Multi-Grain Waffles

I made these for dinner tonight and my family liked them!  I loved them!

Ingredients

2 cups buttermilk

1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

2/3 cup whole-wheat flour

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup toasted wheat germ, or cornmeal

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon canola oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Preparation

1. Mix buttermilk and oats in a medium bowl; let stand for 15 minutes.
2. Whisk whole-wheat flour, all-purpose flour, wheat germ (or cornmeal), baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl.
3. Stir eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla into the oat mixture. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients; mix with a rubber spatula just until moistened.
4. Coat a waffle iron with cooking spray and preheat. Spoon in enough batter to cover three-fourths of the surface (about 2/3 cup for an 8-by-8-inch waffle iron). Cook until waffles are crisp and golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Repeat with remaining batter.

Nutrition

Per serving: 188 calories; 4 g fat ( 1 g sat , 2 g mono ); 55 mg cholesterol; 30 g carbohydrates; 8 g protein; 3 g fiber; 328 mg sodium; 227 mg potassium.
Nutrition Bonus: 144 mg calcium (14% dv).  Serving information based on 8 total servings of 2 waffles each.

Just a hint, if you don't have buttermilk on hand, put a TBSP of vinegar or lemon juice in a glass measuring cup and then add milk to reach the 1 cup mark.  Stir and let sit for 5 minutes.  For this recipe, I doubled the vinegar and milk since it calls for 2 cups.  Really liked it.  I added flax seed as well. . .just because.

Is it just me, or am I the only one using the blog????

Banana-Berry Smoothie

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups orange juice

1 ripe medium banana, peeled and sliced

1 cup frozen blueberries, blackberries or raspberries

1/2 cup silken tofu

2 ice cubes, crushed (see Tip)

1 tablespoon sugar, (optional)

 

Combine orange juice, banana, berries, tofu and crushed ice in a blender; cover and blend until smooth and frothy. Sweeten with sugar, if desired. Serve immediately

 

Per serving: 135 calories; 2 g fat ( 0 g sat , 0 g mono ); 0 mg cholesterol; 27 g carbohydrates; 0 g added sugars; 4 g protein; 3 g fiber; 19 mg sodium; 376 mg potassium

 

This recipe comes from EatingWell.com.  I have made it twice and quite like it.  My kids love it, too.  The first time I made it, I used the silken tofu because I wanted to try it.  Tasted great and I will continue to make it this way.  The second time I made it, I didn't have the tofu on hand and substituted greek yogurt.  It was also delicious.  I added much more ice than the recipe calls for and substituted agave for the sugar.  Enjoy.

Hey! Hey!

I am liking this already! I have 2 recipes to share, but of course no pics. and no nutrition info. but I am sure they are healthy!

Honey Lime Shredded Chicken
3/4 c honey
1/4 c olive oil
1/2 c lime juice
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1 med jalapeno, seeded and finely chopped
4-6 cloves garlic
2-3 lbs chicken
Combine sauce ingredients and mix well. Throw it all in the crock pot and stir it around. Cook on low for 4-5 hours or 6-8 hours if it is frozen. Shred and serve in burritos, salad, taco-salad-style. It is sooo yummy. My family devours it (minus Jude- but really that shouldn't be a shocker). It is sweet and not spicy so kids shouldn't be turned off by it.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
1 1/4 c brown sugar
1 1/4 c sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 tsp salt
2 1/2 c wheat flour
2 1/2 c oats
2 1/2 c choco chips of your choice

Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Stir in dry ingredients and then choco chips. Bake at 350 for 10 mins.

Shout Out to Lindsey!!!

Just throwing out a request for your whole-wheat chocolate chip cookie recipe.

Salmon Marinade



Heidi's post set a high standard!  I didn't have a nice appetizing photo to go along with my recipe, so I did the best I could.

Ingredients

1/2 cup soy sauce
4 TBSP brown sugar
2 TBSP rice vinegar

Mix together and boil for 2 minutes.  Let cool.  Put salmon and marinade in ziploc bag and refrigerate for 30 minutes.  Line cookie sheet with foil.  Put salmon on cookie sheet.  Pour more marinade over salmon and sprinkle with brown sugar.  Bake at 400 degrees for 12 minutes.

Suggestions

I use reduced-sodium soy sauce and don't notice a difference taste wise.  Is it much healthier?  I have no clue. 

I usually bake it an additional 5 minutes or so.  I don't like my fish slimy.  The extra baking time helps reduce the slimy-ness but the fish is still very moist inside.

So sorry for all you who don't like fish.  For those who do like fish, I think you'll like this one!  It is one of Trent and my favorites!!!  Our kids won't touch it, but I just throw a few fish sticks in the oven and they seem to be fine.  I usually serve it with a steamed veggie, like broccoli and either brown rice or some sort of rice pilaf.

So sorry, I don't have the nutritional information.  But salmon is a great source of lean protein and also has tons of omega-3 fatty acids.

Starting It Off Right--Cilantro Lime Chicken with Avocado Salsa

Well, of course you know that I can't actually cook very well.  It's what comes from growing up on mac and cheese with hot dogs in it (for protein!), Banquet pot pies, and cheese over toast.  So of course, I'm pretty much doomed to disaster in the kitchen, and my first healthy recipe is no exception.  But I think it might be good.  If you're not an idiot, I mean.

So, here's the recipe:

Cilantro Lime Chicken with Avocado Salsa--4 servings
289 calories, 13 grams fat, 4 grams fiber per serving

Chicken: 

2 Tblsp. minced cilantro (Ginnie, I guess you'll have to make this when Trav is gone, since he's such a stickler about hating cilantro and all that stuff)
2 1/2 Tblsp. lime juice
1 1/2 Tblsp. olive oil
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1/4 tsp. salt

Combine the first four ingredients (cilantro, lime, olive oil and chicken) in a large bowl (actually, I used a gallon sized Ziploc bag) and let stand 3 minutes.  Remove the chicken from the marinade, sprinkle evenly with salt.  Heat a grill pan over medium high heat.  (I actually just used a regular pan--I'm not even sure I know what a grill pan is!  But I bet you could grill it out on your grill too, if you didn't live in a place that is so hot you can't even breathe when you step outside like Alabama.)  Coat pan with cooking spray:  cook six minutes on each side or until done. 

Salsa: 

1 c. chopped plum tomato
2 Tblsp. chopped onion
2 tsp. lime juice
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
1 finely chopped avocado

Combine tomato, onion, lime juice, salt and pepper in a medium bowl.  Add the avocado and stir gently to combine.  Serve salsa over chicken.  Delicious with saffron rice (I get the low sodium version, but mostly so I can feel smug).

So, what happened is this:  when I went to the store I was almost POSITIVE that we had lime juice at our house.  I was, of course, too lazy to get up and check when I was making up my grocery list, but I was not taking into account Rhett's penchant for lime-flavored water (don't ask).  So, my point is that I didn't have lime.  I called my friend (who is out of town, but left me with a key to her house) if she had lime.  Strangely, her husband also has a penchant for lime drinks so she was POSITIVE that they had lime stuff too.  Which they did.  LIME MARGARITA DRINK MIX (from Walmart, Great Value brand, just like Kool-Aid!).  Of course.  So, I thought, why not?  The clear answer to that is that maybe you don't want your dinner to taste like lime Kool-Aid, but whatever. 

In fact, the chicken was delicious.  Sweet and tangy and lovely.  However, the salsa was a little too . . . well, Kool-Aid-ish. Maybe in the future I'll use the drink mix for the chicken and actual, real lime juice for the salsa.  I still ate it all, though.  Of course.