Tag: white whole wheat flour
Mango Cardamom Cake
This is a perfect summer cake. There are so many mangoes around and as I have mentioned many times before, we usually have quite a few on hand all the time. My daughter takes one cut up for camp everyday with a slice of cheddar cheese. She enjoys them for her morning snack right after a swim. I am quite happy giving her a healthy fruit and some low fat protein.
Anyway, since there were so many mangoes around, I decided to make a cake- well, it is more like a tea bread.
I blended enough mangoes to equal one cup and made a super fast and easy bread. I love making these kinds of treats that are relatively healthy. I usually pack a slice as dessert for my daughter and give some to my husband as a snack during the day with tea.
To give the cake an extra boost of flavor and a surprise, I added some cardamom. I love mango and floral cardamom together- it makes me want to drink masala tea, lounging in a comfortable chair on my deck…
Make the mango cardamom cake this season…
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Mango Raspberry Crumble- A Memorial Day Dessert Recipe
This is a dessert I recently made and think will be perfect for the upcoming long weekend. Next week I will be posting recipes for a burger and some side dishes including a fabulous drink- so stay tuned.
I love to make fruit crumble in the summer with all the gorgeous fruit in season. In this case I had tons of mangoes in my fridge. My daughter loves, loves mangoes and has at least 2 to 3 everyday.
We were going for a barbecue to a friend’s house and I offered to make the dessert. As I mentioned I had lots of mangoes- so that was a natural choice. I also had fresh raspberries and decided to pair them with the mangoes. I added some raspberry liquor which gave the fruit mixture a delicious flavor- yum!
As far as the crumble was concerned, I decided to doctor it up a bit. I had the usual suspects including oats, brown sugar and walnuts- I also added some sweetened, shredded coconut, ground ginger and nutmeg. Since I was using mangoes, I thought of coconut- a tropical theme.
I brought some vanilla ice cream along and the dessert was a big hit. Everyone enjoyed it. I thought the coconut was a great addition and I especially loved the raspberry liquor with the fresh fruit. Overall it was a huge success.
If you are having a big Memorial Day get together- definitely make this dessert- everyone will love it- guaranteed!
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Jelly Filled Duffins
If I could, I would make sure I have these on hand all the time. These treats are always so delicious and the fact that they are healthy, makes me love them even more.
Most of all, my daughter thinks these are the best things she has ever eaten. I do love making them as well, especially because they are so easy to make.
My daughter has been reminding me everyday to make these jelly filled duffins- and finally I did. I made them while she was skiing with her Daddy and was gone all day. When she came back, she sniffed her way into the kitchen and discovered these on the counter. Although she was extremely tired, she still found the energy to eat her dinner and devour a duffin.
I used raspberry jam but of course any flavor will be fabulous as a filling. The key is to make sure the filling is added in the middle of the duffin mixture. I added about two tablespoons of the mixture and then added a teaspoon of filling before covering the filling with the rest of the mixture.
A duffin is perfect snack to give your kids, especially with a tall, cold glass of milk. My daughter has it as a snack after school with some fruit on the side. It is keeps her going until dinner and I feel good about giving her something homemade and not processed.
Make these treats for your kids..
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Duffins- Healthy Donuts
I wrote about these healthy donuts on the New York Times, The Local blog. This is the new favorite in our house. I have made many batches of these muffins/donuts.
I first had them at a bakery, Brownie Points at the Mall at Short hills. They were oblong shaped muffins, covered with sugar. When we tasted them, we were hooked immediately. They tasted fresh and light and not too sweet.
After finding out the bakery was not there anymore I got obsessed with making them at home. It was quite difficult to find the recipe on the Internet but I was able to get something and tweaked it to my taste.
The great thing about this treat is that it is healthy. I have used white whole wheat flour, extra light olive oil and turbinado sugar.
My daughter loves it and has one everyday for a snack after school. She washed it down with a glass of milk and then has some fruit. I have already made duffins with apples as well as jelly filled ones. My husband has one in the morning as well.
Try the duffins- you will love them!
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Ten Healthy Eating Tips..
I am hoping to start a weekly tradition of top ten lists. This week I begin with things to change or do to stay healthy. I am definitely not a doctor nor a dietician but I do have common sense and I know what works for me and my family. Especially as a woman in my late thirties (I can’t say that for too long- so I will milk it for what it is), I find it harder to stay on course in terms of losing weight or keeping it off. I find I have to eat far less than I used to and exercise a lot more than before.
I guess things change as you get older and have kids. I feel very responsible for teaching my daughter healthy eating and living habits. Things that will stay with her for a life time. I want her to know how to live a balanced and happy life- well that maybe a completely different post…
So- I ask all of my readers to go through the list and comment ‘on the blog’ what things are on your list that are missing from mine. I would love to get a conversation going and learn from all of you out there. If you all are interested, we can do this on a weekly basis.
Here is my top ten list- I feel like David Letterman…
- Eat a good breakfast- consisting of fiber, protein and fruit- Whole-wheat toast with one egg and some strawberries on the side.
- Eat every 3 hours to keep your metabolism high.
- Snack on non-fat Greek yogurt, fruit with raw honey and walnuts.
- Take all white flour and white bread out of the house. Eat whole wheat bread and substitute the regular flour for white whole-wheat flour.
- For lunch- make a one-slice open sandwich with whole wheat bread, smoked salmon, fresh tomatoes, sprouts and cucumbers. Spread some hummus and sprinkle a dash of garlic powder on top.
- Substitute evaporated cane juice for white sugar.
- Cook with extra light olive oil and use extra virgin olive oil for salad dressings and topping pasta dishes.
- Drink eight (8 ounces) glasses of water.
- Have an ounce or two of dark chocolate.
- Have a dinner consisting of fish, shrimp with lots of vegetables.
Homemade Macaroni and Cheese (Italian Style)
There is really no reason to buy boxed macaroni and cheese- it is so easy and fast to make your own- plus you can control the amount of fat and salt.
Of course I understand why people buy the boxed kind- I do too- sometimes you just don’t have the time or the inclination to cook anything. I do buy the healthy box and have a bunch in my pantry. It is my emergency ‘go to’ for last minutes play dates that turn into a dinner date, etc.
I was making an adult dinner and something that my daughter was not that much into. I was going to give her some components of the meal but I was missing the starch part. I thought of mac and cheese. I went into to my well-stocked pantry to look for a box of macaroni and cheese- well, what do you know- it was not as well stocked as I thought. I couldn’t find any… That is when I decided to make my own. Honestly, it took me less than twenty minutes to cook. I immediately put a pot of water to boil for my whole wheat pasta. I took out some butter (oil can be substituted) and flour; cooked them for a minute and added some milk. I always have shredded cheese in the fridge- in this case, I had a mixture of Italian cheeses- delicious! I added the cheese and my sauce was done. I then added the cooked pasta and topped the whole thing with some more cheese and placed the frying pan under a broiler and browned it- done!
My daughter gave it a thumbs up! She loved it- and I gave it to some of her friends the next day and they all ate it up- no mention of the whole wheat pasta at all. Try this one next time your child asks for macaroni and cheese…
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons white whole-wheat flour
- 1½ cups one percent milk
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ pound whole-wheat penne, cooked al dente
- 1½ cups mix of shredded four Italian cheeses- parmesan, provolone, fontina and asiago (available at Trader Joes)- divided
Preheat oven to broil.
In a medium frying pan heat the butter and add the flour. Whisk the flour on medium heat till the butter is melted, about 2 to 3 minutes. Slowly whisk in the milk, making sure no lumps remain. Add salt and nutmeg. Bring to a boil and cook till it is thickened- about 3-4 minutes. Turn the heat off and whisk in one cup of the shredded cheese. Add the cooked pasta and mix well. Top the mixed pasta with the remaining cheese and broil for 7 to 8 minutes or till the top is golden brown.
Eat This, Not That…
Okay everyone, it the beginning of a New year and it is time to make some changes and most importantly, stick to them.
I am not much into making new year resolutions. I don’t like the pressure nor do I appreciate feeling like a failure if I don’t continue with the resolution. Instead I start making small changes in December and by the time the new year rolls around, I am already used to doing things a bit differently- and more likely to stick with them.
I started a new exercise regiment 3 weeks ago. I am walking briskly on my treadmill for 30 minutes everyday and doing a core and abs work out in addition. I feel good and am already noticing a change in my energy level, etc. I am also thinking of doing a cleanse for a few days. Have any of you out there done one lately? I would love to get more information…
In terms of food, I am incorporating more fish and seafood in our diets. One source I have found is Vital Choice. It is an online resource for fabulous seafood- very healthy and delicious. I will also try to eat less wheat and more vegetables, protein and fruit. It is going to be tough giving up pasta- well, I am not planning on giving it up- just cutting back a bit. I recently bought brown rice pasta from Trader Joes and am excited about using it.
I wanted to share a few things I have changed in my pantry- it’s now been a few years now and I am very happy about it. I got rid of white sugar, white flour and canola oil. I now use turbinado sugar, evaporated cane juice, white whole wheat flour and extra light olive oil. Most of the ingredients can be purchased at Trader Joes, Whole Foods or Costco.
I use all types of raw sugar to bake, cook or just add to hot beverages, etc. Its great to use as many unprocessed things in your cooking as possible. I prefer using extra light olive oil for its goodness. It has absolutely no flavor, so cooking, baking and frying is healthier. I have stopped buying all-purpose flour. I only bake with white whole wheat flour. I feel good about baking cookies and cakes with raw sugar and less processed flour.
The other thing I have incorporated into my day are some raw nuts- walnuts and almonds. Just a hand full do the trick. They get rid of that pesky need to snack on something unhealthy. The best way to store raw nuts is to store them in the freezer. They last a lot longer and don’t turn rancid.
The other thing I look forward to everyday is Really Raw Honey. It is simply the most delicious honey I have ever had. It is completely unprocessed and still has the pollen, honey comb and live enzymes. I top a bowl of fruit and greek yogurt with a spoon full of this amazing honey.
I have shared my healthy plan for 2010 and now would love to know if you have one…