Healthier Oatmeal Cookies

Healthier Oatmeal Cookies:

1 cup walnuts or pecans, toasted and chopped (I used walnuts in yours)

3/4 cup Coconut oil, room temperature

1 cup honey

1 large egg

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

 1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup ground flaxseed

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats (I grind 1/3 of these and leave the rest of them whole)

1/2 cup goji berries, 1/2 cup dried cranberries (could be substituted with any dried fruit), 1/2 cup ground dark chocolate chips 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and line two baking sheets with parchment paper or aluminum foil.  Beat the coconut oil and honey until creamy and smooth. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat to combine.  In a separate bowl, whisk together the flours, flaxseed, baking soda, salt, and ground cinnamon. Add the flour mixture to the creamed mixture and beat until incorporated. Stir in the nuts, oats, and dried fruit and/or chocolate chips.  Use an ice cream scoop to scoop and mold dough and space the cookies about 2 inches apart on the baking sheet. Then wet your hand and flatten the cookies slightly with your fingers so they are about 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) thick. Bake the cookies for about 12 - 15 minutes or until light golden brown around the edges but still soft and a little wet in the centers. Remove from oven and let the cookies cool a few minutes on the baking sheet before transferring them to a wire rack to cool. Makes about 20 ish large cookies

Goat Cheese

You can find my recipe for kefir cheese here and my butter recipe here is on here somewhere too. Today I tried my hand at goat cheese. One of our neighbors gave us some fresh goat's milk about a week ago. I used some of it to make soap, and then didn't know what to do with the rest. So I checked out Little House in the Suburbs (love them!), and they had a recipe for goat cheese. I adapted it for my purposes, but they have some good pictures you can check out.

Goat Cheese
1 quart goat's milk
1/8 c lemon juice (you can substitute vinegar)

Salt or Herbs to Taste

1. Heat milk on medium until it's between 190-200 degrees.
2. Stir in lemon juice and remove from heat.
3. Allow to curdle and cool until it isn't too hot to touch.
4. Line bowl with cheesecloth.
5. Pour curdled milk through cheesecloth and tie ends onto a spoon like in the picture above. Make sure there is a little room for your cheese to hang so it's not touching the bottom of the bowl.
6. Let hang for a few hours. For harder cheese refrigerate overnight.
7. Add salt and/or other herbs to taste.

For me, this recipe yielded about a pint of cheese and a pint of whey. I'll be using the whey in soup or bread or something.

Yummy Delicious Whole Grain Pumpkin Bread

(we ate a couple pieces :)

Yummy Delicious Whole Grain & Honey Pumpkin Bread
6 oz pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 egg yolk
1 egg white
1/3 c coconut oil
1 c honey
2/3 c whole wheat flour
1/3 c oat bran
1/4 c ground flax seed
1/2 t baking soda
1 t pumpkin pie spice (1/4 t nutmeg, 1/4 t cinnamon, 1/8 t ground ginger, 1/8 t ground cloves, and a pinch of allspice could replace this)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a bread pan.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the pumpkin, egg, egg yolk, coconut oil and honey.
3. In another bowl, mix together whole wheat flour, oat bran, flax seed, baking soda, and spices.
4. Sift dry ingredients.
5. Mix dry ingredients into pumpkin mixture until just mixed.
6. Pour into bread pan and bake for 40-50 minutes.

RAW Milk

Well, we're doing it! We just bought our herd share and received our first gallon and a half of raw milk yesterday. We joined a dairy farm in Decatur, IN....Pasture's Delights. The owner there took me on a tour of the farm. I got to meet the Ayrshire cows that I'm getting my milk from and walk through and by some of the fields where they graze. They have a great FAQs section on their website here and here's another site with some info. You can also find a ton of information just by searching for it.

A Tea Time Treat

I found a GREAT local treat! Carolee's Herb Farm is right outside Hartford City, just about fifteen minutes from my house. They have a huge lavender field and you can go and cut your own bunches of it. They have a beautiful little shop and butterfly and hummingbird gardens, as well as TONS of plants for sale. 

So I went on my birthday with Elliot and we cut some lavender. Then one of my favorite couples came over and had tea with us on yesterday and we were able to have some lemon lavender scones. You can find the recipe at Baking Obsession. I was able to replace about 1/2 cup of flour with whole grains and coconut milk kefir instead of buttermilk. The dough was pretty sticky in comparison to other scones I've made, but the finished product was delicious!

Thanks to everyone who made my birthday special, especially my husband and bubby!

Some Great Gooey Cinnamon Rolls

I must say, these cinnamon rolls that I made this morning were GREAT! They were my first ever cinnamon rolls and they were probably the healthiest I have ever eaten. I'm not saying they're healthy per se, just comparatively healthy when set up next to your traditional gooey cinnamon roll. We used raw sugar, coconut milk, whole grains, etc. So here's the recipe! Have fun!


Recipe adapted from AllRecipes Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon raw sugar
• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1/4 cup raw sugar
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 
  
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/3 cup ground flaxseed
• 1/3 cup oat bran
• 1/3 cup ground coconut
•  
• 3/4 cup butter
• 3/4 cup brown sugar (you can make your own raw brown sugar by putting raw sugar in a food processor and adding molasses, little by little until it is the color and texture that you want)
• 1 cup chopped walnuts, divided
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup melted butter

Directions

1. In a small bowl, dissolve 1 teaspoon sugar and yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes. Warm the coconut milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Mix in 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup butter and salt; stir until melted. Let cool until lukewarm. Mix flours and grains together in a separate bowl or measuring cup.
2. In a large bowl, combine the yeast mixture, milk mixture, eggs and 1 1/2 cup flour mixture; stir well to combine. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.
3. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth and let rise in oven on low (170 degrees) until doubled in volume, about 45 min.
4. While dough is rising, melt 3/4 cup butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in 3/4 cup brown sugar, whisking until smooth. Pour into greased 9x13 inch baking pan. Sprinkle bottom of pan with 1/2 cup pecans; set aside. Melt remaining butter; set aside. Combine remaining 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup pecans, and cinnamon; set aside.
5. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, roll into an 18x14 inch rectangle. Brush with 2 tablespoons melted butter, leaving 1/2 inch border uncovered; sprinkle with brown sugar cinnamon mixture. Starting at long side, tightly roll up (start in the corners and work toward the middle while rolling then work out toward the corners and back in; be sure to roll tightly), pinching seam to seal. Brush with remaining 2 tablespoons butter. With a piece of thread, cut into 15 pieces (pull thread under the roll and then wrap around and pull tight to cleanly cut the piece); place cut side down, in prepared pan. Cover and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in volume. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
6. Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool in pan for 3 minutes, then flip onto serving platter. Scrape remaining filling from the pan onto the rolls.

YUM!

REAL Milk

So...I think I'm going to by a herd share and start getting Raw Milk for my family. We'll obviously be able to drink this, but something that I find interesting is that raw milk does not spoil - it cultures. Cool, huh?! So we'll drink what tastes yummy and then with the rest we can make kefir and cheese and butter. The place I'm looking at is Pasture Delights. They have a bunch of FAQs that are really informative.
Pasteurization and homogenization kill a lot of the great nutritional benefits of milk, but if you get REAL milk, it's alive with all sorts of good things for you. I got a free sample of it yesterday and have used in in smoothies today. A lot of times when people first transition to REAL milk they experience some indigestion or diarrhea, so it's a good idea to mix the raw milk with the milk you've been drinking, incrementally increasing until you've transitioned completely to the raw stuff.
Here's some info that I got with my raw milk sample. In Pasteurized/Homogenized Milk less than 10% of the original enzymes remain, necessary to digest food. Enzymes are also catalysts for the assimilation of minerals to your body. Speaking of minerals, only 50% of the original calcium is left to be absorbed by the body. Vitamins? Up to 66% of vitamins A, D, and E are lost, more than 50% of the vitamin C is lost, and vitamins B-6 and B-12 are pretty much destroyed. Proteins in the milk are severely altered, leading to allergies and making the absorption of the proteins less available to your body. Lactose is more rapidly absorbed by the body when consuming pasteurized/homogenized milk, leading to lactose sensitivity and intolerance. AND because the processing destroys all bacteria, there is no good bacteria to fight the bad, so any bacteria that grow in the milk are bad and dangerous to consume. You can fix all that by drinking REAL raw milk from a healthy grass-fed cow. Cool, huh!?

Flab-Off Update - Lettuce Wraps & Nutty Pancakes

Well, with one day to go...the February flab-off has been a great success! I've only lost 1 lb. but my stomach is flatter and my energy is higher and more consistent. Elliot has not exactly been participating at the same level that Evan and I have been, but he's maintained his little weight the whole way along. My husband on the other hand has lost 18 pounds...in 27 days. Seriously now?! Isn't that great?!
However, the best thing of all happened the other day. See, this last week, I haven't been very good AT ALL about planning and preparing for our meals, but Ev has stuck with the Flab-Off commitment. When I said that we only had a week left, he asked, "Well, then what do we do?" I said that we could talk about it and see what we wanted to add back in or exercise moderation in some of our more excessive pleasures (cough...Cokes and Little Debbies...cough). And he just kind of looked at me confused and said, "I'd like it better if this were just our lifestyle." WHAT?! I got so excited! That was the most perfect thing that he could have said. And the best result I could ask for from the Flab-Off, better than any number of inches or pounds lost.
Here are two more recipes that we've enjoyed - Lettuce Wraps and Nutty Pancakes!

Lettuce Wraps
Ingredients
10 oz canned white chicken
3 Tbsp Ground Walnuts
1 Tbsp Olive Oil Mayo
1/2 tsp Sage
1/2 tsp Thyme
1/2 tsp Rosemary
1/2 tsp Garlic Salt
Dash of Pepper
Hummus
4 long romaine lettuce leaves
Hummus

Instructions
1. Spread hummus on lettuce leaves
2. Mix chicken, walnuts, mayo, and spices in a small bowl and spoon onto lettuce
3. Fold lettuce in half lengthwise and enjoy!

We had the lettuce wraps with a few raspberries and 7-grain crackers.

Nutty Pancakes


Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
1/4 cup ground almonds
1/4 cup ground walnuts
1/4 cup ground flax seed
1/4 cup ground oats
1/4 cup ground shredded coconut
1/4 cup wheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder

Wet Ingredients
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup kefir whey
1/2 cup yogurt (the whey and yogurt could probably be substituted with 1 cup buttermilk)
2 Tbsp Butter or Coconut Oil, melted

Instructions
1. Grind all dry ingredients in a quick mill or food processor and mix together
2. Mix wet ingredients in a separate bowl
3. Stir wet and dry mixtures together
4. Cook on a non-stick, preheated griddle
5. Top with fun things like - berries, pecans, dark chocolate chips, honey, almond butter, etc.

My brother and husband liked these! Ev said he liked them better than the coconut pancakes I highlighted in an earlier post, and they're chock full of protein and other good vitamins and minerals!

Kefir Cheese!

I made Kefir Cheese! Like....there's cheese in my fridge that tastes good, that I made! :) So fun, right? Here's the recipe.

Ingredients
6 Tablespoons Kefir Starter or 1 packet Kefir Grains/cultures
1 quart milk (unhomogenized works best, a lot of people use raw milk, but I haven't found a provider for that yet)


Supplies
1 quart container with lid (or some sort of cover - plastic wrap works)
Cheesecloth (or unbleached linen)
Strainer
Bowl


Directions
1. Heat milk to skin temperature (around 90 degrees)
2. Stir in kefir cultures and pour into quart container
3. Cover and leave on a countertop (do not refrigerate!) for 2-4 days, until the curds are separating from the whey
4. Line strainer with cheesecloth, set strainer in a bowl (so there is space for the whey to drain and collect)
5. Pour the kefir mixture into the cheesecloth (whey will immediately begin to drain off)
6. Wrap cheesecloth tightly around the curds
7. Set strainer, bowl and all in the refrigerator for 1-2 days
8. Unwrap cheese and put in a sealable container. 

The kefir cheese will be the consistency of cream cheese and you can use it in any function that you would use cream cheese. We've had it as a cracker spread thus far. I left half of it plain and half of it I mixed with a bunch of herbs (marjoram, oregano, thyme, basil, dill, garlic, salt). You can use it on bagels, for dips, etc.

I ordered by Body Ecology kefir starter cultures online from Amazon.com here. Here are a couple links on the benefits of kefir - here and here. One benefit of using raw milk was pointed out to me by a friend the other day. Raw milk, doesn't spoil - it cultures! SO...when raw milk starts to taste sour or less creamy, that means it's time to use it for other things, like yogurt, butter and cheese. I'm still doing a bit of research on the whole thing, but I think we'll be switching soon, if I can find a place close by where I can by a share.

Enjoy!

Some Flab-Off Recipes - Coconut Pancakes & Nutty BBQ Meatballs

One thing that has been really fun about this Flab-Off is getting creative and trying new recipes. Monday morning we had flourless coconut pancakes. You can find the original recipe on Tropical Traditions...here. They have several other GREAT recipes! I used honey in place of the sugar and 1/2 plain yogurt, 1/2 milk instead of the heavy cream.
Yesterday for dinner we had lima beans, sweet potato chips (thinly slice a sweet potato, toss in 2 Tbsp. Coconut Oil, place in a single layer on a cookie sheet, top with red pepper, black pepper, garlic powder and salt, cook on 400 for 20 minutes), and BBQ Meatballs. And yes, I made the recipe up all on my own! Here's the thing. All of these recipes include ketchup and worchestershire sauce in their ingredients, which are chock full of corn syrup and sugar. SO...here's the flab-off recipe. Loved by mommy, daddy, and Elliot! This one's a winner for us. Hope you enjoy it too!

BBQ Meatballs

BBQ Sauce

1 cup tomato puree

2 Tbsp. honey

2 Tbsp. soy sauce

½ cup apple cider vinegar

1 tsp. ground mustard

1/2 tsp. pepper

1 clove garlic, minced

1 small onion, minced

Meatballs

1 lb ground beef (grass-fed)

½ cup milk

1 egg

2 stalks of celery, finely chopped (about 1/3 cup)

¼ cup pecans

¼ cup almonds

¼ cup ground flaxseed

¼ cup coconut

Combine BBQ Sauce ingredients in a large saucepan and mix together. Start simmering on low, while you prepare the meatballs.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine ground beef, milk, egg and celery in a medium bowl.

Combine pecans, almonds, flaxseed, and coconut in a food processor and process until mixture is at least coarsely ground.

Knead nut mixture into beef mixture. Roll into small balls and place on a cookie sheet.

Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Combine meatballs with BBQ sauce in saucepan.

Cover and let simmer for 30 minutes.

February Flab Off - Day Three

So...we're on day three of the flab-off and so far, so good. We've not been exercising like we wanted to, but I think the water and diet and trying to get more sleep is disrupting our lives enough. Maybe we'll try to be more intentional about the exercise next week. We've been enjoying the food a lot...for the most part. The almond butter-raisin oatmeal this morning could have used a bit of honey, but other than that, it's been pretty good stuff. Here are our favorite lunches so far!
Enjoy!

Strawberry-Chicken Salad Pita
Toss 3 oz of canned chicken with 1 Tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp olive oil mayo, 1 Tbsp chopped pecans or almonds, and 3-4 sliced strawberries. Fill a whole wheat pita with the chicken salad mixture. Have with about 1/2 cup pineapple tidbits and 1 light string cheese.

Chicken Mango Muffin
Toast one whole wheat english muffin. Spread with one wedge of herbed Laughing Cow Cheese. (You can buy it herbed, but I just added some rosemary, garlic and paprika. Sage, marjoram & thyme would probably be good too.) Mix 1 Tbsp chopped pecans with 3 oz canned chicken, put that and a couple slices of mango on your sandwich. Serve with the rest of the mango, some strawberries, and some non-fat yogurt.