Thursday, July 29, 2010

Trader Joe's Multigrain Baking Mix: Pancakes

I recently purchased a box of Trader Joe's Multigrain Baking & Pancake mix and have already posted about the biscuits.

The baking mix contains white flour, whole wheat flour, ground rolled oats, leavening (baking powder), soybean oil, sugar, yellow cornmeal, wheat bran, oat bran, brown rice flour, salt and buttermilk. That's six different whole grains! And it's super easy to work with. I was a fan before I even used it!

Today I made the pancakes. The recipe makes 12 pancakes (although, I think I ended up with 9 because I made them a little larger). Just 2 cups of baking mix, 1 cup milk (I used soy milk because that's all I had), 2 eggs and 2 tablespoons of oil.

I was very pleased with the end result. The "healthy" taste that was apparent in the biscuits was not present in the pancakes. I would definitely recommend these - they were really easy to make and tasted great!

Here are the nutrition facts of 1/3 cup of the baking mix (one pancake was 1/3 cup):
150 calories
2g fat
28g carbohydrates
2g fiber

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Vegan Chai Latte Cupcakes

Expectation: That it's impossible to bake anything that tastes good without butter...or eggs...or milk.

Winner: Vegan Chai Latte Cupcakes


I had never intended to attempt a vegan baked good, but my mom called with a challenge: she needed something to bring to a bridal shower for a vegan, so why not try something that would also work for the blog? My initial research turned up a bunch of recipes using margarine instead of butter, or weird egg substitutes, which, as you know from my food ideals, is not acceptable for this blog. And then I found The Post Punk Kitchen, a vegan cooking show and website, with some great information and recipes that use whole, natural ingredients.

The recipe that caught my eye was for Chai Latte Cupcakes. Although the original recipe has no whole grains, it had gotten great reviews and sounded perfect for the shower. I decided to substitute half of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat pastry flour, which works well in cakes.

These cupcakes are amazing! The whole wheat pastry flour fits right in, and any hint of whole wheat is completely masked by the strong spicy flavor. The texture is moist and chewier than most cupcakes (due to the yogurt replacing the eggs), which I actually like better, but they are still light, with a sugary crunch on top. I wish the recipe made more (it only makes 12), as I only got to taste half of one cupcake! I will definitely make a whole batch for myself sometime.

Nutrition facts for one cupcake:
165 calories
5g fat
27g carbohydrate
1.5g fiber
GI 66
GL 18

About the grain:

Whole Wheat Pastry Flour comes from the same grain as regular whole wheat flour, but is made from a softer variety and milled to a finer texture. It has a higher starch content, but is lower in gluten and protein. The end product is lighter and more tender than that of regular whole wheat flour. Whole wheat pastry flour can be found at most health food grocery stores (I found it at Whole Foods).

Monday, July 19, 2010

Shortbread

Expectation: To fulfill my craving for shortbread!

Winning Recipe: White Whole Wheat Shortbread Wedges


I had been craving shortbread for a few days and was pretty skeptical that a whole grain version would work, but I was determined! I ended up trying five different recipes before finding the winner. I started with the three recipes in my King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking book - Scottish Shortbread (which used ground rolled oats), Light and Crunch Oat Shortbread (which combined ground rolled oats and whole rolled oats), and Brown Rice Shortbread (using brown rice flour). All three of these made delicious cookies, but they just didn't have the melt-in-your-mouth quality of true shortbread. So, I began experimenting on my own. The fourth recipe I tried used half white whole wheat flour and half whole wheat pastry flour. These had a much better consistency and a great not-too-sweet flavor, but were a little too hearty. 

Finally I settled on mostly white whole wheat flour with a touch of all-purpose flour. These cookies are lightly sweet, with a tender bite, and extremely easy to make. They are excellent with coffee or dipped in chocolate!

Ingredients:
  • 3/4 cup White Whole Wheat Flour (how to measure flour)
  • 1/2 cup All-purpose flour
  • 4 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup butter
Preparations:

Preheat oven to 325°F. 

Combine flours and sugar; cut in butter until mixture forms crumbs and starts to cling. Form dough into a ball and knead until smooth. 

At this point, you can form the dough however you like. I chose wedges, because they are simple and cute. To make wedges, pat the dough into an 8-inch circle on an ungreased baking sheet. Cut the circle into 16 wedges of equal size (this keeps the shortbread from breaking when you cut it after it's baked).

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until bottom just starts to brown and center is set. Cut the wedges again while the cookies are still warm. Cool on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool. 

Nutrition facts for one cookie:
95 calories
5g fat
10g carbohydrate
1g fiber
GI 68
GL 6.8

About the grains:

White Whole Wheat Flour is produced from a hard, white variety of the wheat plant. White whole wheat tastes and appears more like refined flour, even though it has almost the same nutrient content as red whole wheat. You can substitute 25 to 50% (depending on your taste) of the all-purpose flour in cookie, brownie and pancake recipes. I purchased a five pound bag of King Arthur Flour Organic White Whole Wheat Flour for $7.99 at Whole Foods). See how I used it in coffeecake, and peach apricot oatmeal bread.

Thursday, July 8, 2010

More Books

Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy: The Harvard Medical School Guide to Healthy Eating
Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy: The Harvard Medical School Guide to Healthy Eating

This book is the single most influential book on my diet. It is a straight-forward guide to healthy eating for a long, happy life and was the first book that got me really excited about healthy eating. Dr. Willett tears apart the USDA food pyramid and prescribes a brand new pyramid; one that places fruits and vegetables, whole grains and healthy fats at the bottom, along with daily exercise. The book contains solid, in-depth explanations of a variety of foods, including whole grains and vitamins. It also includes some great recipes. This is a must-read for anybody interested in the food they eat!

Food Rules: An Eater's ManualFood Rules: An Eater's Manual

Michael Pollan's Food Rules is a small, $6 book that everybody should read. Pollan presents 64 simple rules about food in a very easy-to-understand format. Some of my favorites include:
#2 Don't eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn't recognize as food
#22 Eat mostly plants, especially leaves

and best of all:
#43 Have a glass of wine with dinner.

His "rules" make complete sense, and if you're committed to a healthy lifestyle, are quite easy to follow.

The New Glucose Revolution: The Authoritative Guide to the Glycemic Index - the Dietary Solution for Lifelong HealthThe New Glucose Revolution: The Authoritative Guide to the Glycemic Index - the Dietary Solution for Lifelong Health

This is the book that I use to get many of the glycemic index values of ingredients used in my recipes. It is perfect for anybody interested in the glycemic load and glycemic index and how they affect us in every-day life.

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life (P.S.)This is a really fun book by Barbara Kingsolver that chronicles her family's year eating locally, including many foods grown in her own backyard. Kingsolver writes about the importance of eating whole, organic, in-season fruits and vegetables. The book also makes you appreciate the hard work involved in the lost art of farming. This is a great gift for people who love to read Kingsolver's novels, but haven't quite made the switch to local, organic and sustainable eating. For more information and great recipes, check out www.animalvegetablemiracle.com.

Peach Apricot Oatmeal Bread

Expectation: To use up some freshly picked apricots in tasty whole grain breakfast bread!

Winning Recipe: Peach Apricot Oatmeal Bread


I was looking for something to make for breakfast over 4th of July weekend, and this recipe stuck out because it seemed perfect for the family gathering, yet also completely fresh and new. Once again, I found the recipe in my King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking book. I intended to make the bread with only peaches from the farmers market, but on a walk the morning of July 3rd, we stumbled upon three gorgeous trees overflowing with bright orange apricots. We picked as many as we could stuff in our pockets, and I decided to make the bread with half peaches and half apricots. It was such a hit that I went back to the tree for more apricots and made three more loaves a few days later. 

I experimented with a couple things. First, the flour. The first time, I used only white whole wheat flour. The second time, I used half white whole wheat flour and half traditional whole wheat flour. The white whole wheat flour was amazing. I didn't taste a hint of whole grain. The second batch was also really light and moist, but with a slight "whole wheat" taste. If you don't mind this taste, then don't be afraid to use regular whole wheat flour. If you're trying to hide the whole grains, white whole wheat is the way to go. 

My other experiment was leaving the skins on the apricots in the second batch. The bread had a nice tangy taste, and the fruit had a more central role. Once again, if you're trying to hide the fruit, then definitely remove the skins. If you like a tangy, fruity taste, leave them on. Plus, you get more fiber and nutrients that way! The end result in either case is a light and moist, slightly sweet and tangy bread with a hint of almond. It definitely exceeded my expectations, and will fit right in with pumpkin bread and banana bread as another one of my favorite breakfast breads. 

Ingredients:
  • 2 cups sliced peaches and/or apricots (peeled or not, depending on taste)
  • 2 cups traditional whole wheat flour or white whole wheat flour (how to measure flour)
  • 3/4 cup unbleached bread flour
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
  • If you like nuts (which I do!), 1 cup chopped walnuts
Preparations:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan. Cut the peaches and/or apricots into small pieces and place in a strainer or paper towel to drain. Stir together the flours, sugars, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices in a large mixing bowl.

Add the oats, fruit and walnuts; stir to coat the fruit. Beat together the eggs, milk, oil and almond extract in a separate bowl. Add to the flour mixture, stirring just until evenly moistened.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 45 minutes. Test the loaf for doneness; if a toothpick inserted in the center doesn't come out clean, cover the top of the bread with foil and bake in 5-10 minute increments until it does. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, if the bread does not come out of the pan easily, run a table knife around the edges of the loaf, then turn it out of the pan and return it to the rack to cool completely before slicing. 

I highly recommend using a non-stick pan for this bread. I had a slight disaster when, even though I had sprayed it with non-stick cooking spray, the bread stuck to the bottom of the old (not non-stick) pan I was using. 

Nutrition facts for one slice:
198 calories
5g fat
35g carbohydrate
3g fiber
GI 64
GL 27

About the grains:

White Whole Wheat Flour is produced from a hard, white variety of the wheat plant. It tastes and appears more like refined flour, even though it has almost the same nutrient content as red whole wheat. You can substitute 25 to 50% (depending on your taste) of the all-purpose flour in cookie, brownie and pancake recipes. I purchased a five pound bag of King Arthur Flour Organic White Whole Wheat Flour for $7.99 at Whole Foods). See how I also used it in coffeecake.

Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats are oat groats that have been steamed and flattened by a roller.  Rolled oats cannot be eaten raw, but are the main ingredient in minimally cooked recipes, like granola.  I bought a two pound bag of Bob's Red Mill Organic Old Fashioned Rolled Oats at Whole Foods for $4.39. Rolled Oats have a GI of 58. See how I used them in coffeecake.