Waffles

     I haven't had time to blog in quite a while and I truly miss it. People often ask me if I still cook and the answer to this question is a resounding yes. Most days, I cannot not wait to get home from work and into the kitchen. I spend my Saturday mornings in the kitchen, often waking up way too early because I am busting to get started. It is a tiring job, but yet so fulfilling.

     If you know my personality, then you know I am a creature of routine. I HATE change and disorganization. Everything has a place and everything goes a certain way. My lists and excel spreadsheets would drive most people mad, but it is how I keep track of life. I take the same approach towards meal planning, grocery lists, budgets, etc. We are still following the $60.00 a week grocery budget. Recently, I started planning our meals in 2 week blocks. J.T. goes to the grocery store on Friday, as soon as school lets out. He does better at the store than I used to do, always coming in under budget. I am so grateful for his help. This leaves only the farmer's market to go to on Saturday mornings and we are doing this every other week as well.

     Waffles have become a weekly tradition at our house, peanut butter waffles to be exact. We always have peanut butter waffles and eggs on Friday night. I make the waffles and J.T. cooks the eggs because he is the egg master. It is an easy, fun meal that both of us look forward to each week. The meal is even better when the Braves are playing and they beat the Dodgers. I always make the waffles in advance and freeze them. This makes them easy to pull out, slather with peanut butter, top with another waffle, cut into quarters and pop in the oven - crisp and gooey peanut butter waffle sandwiches. The recipe listed below is for the waffles. Serve them with syrup or make the peanut butter waffle sandwiches. They are great both ways!

Ingredients

·         2 cups multi grain gluten free flour blend

·         1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

·         ¾ teaspoon baking soda

·         ½ teaspoon celtic sea salt

·         1 ¾ cups unsweetened almond milk, at room temperature

·          ½ cup coconut oil, plus more for greasing the waffle iron

·         1 tablespoon molasses

·         1 teaspoon vanilla

·         2 eggs, yolks and whites separated

Directions

1.      Place a small glass or stainless steel mixing bowl and two handheld mixer beaters into the freezer.

2.      In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt.  Set aside.  In a large liquid measuring cup, whisk together the almond milk, coconut oil, molasses, vanilla, and egg yolks.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.  The batter should still be lumpy.

3.      Use a pastry brush to lightly grease a waffle iron with coconut oil.  Preheat the waffle iron to a medium high temperature.

4.      Remove the chilled bowl and beaters from the freezer.  Beat the egg whites on high speed, with a handheld electric mixer until soft peaks form.  Gently, fold the egg whites into the batter.

5.      Ladle the batter into the preheated waffle iron using a ½ cup measuring cup.  Cook each waffle according the waffle iron manufacturer’s instructions.  Keep warm in a 200 degree oven if serving immediately.

Make ahead:  In a single layer, place as many waffles as you can on a large baking sheet.  Freeze for 1 hour.  Remove the frozen waffles from the baking sheet and stack in freezer safe plastic bags.  Repeat process.  This freezing method helps the waffles retain their shape.  Freeze up to 3 months.  Reheat in 375 degree oven for 10 minutes.   

Sweet Potato Muffins

    Finding a way to eat healthy food inexpensively is challenging.  I face this obstacle weekly as a plan our menu and make out the grocery list.  Honestly, it can be very frustrating.  Sometimes I have to take a break from menu planning because I can’t get the numbers and the food to line up.  There are so many things I want to make but eggs, butter, and fresh vegetables add up quickly.  Our newest challenge of eating local has stretched the budget even thinner.  Why yes, we would love to have fresh broccoli for supper, but not at $4.00 a pound.  One week I did cave and buy half a pound.  I then proceeded to burn it while it roasted in the oven.  Whoops.  We have been purchasing the majority of our produce from Snow’s Bend, a local farm in Coker that uses organic farming practices.  Although the broccoli I just mentioned sounds expensive, you would pay much more for the same amount of organic broccoli at Publix.  This week we ate swiss chard, bok choy, turnip greens, butter lettuce, romaine lettuce, and onions.  All of which were so fresh and full of flavor - flavor that could never be imitated in grocery store produce.  This sounds silly, but I told J.T. that I feel like Julia Child shopping at the market.  I am currently reading her memoir, My Life in France, (which I picked up on our recent trip to see her kitchen!) and she shopped the markets on the streets of Paris for the freshest fruits, vegetables, meats, and seafood.  I am fascinated by that woman.  

    Onward to the point of this entire blog post: sweet potato muffins.  I will confess that these sweet potatoes were purchased at Publix.  Sweet potatoes are out of season and there were none to be found at the market.  One of the many things I love about sweet potatoes is that they are inexpensive.  Even at full price they are a mere $0.99 a pound and they are classified as one of the clean 15 vegetables.  I made a dozen of these as a gift to my Mama on Mother’s Day.  My mother graciously shared them, so we all had one topped with ice cream for dessert.  Everyone thought they were delicious and I agree.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups whole grain gluten-free flour blend
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• ½ cup pure clover honey
• ½ cup virgin coconut oil
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• 1 ½ cups mashed, roasted sweet potatoes, about 1 pound

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a 12-cup muffin tin with liners.
2. In the bowl of a mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, stir together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, kosher salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.  
3. In a large glass liquid measuring cup, whisk together the honey, coconut oil, eggs, and vanilla.  Pour the wet ingredients into the mixing bowl and mix on low speed until just combined.  Fold in the sweet potatoes.
4. Divide the batter equally among the prepared muffin tin.  The cups will be fairly full.  Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until a pick inserted into the middle comes out clean.  Yields 12 muffins. Cool completely.  Refrigerate for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months.  

* I made my own gluten-free whole grain flour, but you can also substitute whole wheat flour.   The recipe behind my whole grain flour blend came from here.  I used the following ratios:

·         350 grams buckwheat flour

·         350 grams oat flour

·         300 grams arrowroot flour

This flour recipe makes more than what is required for this recipe.  Store any extra in the refrigerator.  

Granola Cereal

I have been making this granola cereal since J.T. and I made the switch to real food.  J.T. and I always eat a bed time snack, anytime between 8 and 9.  My snack of choice before our food overhaul was rice Chex cereal.  Chex cereal has an extensive line of gluten free cereals and it was nice to actually be able to purchase this cereal relatively cheaply with coupons.  Cheap was great until I realized all the ingredients on the nutrition panel where things I didn’t even recognize.  I started playing around with the idea of a granola cereal.  Most granola is fairly high in calories and a typical recipe contains oats, butter (or oil), nuts, dried fruit, and sometimes chocolate chips.  Since I am not a huge fan of dried fruit and my stomach prefers that I eat nuts in moderation, I wanted to eliminate both of these ingredients from my granola.  I also didn’t see the point in adding more sugar – the chocolate chips – to a snack that was already sugary enough.  This left me with oats and oil.  I tested batch after batch of granola cereal until I settled on something I loved.  This particular recipe has been made with more honey, with less honey, with whole grain puffed brown rice, and with whole grain puffed millet.  I like the texture of corn the best.  It is larger in size than both the rice and the millet.  This makes the oats cling better to the corn, resulting in larger clusters of granola.  I make a batch of this every week and look forward to my little bowl each night.  I eat this in ½ cup servings with a splash of almond milk poured on top.  I don’t miss the Chex cereal one bit! 

Ingredients

·         2 cups rolled oats

·         2 cups whole grain puffed corn, such as Arrowhead Mills

·         1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon

·         3 tablespoons coconut oil

·         3 tablespoons pure clover honey

Directions

1.      Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.  In a large bowl mix together the oats, puffed corn, and cinnamon.  Stir in the coconut oil and honey.  Spread in an even layer on the prepared baking sheet.  Bake at 250 degrees for 75 minutes. Let cool completely.  Break apart into clusters and store in an air tight container.  Yields about 8 (1/2 cup) servings.  

Gluten-Free Apple Cinnamon Muffins

     Last Friday, I was at the doctor for this horrible sickness that still lingers around in my body.  While I am doing better, my head is still stuffy and my nose is still runny.  My cough has become less frequent and food is starting to become a tad more appetizing.  This past Wednesday, I started to feel better for the first time.  This led me to believe I was ready to get back to normal.  Wrong.  By the end of the day Thursday I felt awful, so my husband (and mother) confined me back to the couch.  I have spent most of today resting…again.  I am more up to date on facebook, day time television, and the news media than any one individual should be.  I did manage to make these muffins on Wednesday, when I felt so great.  There were two apples in fridge that were supposed to be used for an apple crostata.  Instead, I used the apples in these muffins.  They turned out absolutely delicious and I was pleased to get the perfect batch on my first attempt! 

Recipe adapted from Joy of Cooking

Ingredients

·         2 granny smith apples, unpeeled, very finely grated with accumulated juices

·         4 tablespoons pure maple syrup

·         4 tablespoons honey

·         2 eggs

·         1 ½ cups whole grain gluten-free flour blend (see note below)

·         2 teaspoons baking powder

·         1 teaspoon baking soda

·         1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon

·         ½ teaspoon kosher salt

·         1/3 cup coconut oil

Directions

1.      Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and grease or line a12-cup muffin tin. 

2.      In a small bowl, stir together the grated apples, maple syrup, honey, and eggs.  Let this mixture sit for 10 minutes.  Slowly stream in the coconut oil, stirring constantly. 

3.      Meanwhile, in a medium sized bowl, whisk together the whole grain gluten-free flour blend, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and kosher salt. 

4.      Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until the batter is thoroughly combined.  Use an ice cream scoop to evenly distribute the batter into the muffin tin.  Bake for 16 minutes.  Cool in the muffin tin for 3 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.  Yields 12 muffins. 

Note:  The 1 ½ cups of whole grain gluten-free flour blend used in this recipe came from this batch of flours:

·         350 grams oat flour

·         350 grams buckwheat flour

·         300 grams arrowroot powder

Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich Cookies

     I know I have said this before, but my husband loves peanut butter…and so do I.  When I went to Earth Fare about a month ago, they were having a $5 food revolution.  For those of you who do not know, a $5 food revolution is when Earth Fare has five items in their store that are a dollar each.  Two of those items were organic peanut butter and organic grape jelly.  I couldn’t resist myself, so I bought both.  I contemplated making Ina Garten’s Peanut Butter & Jelly bars, but decided that they contained too much butter, too much sugar, and too much flour.  I also wanted to make something that I could sample.  This made me think of the peanut butter cookies I made for the pie crust of J.T.’s Peanut Butter Birthday Pie.  Those cookies were good, but oh so sweet.  For my Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich cookies, I cut the amount of sugar in half.  I completely omitted the granulated white sugar, and instead used honey.  What a good decision this happened to be.  The cookies came out moist and creamy and the sweetness of the jelly makes the cookies sweet enough.  Taking a bite of these sandwich cookies takes me back to the elementary school lunch room, when my mom would pack me a PB&J.  These cookies happen to be the dessert version of my favorite childhood lunch. 

Ingredients

·         1 cup creamy peanut butter

·         ½ cup pure clover honey

·         1 teaspoon baking powder

·         1 egg

·         grape jelly

Directions

1.      Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 

2.      With a handheld mixer, beat together the peanut butter and honey until smooth.  Add the baking powder and beat until just combined.  Lastly, beat in the egg until the batter is smooth and creamy.  Using a cookie scoop, drop dough on to prepared baking sheet (about 20 cookies).  Use a spoon to gently flatten each cookie dough ball.  Bake for 10 minutes.  Remove from the oven and cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes.   Transfer the cookies to a cooling rack and cool for at least 10 minutes (this gives them time to harden). 

3.      Once the cookies are completely cool, spread about a teaspoon of grape jelly on one cookie and top with another cookie.  Repeat the process until you run out of cookies.  I somehow ended up with an odd number of cookies.  Of course, I had to eat that one lonesome cookie in order to have an even number of sandwich cookies J

Gluten-Free Whole Grain Pumpkin Muffins

      On Monday I felt as though the heavens opened up.  I am probably being a bit dramatic, but I ate a pumpkin muffin for the first time since 2009.  It may have been longer than that, but I do not keep records of stuff like "ate last pumpkin muffin June 12, 2008."  I was so excited about these muffins - singing and dancing with Otis (the dog) and downright giddy the rest of the afternoon.   Why am I so excited about muffins?  Well, I refuse to buy packaged gluten-free foods such as muffins, crackers, etc. because they do not taste very good.  I also do not want to pay for expensive gluten-free flour blends.  While I do purchase brown rice flour, I make my own oat flour.  My inspiration to find a whole-wheat flour substitution came from 100 Days of Real Food.  Many different recipes on this website call for whole-wheat flour, which is not an option for me.  After doing some research, I came across a blog post from Gluten-Free Girl.  She had formulated a gluten-free whole grain flour blend that I had all the ingredients to make!  Finding a gluten-free whole grain flour blend, opens up so many more recipe options to me and I could not be happier!

Recipe adapted from 100 Days of Real Food

 

 

(I am not sure how my kosher salt made it into this picture.  This recipe uses table salt only.)

 

  

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups gluten-free whole grain flour blend*
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ¼ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup coconut oil
• ½ cup honey
• ½ teaspoon vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup canned pumpkin puree

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 12-cup muffin tin.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  In a small glass measuring cup, whisk together the coconut oil, honey, vanilla, and eggs.  Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.  Fold in the canned pumpkin puree.  Use a ¼ cup measuring cup to ladle the batter into the muffin tin.  Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  Remove from the oven and leave the muffins in the tin for 2 minutes.   Move the muffins to a wire rack to cool.  Yields 12 muffins.

* I made my own gluten-free whole grain flour, but you can also substitute whole wheat flour.  The recipe behind my whole grain flour blend came from here.  I used the following ratios:

• 150 grams brown rice flour
• 200 grams oat flour
• 150 grams cornstarch

This flour recipe makes more than what is required for the muffin recipe above.  Store any extra in the refrigerator.

My Story & Publix – September 7, 2012

     I love reading blogs, especially blogs that discuss food. Currently, my favorite blog is 100daysofrealfood.com. This blog chronicles a family of four who cut processed food out of their diet for 100 days. Over the past few weeks I have learned more about the scary food industry in America. In particular, processed foods and how they can affect our health. I can no longer continue to purchase groceries as I once did. In the past I kept cereal, chips, crackers, cookies, and other processed goodies stocked in our pantry. While I have always maintained a fairly healthy kitchen, I kept certain processed food that could serve as quick snacks for me and J. T. I am by no means vowing that I will never purchase anything processed again (you will see a few processed items in this post), but I am choosing to be very selective of the processed foods I bring into my kitchen. I am aiming to only purchase processed foods that have five ingredients or less.
     
     For me, this change will mean more time spent in the kitchen – one thing I will never complain about. Instead of buying crackers, fruit bars, etc., I am going to try my hand at making them myself. Yesterday, I made my first batch of granola cereal and it turned out quite tasty. I will continue to purchase cereal for J.T. because I cannot think of a decent breakfast alternative for him (he does not eat oats, so oatmeal and granola are out of the question). Many of you who know me are probably thinking, gosh, that girl is obsessed with healthy food! I am normally a very private person when it comes to my health, but I thought it was time to share why I am so interested and protective of what foods enter my body.
     
     My interest in nutrition began when I was a sophomore in college – even taking one semester of nutrition classes before settling on accounting as my major. I have struggled with my digestive health for many years now. In the 10^th grade I was diagnosed with clostridium difficile colitis. This is an infection in your large intestine that causes bacteria and toxins to be released. C. diff (as it is referred to in the medical world) is normally caused by antibiotics. At the time I was diagnosed with C.diff, I was taking the antibiotic tetracycline for my acne, a medicine that had been prescribed by my dermatologist. In order to kill the bacteria and toxins that had accumulated in my intestine, I was prescribed two rounds of the very strong antibiotic vancomycin. After taking this medication, I still did not feel better. I could not eat food without having diarrhea or severe stomach pains. As you can imagine, this was a nightmare for someone in the 10^th grade. All my teachers gave me special permission to run to the bathroom as needed during class time. I cringed every time I had to get up in leave – it was embarrassing and humiliating. I missed over 30 days of school that year. From that point forward, I would not go anywhere if I did not have access to a bathroom. I never fully recovered from C. diff., even being diagnosed with lactose intolerance as a result of the infection. After numerous tests and doctor visits, the doctors diagnosed me with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). This syndrome is basically the catch-all category disease at the gastroenterologist office, meaning the doctors are not really sure what is wrong.
     
     Fast forward four years later and I was entering my sophomore year in college. The summer of my freshmen year I started exercising and making healthier eating choices. As a child I was always overweight, but after my freshmen year of college I had put on even more weight – weighing in at 175 pounds. I knew something had to change. My clothes were very snug and I refused to buy a bigger size. It was my brother who encouraged me to start exercising and his plan worked. I slowly changed the way I ate, but exercise was my main priority. By December of my sophomore year I was down 45 pounds. I was feeling great about myself, but I knew something was wrong. Up until this point I had always battled with diarrhea, but now I was struggling with constipation. Other symptoms included severe muscle aches, extreme sensitivity to cold temperatures, weight gain, and excessive fatigue. I distinctly remember calling my mother from the couch and telling her I was so tired that I could not get up – something very unusual for me. Luckily, my yearly check-up with my general doctor was coming up. After a blood test, it was confirmed that I had hypothyroidism, an underactive thyroid gland. As soon as I starting taking the proper medication, I immediately felt better. The weight that I had tried so hard to lose seemed to fall right off. While I felt better, I was still dealing with some of the same stomach problems – alternating diarrhea and constipation, bloating, and stomach cramps. These were problems that kept me from leading a normal life.
     
     During the fall of my junior year, I began interviewing for accounting internships. I accepted a three-month tax internship with Reznick Group, P.C. in Atlanta, GA. This was a HUGE step for a girl who had never been away from home for longer than a week! I realized that I needed to get my stomach issues under control. With this internship, I would be expected to be at work every day, sick or not. Matt Rouse, a man that I worked with at church, suggested that I try a gluten-free diet (Matt and I shared similar digestive issues and would frequently discuss different foods, etc. that we had tried). I began an elimination diet, which included a gluten free diet, in October of 2009. This elimination diet prohibited gluten, dairy, corn, soy, oats (MY BELOVED OATMEAL!) peas, beans, nuts and soft drinks, because all of these foods are not easily digested by the human body. I followed this strict diet throughout my internship and it gave my intestines time to heal. All of a sudden my diarrhea went away. I can only recall one instance of being sick during my internship. Before starting this diet, being sick three to five days a week was not uncommon. Following such a strict diet was not easy! I almost cried after I left the grocery store for the first time, because I was so frustrated with my limited options. My love of cooking was born after this trip. If the grocery store didn't sell it, I decided I would create it. I refused to eat mediocre food because of my dietary limitations. The elimination diet involves slowly reintroducing the foods that you had eliminated back into your diet. I have gradually reintroduced peas, beans, nuts, corn, and oats. I cannot tolerate corn in its whole state, but I have been able to handle items made with corn meal and grits. Just a month or so ago I was finally able to have oats again for the first time and I now eat them on a daily basis. Sadly, dairy and gluten will never be something I can tolerate. Throughout numerous doctor appointments, not a single doctor mentioned a gluten free diet or an elimination diet. This is something I had to figure out myself with Matt's help (Thanks Matt!). The food we put in our bodies has a huge impact on our health and the LONG story I have written above is truly why food is so important to me. Food dictates the way I feel and how I function on a daily basis. Most days I am fine, but I still have days where I feel sick. By reducing the amount of processed food I eat, I am hoping to improve my health.
     
     Congratulations to you if you made it through this entire post! My new quest for unprocessed food will probably decrease the amount of coupons I use, but I will try my best to use them as effectively as possible. I am also considering an increase in the grocery budget to $60 a week. We are not spending $100 a month on toiletries, so I may pull excess money from that budget. I know you have been anxiously awaiting the budget numbers for the week! The total spent on groceries this week was $45.77 and the total spent on toiletry items was $3.15.

   

• Dairy
  • (1) Publix Greenwise Organic Milk @ $5.99
  • (1) Silk Almond Milk @ $3.49
    • $1.00/1 manufacturer coupon - $2.49
  • Davidson's Safest Choice eggs @ $3.49
    • $0.75/1 manufacturer coupon - $2.74
• Grocery
  • (2) Publix Greenwise Organic Oats @ $3.98 or $1.99 each
  • 1 lb. Publix Navy Beans @ $1.79
  • 1 lb. Publix Pinto Beans @ $1.79
  • (4) Dole canned crushed pineapple (8 ounce) @ $3.00
    • (2) $1.00/2 manufacturer coupons - $1.00 or $0.25 each
  • (1) General Mills Original Cheerios (BOGO) - $2.50
    • $1.00/1 manufacturer coupon - $1.50
  • (2) Materne GOGO Squeeze applesauce (BOGO) @ $2.59
    • (2) $1.00/1 manufacturer coupon - $0.59 or $0.30 each
  • (1) Publix Pure Clover honey @ $2.99
• Meat
  • 1 ½ lbs. Publix Greenwise Chicken Drumsticks @ $3.69
  • 1 ½ lbs. Publix Greenwise Chicken Thighs @ $4.30
• Frozen
  • (1) Cascadian Farm Organic frozen spinach @ $2.69
    • $0.75/1 manufacturer coupon - $1.94
  • (1) Cascadian Farm Organic frozen broccoli @ $2.49
    • $0.75/1 manufacturer coupon - $1.74
  • (1) Van's Gluten free/Wheat free waffles (BOGO) @ $1.58
    • (1) $1.00/1 manufacturer coupons - $0.58
• Produce
  • Organic bananas @ $0.99/lb. - $2.05
  • Publix Greenwise Organic Baby Arugula @ $2.50
  • 1 lb. Publix Greenwise Organic Carrots @ $1.29/lb.
  • 2 lbs. Onions @ $2.00
  • 1 garlic bulb @ $0.30
• Other
  • (2) Right Guard deodorant (BOGO) - $3.89
    • (2) $1.00/1 manufacturer coupon - $1.89 or $0.95 each
  • (2) Chapstick medicated lip balm @ $2.00
    • $1.00/2 manufacturer coupon - $1.00 or $0.50 each
  
   
  $5.00 off $25.00 purchase Save-A-Lot competitor coupon
  
   
  Total before coupons         $65.17
  Less: coupons used            (16.25)
  Total with Tax                   $48.92