Whole Wheat Blueberry Pancakes

Doug made these delicious pancakes Saturday morning.  Yum!

2 cups whole wheat flour 
2 teaspoons baking powder 
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt 
1 cup milk (or unsweetened almondmilk, soymilk or ricemilk)
2 tablespoons honey 
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 
1 1/4 cups fresh or frozen blueberries 

Method

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. In a separate medium bowl, whisk together almondmilk, 1/2 cup water, honey and vanilla until blended. Pour milk mixture into flour mixture and stir until evenly mixed. Set batter aside to rest for 10 minutes (the batter will be very thick). 

Oil a cast-iron griddle or large nonstick skillet with canola spray oil and heat over medium heat until hot. Stir blueberries into batter. Ladle about 1/4 cup batter onto griddle and cook about 2-3 minutes each side until pancakes are cooked through. 

Blueberry-pomegranate smoothie

We made this recipe for breakfast, but also through in some groats, spinach, and banana (rather than adding a sweetener).  We don't like smoothies to be too icy, so we just added a few cubes.

8 oz pomegranate juice
2 tablespoons groats
1/2 cup strawberries (3-4)
1/2 orange, peeled
1 banana
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
handful of spinach
a few ice cubes (around 4)

The night before, put groats, pomegranate juice, banana, 1/2 orange and strawberries in the blender in your refrigerator.  In the morning, add the frozen blueberries, spinach, and a few ice cubes.  Blend until smooth.

Nut-crusted tilapia

We have made this twice and it is quite tasty.

4 six-oz tilapia or snapper fillets
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
2 tablespoons finely chopped nuts- pecans, almonds, or cashews
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup buttermilk (or 1/2 cup milk with 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice or white vinegar)
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce, more if you prefer
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon vegetable oil, divided
4 lemon wedges

Combine breadcrumbs, nuts, salt, garlic powder, and pepper in a shallow dish (pie plate works well).  Combine buttermilk and hot sauce in a bowl.  Place flour in a shallow dish.  Dredge fillets in flour, then dip in buttermilk mixture, then dredge in breadcrumb mixture.  Heat half of the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add two fillets and cook for 3 minutes on each side or until fish flakes easily.  Continue with remaining oil and fillets.  Serve with lemon wedges.

Tangy bean salad

This was a good lunch a couple of days this week:

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar
1 tablespoon low-sodium tamari (or cheat and use soy sauce...shhh)
1 teaspoon mustard
1 tablespoon sesame tahini
3 tablespoons water
2 1/2 cups cooked and drained no-salt-added garbanzo or cannellini beans
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/2 cup grated carrots
1/2 bunch parsley, chopped

Whisk together vinegar, tamari, mustard, tahini and water in a medium bowl. Add beans, green onions, carrots and parsley, toss to combine and set aside at room temperature to let marinate for at least 15 minutes before serving.  Serve in pitas or over spinach.

BBQ veggie pizza

Despite being meatless and cheeseless, we were quite impressed with this pizza!
We had some open tomato sauce, so we used that rather than paste.

4 oz tomato paste
1 cup barbecue sauce
2 teaspoons dried oregano (or 2 tablespoons fresh)
1 large wheat pizza crust
1/2 small red onion, sliced
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced
2 handfuls fresh spinach
1 small jar pineapple chunks, drained
1/3 cup finely ground cashews

Preheat oven to 425.  Mix the tomato paste, barbecue sauce, and oregano.  Spread the sauce on the crusts, then layer with vegetables, pineapple, and sprinkle with cashews.  Bake for 15 minutes.

Orange-berry smoothie with groats

Doug and I made this smoothie according to the recipe, and it was okay, but we made a few changes the next time.  Here's the winning recipe for 2 smoothies:

1 cup orange juice
3 tablespoons oat groats, soaked overnight in the orange juice
3/4 cup fat-free plain Greek yogurt
1 1/2 cups frozen berries
3 cups baby spinach
1 banana
a few ice cubes (4-5, depending on how icy you want it)

Soak the groats in the OJ in the blender overnight.  You can go ahead and add everything but the berries and ice ahead of time.  In the morning, add berries, ice, and purée until smooth.  Delicious!

Won Ton Crackers

I ended up with some won ton wrappers after a Whole Foods class last week, and made these.  We served them one night with brie, and another night with an eggplant dip.

won ton wrappers
olive oil or spray
sea salt, fresh ground pepper

Cut won ton wrappers diagonally and place on a sprayed cookie sheet.  Spray or brush with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and bake at 400 for 7 minutes.

Red beans over quinoa (or rice)

Red beans over quinoa 
We forgot to buy quinoa, so we substituted brown rice.

• 2 servings quinoa or brown rice, cooked 
• 6 oz onion
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 garlic cloves
• 10 oz green bell pepper
• 1 oz cider vinegar
• 15 oz kidney beans, mashed a few times with a potato masher

Cook quinoa or brown rice.  Meanwhile, sauté the onion and bay leaf on medium heat in sprayed saucepan for 5 minutes, until onions are translucent.  Add the garlic and green pepper and cook for 5 minutes.  Add the thyme, vinegar, beans ., and 1 cup water and cook on low heat for 5 minutes, or until broth thickens.   

Serve over fluffed quinoa or brown rice.

Quick Kale

This was a quick and easy way to prepare kale for a side.  For seasoning, I added some lemon juice, or you could add red pepper flakes, a vinaigrette, or just a little salt.

1 bunch kale
1/4 cup water

Wash kale, then coarsely chop, removing tough ribs.  Place in large pot with 1/4 cup water on medium heat.  Cover and cook the greens 3-5 minutes, lifting the lid occasionally to stir, until greens are wilted and  tender.  Serve immediately

Big breakfast bowl

We've recently learned about Rip Esselstyn and the Engine 2 cookbook.  We watched the documentary Forks over Knives last week and it was really interesting.  So, we've made this breakfast bowl a couple of times and it is quite filling!  The recipe is supposedly ONE serving, but that would be GIGANTIC!  So, we split it into two servings.  Or, if you are really hungry, you could do 3/4 of the recipe for one serving.

1/4 cup old-fashioned oats

1/4 cup Grape-Nuts or Ezekiel brand equivalent

1/4 cup bite-size shredded wheat

1/4 cup Uncle Sam Cereal

1 tablespoon ground flaxseed meal

2 tablespoons raisins

1/2 handful of walnuts

1 banana, sliced

1 kiwi, sliced

1 grapefruit

3/4 cup milk substitute of choice