Oatmeal Bars

Okay, so I love, love, love cookies! Actually I love anything that has even a remote amount of sugar in it. I'm not kidding you at all. I would eat sugar for every meal if my body would let me but unfortunately, I'm still trying to achieve that "perfect" size and it will never be achieved by eating this way. So, here I am trying to make my sweets a little more rational. I'm big on taking a recipe and substituting anything I can that will make it more healthy. I often do go too far to where the food I'm trying to make more healthy tastes nothing like the real thing. I'm trying to learn that balance! I love Oatmeal Raisin Cookies or Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, so I thought I'd try substituting in some of those grains that are so packed with nutrition and see if anyone would notice. To my great surprise no one noticed and the family ate the whole pan! Wahoo! Here's the recipe. I wish I had a picture to go with it, but they were eaten too fast, hehe.

Oatmeal Bars

3/4 cup Canola Oil
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 Xagave Syrup
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup spelt flour
3/4 cup white flour
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup 9 grain cereal, cooked
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup raisins or chocolate chips
1/2 cup nuts (optional)

Cream oil, sugars, eggs, and vanilla. Add remaining ingredients, except baking powder and mix well. Add baking powder last and stir ingredients only a few times until baking powder is mixed in. Spread batter in a 10 x 15-inch lightly sprayed baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes. Check the center to make sure it has baked through. It will be lightly browned on top.

Salmon Clam Chowder

This is the stuff! My husband loves this soup...so I'm posting it in his behalf ;)

3-4 tablespoons butter
1 onion chopped
2 garlic cloves
1 red bell pepper chopped
2 celery stalks chopped
1/3 to 1/2 cup spelt, barley, brown rice flour (equal parts of each) or just whole wheat flour
3 cups chicken, vegetable broth
3 large potatoes (red or yellow are my favorite)
2-3 cups half and half
1-2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons basil (dried) or fresh
2 small cans skinnless, boneless salmon with juice
1 can diced clams with juice
1/3 to 1/2 cup white bean flour

Saute onion, garlic, peppers and celery in butter for 2 to 3 minutes, add flour and whisk until it's a thick paste. Slowly add broth, whisk in until blended. Add potatoes. Cook on medium heat until potatoes are soft. Add half and half, spices, salmon and clams and whisk in white bean flour. You do not need to worry about clumping the white bean powder will help the soup thicken. Do not add the white bean powder if your soup is already thick. I like to add this last as it does not clump up like flour and I'm not a fan of cornstarch. Besides, this is a great way to use your beans and it makes the meal much more healthy! You can't taste it at all, I promise! Let the soup simmer on medium low for 10 to 15 minutes. This fully cooks the bean powder and lets the true flavor of the soup develop. This is the most important part! Be careful that your soup doesn't come to a full boil after you've added the half and half. Keep the heat below medium.

(if for any reason your soup is too thick, add water, broth or milk)

Enjoy!!!

Quinoa

I would like to try and "spotlight" one grain a week...give or take depending on how many yummy recipes I can include for each. This week I'd like to introduce you to Quinoa. I had never heard of this grain until about 5 years ago. I'd never really learned what I could do with Quinoa until this last year. Quinoa is such a pretty grain and when cooked is light and fluffy. I just learned during Education Week from Chef Brad that Quinoa also comes in red and black! This is such a powerful grain! It is loaded with all kinds of nutrition. Here is a list of some of those poweful nutrients:

• Complete Protein: This grain provides all of the 9 essential amino acids (I personally thought the only place to find all essential amino acids were in meat, shows how much I know!)
• Magnesium: Helps regulate and maintain healthy blood pressure
  
• Fiber: Keeps the colon functioning properly.
  
• Manganese & Copper: Great minerals that protect agains cancer and disease.
  
• Calcium: To build strong bones and teeth.

Quinoa (pronouced Keenwah) helps regulate blood sugar, is gluten free and can be used in almost anything you cook! Because of the high content of protein it is very beneficial when eaten regularly during pregnancy and can increase your milk supply when nursing. I often make several cups of this and keep in in my refrigerator for up to a week or you can store it in your freezer.

Here are a few ideas for your cooking:

• Breakfast cereal: You can have this alone for breakfast with honey or Agave or you can add it to your oatmeal or any other hot grain cereal you choose for breakfast.
• Shakes: I often add this to my fruit or protein shakes and you can't even tell it's there.
• Salads: This wonderful grain can be added to any salad! I love it in pasta salads and especially in fruit salads or sprinkled over your green salads. It has such a wonderful texture and mild nutty flavor.
• Stir Fry's: Try adding this to your rice or in place of it. It is yummy!
• Soups: I love adding this to any soup or stew I make.
• Meat: I love adding this to my ground turkey or beef to make it go further and more nutritious. It is great in taco's, especially the red Quinoa. I added it to my Spaghetti the other night and the kids loved it!
• Bread: I add the flour or the cooked grain to my homemade bread each week.

To cook Quinoa: Bring 2 cups of water to a boil, add 1 cup Quinoa and turn to low. Cook on low for 20 minutes. Pressure cook for 7 minutes.

For more information on other informational websites click here and here

Mighty Tasty

1 1/2 cups water

1/2 cup Mighty Tasty (found at Kitchen Kneads)

Agave Syrup

Peaches

Milk

Bring water to boil, add Mighty Tasty. Stir well, and turn heat to low. Simmer until cereal is to your desired thickness. Serve with peaches, agave syrup and milk.

This is one of my favorite breakfast meals! This great mix, is made by coarsely grinding brown, rice, corn, buckwheat and sorghum. I buy this meal ready made at a local store called Kitchen Kneads. It is gluten free.

I would just like to add that almost all of the grains make great hot cereal. Oatmeal is made by rolling the whole grain called oat groats. Oat groats are very yummy eaten as a whole grain as well as rolled in the form of oatmeal. Always remember that the ground or cracked cereals require a little more water. 2 or 3 cups water to 1 cup of cracked or ground cereal. Oat groats, brown rice, or any other whole grain cooked is cooked with 2 cups water to 1 cup of grain. Bringing water to boil, then adding grain, turning it to low for 45 minutes. Yes, cooking these grains takes longer and can often be put in a crock pot on low over night. Also, if you have a pressure cooker, it can be done in around 12 minutes. Eating whole grains for breakfast surpasses the nutrition found in cold cereals and will leave you and your family full for much longer. I've been feeding my kids these cereals all week and they are full until lunch! Within an hour of eating cold cereal my kids are asking for food...and it drives me crazy! Enjoy experimenting around with your grains for breakfast.