Granola Recipe UPDATE!

Peanut butter granola, blueberries, and whole milk Greek yogurt.

I'm in love with homemade granola. It's flavorful, satisfying, an easy breakfast or snack, and I wouldn't be able to buy anything nearly as healthy in the store.

That being said, my husband is hooked on Bear Naked's Heavenly Chocolate Granola. Since it's expensive, contains sugar and canola oil, and isn't soaked, I decided to try to make some chocolate granola to satisfy his craving.

All I did was make my usual granola, and after it was finished cooking, but still warm, I sprinkled on some dark chocolate chips (maybe next time I'll try homemade) and drizzled on some honey. Then I stirred it up and let it cool. The result is a super yummy chocolate-coated variation!

I only did this with half of the batch. With the other half I stirred in some peanut butter and honey (inspired my a delicious granola recipe a friend sent me) as it was cooling and then finished it off with dried fruit as usual. I love how both these variations have flavor on the inside and the outside. You know how store-bought cereal has flavor that just explodes in your mouth? I think this is as close as we're gonna get to that, but much healthier. You can feel good about serving this granola to your family. And even though it's a two day process, it really doesn't take that much hands-on time.

If your family is addicted to store-bought cereal, give this recipe a try! I've updated my original recipe with these two tasty variations. Enjoy!


This is part of Whole Foods Wednesday and Pennywise Platter Thursday.

Soaked Honey Oatmeal Bread

For a couple years, my husband and I, along with some good friends, led a mid-week prayer service for college students called Ruminate. As a symbol of how God's word feeds us, we baked bread every week to share together after the service. We switched it up once in awhile, but we almost always made this delicious Honey Oatmeal Bread. The original recipe comes from King Arthur Whole Grain Baking, but we adapted it to include more whole grains, and I also figured out this tasty soaked version!

This also happens to be my husband's favorite bread recipe. When I ask him what kind of bread I should bake, he always says "You know my answer: the Ruminate bread." :)

Adapting a yeast bread recipe for soaking is really quite simple. I'm going to share that method with you soon, so you can turn your favorite whole grain yeast bread into a healthier, soaked yeast bread!

(confused about soaking grains? Check out this helpful post.)

This recipe makes two loaves. I don't go through the effort of baking bread unless I can make at least two at a time. I haven't ever made more than two of this recipe, since my Kitchen Aid can't handle much more than that. If you have a Bosch mixer, I'm sure you could double this and make four loaves at a time.

It is not 100% whole grain. It's more like 80%. But it balances the fine line between hearty and light that is sure to please normal people and whole grain lovers alike. It has a slightly craggy, soft texture from the oats and a delicious sweetness from the honey. I recommend slicing it while it's still warm and slathering it with butter. It also makes kick-butt French Toast. Oh my.

Soaked Honey Oatmeal Bread
(makes two loaves)

1) The night before you want to bake, combine in the bowl of your mixer:

2 c. rolled oats
2 c. whole wheat flour
2 c. white whole wheat flour
2 c. warm water or half water and half milk
1/4 c. whey, yogurt, buttermilk, or kefir

Mix until evenly moistened. Cover with a plate and let soak 7-24 hours.

2) After the mixture has soaked, combine in a small bowl:

4 t. yeast
1/4 c. slightly warm water

Stir gently to dissolve the yeast. (It doesn't need to bubble, just dissolve. If you have instant yeast, skip this step and just add the yeast to the bowl of your mixer. You can either add the 1/4 c. water at that point, or add it to the soaked mixture the night before.)

3) When the yeast is mostly dissolved, add it to the bowl of your mixer, and add the remaining ingredients:

1/2 c. honey
1/4 c. butter, softened
2 t. salt
1 1/3 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 c. ground flax seeds (opt.)

4) Knead in your mixer until all ingredients are fully incorporated and the dough has a soft, stretchy texture. Only add more flour if it is really wet, but be patient, because it usually absorbs the moisture by the end of the kneading time. I do the windowpane test to know if it's done being kneaded: remove a small piece of dough and stretch it gently until you can see light through it. If it breaks before it gets to that point, knead it for a couple more minutes. Grease the bowl and let the dough rise for 1 hour or until it is about doubled in bulk.

5) After the dough has risen, grease two loaf pans (I like to use butter wrappers that have a little butter left on them). Gently deflate the dough and shape it into two log shapes the length of your loaf pans. Place the dough in the pans and cover with a clean, moist towel (I wet a towel with warm water and ring it out thoroughly). Allow to rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until it is an inch or two above the rim of the pan. Toward the end of that time, preheat the oven to 350.

6) Place the loaves in the hot oven and bake for 45 minutes, covering with foil after 20 minutes (don't skip this - it will get too dark!). To find out if it's done, stick in an instant read thermometer and make sure it's at least 190 degrees. (No more underdone bread! Yay!) Take it out of the oven and, after a minute or so,  remove it from the pans to a cooling rack. Let it cool for at least 20 minutes before slicing. The longer you wait the easier it will be to cut, but it is oh-so-yummy while it's still warm!


If you try this recipe, or have a favorite soaked yeast bread recipe, I'd love to hear your feedback!

 

This is part of Real Food Wednesday, Simple Lives Thursday, and Pennywise Platter Thursday.

The Scoop on Oatmeal

"You make such fancy oatmeal."

That was what my husband said to me the morning I made the oatmeal pictured above. It was loaded with butter, dried cranberries, soaked and dried pecans, shredded coconut, and cinnamon. After the photo shoot I added a moat of raw milk. And some sliced banana. And a dollop of peanut butter. I admit, I went overboard a little bit. But man was it good!

Oats are nutritious, cheap, and can be cooked in minutes, so they make a great breakfast! But they present us with a few problems...

problem #1: They contain phytates, substances that block your body's ability to absorb minerals.

problem #2: By themselves, they don't contain enough protein to make a breakfast that satisfies.

problem #3: The husband doesn't like them.

So what to do, what to do? Here are some solutions. (Unfortunately problem #3 appears to be unsolvable despite my fancy toppings. Oh well.)

solution #1: minimize anti-nutrients

This is a problem with all grains, as well as nuts and legumes. Eating too many unsoaked grains can cause nutrient deficiencies. Traditional cultures used to soak their grains for several hours (or sometimes days!) to get the most out of them. Several people (including Katie from Kitchen Stewardship, where I guest blogged last week) have done a lot of research on the effectiveness of soaking in minimizing anti-nutrients. The results have been less than crystal clear, but I'm choosing to stick with it, mostly because I seem to feel better after eating soaked vs. unsoaked whole grains, and I have read several testimonies from people who cannot easily digest unsoaked grains but do fine with soaked ones.

Here's how you do it.

You will need:

-equal amounts rolled oats (I like thick rolled oats best) and filtered water

-1 T. acidic medium per cup of oats: whey (from draining plain yogurt to make yogurt cheese), plain yogurt, buttermilk, or lemon juice

-1 T. whole wheat flour or buckwheat flour* per cup of oats

Method:

8-24 hours (24 is best) before you are going to eat your oatmeal, place your desired amount of rolled oats in a small saucepan. Add an equal amount of water (I usually do 3/4 c. oats and 3/4 c. water, which is a good amount for my toddler and I). Add your acidic medium and the whole wheat flour. Heat this mixture gently on the stove, because the process works best if everything is warm. Don't overheat, because then you are cooking the oats, instead of soaking them. You might want to set a timer for a minute or so, to make sure you don't forget about them (not that I've ever made that mistake...) Turn off the heat once they are lukewarm, and cover.

The next morning, add more water (the same amount you added the day before, so for me it's another 3/4 cup...or just eyeball it) and a pinch of salt (salt really enhances the flavor!). Bring to a boil in simmer gently for a few minutes until cooked. Soaked oats cook faster than unsoaked, so this is a great way to get breakfast on the table quickly.

Add your desired toppings and serve! Make sure to put some butter in there!

*Why do you have to add whole wheat or buckwheat flour? Oats are very low in phytase, which is necessary for neutralizing the phytates. Wheat & buckwheat are higher phytase, so adding some gives the oats a little boost. Freshly ground flour contains the most phytase. You can grind small amounts in your coffee grinder if you don't grind your own grain.*

(For more information, see Katie's post on this topic.)

solution #2: up the protein

One reason my husband does not like to eat oatmeal (besides an aversion to its consistency) is that it leaves him shaky-hungry in an hour. If I could encourage him to try it again, these tips might help. How can you add more protein to oatmeal?

My favorite way is to throw an egg in there. No, not a scrambled egg fried-rice style. You can't even tell this egg is in there, but it adds about six grams of protein to your breakfast.

Here's how you do it.

After you have cooked your oatmeal to it's desired consistency, turn off the heat. Crack an egg into it and quickly stir stir stir. If you don't get to it fast enough you might end up with chunks of egg. I always stir quickly and vigorously and I've never had that problem. Stir until the egg is no longer visible - it will only make your oatmeal a little creamier, which is not a bad thing! The residual heat should be enough to adequately cook the egg, but if you don't trust that, go ahead and leave the heat on low.

Other ideas for adding protein to oatmeal:

--chopped crispy nuts

--a dollop of nut butter

--raw whole milk

--homemade cream cheese

Or eat it with a side of:

--scrambled or hard-boiled eggs

--bacon or sausage

--cottage cheese

And as for problem #3, you might just have to make your husband some oatmeal cookies instead. Unfortunately, I haven't mastered a soaked/sprouted version of those yet. But they sure are a favorite around here! (I use the recipe from King Arthur Whole Grain Baking - one of my favorite cookbooks.)

So what's your favorite way to eat oatmeal?

This is part of Simple Lives Thursday, Full Plate Thursday, Frugal Food Thursday, and Pennywise Platter Thursday.