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.

A sick snow day

We went to bed last night, full of dreams of spin, pirates and ice slides.  Instead when we woke up, we were hit with reality: 6+ inches of snow.  Yay???  Not really.  C has been up the past few nights, crying.  Finally, she complained to my mom last evening that her ear hurt - hello Dr!  I have the worst head cold known to man.  What makes it worse? hmmm...being pregnant.  You can't take ANYthing.  Sure, you can take some Tylenol brand products, but since Tylenol was recalled and removed from the shelves several months ago, it is (a.) difficult to locate the generic versions and (b.) I've lost my faith in Johnson & Johnson.  On a side note: my faith in J&J is so shaken that I even purchased Baby Magic for my cousin's baby shower, instead of my typical J&J baby bath care products, something I never would have done before.

So, I sit and suffer.  Or really? My kids sit and suffer because their mom is basically an organic pile of junk, taking up valuable space on the couch.  Don't get me wrong, I did manage to take C to the doctor and pharmacy for her double ear infection, and did 12 pages of a learning workbook with J, and 2 with L, but besides that...blubber.  Poor P had to shovel both our driveways, and then was nice enough to plow 2 neighbors out.  He also did laundry and got the kids bathed and into bed.  Ok...so when I bitch about my husband in the future, remind me of days like this.

It took everything in me to peel my carcass off of the couch to make dinner.  Again, I was looking for a quick fix.  Something, fast, easy, and guaranteed to please since I just don't have the brain cells to listen to kids cry over dinner.  The solution: Breakfast.  That's right!  I've been wanting to have a nice breakfast with my kids for a few weeks now, but we never seem to have time, even on the weekends.  But, really, it doesn't take time to make it, simply to eat it.  On the menu, I had Jenny O maple turkey sausage links, whole grain blueberry waffles, and scrambled eggs filled with veggies.  

I adapted the waffles from Eat Better America and the kids LOVE them.  Here's the recipe if you'd like:

1 1/4	cup whole wheat flour
1/2	cup quick-cooking oats
3	teaspoons baking powder
1	tablespoon sugar
1 1/2	cups fat-free (skim) milk
2	tablespoons applesauce
1	egg
1	cup fresh blueberries

What's great about these is that you can top them with blueberries, pure maple syrup, or a little butter because they have so few calories.


I was floored when the kids gobbled down everything, including the eggs.  This is no feat to be taken lightly.  Every Sunday brunch, my Grandfather makes eggs, and every time, I have to hear about how the kids do not like eggs, especially L.  But, these eggs were a hit, even though they contained mushrooms (a much hated food in the minds of the kids) and red bell peppers (despised by all 3 of them, unless they are roasted, in which case, J will eat them).  I simply sauted the mushroom and peppers with some dehydrated onions (I know, scary! but I'm out of fresh onions), salt and pepper.  That's it.  And, when they were done, I simply sprinkled them with grated cheese. SO GOOD! 


After dinner, I returned to my resting place on the couch.  Such a lazy day.  Feel like crap, but I'm hoping this will fade tomorrow.   Who knows.  Maybe breakfast for dinner will become a more frequent occurrence.