homemade granola

there has been a definite shortage of healthy eating going on in this house lately.  what with christmas dinners (we've had five turkey dinners...gobble gobble), travel (ugh, healthy travel eating requires a lot of planning), not to mention all the "gifts" of candy and cookies and fudge...  yikes.  the kid's not the only one who has grown in the last month!  delicious eating, yes.  healthy... um no.  absolutely not.  i haven't been able to post one single recipe for the shame.

but it's january AND it's monday, so all things are new again and it's beyond time to get back to eating sensibly.  and that means this morning i'm making granola.  i first tried it a month or so ago and james and i both gobbled it up like it was goin outta style.  i'm not much of a breakfast fan, but this is so good!  and pretty easy to make too.  i haven't done the math to figure out if it's cheaper than buying boxed cereal or granola... but i'm tempted to believe it is at least comparable (we usually go through 2 boxes of cereal a month, which can run around $10-14).  this is certainly a much healthier alternative and i like that i can adjust it to whatever i happen to have on hand (keeping those cupboards cleaned out!).

i can't take any credit for this recipe.  i stole it from a dear friend and supermom of three delightfully rambunctious little boys (so you know it's well kid-tested).  thanks anita!  :)


Homemade Granola
prep time: 10-20 mins  cook time: 30-60 mins (depending on how much you make)
use the recipe as a base - figure out how much you want and adjust it accordingly.  i think i use about 8 cups of oatmeal and it makes enough to satisfy us for a month.

note: you can buy most of these ingredients in the bulk section to save cash.

2 cups rolled oats - anita's tip: quick oats work better than traditional
1 cup nuts - walnuts and almonds are yummy
1/3 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup oil - not olive - anita uses canola, i loooove coconut oil if i have it, but it's a bit pricey.  
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup raisins
other options:
dried fruit
sunflower seeds
flax seeds
oat bran
wheat germ

mix the oats, nuts & seeds (including oat bran & wheat germ, if using).  add the oil and honey.  pour into a large roasting pan and bake at 300, stirring every 10 mins until your desired 'doneness'.  be careful not to over cook it (unless you like really crunchy granola).

when cool, add raisins and any dried fruit.  we still have some dried blueberries and apricots from the summer that i think i will leave on the table for when we're feeling extra flavourful.  cranberries would be nice.  actually, i bet any fresh fruit would be wonderful too (pomegranate seeds are great).

store in airtight containers.  serve with milk, soy, yogurt, ice cream, fresh fruit, etc... prepare to be delighted every single day until you run out.  :)

seed biscuits

i don't like to bake.  it's too fussy.  there's too many ways to totally destroy the recipe beyond repair.  however... i LOVED my nannie's biscuits and i desperately want to make them just like she did.  the last time i tried to make them i ended up with a plate of hockey pucks (which the husband still enjoyed - i love him).  i just can't seem to get it right.  but i may have found an alternative.

when i saw this recipe (another ripped from the pages of an old canadian living magazine) i was definitely hesitant to try it but was so tempted by all the seeds and goodness they promised.  so... i decided to give it a go.  and while they're certainly not nannie's biscuits, they turned out really good!  yum!  what a treat (and a baking self-confidence boost to boot).

these were the perfect thing to go with our black bean chili (pictured below) on a chilly evening.


Seed Biscuits - from Canadian Living Magazine, January 2007
makes 12 biscuits
prep time: 20 mins  cook time: 12-15 mins

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup each: sunflower seeds, flaxseeds, and wheat germ
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup cold butter, cubed
1 cup milk
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 tbsp sesame seeds

in a large bowl, mix together all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, sunflower seeds, flaxseeds, wheat germ, sugar, baking powder and salt.  using a pastry blender (or cutter) or 2 knives, cut in butter until the mixture is all crumbly (trying not to get it all over the place like i usually do).  stir in the milk to form a soft, slightly sticky dough.

with floured hands, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface.  knead gently 10 times.  pat out into a 7 inch square.  cut into quarters and then cut each quarter into three strips.  place on an ungreased baking sheet, about 1 inch apart.  brush the tops with egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

bake at 425 until golden, about 12-15 minutes.  let cool on the pan.


these did rise more than i was expecting... i might flatten them out a bit more next time, or cut them in circles like regular biscuits.  i think i'd take them off the pan to cool next time too, since they seemed to keep browning on the bottom a bit after i took them out.  still, i'm pretty sure i'm going to be snacking on them all week long!

delish!

homemade energy bars

the other day we had the extreme pleasure of visiting a natural foods store.  it's probably a good thing we don't have one of those in town because the man and i got a little giddy and spent far too much... but one of the many tasty things we came home with was some peanut butter sesame seed bars.  i've been trying to up my protein and am always looking for healthy snacks (because i'm now hungry every second of every day), and these looked pretty simple.

pair that with an irrational urge to clean everything in sight, including my baking cupboard, and saturday morning's adventure was making my own energy bars.  i wasn't crazy about using peanut butter as the "glue", but i didn't find too many other suggestions online, so i just settled on honey and coconut oil.  next time i might try something different because these really only stick together when they're cold (right out of the fridge is perfect), but they're amazingly tasty.  i think the little bit of dark chocolate is the key.

i used pretty much everything i had in the cupboard that looked good.  you can use whatever nuts and dried fruit you have.  i highly suggest dates though because they've got a bit of natural stickiness to them anyways.  again... i didn't measure anything so if you attempt these, it's at your own risk.  :)

Homemade Energy Bars - serves 1 pregnant woman and 1 husband for a couple weeks.
prep time: 30 mins  cook time: 15mins

1 cup pumpkin seeds, toasted (the green kind, not like fresh out of the pumpkin)
1 cup sesame seeds, toasted
1 cup almond slices, toasted
1/2 cup walnut pieces, toasted
1 small package coconut flakes, toasted (ya i toasted everything)
1/2 cup dried apricots (i used some we dried ourselves this summer - so fun!)
1/2 cup chopped dates (i'd use a full cup next time)
1/4 cup dark chocolate pieces
1 cup honey (i'd use 1/2 to 3/4 next time)
2-3 tbsp coconut oil
1-2 tbsp ground flax seed

to toast the nuts and seeds - spread on a cookie sheet and bake at 325 for 10-15 minutes, stirring the seeds once or twice and keeping a close eye on them so they don't burn.  allow them to cool (i didn't because i'm impatient, but whatever).

mix seeds, nuts, and fruits together in a large bowl.  meanwhile heat the honey, coconut oil and dark chocolate pieces on low heat until everything's melted (i mixed the chocolate pieces in with the dry stuff but they just melted anyways, so might as well melt them from the start).  pour over nut mixture and mix well.  sprinkle the ground flax seed over top and mix it in.

press the mixture into an oiled casserole dish (i used two but they're a bit thin - just depends how thick you want them) and bake at 300 degrees for 15 minutes.  cool completely before cutting and devouring.

enjoy!