Whole wheat experiments

During my wee-hours of the morning trolling the internet, I found an awesome website about healthy eating for kids called Super Healthy Kids. There is a recipe for pumpkin waffles that I decided to give a try since I had 2 cups of canned pumpkin in my refrigerator.  

• 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 TBL pumpkin pie spice (or 1 tsp each of cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg)
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 2/3 cup milk
• 1/4 cup canola oil --- I used applesauce instead
• 1 tsp vanilla (my own addition)

Of course, I had run out of pumpkin pie spice and ginger, so I made do without, and added some vanilla instead. I still don't know why people even use oil in their recipes anymore.  Applesauce is a fine substitute, most people have it on hand, and its better for you (less fat and calories).

To my knowledge, everyone loved them (I was at dance with C when they ate), but I plan of making some changes before I make them again. I'll stick with the applesauce substitution, add the vanilla, be sure to add the ginger, and reduce the brown sugar to only 2 Tbsp.  P and the kids love to add pure maple syrup to their waffles, so why add additional sweetness to the waffle itself?!

I also experimented with a 100% whole wheat bread recipe I found:

1 5/8 cups water

1/3 cup packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons salt

4 2/3 cups whole wheat flour

3 teaspoons active dry yeast

The verdict? P says, "umm...it's okay. I prefer the white bread" and L exclaimed, "this is yummy. So good mom!"  My opinion?  I prefer that I made a healthier bread than a plain white flour one, and if L likes it, this will probably be my go to bread recipe (unless I find another) for sandwiches.  I can at least be assured that we won't be scarfing it down like we were the white and potato breads, saving us some calories and carbs, and increasing the likelihood that we have bread in the house for lunch.

Today, I'm going to give another bread recipe that I found a try, courtesy of The Tipsy Baker, and if I have time, I'd like to check out her cookbook, Make the Bread, Buy the Butter this week. It is a compilation of her research and recipes, recommending which items it makes sense to buy from the store and which you should make from scratch.  She bases her recommendation on price, effort, and overall healthfulness.  This is right up my ally!  Hopefully I can find it at the library tomorrow!

Sugar-Free Day 4:  SO HARD!  We went to Sam's Club, and they were sampling.  No, they couldn't be sampling real food, could they?!  Of course not.  They were sampling 8 different types of pie, coffee, flavored yogurt, creme puffs and cinnamon rolls.  TORTURE! Then, we did something we never do- we bought a soda, which of course, I took a sip of.  Eeek!  As I took a sip, P says, "you shouldn't be drinking that."  Luckily, I hadn't swallowed any and was able to quickly spit it out.  I never even drink soda, or crave it.  I was just thirsty, and L had confiscated my bottle of water. Ugh!  Being sugar free is difficult.  I never realized how many temptations there are and how many foods I love are sugar mine fields.