Pizza Can Be Healthy!

My husband has been out of town this week and my kids and I decided to have a little party. So we made pizza! I love pizza but it's not the best thing for you depending on how it's made. I have a great bread recipe which I will share here and then probably post again at some point, so you can see the bread finished. This bread recipe is something I use every week. Sometimes I substitute different kinds of grain or bean flours in my bread, making sure I use at least 7 cups wheat or spelt for gluten purposes. I also made Monkey Bread. This is a simple recipe that has been around for years. I'm sure most of you already know how to make it..but I will include it as well. Pizza made with whole grain crust and loaded with veggies and good proteins is such a balanced meal! Don't shy away from making your own pizza, the healthy way!

Bread Recipe (adapted from Kitchen Kneads)

5 cups warm water

2 heaping tablespoons SAF yeast

1/3 cup honey or agave

1/3 cup olive oil

11-14 cups whole wheat or spelt flour

2 tablespoons Redmond salt

Combine Water, yeast, honey, and olive oil. Mix gently. Add 11 cups of flour and salt all at once. Mix until combined. Add more flour until the dough cleans the side of the bowl. If the dough is too dry or too wet it will fall while baking. I will only add 1/2 cup flour at a time until the dough isn't sticking to the side of the bowl but will still stick to my finger a little. I prefer it a little on the wet side rather than stiff (too dry). If you ever get the dough too dry add oil while mixing NOT water. Mix for 8 minutes (very important, to develop gluten). The dough will then be soft and pliable. Gently oil hands and shape in to loaves. (makes 5 loaves) Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes.

Pizza

Take a small amount of bread (1 loaf size amount), roll it out until very flat. Place it into a round or square pan. Cut off the excess that falls off the edge with a sharp knife. Immediately bake at 425 for 5 to 10 minutes, until slightly brown. Poke the dough while baking with a fork, if it develops bubbles. Do NOT let the dough rise before baking or your crust will be very thick.

Toppings

Use your favorite sauce, whether it is homemade or not. I prefer Ragu No Sugar Spaghetti Sauce. Spread sauce evening over baked crust. Add toppings you desire...

chicken

ground turkey or beef

ham

sausage

pepperoni

pineapple

green peppers (finely diced is my favorite)

onions (finely diced)

sliced mushrooms

olives

zucchini

cheese (I used a blend)

Bake at 400 for 10-15 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving.

Monkey Bread

Butter

Sugar and Cinnamon

Take a pinch of dough. Roll into a ball. Dip in butter and then in sugar cinnamon mixture. Place in a greased pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes at 350.

Have fun!

Simply Veggies

I love veggies! Even though it is the dead of winter, you can still make some of the yummiest 'summer' concoctions and dream of warmer weather! I made this simple salad today, I got it from Food Network, gotta love Rachel Ray. I omitted the onion, because I didn't have a good sweet onion. My camera is on the fritz, so no picture :(

Veggie Salad

3 small tomatoes (firm, not over ripe)
1 large green pepper
2-3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
salt
pepper

Cut tomatoes in half and then slice. Cut the peppers in half, then cut in half again and slice. Combine in a small bowl. Top with balsamic vinegar and olive oil, add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside for 5-10 minutes to marinade. Serves 2 large portions or 4 smaller portions. Enjoy!

Beef Stew

Okay, I must admit that soups/stews are my favorite thing to make, besides bread...lol. My husband has been begging me to make my stew for a few weeks, so here it is ;) Oh and take a look at that love-r-ly role in the background...I made that too! I might have mastered bread but it's a gamble when I make rolls, somehow I'm a little uncoordinated when it comes to shaping them and sometimes they work and sometimes they don't...today was a good day!

Beef Stew

1-2 lbs stew meat

2 cups baby carrots cut in half

3 stalks celery sliced

3 yellow potatoes

1 onion

1-2 teaspoons onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

2 teaspoons Redmond Salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

3-4 cups Beef Broth

4 cups water

1 cup white bean flour (thickens the stew)

1/2 cup barley

Brown beef, then add to large crockpot. Add carrots, celery, onions, potatoes, barley, and beef broth. In a bowl add water and whisk in white bean flour and spices. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. This makes a ton, cut the recipe in half if your not feeding an army like I am every night...lol! Enjoy!

*Just a couple of suggestions/thoughts: I love using bean flour as a thickening agent. It is sooo healthy and when combined with a whole grain, it makes a complete protein. Grain/Bean grinders are pricey but well worth the investment! If you do not have a grinder, even a small hand grinder, most of which are relatively inexpensive, will work great. I will also use barley, spelt or whole wheat flour as a thickening agent as well, but prefer bean flours.

Sweet Banana Muffins

As you've probably gathered I am going to continue my blog. I appreciate the comment made by Matt and answerfitness.com! I agree, this is useful information and deleting it would make it unavailable and if this info helps at least one person, then I've succeeded. Matt has a great blog and I encourage you all to check it out! There is a link for him on the sidebar of my blog.

I was craving something sweet and obviously with my uber clean eating I can't just go down on my ever favorite red vines, and I also had a pile of banana's that need to be put to good use...so I created this yummy concoction, or at least I hope you think so ;) Depending on the size of your muffins, this should make 12-16 muffins.

Sweet Banana Muffins

1/2 cup whole wheat or spelt flour

1/2 cup vanilla Protein Powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup bran cereal (I used Kashi Go Lean & Vive Cereal)

1 tablespoon Agave Nectar

2 eggs whites or 1 egg

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/3 cup skim milk

2 or 3 large banana's

1 tablespoon baking powder (add last)

Combine dry ingredients, EXCEPT baking powder. Add in wet ingredients. Mix very well. Add baking powder and mix gently. Do not over mix! Bake at 400 for 14 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes or it will be mushy in the center. They are very moist! Enjoy!

Wish I Could Do It All...

I am going to be cancelling this blog. I wish I had time to maintain it, but I don't. If I do have an occasional fun recipe to share, I will post it to my family blog. Thanks for you thoughts, advice and nice comments!

Oatmeal Bread

This is one of my favorite bread recipes! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Oatmeal Bread

1 1/2 boiling water

1 cup oatmeal

Combine these two ingredients and set aside.

2 cups warm water

2 tablespoons yeast (I use Saf Instant)

1/4 cup honey (optional, if you omit, use more molasses)

1/4 to 1/2 cup molasses

1/4 cup olive oil

2 teaspoons salt

7 cups wheat or spelt flour

1 cup white bean flour

1-2 cups more wheat flour, if needed

Combine water, yeast, honey, molasses, olive oil in your mixer. Mix gently until combined. Add Oatmeal Mixture, then add all flour at once and salt. Mix on a low speed until combined. If dough is still wet, add more flour until the dough cleans the sides of the bowl. I like my dough more soft than dry. If your dough is too dry, it will fall. Add more oil (not water) to your dough until it softens somewhat. Mix on Medium speed for 5-8 minutes. Shape into loaves using oil or water on your hands to prevent sticking. Makes 2-3 loaves. Bake @ 350 for 30 minutes.

Oatmeal and boiling water; set aside.

Water, oil, yeast, molasses, honey

Flour & Salt all added at once

Dough after 7 cups wheat & 1 cup white flour added (still too wet)

After two more cups of flour added, dough is cleaning sides of bowl. Not too dry. Remember to mix for 5-8 minutes after dough cleans side of bowl.

Shaped into loaves and set to rise until double (about 30 minutes)

Ready to go into oven (above)

Eating Clean

I've heard this phrase for years, eating clean and loved it. It truly does describe healthy eating. In all my efforts to try to lose weight over the years, this is the most consistent thing! Clean eating doesn't require you cut out important nutrients found in complex carbohydrates or cutting out good protein found in certain kinds of meat, or cutting out important nutrients found in fruits and vegetables. As I get more into bodybuilding, I'm learning the way to trim down fat and feed your body the healthiest way possible is to eat clean. Let me explain more about this...

I'm sure many of us love certain foods like:
Kraft Mac & Cheese
Boxed Cakes and Brownies
White Pasta
White Bread
Processed cheese
Frozen cartons of Whip Cream
Boxed Puddings and Jello-s
Canned soups and canned meals in general
Oreos
Most Boxed Crackers like Ritz, Cheese Nips
Chips
Candy Bars

I could continue to list these things that are super easy and pretty yummy but most all of them contain hydrogenated oils and frankly, I just can't pronounce all of the ingredients found in most of these. Now, I, Like the rest of you really enjoy a good oreo on occasion! They have to be eaten but not on a regular basis.

I challenge you to find a box or can of food that has simple ingredients...ingredients you can read and know what they are...it's hard to do! I've been a fan of Adam's Peanut Butter for years...why? Because it has three simple ingredients: Peanuts, Peanut oil, salt

Clean eating consists of food in it's most natural form. Chicken, eggs, whole grains, fruits & veggies, heart healthy oils (extra virgin olive oil, expeller pressed oils), Tuna, Beans, etc.

In the last two weeks, I've challenged myself to eat 6 small meals a day and to keep my diet clean. I've lost 12 pounds! No joke! I've cut only boxed, canned garbage from my diet. No cookies, candy, and junk of all kinds. Most of the meals I've put on this blog and will put on this blog will be clean. Is this difficult to do? Yes and no. Yes because I love certain junk like red vines and oreos and will miss eating them often. I will eat them but sparingly :) This is not difficult in the sense that I do not feel tired. I look forward to my next meal (eating every 3 hours), and oddly do not find myself craving anything in particular because my body is being nourished the right way.

To find more info on Clean eating click here.