breakfast foods

[gardenmommy]

So what does everyone do for breakfast? We usually eat a fruit smoothie, really quick muffins, whole grain pancakes or waffles, oatmeal, or if we're in a hurry, cereal with soy/rice milk. This is my absolute favorite waffle recipe:

1 1/2 cups soy/rice milk (or can use water or juice or buttermilk)
1 1/2 cups whole uncooked grains (brown rice, millet, old fashioned oatmeal, amaranth, barley, etc.)
2 TBSP oil
1egg (optional, but more crumbly w/o it)
1tsp. vanilla

Put everything in the blender and blend on high until smooth.

Add:
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. sea salt

Blend until thoroughly mixed. Bake in a hot waffle iron until it's as brown as you like them.


Dh loves these so much that he will hardly eat waffles made any other way. Which is saying a lot, because he's not a big waffle/pancake fan.

[SoHappy]

That recipe is just what I needed!!!!
Thanks

[NaturalJoy]

This sounds yummy. Am I reading correctly that you use whole grains in lieu of flour (such as whole wheat flour, rice flour, millet flour, etc?)

We're testing ds for some food allergies, but I think millet and amaranth are okay.

[gardenmommy]

That's exactly right, NaturalJoy. You do not use any flour, just the whole grains. You can use what you like, so if there is an allergy to one grain, just use something else. It is possible to make this completely vegan, but the end result is more crumbly. When I tried it without the egg and oil, my husband was less than impressed. He still ate them, but asked me not to make them that way again. I've also used quinoa in them. Really, I just use what I happen to have on hand. I think this would also work for pancakes, but haven't yet tried it.

[bebe luna]

I have a hard time wanting to eat breakfast, but I make myself because I know it's important and I eat better throughout the day if I do. I usually have- toasted high-protein, high efa's bread (from French Meadow bakery) with some jam... or a soy protein shake, or a cup of yogurt with ground flax seeds and dried fruit and walnuts, or a sliced apple and almond butter ... and a cup of ginko/gota kola tea.
DH has eggs and grits and toast or maltomeal or oatmeal and fruit or toast and jam or granola and soymilk...and a cup of green tea.
DS has stewed pears or apples and a little rice cereal with flax oil.

[mamachiquita]

I tried this recipe this morning with great results! I used triticale as my grain, and I used half apple juice, half soymilk for the liquid. The waffles were delicious - Thanks gardenmommy!!

[bebe luna]

I had forgotten about tritacale! I absolutely love it!!! I used to make a crust for a raw apple pie from it. It was so hearty and good. By the way I used to love that raw apple pie for breakfast. I can't remember how we did the crust. I think the crust was definately baked. Then we grated apples, mixed w/ honey and cinnamon and filled it in the crust. refridgerate, cut and serve.
It was so good 1st thing in the morning!

[gardenmommy]

Mamachiquita- I'm glad you liked it. It's one of our favorites. I've never had tritical, do you just get it at your healthy foods store?

[mamachiquita]

Triticale is yummy! It is a hybrid of wheat and rye. It kinda looks like rolled oats, only it is brown. We buy it in the bulk bins at the health food store.

[Jennah_Gole]

Help Gardenmommy!

my husband and i are getting into this healthy fad but we have no idea where to begin....i have a 6 month old who is on breastmilk and a 4 year old who eats like we do: unhealthy.

i don't know anything about grains - whats a whole grain? how do you make a fruit smoothie?

please share with me breakfast recipes/lunch and dinner


we are both overweight and are determined to eat healthy. i appreciate any help.

[bebe luna]

Hey there two-kidss-uae

How I make my smoothies:

1 1/2 C. Rice or soy milk
1 Tbsp. honey
1 scoop unsweetened soy protein powder
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup frozen berries or frozen mixed fruit or 1/4 cup strawberries and 1/2 a banana
Blend until smooth

a whole grain is a grain in it's whole, unaltered state. Such as brown rice, millet, a wheat berry, whole oat groats, etc.

Some good books I'd suggest w/ healthy, tasty recipes:

The Moosewood Resteraunt Cookbook and
World Vegetarian, by Maddhur Jaffrey

a good book on food and their healing qualities, that also has recipes-
A Consumers Guide to Medicines in Food, by Ruth Winter M.S.
and also-
Eating Healthy for Optimal Health, by Andrew Weill

A few tips for beginning a healthier diet-
eat more whole grains in place of processed grains (bagels, pastries, pasta, etc.), eat more fruits and vegis,
drink less soda and more water, replace butter and margerine w/ olive oil, bake, broil, or steam instead of frying.
I wish you the best of luck!

[gardenmommy]

Very good suggestions, bebeluna. I would add, eat more meatless meals and less meat. Try to eat fewer dairy products. Try to base your meals more on grains and veggies, and less on animal products. Other cookbooks I like are 365 Ways to Cook Vegetarian (one of the first I used when we were transitioning to vegetarianism), and Laurel's Kitchen. I also got a lot of motivation and ideas from reading the Fit For Life books.

I make my smoothies something like this:
About one cup of juice (apple, orange, pineapple, a blend, whatever I have)
About two or three cups of fresh/frozen fruit (bananas, kiwi, peaches, pears, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, pineapple, mango, etc.)
Blend on high until everything is completely pureed.

My son, now almost 3 1/2 yrs., started sharing my smoothy as one of his first foods, and still loves to come and drink it (even when he initially declines his own glass!). This is a really easy way to introduce a lot of fruits, and it's an easy way to get fruit into an unsuspecting little one.

Good luck two-kids_uae in your quest for a healthier diet. It is a lot of work to change established eating patterns. Try to change one or two things over two or three months. If you do it slowly, it's more likely to last long term. Don't give up, and keep coming back to the boards here for ideas and encouragement.

[Wildflower]

As a treat I like to add some chopped up crystallized ginger to a banana smoothie: sweet and spicy, yum!

My dh and I like to make oatmeal or hot rice cereal, but then top it with nuitricional yeast (do you all know about this? its full of vitamins and very tasty), ground toasted flax seeds, dulse or nori flakes, maybe nuts or nut butters, maybe "Bragg's" or soy soy, plus a little dash of soy/rice milk=salty and savory hot breakfast instead of a sweet one. I'm continuously dancing with my major sugar addiction, so this kind of breakfast gets me started off right.

I've never tried tricticale! What else can you do with it? Can you cook it like rice?

You what's great, to just make extra brown rice whenever you're cooking some for dinner, and then have it for breakfast, either my salty version as above, or with honey and cinnamon and raisens,etc.

You know what else is great (for lunch, imo), to bake a whole winter squash, esp. a red kuri or delacota or butternut, cut it in big slaps, and just EAT it! Soooo goood!

[pony]

For breakfast every morning I have a soy protien shake. My toddler usually has beans and whole-grain bread and fruit. I think it's very important to have protein for breakfast. If I don't I feel sort of lightheaded. About that waffle recipe--I haven't had waffles in a long, long time because I'm allergic to wheat, even though I love them, but this recipe is enough to make me go out and buy a waffle iron (maybe I'll tell my husband that's what I want for Christmas).