Whiteley Creek Homestead

Dick and I are taking an aquasize class (two really… back to back… fifty minutes each) 3x/week at our local Y. To get out the door on time, I must either get up extra early to make our breakfast and pack an after workout snack… or prep the night before. For breakfast, my daughter Heather frequently prepares rice pudding for her three children. She is the inspiration behind my desire to incorporate more brown rice into my meals. This rice pudding made with coconut milk and sweetened with just a touch of maple syrup, from 12 Steps to Whole Foods by Robyn Openshaw, is a perfect make-the-night-before breakfast.

Coconut Brown Rice Pudding (for dessert or breakfast cereal)

This makes a big batch for a large family or for several meals. Refrigerate extra servings in recycled jars.

1 ½ cups brown rice, rinsed and drained well

3 cups water

1 can coconut milk*

¼ cup maple syrup (the real deal, not Aunt Jemima)

½ cup raisins

½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut (e.g., Bob’s Red Mill)

1 tbsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

½ tsp sea salt

1 tsp vanilla

optional: 3 eggs (organic, free-range), lightly beaten

Bring water to a boil, add the rice and salt, reduce heat and simmer 45 minutes. In a bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients. Mix with cooked rice and pour into a lightly oiled 9×13-inch pan. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes. If desired, serve with milk and a sprinkling of cinnamon. *Native Forest Coconut Milk contains organic coconut milk (organic coconut, water, and guar gum). An alternate brand, which is distributed by Natural Value, contains pure coconut extract and water… no guar gum. Without guar gum, it often solidifies, but you can simply warm the can prior to using. 

This bionaturæ® egg pasta has become a pantry staple. The noodles are so tender with a rich flavor. They have become a favorite alongside Eden Organic Kamut Spirals. 

Most recently, I made Hamburger Bulgur Noodle Casserole with the pasta… so so good! The recipe, which came from an Eat  Heathy Your Way Magazine that I picked up at a health food store, uses bulgur to pump up the nutrition and add a texture akin to ground beef, so only 1/2 lb hamburger is used. According to livingstrong.com, "bulgur wheat is a complex carbohydrate that is digested slowly, prolonging the release of sugars into the bloodstream. This prevents the spiking of blood sugar levels. (It) is a nutrient dense complex carbohydrate that is high in fiber and low-fat protein." (This is casserole #2 in my Hamburger Macaroni Hotdish Challenge.)     

 
Hamburger Bulgur Noodle Casserole

8 oz lean grass-fed ground beef or bison

1 ½ tsp oil

1 onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 8-ounce cans tomato sauce

½ cup water

½ cup bulgur

½ tsp pepper

¼ tsp salt, divided

(I chose also to add ½ tsp dried basil and ½ tsp Italian seasoning… very nice. Next time I prepare the dish, I’m going to experiment with the addition of garlic powder and onion powder, too… 1/2 tsp of each, me thinks.

6 oz egg noodles

1 cup cottage cheese

1 cup sour cream (I used Greek yogurt.)

¼ cup shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese

(Next time, I will experiment with adding veggie layers (e.g. sliced yellow squash and zucchini.)

Preheat oven to 350°. Coat a 2-quart baking dish with a light coating of oil. Put a large pot of water on to boil. Cook beef in a large skillet, breaking up clumps with a wooden spoon, until no longer pink, 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels. (Grass-fed ground beef or bison has virtually no fat to drain off.) Wipe out the pan and sauté onion in oil until nearly translucent. Add garlic and sauté another 2 minutes. Add tomato sauce, water, bulgur, pepper, and the beef; bring to a simmer. Cover and simmer gently until the bulgur is tender and the sauce is thickened, 15 to 20 minutes. (I added an additional ½ cup water because it was a little too thick.) Meanwhile, cook noodles until just tender, according to package directions. Drain. Puree cottage cheese in a food processor until smooth. Transfer to a medium bowl; fold in sour cream (or Greek yogurt). Season with the remaining 1/8 tsp salt and the pepper. Spread half the noodles in the prepared pan. Top with half the cottage cheese mixture and half the meat/bulgur sauce. Repeat with the remaining noodles, cottage cheese, and sauce. Sprinkle cheese over the top. Bake the casserole until bubbly, 30 to 40 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.   

This smoothie has nothing going for it in the looks department, but the nutritional goodness… now that's a thing of beauty. I copied the recipe from a fitness magazine that I was flipping through as I was getting primped at a hair salon yesterday. This bottle of tart cherry juice concentrate is made from approximately 25 lbs of cherries with nothing else added!

Coconut Water + Cherry Juice Smoothie

1 cup coconut water

½ cup tart cherry juice (or 1/2 cup water + 1 tbsp cherry juice concentrate)

½ cup fresh or frozen blueberries

1 frozen banana cut into chunks

2 tsp flaxseed oil (I used 2 scoops concentrated flax lignans.)

Hosting Christmas dinner reaps the benefit of leftovers.  To eek out the last bit of meat from a roasted turkey, a big pot of soup is a shoo in. This basic recipe, from bestcrockpotrecipes.net, does not require homemade stock. Just toss a few ingredients into your crockpot or, as I chose to do instead, let it simmer in a soup pot on top of the stove just long enough for the brown rice to soften… fast, flavorful, a perfect winter day warmup.    

 
 
Homemade Turkey Soup

leftover roasted turkey bones and meat

2 celery stalks, chopped

1 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, diced

4 cups organic free-range chicken broth/stock

4 cups water

1 tsp salt (I used Johnny’s seasoning salt.)

¼ tsp pepper (I used garlic pepper.)

1 bay leaf

generous ½ tsp dried marjoram

2 tbsp dried parsley

½ cup uncooked brown rice

2 unpeeled carrots, sliced

any other veggies in the fridge (Into the pot on this day, I added sliced broccoli stalks and chopped kale)

Combine all ingredients except carrots (and any other veggies) in a large pot and heat. When it comes to a boil, turn down to a simmer. Cook for 30 minutes, then add the veggies. Cook for another 15 minutes until the veggies are tender but still firm. Makes eight 1 ½ cup servings.