Healthy Whole-Wheat Bread

There are few things that can beat the smell of hot bread right out of the oven. I love homemade bread. It tastes delicious. You can eat it hot right out of the oven. It's real and you know what is in it. Saying that however I've definetly had my struggles with making bread. It's not easy getting it just right. I don't have a mechanical mixer so I've had to knead it by hand. Anyway let's just say that my bread hasn't always turned out moist and fluffy. However after numerous adjustments I have found one that I like.

Whole-Wheat Bread Recipe

5 cups warm water
2 eggs
1/2 cup or 1 cube butter
5 cups whole white wheat flour
1 Tbs salt

Mix well for 30-40 seconds then add 3 Tbs SAT instant yeast. mix well. Then add 7 more cups of flour. I added 1 cup at a time and stirred each in before adding the next. Knead dough for at least 5 minutes. use a rolling pin to roll dough out. roll it up, tuck the ends in and put in buttered or sprayed pans. Let raise until doubled. Cook at 350 degrees for 30 min.

Yumm. can you smell that fresh bread now. you'll want to take the bread out of the pans shortly after coming out of the oven or it will get soggy. Store in plastic bag. i put mine in the freezer or fridge so it lasts longer.

 

slice and butter and enjoy.

 

Just another note: i have to say I am working on a soaked version of this. whole-wheat bread is good for you but soaked whole wheat bread is better. I'll let you know soon but for now this is still my go-to bread recipe.

This post is linked to: The Holistic Squid, healthyrootshappysoul, Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, real food forager, and butter believer.

Cheesy Cauliflower Stuffed Peppers

First off,  I'm not a huge fan of peppers. Or at least I wasn't until I decided I wanted to lose some weight and needed to start eating more veggies. Once I started eating peppers I came up with all sorts of recipes that were actually pretty good. This one had never really looked appetizing but I must say I loved it. 

In this recipe for stuffed peppers I switched out rice for cauliflower rice. Again upping my veggie intake and decreasing the grains.

Stuffed Peppers Recipe

Ingredients
6 medium colored peppers
1 lb. ground beef (pastured)
2 c. cauliflower
8 oz. tomato sauce
2 c. cheese
1/2 c. onion
1/2 c. green pepper
2 Tbs. lard or tallow
2 Tbs. garlic
1 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. cayenne
1/2 tsp. parsley


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In pan, on stove top blanch peppers for 2 minutes.  In frying pan heat lard until hot, add onions and garlic. In bowl mix meat, parsley, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, tomato sauce, 1 cup cheese and cooked onion mixture. Mix well. Add cauliflower rice slowly until just before it is no longer sticking together.  Place peppers on cookie sheet or cake pan. Stuff peppers. Cook for 30 minutes. Add cheese to top it off. Cook for an additional 10 minutes.

Enjoy.

~Megan

Delicious Blackberry Morning Shake

I absolutely loved my breakfast this morning. It is so hot outside and a fresh fruit breakfast is what I needed. My husband picked up some blackberries from our local farmers market and I was so glad to use them for a yummy morning shake.
  I am a big proponent of shakes in the summer. They are quick and easy to make, you can put all sorts of good stuff in them, and they taste wonderful.

The Recipe

3 ripe frozen bananas (Peel them first then put them in a container in the freezer. I don't even cover mine with anything)
1/2 cup of yogurt. (easy homemade yogurt recipe)
3 Tbs Diatomaceous Earth. ( You don't need this one, I just use it because of all the great health benefits.) (more info on Diatomaceous Earth here)
1/4 Cup blackberries

Put everything in a blender and mix until smooth.

No-bake Peanut butter bars

Tonight we were really wanting a treat but were out butter and milk. darn. So I came up with these. They were rich but delicious. I wish I would of had a nice glass of milk to go with it.

Peanut butter layer

1 cup peanut butter

2 teaspoons maple syrup or honey

1 cup rolled oats

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. press into 8x8 pan.

Chocolate Layer

1/4 c Coconut oil

1/4 c Cocoa

1/8 c maple syrup

Mix in seperate bowl. poor over peanut butter layer. (you may have to melt the coconut oil depending on the consistency). Put in fridge or freezer until chocolate layer is set. store in fridge.

Want something similar to this. Ok well if you haven't noticed by now I love peanut butter. I recently made an imitation reese's with higher protein content.  Check it out here.

Yummy Quinoa reeses

High calorie but good for you:

Chocolate Coating:
1 c coconut oil
1 c. honey
1/2 c coco 

Melt chocolate and mix together.

Peanut Butter Filling:
2 c. cooked quinoa
1/2 c. to 1 c. peanut butter



Instructions:
Melt chocolate. Put about a tablespoon in the bottom of a muffin pan with cupcake liners in it. Place in fridge until set. Roll balls of peanut butter mixture. Place in center of cupcake. Pour rest of melted chocolate on top to form peanut butter cups.
Put in fridge and let set.


enjoy.

Crockpot Yogurt

I found this recipe and love it.

INGREDIENTS & SUPPLIES
8 cups of milk
1/2 cup yogurt with live cultures
Crockpot
Bath towel
Cheesecloth
Strainer

DIRECTIONS

• Pour 8 cups of milk (or 16 cups which is 1 gallon if you're doubling the recipe) into a large crockpot. Set to LOW for 2 1/2 hours.
• Turn crockpot off and let sit with lid on for 3 hours.
• Add 1/2 cup yogurt (or 1 cup for a double recipe), place lid back on, and wrap a bath towel around the crockpot. You're goal is to make a dark, insulated environment for the live cultures to exponentially grow.
• Let crockpot sit covered (with lid and towel), not heating for 8-12 hours. I usually try to start the yogurt process by 3pm in the afternoon so this 8-12 hour step happens overnight.
• In the morning, your milk will look like the top photo above - YOGURT!
• Line a strainer with a cheesecloth and strain yogurt to desired consistency. Without straining your yogurt will be a drinkable consistency - perfect for smoothies. But, if you're wanting to spoon eat it or make it more like "normal" you'll want to strain it for 15-30 minutes. 

Brocoli Cheese Soup

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 1 cup chopped onion 
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1 (16-ounce) package broccoli florets 
• 2 1/2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk 
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 8 ounces light processed cheese, cubed (such as Velveeta Light)

Preparation

1. Heat a large nonstick saucepan coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; saute 3 minutes or until tender. Add broth and broccoli. Bring broccoli mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium; cook 10 minutes.
2. Combine milk and flour, stirring with a whisk until well blended. Add milk mixture to broccoli mixture. Cook 5 minutes or until slightly thick, stirring constantly. Stir in pepper. Remove from heat; add cheese, stirring until cheese melts.
3. Place one-third of the soup in a blender or food processor, and process until smooth. Return pureed soup mixture to pan.

Brussel Sprouts and rice casserole

Ingredients

• 1 (10-ounce) package frozen Brussels sprouts
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tablespoon stick margarine
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups 1% low-fat milk $
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
• Cooking spray
• 1 cup cooked long-grain rice
• 1 ounce thinly sliced prosciutto or ham, cut into thin strips
• 1/4 cup fresh breadcrumbs
• 2 tablespoons grated fresh Parmesan cheese

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375°.
2. Combine the Brussels sprouts and water in a medium saucepan, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Uncover sprouts, and cook 1 minute. Drain.
3. Melt margarine in a small saucepan over low heat; add flour, stirring with a whisk. Gradually add milk to saucepan. Bring to a boil; cook 3 minutes over medium heat or until thick and bubbly, stirring constantly. Stir in salt and pepper. Set aside.
4. Coat a 9-inch quiche or round baking dish with cooking spray. Pat rice into bottom of dish; arrange Brussels sprouts, stem sides down, on top of rice. Sprinkle Brussels sprouts with prosciutto; pour sauce over prosciutto. Combine breadcrumbs and cheese; sprinkle over sauce. Bake at 375° for 20 minutes or until lightly browned.