Breakfast for Dinner

Breakfast for dinner is always my back up plan when I have nothing else in mind. I LOVE breakfast for dinner don't you? Sometimes I make homemade pancakes from scratch so I can make them with whole wheat flour but tonight I whipped up a batch of Kodiak Cakes.

So the story with Kodiak Cakes is that they are made from 100% whole grain wheat flour and 100% whole grain oat flour but you only have to mix them with water. Hooray for convenience! I gave up on pancake mixes a very long time ago because there just wasn't a healthy version so I am thrilled about this mix!

There is a great little story on the back of the box about how flapjacks were the hearty mainstay for frontiersman. They didn't eat them the way most Americans are used to eating them now with bleached flour, white sugar, vegetable shortening, and artificial additives. They ate them with whole grain wheat and oat flour and water. It supplied them with lots of healthy carbs, protein, and fiber but had very little fat. Combined with how hard they all had to work, it is no wonder they never had weight problems back then!

So making these flapjacks was an easy decision tonight. Not so easy was deciding just what I wanted to put on them.

Notice that syrup was not even a choice for me!

Who wants syrup when you can have all of these yummy choices. I knew I would pick the Sunbutter because I am still looking for excuses to eat that but I ate 4 small pancakes tonight. I put the peanut butter away first because that is too plain. Then I also eliminated the honey because 9 out of 10 times I will pick agave over honey. As much as I like Nutella I also eliminated that one away because of its sugar content. I left them all on the table for my family to choose from however.

I picked the Sunbutter of course, the Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter, and the Agave with some Earth Balance buttery spread put on it first. They were all delicious but the agave was my favorite so I had a 4th small flapjack with more of that. I have no earthly idea what Miles picked because I was loving mine too much to care I guess.

Normally I like to have a little cut up banana or blueberries on my pancakes but I did serve fruit on the side with some turkey bacon so that is why I chose all the yummy toppings tonight. I usually don't eat a lot of syrup. I do not have a gall bladder and syrup can be a little hard for my body to digest. Plus pure maple syrup is so darn expensive. I give the kids a sugar free version and that is what they chose tonight. They are crazy.

I think Evan realized too late that he should have had the dark chocolate peanut butter. It was because the kid was neck deep in turkey bacon, "Can I just eat one piece, (while waiting on me to sit down) How many can I have? Did you save the turkey bacon, Mom?" The kid has a thing for bacon. He doesn't even mind that I serve turkey bacon. It is such a rarity around here that it wouldn't really matter if I bought the good old fashioned pork bacon but I would rather eat more pancakes then bacon so I like the less fatty turkey. Plus I am hoping to have some kind of BLT tomorrow (thus eating it two days in a row) with the new cracked pepper olive oil mayo my friend Amanda suggested I try!

It really bothered me tonight that there wasn't anything green on my plate. You know what I say about colors on your plate. Maybe some kiwi would have helped. I kept thinking I should have a salad but it just doesn't go with this dinner. I fed the kids some light V8 Splash to sneak in a veggie serving but I drank a light blueberry pomegranate juice. So I am going to drink some regular V8 when I am finished with this post. I did eat plenty of veggies at lunch but it still bothers me. I did want you all to know that we do still eat a meal like this occasionally though so you know that we are human!

If you want to give the Kodiak Cakes a try I found them in the health food section at Cash Wise but I bet you can order them online and if all else fails I will give you my homemade whole wheat pancake recipe!

Faith's comment tonight, "This was a good idea, Mom!" She was not the last one done tonight. In fact she was first. She did not eat bacon however. If she didn't love chicken nuggets so much I would swear the girl could be a vegetarian!

Fiesta Rice Salad

It was Sunday night last night and you know what that means? Feasting at small group! I decided to make this Fiesta Rice Salad because I knew it would be quick to fix Sunday morning and then the flavors would have a chance to marinate all day. Luckily my friend Sarah brought her famous guacomole with her homemade salsa mixed in and they went very nicely together. My friend Anne brought her beer bread that I LOVE with all my heart. She didn't even use beer though she just used a can of Sprite. Didn't know you could do that. We also had way toooooo many yummy desserts. I did not turn them down. Pumpkin Bars, Special K Bars, and Hot Chocolate Cupcakes. I did eat one of all of those in case you are wondering but I did go for a very long run today so it is all evened out!

So back to my salad. I love this recipe because it is a dumping recipe and I am a dumping kind of cook. Throw it all in a bowl and mix it up is my favorite kind of recipe. Plus it is very colorful!

See......doesn't that look pretty and it isn't even finished.

You will want to make the dressing first and give it time to sit a little while you get the rest of the ingredients together.

It is very simple. Just these five ingredients. Mix them up and let them sit.

 1/2 cup fresh lime juice (took 4 small limes)

3 Tbsp. olive oil

1/4 cup salsa--any kind is fine

1-2 tsp. ground cumin (2 is better in my opinion)

1/2 tsp. salt

Then grab a large bowl and start adding the following ingredients.

2 cups cold cooked brown rice

1 cup cooked corn kernels (fresh or frozen)

1 can black beans drained and rinsed (15oz)

1 red bell pepper diced

1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes halved or quartered

4 green onions thinly sliced

1 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro (more if you prefer)

Then pour the dressing over and mix well.

When you are ready to serve the salad chop up 1-2 fresh avocados and mix into the salad gently. I used 2 because that is our favorite part. You can then top it with a little more cilantro if you prefer.

A beautiful mexican kind of salad!

Like a lot of things this is better the second day. I was very happy to eat the leftover for lunch today. Make sure and give your salad a taste before serving it. Sometimes this salad needs a little more salsa or cumin. I wished I had added a little more of both of those things last night but it was still delicious and very healthy and quick! I know my husband loves this salad, and Steve said black beans had redeemed themselves last night, Bert also commented that he really liked it and so did my friend Selena who suggested we could eat it on some of the chips we had with the guacomole, which was very delicious, so I would say it was a hit!

Now you know I can't resist telling you that this salad would also be just as awesome with quinoa instead of brown rice but in case you need a break from quinoa then eat the rice!

P.S. Don't you wish you were in our small group?



We Do Eat Carbs

It has been a busy weekend. I will be glad when Monday gets here! Most people dread Monday but I look forward to it every week. It gets really quiet around here about 8am and I have until 2:45 all to myself to do whatever I need to do or want to do! It is precious time usually after a weekend filled with family "stuff" that I appreciate. Miles came home Friday late afternoon and our busy weekend began. We got ready to go to the Homecoming football game after our carb loading dinner for our race Saturday morning. We like to sign up for local races around here to keep us motivated in our running. Just lots of 5K's usually but my excuse to eat some extra carbs like pasta and bread! Now truth be told we probably don't need the carbs just for such a short distance run but it is a mind game I like to play with myself. So this is what we ate Friday night.....

Whole wheat pasta with a simple tomato sauce, garden salad, some apple slices, and a couple slices of Schwan's multigrain loaf of bread.

We honestly don't eat a ton of pasta around here but when we do it is ALWAYS 100% whole wheat because it is so much better for you. My suggestion to people though is to always start by mixing it half and half with white pasta or to start with the whole grain pastas to get your taste buds used to the switch.

I like this one but other brands are great too! I have a thing for angel hair pasta!

I also like to make my own very simple sauce. I saute some onion and garlic in a little olive oil. I used about 1/2 a large onion and probably 3-4 cloves of garlic. I love onion and garlic so adjust it to whatever your tastebuds prefer. Then I add one can of this magic ingredient.......

Fire roasted tomatoes = YUMMY! Do NOT drain them. You need that juice!

Makes a beautiful sauce!

Fire roasted tomatoes add such a great flavor! You can call it good after that! It makes such a great sauce and it really doesn't need anything else. However, the kids don't like big chunks of tomatoes in anything. So I add a little bit of this to the sauce for their sake.......

This one has the least amount of sugar I can find at only 3 grams without paying $7.00 a jar which I refuse to do.

You can buy both of these kinds of items in the organic section of grocery stores as well if you want to 100% sure that you are buying a "safe" (BPA free) can. I don't eat these a whole lot so I don't worry too much about it. Plus for most of you reading this blog I am trying to be practical and know that you just want to grab what you can easily find on the shelf without paying $7.00 as well so go ahead and get the Hunt's brand!

So I think that was plenty of carbs for our race wouldn't you say. Especially since we probably wouldn't even dip into our glycogen storage! Like I said, I just need an excuse.

I made up for it a little bit in the morning by eating some protein for my pre-race breakfast. Some egg beaters with a little Swiss cheese mixed in and sprouted grain toast with my new love, sun flower seed butter.

If you listen to nothing else I say go out and buy some of this Sunbutter! It is my absolute new favorite thing! It tastes a lot like sunflower seeds in a peanut butter form. I have been eating a lot of celery lately and quinoa crackers because I am looking for an excuse to eat this as well! I even put a dollop on my overnight pumpkin oatmeal this morning. I know there is more than one brand but this one I found locally at Cashwise in the health foods section.

It is also a completely safe alternative to peanut butter if you or someone you know has a peanut allergy. It is even made in a factory where there is no trace of peanuts and can be used at schools that are peanut free.

So I am glad we ate our carbs and did the race even though it was POURING rain all morning. Thankfully it let up a little when we were running. I am also thankful to my husband who let me steal his hat to keep the rain off my face since it meant rain would be all over his glasses. Running down a wet, muddy, dirt road isn't ideal for race day but we finished! Soaking wet but we did it! I am thankful also for moisture wicking workout clothes and the fact that I am getting closer to catching my husband. This time I was only a minute and a half behind him. He hadn't run in 10 days which helped me!

I literally could have wrung my shirt out it was so soaked even though it doesn't look that way. I think we deserve brownie points for running in the rain!

SUPER thankful we can do this together! Now don't you think someone should buy his wife a cute hat of her own so he doesn't have to give his up next time?

Flat Bread Pizza

So I needed another quick meal tonight. When does a person not need that? I guess maybe when my kids are out of the house. Maybe not even then because I will not want to waste all my free time in the kitchen of course! The kids and I are home without Miles who is gone speaking at the Christian school's fall retreat. So since I get to be both parents tonight I wanted dinner to be quick, easy, and something the kids would really like so I didn't have to take time for any coaxing and could get on with the baths and the homework and the cleaning up.

This is really simple and hopefully you will have the ingredients on hand and won't have to buy too much.

Start with some whole wheat flour tortillas. These were excellent ones from Trader Joes. They were thicker but still light.

I guess I should have said start by preheating the oven and the cookie sheet at the same time to 400 degrees. Then brush or spray the cookie sheet with a little olive oil and put the tortillas in the oven. You will need to flip them over every few minutes until they get crispy. I think this took about 10 minutes and I flipped 3 or 4 times.

The edges will start to curl up like this and then they are ready to come out.

For the kids I just kept it real. Their favorite pizza sauce with lots of healthy tomatoes, reduced fat cheese, and turkey pepperoni. They gobbled these up quickly.

But for me it had to be a little more interesting of course!

After I crisped them up, I spread them with hummus, drizzled a little olive oil, and sprinkled it with some Cavendar's Greek Seasoning. Then I topped it with some feta and put it back in the oven for about a minute just to warm the feta up a little. Then I topped it with the rest of the delicious ingredients and it looked like this....

I added chopped lettuce for some great crunch, chopped up Kalamata olives, and a little more feta. It was sooooooo good!

Glad I made two of them even though Miles wasn't here because I promptly ate that second one without a thought otherwise.

This recipe is a keeper. I found it at Kalyn's Kitchen the other day and thought it would make a great lunch but guess what? It makes a great light dinner as well. We also had a bowl full of grapes. The kids asked if we had any frozen grapes left. After having some on a very hot day at the Minnesota State Fair the kids have fallen in love with frozen grapes. So I told them I would put the leftover grapes in the freezer. They make a great healthy snack! So give the flat bread pizza and the frozen grapes a try. Now would someone please get those kids to bed!

Over Night Oatmeal

I have been wanting to share another quick breakfast secret with you for a while now. I keep meaning to have it several different ways so I can tell you which way is the best but it hasn't happened. I decided I should just go ahead and post so you won't be missing out and because it is Wednesday which means church tonight and not much time! Over Night Oatmeal is something I learned about from a blog I love to read call Kath Eats Real Food. She has a beautiful tribute to oatmeal on her blog you can check out here. It is very simple which I love and it is prepared the night before which I love even more, especially on the mornings I have to be out the door quick. Grab a bowl, a jar, a container, or whatever your heart desires to put this in and get started!

You start with some old fashioned oats. You need about 1/2 a cup. Do NOT cook them! That is the beauty of this recipe.

Then you need to add your liquids. You will add about 1/3 cup of each of these. We love Vanilla soy milk but you can use regular milk, almond milk, heck even chocolate milk might be good. Hmmm... I need some chocolate soy milk for next time! I love Greek yogurt because it is healthier for you, thicker, and a little tangy but you can choose your favorite kind of yogurt. Watch out for the sugar content of course. Fiber One has the lowest of the flavored yogurts that I have found.

Then you get to be creative! I like to add a chopped up banana or some blueberries but strawberries, raspberries or your favorite fruit will do just fine or you can leave the fruit out to top it off in the morning or have no fruit at all.

This time I added about 1/4 cup of pumpkin because I have been in the mood for some pumpkin. I also added a teaspoon or so of pumpkin pie spice and some extra cinnamon because I love those an awful lot too and one packet of Stevia.

I gave all those ingredients a quick stir, stuck the bowl in the fridge, (covered or uncovered it doesn't really matter) and walked away happy that my healthy breakfast would be ready for the morning! Hooray!

In the morning I heated the bowl up for 30 seconds in the microwave just to take the edge off the coldness and then topped it with a dollop of almond butter and agave. I have also added crunchy things like nuts in the morning so they don't get soggy.

Mmmmmm good!

This was my favorite way so far, maybe because it is fall and these flavors just go with fall, but here are some other ideas for what you can mix in your over night oatmeal.

Trail Mix

Granola

Flax Seed

Wheat Germ

Chia Seeds

Wheat Berries

Quinoa

Frozen Fruit

Peaches, Strawberries, Raspberries, Blueberries, etc.

Banana Chips

Cocoa Powder

Maple Syrup

Walnuts, Pecans, Almonds, whatever is your favorite

Sugar Free Preserves or Polaner All Fruit

Peanut Butter

Almond Butter

Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter

Raisins or Craisins

Puffed Wheat or Rice Cereal or your favorite kind (add in the morning)

Just a few things to keep in mind: You need 1/2 cup of oatmeal, 1/3 to 1/2  cup each of milk and yogurt to start each time. If you are omitting some milk then add more yogurt and vice versa. NO COOKING! Don't cook your oats. This is meant to be conveinent, portable (just make it in a to-go container or jar), and healthy. You can warm it up a little in the morning or eat it cold. It is good both ways.

Have fun and let me know what you mix in! Now I need to finish making dinner for myself and Faith and make my over night oatmeal before church. I think frozen blackberries are going in mine tonight!



Wheat Berry Salad

I made the best dinner salad tonight and I have no one to really vouch for me. Miles has a sinus infection and he couldn't even taste my invention. I am so bummed. I know I am saying my kids' opinions don't matter. Usually I do care about that a little. I want them to like healthy food and be exposed to lots of different things, but if they don't like it I am still going to make them eat what I fix. So I guess in the big scheme of things their opionion only counts a tiny portion!

I started with some of these hard red spring wheat berries. I was first exposed to wheat berries at the craft fair in Spokane with my sister. Don't you love sampling all the dips, jams, butters, and sauces at those things. You don't even need to pay for lunch if you just sample your way through the fair.

Wheat berries are whole, unprocessed wheat kernels that contain all three parts of the grain, including the germ, bran and starchy endosperm. Only the hull, the inedible outer layer of the grain, has been removed. As a result, wheat berries retain all of the grain's vitamins, minerals and phytochemicals.  All wheat products are made from wheat berries, including white and whole-wheat flour. 

http://www.lesliebeck.com/ingredient_index.php?featured_food=120

You  can click on this link above if you would like more information about wheat berries and their nutrional content which is where I found the above description.

The only bummer about wheat berries is that they take a long time to cook. I have two words for you though. Crock Pot. Just put them in over night covered in water on low and they are good to go for the next days recipes after you drain them. Tonight I had time to cook them on the stove though. I love their soft inside crunchy outside texture and their nutty flavor!

Next I cooked some cut up chicken in balsamic and olive oil until done on the stove.

I didn't have much lunch so I wanted to make this a heartier dinner salad but it would be great without chicken too if you want to eat vegetarian one night or for lunch.

Then came all the good stuff!

Spinach

Sliced Figs

Sunflower Seeds

Raisins

Wheat Berries, of course

Seaside English Cheddar

This was such a unique combination of flavors and textures and very healthy!

I bought this cheese at Whole Foods. We totally are in love with it but I think you could find something similar in town. Just look for a sharper cheddar if all else fails.

Now I began contemplating what dressing I was going to mix in with these delicious flavors and textures and I remembered that I had some leftover fennel-dijon dressing from the cabbage slaw and I knew it would be perfect.

The recipe is from Kalyn's Kitchen, a blog I follow. I did make a few changes to this dressing. I used half mayo and half greek yogurt, no Vege-Sal, and Stevia instead of Splenda. Tonight I added more agave nectar. Here is the recipe:

Dressing:

1 tsp. fennel seeds, crushed in mortar and pestle or with a heavy rolling pin
1/2 cup mayo or light mayo (can use half plain yogurt and half mayo)
2 T apple cider vinegar
1 T sugar, Splenda, or agave nectar (use Splenda or agave nectar for South Beach diet)
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp. Vege-Sal (vegetable seasoned salt) or salt
1 tsp. celery seed (optional)
fresh ground black pepper to taste.

I mixed the dressing all in and topped it with a little more cheese and wheat berries. I have to say this was my favorite dinner in a long time. I went to get seconds from the bowl after I finished mine and low and behold it was almost gone. I looked at my husband and said, "You ate more of this even when you can't taste it?" He replied, "Yes. I had the sense that it was really good. I liked the textures." I will be making this again when he can taste so I can get a little less biased opinion then my own, but I am guessing I might be on to something if he can't taste and he still ate seconds.

I did serve this with some orange slices and whole wheat oatmeal bread I had leftover from small group last night. I topped it with homemade cashew clementine butter and we also had a bowl full of veggies with dip.

So colorful and pretty. Put a bowl of veggies out like this often. You might be surprised what your kids will end up take out of there and trying. This is how I have gotten Faith to LOVE red peppers!

For the record, Evan did say, "Mmmmmmm....this is really good!" I think he mostly liked the chicken though. Now I must get on to those sugar free banana smoothies I promised the kids and preparing my breakfast, Overnight Oatmeal. I will share that soon!

No Cook Weekend

I apologize for the lack of blogging these last few days for the few of you that have mentioned you look forward to this everyday! That's alot of pressure by the way! I have been home alone all weekend eating bon bons and being lazy in front of the TV, staying in my jammies, reading.........NOT! I have been painting the entire upstairs of our house pretty much and my house has looked like this....

And if you know me at all you know that this is driving me absolutely crazy! When I start a big project like this I always need it finished as soon as possible. By finished I mean everything done! That means new floor installed, all things hung on the wall and all new curtains, lamps, tables, and accessories purchased and in their place! I am trying to fight the urge to just buy okay things to get it done instead of waiting to find what I really love. 

So when I have a mess like this going on I like to eat quick meals that don't take me long to prepare! Plus my family was all gone this weekend so why should I bother to cook! So here are a few pictures of what I have been eating as I work basically.

Warm coconut milk quinoa with frozen blueberries, walnuts, agave, and cinnamon!

My friend Ka-Lee shared this recipe with me and it is VERY delicious this way. I usually like my quinoa cold but I was so excited to try it warm and I loved it. This is very easy to do! Instead of using all water to make your quinoa use 1 cup water and 1 cup light coconut milk with 1 cup rinsed quinoa! Top it with whatever you like or add a  little yogurt too. I think some pumpkin butter might be good in this.

A very quick salad with spinach, romaine, tomato and cucumber I already had cut up and topped with my favorite feta of course!

I also ate this leftover pineapple with that salad.

I may or may not have eaten some of my favorite pizza a few times. It was leftover and needed to be eaten up before it went bad you know! This is Papa Murphy's Mediterranean Delite pizza. If you haven't tried it you MUST do so! It is a great alternative to other more fatty pizzas.

This was my lunch yesterday that I really just shoveled in my mouth! My last Zestari apple from Whole Foods and Morning Star Griller's Original veggie burger with guacomole and tomato. That was awesome! For you skeptics, that flavor tastes exactly like a burger and I could feed it to you without you even knowing you ate a veggie burger but I also love the spicy black bean burger. Just try it! I dare you!

I also made some black bean brownies last night and the most awesome cashew butter with clementine to go with some oatmeal bread for small group tonight. I took NO pictures. I can't believe it. It was 10pm last night and I was also scrubbing my kitchen floor on my hands and knees to get rid of all the joint compound dust and paint I dripped all over. It is a recipe I have really been wanting to try and it is as good as the inventor claimed! You can click here for the recipe since I failed to get pictures. Cashew Clementine Butter

So even when you don't have anyone to cook for and you are extremely busy you can eat fairly healthy and quickly! I also might have shoved some hand fulls of nuts and quinoa rice crackers into my mouth at several times during the weekend!

I have made some progress however which helps with my sanity. My table is almost cleaned off and my shelves in the kitchen are back on the wall and they look like this................

I. love. them.

My alone time is quickly drawing to a close so I must get back to work! Church, then lunch, make my oatmeal bread, greet my family and then the feasting begins at small group tonight!