"Instant" Pancakes

I love this recipe because the dry portion can be made way before and stored (the McCann Irish Oatmeal tin can is ideal for this!) and then mixed with egg, butter and milk. it's so easy, my ten year old can make this. I got this idea from Nigella Lawson's book. It makes you feel so accomplished to just whip together homemade pancakes on a Saturday morning!

Dry Pancake Mix

4 C flour mix 

3 tbsp baking powder

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp plus 1 tsp sugar

Whisk all ingredients together and store in an airtight container.

"Instant" Pancakes

1 C dry pancake mix

1 C fat free milk

1 tbsp butter, melted

1 egg (beaten)

Mix all ingredients. Using a small ice cream scoop, laddle on hot griddle. Flip when the pancake bubbles and edges are slightly brown.

Serve with real maple syrup or try mixing microwaved frozen fruit with one tbsp maple syrup--very yummy!

* For variety, mix in blueberries, chocolate or another fruit of your choice.

Let's Talk Bacon

Bacon is one of the most fattening things on the planet; that being said it is, let's face it, one of the tastiest things on the planet. I was a vegetarian for 6 six years (vegan for 1) and the one thing I missed, BACON. 

Sure there is turkey bacon, soy bacon but none can come close to the that sweet, salty, smokey, chewy, crispy bacon. It cannot be duplicated in my mind.

But can you be a healthy family and eat bacon?

This family does, about twice a month max. The guidelines for us--it's exactly 1/2 pound for all six of us and the bacon has to be top quality organic. A 1/2 pound keeps us from gorging ourselves, organic because lots of the hormones, etc. given to pigs reside in fat and bacon is pretty much all fat and top quality because I am not going to waste my rare bacon treat on the pre-packaged junk.

I have the two slice rule for myself and older kids. My kids under 5 have one slice, that I cut in half ;)

The good news is good bacon is not as expensive as you think. Fresh, smoked bacon at Whole Foods is $6.99 a pound--not terrible considering wild salmon can go up to $30 a pound. 

And bacon is more than just breakfast--think wrapped around fish or asparagus, chopped over a spinach salad or added to a soup.  The flavor adds so much to so many dishes--and a little goes a long way.

So go ahead and allow your kids some bacon--just remember moderation is the key :)

Yogurt Breakfast Bar

This is a fun one for morning after sleepovers or when you need to feed a bunch of children.

I use a dolled plain yogurt but you may want to start with a mix of vanilla and plain. Keep in mind, flavored yogurts are loaded with sugar so the more plain you use, the better.

Yogurt Breakfast Bar

Container of Plain Fat Free Yogurt

honey

dried fruit

fresh fruit

nuts

freshly ground flax seed

Go Lean Crunch cereal

Mix honey in plain yogurt (if using vanilla, skip this step) and taste. Add honey until you are happy with the taste. Place all remaining ingredients in glass bowls.

Give everyone a pretty tall glass and kids can make their own parfaits :)

Italian Frittata

Frittatas are basically baked eggs. Below is one of my favorite frittata combinations but don't let it limit you. Try roasted red peppers, various herbs, cheeses and veggies.

These do take a bit of effort so you might want to reserve this breakfast when you have a little time. They are worth both the time and effort!

Italian Frittata

1 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper

12 eggs, beaten

few basil leaves, torn (and a couple more for garnish)

1/2 C sundried tomatoes packed in  olive oil, sliced

1/2 C goat cheese, crumbled

1/2 C baby spinach, torn

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add eggs and salt and pepper. Stir and pull egg mixture away from pan sides. After about 4 minutes, add remaining ingredients. Stir and remove from heat. 

Place in oven and cook 15 minutes. The center of the frittata should be set. Remove and allow to sit for ten minutes. Carefully slide a thin knife around the pan to loosen the frittata. Flip the pan over on a large plate. Slice the frittata in wedges and serve, garnished with fresh basil leaves.

Healthier Blueberry Muffins

This is our take on blueberry muffins. Muffins are great because they are grab and go. You can bake the night before and quickly reheat in the microwave if you are in a hurry. And if you are really ambitious, make a double batch and freeze some for later. No, they won't taste as yummy  as fresh baked but once again, it's a quick muffin you made with high quality ingredients and love by you!

Healthier Blueberry Muffins

6 tbsp butter, melted

1 2/3 C flour (combination of white and whole wheat pastry flour)

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 C sugar

1 C fat-free milk

1/4 C plain fat-free yogurt

1 egg

1/2 to 3/4 C fresh blueberries

12 muffin liners to line a 12 muffin pan

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. 

Combine all dry ingredients (not blueberries) in a large bowl. Whisk egg in separate bowl and all wet ingredients (not blueberries). (Be sure butter is cooled.) 

Mix the wet and dry ingredients lightly with a fork. Batter will be lumpy. When just combined, carefully fold in blueberries. Do not overwork the mixture.

Using an ice cream scoop, measure equal amounts of mixture in each liner. Cook for twenty minutes. When complete remove muffins in liners and let cool on cooling rack for a few minutes.

Enjoy!

Flour Power

The most common type of flour used in baking is the bleached, enriched white. Beside baking, you can use it with water to make a paste for paper mache ;)

Naturally, the white flour is softer and easier for baked goods but it's not as good for you as multi-grains. To handle this problem, I use flour combinations.

First off, I only use unbleached white flour. A tad better. Then I also use WHOLE WHEAT PASTRY FLOUR. The pastry flour has more of the softer consistency like white but is whole wheat. 

I use a 1/2 and 1/2 combination of whole wheat pastry flour and unbleached white flour; however, I do not suggest starting out this way. Your family will taste the difference and may turn their noses at the healthy substitute.

I suggest starting with 3:1 ratio. In other words, if a recipe calls for 4 cups flour, add three cups unbleached white and 1 cup whole wheat pastry. No one will notice. The next time use 2 1/2 cups unbleached white and 1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry and increase each time by 1/2 a cup until you get to 1/2 and 1/2. Based on your family, you might even increase to 75% whole wheat pastry flour. It's really up to you and your family!

If this is confusing or you have your own helpful tip on going whole wheat, let me know!

Fiesta Brunch Casserole

This is one of those special breakfasts. The fat content is much higher than most breakfasts so it should be restricted to only once or twice a month max. Unless you have a heart condition, it's OK to enjoy in moderation. That being said, it is loaded with peppers and flavor. Adapted from Barbara Pool Fenzl's "Savor the Southwest", it is a taste of this region of the country. 

One of the best parts of this meal is the fact you can do almost all the work the night before and get all the oohhs and aaahhhs in the morning and even in a family of six, there are always left-overs!

Fiesta Brunch Casserole

1 tbsp butter, melted

5 whole wheat tortillas

12 oz breakfast sausage

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 yellow bell pepper, diced

1 orange bell pepper, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 jalapeno chili, stemmed, seeds removed and minced

8 eggs

1/3 C fat free milk

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 C freshly grated Monterey Jack

Cilantro leaves (garnish)

Salsa (optional)

Brush inside of 8-inch springform pan with melted butter. Center first tortila at bottom of the pan. Arrange remaining tortillas around pan, overlapping tortillas and letting about two inches hang over top. Place pan on baking sheet.

If baking now, preheat over to 350 degrees.

In a heavy skillet, cook sausage. When browned, quickly remove with slotted spoon and rinse under cold water until water is clear (this removes some fat). Place back in skillet with bell peppers until soft. Add garlic and jalepano. Cook approximately 2 more minutes. Remove from heat and spread mixture over tortillas, pressing tortillas to sides of the pan.

Whisk eggs, milk, salt and chili powder. Cook in the same skillet you cooked the sausage (this adds extra flavor to eggs and saves washing time for you!). Cook until the eggs just start to set--they become slightly firm but not quite ready to serve.  Remove from heat. It should look like this:

Sprinkle 1 cup of cheese over the sausage mixture. Cover this with the eggs and top with the rest of the cheese. Fold tortillas over like a tart. (At this point, you can cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.)

Bake for 30 minutes until warmed through and cheese is golden. Let stand 5 minutes and then run a knife between the tortillas and pan. Release the pan sides. Garnish with cilantro and bring to table with salsa.

Steel Cut Oats

My personal go to breakfast meal is steel cut oats (a type of oatmeal). You can find these at numerous stores, including the bulk section. My favorite is McCann's Irish Oatmeal. It comes in tins you can use after.

The following is from the Mccann's website:

Why Steel-cut Oats?

Steel-Cut Oats are whole grain groats (the inner portion of the oat kernel) which have been cut into two or three pieces using steel discs. Golden in colour and resembling mini rice particles, they are as nature intended – nothing added and nothing taken out.

How are they different from Rolled Oats?

Rolled oats are flake oats that have been steamed, rolled, re-steamed and toasted. Due to all of this additional processing they have lost some of their natural taste, goodness and texture.

Steel cut oats take a bit longer to cook than regular oatmeal but I think you'll agree it's worth it. The finished result is much creamier and heartier, unique crunch much different than the packaged stuff!

The recipe below includes my suggested toppings but be adventurous--try bananas, brown sugar, raisins or other dried fruit. With all the various choices, you can have a different breakfast almost every day. 

Steel Cut Oats with Cranberries and Walnuts

4 C water

1 C steel cut oats

1 tsp just ground flax seed*

handful walnuts

handful dried cranberries

1 tsp real maple syrup

Bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add steel cut oats. Once it begins to thicken turn down the heat to low. Allow to cook about 20 - 30 minutes, until water is absorbed.

Serve and top with suggested toppings or your own.

You can save leftover oatmeal in the refrigerator and microwave it the next day at 30 seconds to one minute with a bit a fat free milk. When you remove it, stir quickly and enjoy.  It is not as good as the first day but great when you are in a big hurry!

* Note--Flax seed is loaded with healthy omegas but flax seed goes bad quickly after ground. If you don't have time to grind flax seeds (I use a coffee grinder.), add extra walnuts--also lots of healthy omegas!

It's Back to School TIme

For the next few weeks, I am switching gears and focusing on the most important meal of the day, breakfast. Studies show students who eat a good, healthy breakfast get better grades at school. It's no wonder--young, growing bodies need complex carbs for energy and quality protein to keep going. Sugar on the other hand gives kids a hyper spike but leaves them down and tired by mid morning. 

The problem is getting breakfast ready. When you are busy getting the kids dressed and ready, breakfast seems like a bother. But it doesn't have to be. By planning ahead, you can get a quick breakfast to go without sacrificing time.

Some quick breakfast ideas include (try and keep all items organic--no one needs a bunch of chemicals first thing in the morning):

- multi-grain toast with peanut butter (natural) and a piece of seasonal fruit

-smoothies with a healthier muffin* (baked the night before)

- pre-cooked chicken sausage wrapped in a healthier pancake* (again made the night before) with some fresh fruit

- scrambled egg, cheese and spinach quickly broiled on a multi-grain muffin

The great thing about these ideas is kids can even eat them in the car and they are all better than stopping off for that pastry at the coffee shop on your way to school :)

 * Recipes for these items will be posted in the next few weeks!

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