Whiteley Creek Homestead

This tuna salad from eatingwell.com was a quick lunch as I finish my last project due for the present college term. It is a nice change of pace from the traditional mixture. Serve it on a lettuce leaf strewn with toppings (e.g., raw sunnies, pumpkin seeds, and sprouts) alongside homemade yogurt and fruit.  

Walnut Dill Tuna Salad

1 slice whole-grain bread

¼ cup chicken broth

3 tbsp chopped walnuts

2 tbsp plain yogurt

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 clove garlic

pinch cayenne pepper

1 6-ounce can tuna* (I used a 12-ounce can.)

1 carrot, diced (I shredded mine.)

 1 stalk celery, diced (I used 2 stalks.)

2 tbsp chopped fresh dill (I used 1 tbsp dried dill weed.)

Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste (I used garlic pepper.)

Puree bread, broth, walnuts, yogurt, lemon juice, garlic, and cayenne in food processor. Transfer to a bowl and add tuna, carrot, celery, and dill. Serve in a lettuce leaf. Season with salt and pepper. Top with raw sunnies, unroasted (raw) pumpkin seeds, sprouts, etc. *I just can’t eat mushy tuna, so I eat albacore because it is chunky. However, albacore tuna can be high in mercury content… large fish=more mercury. I haven’t found a good substitute yet, so I choose wild caught albacore tuna and limit my intake.  

This quick fruit and nut dessert from eatrightamerica.com is equally appropriate and yummy for breakfast.

Mango Pudding

¼ cup slivered almonds

2 ripe mangoes, peeled and cut into chunks (I used a 16 oz pkg partially thawed frozen mango chunks + 2 tbsp pineapple juice because my blender needed some extra liquid to encourage the blades to spin.)

1 banana

1 tbsp date sugar

1/8 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

½ tsp vanilla

1/8 tsp cinnamon for sprinkling on top

Grind almonds in a Vita-Mix or other powerful blender until finely chopped. Add remaining ingredients except cinnamon and blend until smooth and creamy. Serve in individual bowls garnished with a banana slice and a sprinkling of sliced almonds and cinnamon. Makes six 1/2 cup servings. 

My daughter Heather plans to make Irish soda bread for my granddaughter's St. Patrick's Day class treat. She makes it frequently, but I had never tasted it, so today when I ran across a page I had torn from a November 2007 issue of Country Home with a recipe for Flax Soda Bread, I headed to the kitchen… in honor of Heather's birthday today. 

 
I discovered via an Internet search that there are many variations. For one, you can add dried fruit. This recipe is so light and tender and quick and easy. I served a wedge with a bowl of soup… a perfect accompaniment. I love the earthy, rustic look of the loaf.

Flax Soda Bread

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

¾ cup whole wheat or rye flour

½ cup ground flaxseeds

¾ tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

3 tbsp butter

2 eggs, slightly beaten

¾ cup buttermilk

2 tbsp honey

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. In a small bowl, stir together the eggs, buttermilk, and honey. Add to dry ingredients. Stir just until moistened. (Dough will be sticky.) Turn out dough onto a well-floured surface. Knead 10 to 12 strokes or until dough is nearly smooth. (I tossed just enough flour on top of the dough as I worked it so it wouldn’t stick to my fingers.) On a greased baking sheet using well-floured hands, shape dough into a 6-inch round. (It will poof as it bakes.) With a sharp knife, cut a 4” cross, ¼” deep, on top of the loaf (to let the bread stretch and expand as it rises in the oven). Bake in a preheated 375° oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cut into wedges or slices. Makes 12 to 16 servings.

This "hotdish oatmeal for breakfast"recipe comes from Ann Burckhardt (aka "The Hotdish Queen"), a born-and-bred Minnesotan who is the author of Hot Dish Heaven: Classic Casseroles from Midwest Kitchens. She was featured in the October 2008 issue of Midwest Living Magazine.

 
  
This bowl of oatmeal looks plain jane, but it is anything but. A little twist packs a whole lot of flavor goodness. It is reminiscent of rice pudding. An optional Maple Crunch Topping seals the deal.

Baked Oatmeal

1 ¼ cups old-fashioned rolled oats (not instant)

1 ¼ cups water

1 ½ cups milk + 2/3 cup (divided)

2 eggs, lightly beaten (I use 3 eggs to produce more custard…
yum!)

½ cup ¼ cup brown sugar… just perfect

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp salt (I omit.)

Put oats in a medium saucepan, then add water. Cover with
pan’s lid and let sit overnight on kitchen counter to soften oats. Optionally,
you can soak for an hour in the a.m. if you forget to put them to soak the
night before. Do not drain off the water. Add 1 ½ cups milk to soaked oatmeal
mixture. Heat to a simmer, then cook about 10 minutes or until most of the milk
is absorbed (but still creamy not dry) and the oats are quite tender, stirring
occasionally. Butter a 1 ½-quart casserole dish or 8×8 glass cake pan. In a
small bowl, whisk 2/3 cup milk and eggs. In another small bowl, combine the
remaining ingredients; stir into oatmeal. Slowly add egg mixture into oatmeal
stirring to combine. (Adding the egg mixture to hot oatmeal too quickly will
cause the eggs to curdle. Oh, yes, this I know.) Pour oatmeal mixture into
baking dish. Bake uncovered in 350° oven for 30 to 40 50 minutes until knife
inserted in center comes out clean. (Increased baking time is required because
I added more milk and eggs than the original recipe.) Serve in pretty cereal
bowls… I like the deep kind, and top with a variety of fresh fruit, dried
cranberries or raisins, then sprinkle with maple crunch topping. (See recipe
below.) Serve with milk. Makes 4 servings.

Maple Crunch Topping

¼ cup whole raw almonds, roughly chopped

1/3 cup walnuts, roughly chopped

2 tbsp sunflower seeds

½ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp nutmeg

1 tbsp unsalted butter, melted

2 tbsp maple syrup (the real deal-not Aunt Jemima)

Heat oven to 375°. Line a baking pan with parchment paper.
Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and spread in a single layer on the
prepared pan. Bake 6 – 7 minutes. Remove from oven and cool.

(Recipe Source: Country Living Magazine. It can also be found on Country Living Magazine's website in a post dated February 2, 2006.)

I made these lightweight buttermilk pancakes from Clean Eating Magazine this morning. The sucanat adds wonderful flavor. We were racing out the door, so I didn't get a photo of the end product.

Buttermilk Sucanat Pancakes

Makes 16 pancakes

1 ½ cups whole wheat flour

¾ ¼ cup organic sucanat (I'm going to try reducing even further to 2 tbsp.)

1 ¼ tsp baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp sea salt

1 ½ cups low-fat buttermilk

1 egg, lightly beaten

1 egg white

1 tbsp sour cream (I used homemade yogurt.)

Olive oil cooking spray

In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together buttermilk, eggs, and sour cream; add to dry ingredients, stirring just until moist. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Mist skillet with cooking spray. Pour ¼ cup batter into skillet for each pancake and cook for 2 minutes or until tops are covered with bubbles and edges appear cooked. Carefully turn pancakes over and cook for 2 more minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned. Repeat with remaining batter, remisting skillet with cooking spray between batches.  

 
This pudding from eatrightamerica.com is a nutrition powerhouse! Check it out… avocado, banana, and spinach with raisins and shredded coconut toppings. Dick wouldn't get up in the middle of the night to devour it, but he ate it. That's a reliable testament to its flavor quotient. It's really very good. I have included a few recipe tweaks. 

Spinach Avocado Pudding

2  1 avocado

1  2 bananas

4 cups organic baby spinach

½ cup vanilla soymilk (I used unsweetened rice milk.)

½ cup date sugar (I didn’t use any sweetener at all and it was very good. Definitely the entire ½ cup date sugar isn't needed.)

½ cup currants or raisins, optional

1 tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut for garnish

Blend all ingredients except currants and coconut in a Vita-Mix or other powerful blender until smooth and creamy. (I don’t have a Vita-Mix, so I coarsely chopped the spinach and my blender did a fine job.) Stir in currants or raisins (or omit or sprinkle on top). Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. (I didn’t wait this long.) Stir. Scoop into individual bowls and sprinkle with coconut. 

Last night, I prepped for this morning's breakfast by combining 3 cups rolled oats (not quick-cooking variety), 3 cups purified/filtered water, and 6 tablespoons buttermilk (or Kombucha, kefir, or whey). By allowing it to sit overnight on your countertop a minimum of 8 hours up to 24 hours, the acidic medium neutralizes the phytic acid in the oats. Remember, from a previous post about soaking grains to make muffins, I stated that I had learned in one of my nutrition class textbooks that phytic acid can bind minerals such as calcium, iron, copper, magnesium, and especially zinc and they can be carried out through the intestinal tract without being absorbed. (Haas, E.M. Staying Healthy With Nutrition) Phytic acid, which is present in the outer layer, or bran, in whole grains is the seed's means of preservation until the conditions (moisture, warmth, time, and slight acidity) are conducive to sprouting. By providing these conditions in advance of consuming the grain, the nutrients can be more efficiently utilized by our body.  

 
This is what my oats looked like upon rising this morning. I like to soak them in a two-quart glass measuring bowl. It comes with a cover, but you could throw a kitchen towel over top or use an elasticized bowl cover that looks like a shower cap. All that's needed in the morning is to add 3 cups milk (preferably raw) and 1 tbsp cinnamon. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer. Cook, covered, for 5 minutes or until thick. (Because the oats are soaked overnight, the cooking time is reduced.)

Spoon into bowls and serve with fruit, chopped nuts, raw sunnies, 1 1/2 tbsp ground flaxseed, and milk.

Because this recipe makes such a large amount (7 one-cup servings), it will last for several breakfasts depending upon family size. Use recycled pickle, applesauce, peanut/almond butter, or spaghetti sauce jars to store premeasured serving sizes. In the morning, it's as simple as heating in a pan with a little liquid. How about a baked version of this soaked oatmeal that tastes like rice pudding? Yum!

It is overcast and chilly today… a soup kinda day. This Creamy Carrot Soup, from Dr. Fuhrman's blog eatrightamerica.com, is a winner fer sure… fer sure. To give the soup body and creaminess, some of the veggies are removed from the soup after simmering, whirred in the blender, then added back into the soup. Be sure to taste the blended mixture… so good! If you don't have a juicer, you can purchase carrot juice, but a juicer will become your best friend right up there with a yogurt maker and a grain mill. 

Creamy Carrot Soup

4 cups carrot juice

2 cups water

2 medium potatoes chopped into bite-size pieces

2 carrots, chopped

2 celery stalks, chopped

1 green, yellow, or red pepper chopped (The less green, the sweeter the taste.)

1 medium or ½ large onion, chopped (I sautéed it in a bit of olive oil before adding to the soup pot.)

4 cloves garlic, minced

2 bay leaves

1 tbsp Dr. Fuhrman’s VegiZest or other no salt seasoning (I used Mrs. Dash Original Blend.)

1 tbsp Spike Seasoning, no salt (I used McKay’s Vegan Chicken Seasoning.)

4 tsp Bragg Liquid Aminos

10 Brazil nuts, coarsely chopped

4 ounces baby spinach, coarsely chopped

2 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes*

fresh parsley, chopped for garnish

Add all ingredients, except the nuts, spinach, nutritional yeast, and parsley to a large soup pot. Cover and simmer 20 minutes. With a slotted spoon, remove half of the veggies (about 2 cups)and place in a Vita-Mix or other powerful blender. Add some of the soup liquid. Add Brazil nuts to blender mixture and blend until creamy and smooth. Add back to pot and stir in spinach to wilt. Stir in nutritional yeast. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with parsley. Serves 6. *If you're unfamiliar with nutritional yeast, here is an online purchasing source that provides a bit of info about it, as well. It is also available at food co-ops and other health food grocery stores. 

Dick was rummaging through the freezer when I heard some crinkling of foil packaging going on. He was into the chocolate chips again. I told him I could do better than that, so I mixed up this simple nutritious fudge in no time flat. Nicole shared the recipe over at her fitness freak blog. Thanks, Nicole. It's a make again… and again… and again treat. 

Coconut Nut Butter Fudge

½ cup nut butter of choice (I used almond butter.)

1 ½ cups organic unsweetened shredded coconut

¼ cup cocoa (I used Ah!Laska 100% organic non-alkaline cocoa powder.)

1/3 – ½ cup agave nectar (I used 1/3 cup.) 

1-2 tbsp organic coconut oil, melted

Place all ingredients in food processor and process until smooth. Place in an 8×8 pan lined with natural parchment paper. (I dropped into mounds onto parchment paper instead.) Place in the fridge until set… or just devour.