and pastries from the local bakery. Oh lord, they make what’s called a “Persian” danish, which is a honey glazed danish loaded with maple frosting, then topped with crunchies. It’s probably about 700+ calories, but oh so delicious.

Now I’m back on track, but still coming off my sugar overload. I know how easily I can slip back into poor eating habits, and during times like this, I am humbled. It’s difficult. I know I use “vacation” as an excuse to eat foods that I normally don’t at home. The compulsive behavior is a lot harder to control. Even now, I would love to sit back, forget about cooking, and get some take-out for dinner!

I’ll be okay, I know I will. I do not want to be 200 pounds again. I will not go back!