Whole Wheat Blender Waffles

We have pancakes a lot around here and the latest request has been, "Waffles please." Remember this post?  Well, I took it and changed things around a little bit to make some great waffles and I think they were wonderful.  Even being made of whole wheat they were light and fluffy and soaked up the butter and maple syrup perfectly.  My 5 year old ate them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  The 6 year old stated, "I didn't mean homemade waffles."  Whose house are you in girly?

Whole Wheat Blender Waffles

2 cups whole wheat kernels
1 T lemon juice (apple cider vinegar or white distilled vinegar)
2 1/2 cups rice milk (water or dilluted coconut milk)
2 eggs
2 T of coconut oil
2 T of agave
1/2 tsp. of salt
2 T of baking powder

I tested out soaking my wheat kernels and it worked well for me. 

Take the 2 cups of wheat kernels and rinse well in a colander. Then put them in a glass bowl covering with warm water.  (Some of the sticks and debris floated to the top making it easy to get them out.)  I then added 1 T of acidic component. Cover and set in a warm place in your kitchen 8-24 hours.

The next morning I drained the kernels then added them to my blender along with the rice milk.  Blend on high for about 3-5 minutes depending on the power of your blender.  Add eggs, coconut oil, agave and salt.  Blend for about 30 seconds until well combined.  Pulse in the baking powder till mixed.  This should leave your batter foaming and light.  Cook in your waffle maker and enjoy!


Recipe Notes:
The lemon juice worked great but I think I will get a better foam if I use 
apple cider vinegar or white distilled vinegar making for an even lighter 
waffle.  I also think cinnamon would be a great addition too.

Garlic-Greens Mashed Potatoes

This is a recipe I got from the 12 steps by: Green Smoothie Girl.  We had crockpot chicken, with carrots, onion, and zucchini and a side of this yummy transformed mashed potatoes.  If I was a lover of a big Thanksgiving meal this would make it to the top of the list.

Garlic-Greens Mashed Potatoes

8 potatoes, scrubbed but not peeled, cut into chunks
8 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
8 c of spinach or collard greens
1/4 cup of butter (or extra virgin olive oil)
1 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of freshly ground pepper

Place the potatoes in a large saucepan.  Cover with water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat (don't forget to add salt to the water).  Cover and reduce heat to medium-low.  Cook 15-20 minutes or until tender.  Another great way to cook potatoes is in an electric steamer if you have one.

While the potatoes are cooking cut the spinach or collard greens into ribbons.  Saute the greens with a touch of butter (reserving the rest), and garlic until the greens are wilted.

When the potatoes are done remove from heat and drain.  Return to the saucepan and add salt, pepper, and remaining butter.  Mix using a hand held mixer or a potato masher.  When you have reached your desired consistency (you may need to add water for smooth potatoes) stir in the spinach mixture and any juices left in the pan. 


*My notes:
I used majority red potatoes and a couple of baking potatoes.  I left the potatoes chunky but think more of the kids would have eaten them if they were a tad smoother. 


How we were able to eat this yummy homemade comfort food on such a hot day.  The chicken cooked in the crockpot all day and I started making the potatoes at about 3:30.  When I was done with the potatoes I left them in the pan, covered and turned the crockpot off.  We ran some errands and when we got back it was dinner time, the food was still warm, and our kitchen was cooled off enough we were actually able to enjoy our meal.  This also helped break the temptation of just grabbing something to eat while we were out since we knew dinner was waiting for us at home.

A challenge for myself...

My husband and I were talking the other day about some things that we may struggle with that we would like to overcome.  As silly as it may seem one of the things I mentioned for myself is my want to plan and shop for new meals when there is enough food in the house to make something else.  I truly love to make food- that doesn't mean I always do-I get excited about new recipes that I think will go over well with my family.  The unfortunate side is I have a very long list of new things to try and our list of our well liked regular meals is just as long.  Therefore, my cabinets end up getting filled with ingredients here and there and not always used. 

So, for the time being I have set out to make a gradual goal for myself.  I am attempting to use what we have and not go grocery shopping for as long as I can.  My sister-in-law has challenged herself, a few times, going a month with only buying milk and some produce.  I do know that I need to get bananas soon and I am sure we will need lettuce also.  When I do buy things I will only buy the minimum to keep costs down and to really experiment with the foods in our pantry and cabinets.  Fortunately, last week I did a little shopping for some new recipes so we will still have some variety.  It will be towards the end of the challenge that things may get difficult. 

What I hope to accomplish-
Prove to myself that I don't always have to go to the store.
Recognize what things we use the most and don't want to do without.
Teach myself that when I do shop to be frugal, ration, and use what I buy.
Not to have the desire to eat out as often.

I plan on challenging myself throughout the year changing up and increasing my challenge.  I hope by this time next year I will be in a position that I can have shopped, stored, preserved the majority of our food to get through the winter.  This is a lofty goal I am setting for myself but it is a year and I think I can learn and accomplish a lot in that amount of time.

I am holding myself accountable and will document at the end of the week what we ate and what I had to buy.  I will not include things like diapers and such at this time- this is just a food goal right now.

Crossing my fingers for much success and discipline.

Tomorrow I will share a yummy side dish recipe that when my husband took a bite he said, "Mmm, wow, whoa that is really good."  Indeed it was surprisingly yummy.

Yet another giveaway,

from an amazing blog (Nourished Kitchen) that gives so many great insights on nourished living.  I would love to win the fermented kit and learn how to make pickles, water kefir, yogurt, oh the list goes on and on of what I would want to do from this sight.  This counts as an entry for me so here is to crossing my fingers to win.

I am back and refreshed

Back twice actually- we decided to celebrate my hubbies birthday in Vegas this weekend and get relaxed from our previous vacation.  Maybe a completely backwards way of thinking but it really worked for me.  Yes I still have cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping, and cooking to do but a night away in a place I didn't have to clean was rewarding enough.  Before we left I sat down and made a dinner meal list for four weeks and even worked on separate grocery lists for each week.  My plan- simplify, budget, and be healthy.  I will keep you informed if there is much success.

I have been waiting a long time to share a great recipe with you all.  I did a review awhile back for one of my favorite nourishing blogs.  I then waited for her to post the recipe before I did and then... well, I have been absent since.  So now I am excited to share- Coconut Flour Pancakes.

If you went and bought the coconut flour to make the bread or lemon poppyseed muffins I have found something else you can use it for and this definitely is on top of the list.  We have this weekly and it actually saved me on our getaway this weekend.  I was able to throw some in a ziploc bag and have for my little guy to eat as meals or a snack.  It is so filling that a little bit can go a long way for the little bellies.

Coconut Flour Pancakes

3 eggs
1 cup of raw milk, coconut milk, or preferred milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 T. of honey
1/2 cup coconut flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Combine liquid and dry in separate bowls. Mix together.  Poor on a hot griddle or pan making small pancakes.  These tend to burn if cooked too long- I use about a 200-250 heat on my griddle that seems to be perfect.

A tip: Once I pour them on the griddle- usually using a little less then 1/4 cup- I spread them out a bit with the back of the measuring cup or even better my clean finger.

A giveaway I hope I win...

Wouldn't it be nice if I won the giveaway here at Nourished Kitchen.  I think this knowledge would benefit me extremely since I am not much of a meat lover.

I'm back....

I had the privilege of going to Tennessee to spend time with my four siblings their families and my parents these past few weeks.  My oldest brother left for Hong Kong with his wife and six children the day before we left and we had a lot of family activities and events that we enjoyed together (at max there were 32 of us together, 20 being children 12 and under).

Food was definitely not absent this trip, I was in the kitchen helping and preparing, and I didn't give my mind a break from new things to create and make.  I simply decided to take a break from blogging and enjoy my entire family while we were together.

Now I am home, trying to get my house back in order (if that's possible), and have lots of wheels turning in my head.  It may still take some time before I actually begin sharing on a consistent basis but for now you get what you get. :)

I do have one thing to share for those of you with little babies.  It is the season for some amazing fruits and vegetable for our little ones that in a couple of months will either be unavailable or hurt the wallet.  If you have a baby that will be eating solids in less then 3 months then get to buying these foods pureeing and freezing them. 

I wish I would have done this with my little guy that was born in May.  By the time he was able to eat nectarines and so forth they weren't available at my health food store which made me question why they were at other health food stores.  Either way start preparing.  You may have some time too so just be thinking of it and try to snatch up the last batch of the summer goods.  Most of the foods stay good frozen for up to 3 months- I would imagine they would be good longer but I am sure they start loosing nutrients possibly after that. 

For you locals- some of the health food stores around here are having great sales.  Like- Avocados are .79 catching the deals and being prepared will help in the long run.  Let me know if you have any questions.