DELICIOUS 100% Whole Grain Kamut - Spelt Bread Recipe

Recently I discovered that some of my stomach troubles were caused by wheat.  I am not allergic, but just intolerant enough that it was messing with my digestion and making my nauseated and bloated.  I LOVE bread so that was a big bummer.  The good thing is that I discovered 2 amazing grains related to wheat, spelt and kamut that could be tolerated well by most wheat intolerant people.  Both of these grains can replace modern wheat in most recipes.  Over the years modern wheat has been hybridized to make it easier for farmers to grow, easier to harvest and cheaper. I still think modern whole wheat is healthy and full of good nutrients but it bothers my stomach.  So now I just bake with these grains instead.

Kamut has a sweet nutty flavor and is my favorite.  It bakes nicely and 1/4 cup uncooked has 7 grams of protein.  Kamut is actually the brand name of Khorsan wheat. It is chock full of minerals and is a good source of selenium, zinc, magnesium and iron.  Spelt is also high in protein and can replace wheat in many recipes.  It is also high in magnesium, zinc and iron as well as phosphorus.  The best part is that all of my family (my plethora of kids and husband)  all LOVE this bread.

We bought a bosch bread mixer and make this bread in large batches that will make 5 loaves at a time.  This way we can eat some fresh and slice the rest and freeze it.

Kamut-Spelt Bread

This makes 5 loaves, and you can use all kamut or all spelt if you choose. This recipe came from a cookbook called "Healthy Recipes from the Heart of our Homes" a cookbook developed especially for the bosch mixer.  You can of course adapt this for a different mixer but cutting the recipe in half.

Preheat oven to 375.

In the bosch mixer with dough hooks in place: 

5 cups of warm water

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup oil (I use organic olive oil or coconut oil)

1 Tbsp dough enhancer

4 cups freshly ground spelt flour

3 Tbsp yeast

Mix thoroughly for 15 seconds.  Cover and let sit for 10-15 minutes until bubbly.

Add: 2 Tbsp Salt 

1/4 cup vital wheat gluten

4-6 cups freshly-ground  kamut flour

4 eggs (I use local cage free eggs)

Enough spelt or kamut flour to clean the side of the bowl.

Knead on speed 1 for 3 minutes. (Please note that you should only knead spelt and kamut for only 3 minutes or you will overdevelop the gluten and have flat loaves.) Form into 5 loaves. Place into well oiled loaf pans. Let rise until double. Lower heat to 350. Bake for 30 - 35 minutes.

Enjoy and let me know how yours turns out!

Wheat & Sugar Free Lemon Cranberry Chia Seed Scones...SO GOOD!!!

I have been eating wheat, sugar, and dairy free (except plain yogurt) for almost a month now.  I had my 5th baby in January and am really trying hard to get the last pounds off that seem particularly fond of sticking around.  I must say that giving up these foods (even fruit other than grapefruit) has helped.  I have also been hitting the gym 4-5 days a week and loving it.  In the meantime I would love to tell you that I just don't even care about food. but a foodie ALWAYS loves good food healthy or otherwise.

So while eating wheat and completely sugar free (a temporary thing for me till the baby weight drops off)  I still need a baking fix!  I was feeling like a lemon poppy seed muffin but the traditional recipes are laden with sugar, wheat and dairy.  So I settled on the idea of a spelt lemon cranberry chia seed scone with no sugar and made with stevia, coconut oil and  nutrient packed chia seeds.  I merged and tweaked a spelt scone recipe and a healthy lemon poppy seed muffin recipe.  It was delicious the first time around but I knew I could do better. So after church today I whipped up the recipe once more with a few tweaks.  I love it!

 This is what I came up with....

Spelt Lemon Cranberry Chia Seed Scones

(Wheat and Sugar Free)

4 Cups spelt flour

2 Tbsp Chia seeds

2-3 Tbsp of stevia mixed with fiber I use "Stevia plus"

(Use this link to get a $10 off coupon for "stevia plus" from Vitacost) 

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp sea salt

1/4 cup coconut oil warmed

1/2 cup yogurt

1/2 cup water

2 large eggs

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice ( a little more for a stronger flavor)

1 Tbsp lemon zest

1/2 cup frozen cranberries

Mix all dry ingredients together.  Mix all wet ingredients including the warmed coconut oil so it is in liquid form, and beat in the two eggs.  Now mix the two together.  Then fold in the cranberries.  If they are large chop them up in to smaller parts.   I use organic ones from "Azure Standard" and they are smaller than conventional ones so I don't bother to chop them.  

Pat the dough into two balls then pat them down into two circles as shown above.

Now slice the raw dough into 8 slices as you would a pie.

Then separate out the scones to bake so that they do not touch.

Bake at 350 for 18-23 minutes till slightly golden brown.

Now just try to resist them... no wait don't worry about it... they are good for you!

They were a  hit with my sugar loving, wheat eating friends as well.  YUMMY!

Have a great wheat and sugar free recipe?  Share it with us in the comments below!

DIY lux face, hand, and diaper cream homemade from whipped coconut & shea butter!

I love, love love this stuff!  I cannot get enough of it.  You know it has to be good if I am bothering to make it with 5 kids and homeschooling! Ok it doesn't hurt that it is really fast and easy and works for a plethora of uses.  Yes I did say plethora! Pretty sure I learned that word from the movie "The Three Amigos" in the early 90's.   Anyway...this all natural moisturizer is not only highly effective, free of unwanted chemicals and additives, but it is made from 2 of natures most amazing products coconut oil and shea butter.  

Coconut oil and shea butter are some of the best possible ingredients when it comes to skin care!  If you aren't familiar with coconut oils miraculous healing powers be sure to read my earlier post  "One of nature's best healers! 20 NEW reasons to love coconut oil!". I can't go on with this recipe without letting you first know why it is so fabulous for your skin.  This combo is unlike most commercial moisturizers in that most commercial moisturizers are filled with water so the lotion becomes ineffective as soon as the water dries on your skin.  They are also often filled with additives, and petroleum byproducts that are carcinogenic and can suffocate skin causing breakouts.  Coconut oil and shea butter on the other hand are rich and truly moisturize your skin down at the deepest levels where they are even responsible for strengthening the underlying tissue .  They are both excellent at treating acne as they kill off bacteria and acne is a bacterial infection   Coconut oil also helps remove the dead, dry, flaky layers that causes rough and dull skin.  Convinced? Not yet?  Well African Shea (pronounced shay) butter has been proven to reduce the appearance of lines, scars and stretch marks as well as ease a host of skin irritations such as psoriasis, eczema, and sunburn.  WHAT IS NOT TO LOVE!

So here it is... your super simple 2 ingredient beauty wonder,,,

Combine 1 cup African shea butter and 1/2 cup coconut oil. 

Mix on medium high with an electric mixer for about 5 minutes till you get a nice whip cream texture.  I make  big batches to jar in several containers so I have diaper cream, body butter, and portable hand cream.

That is it!  Now you have an AMAZING face, body, hand and diaper cream that moisturizes at the deepest level, clarifys skin, strengthens the underlying tissue, reduces the signs of aging, scars, lines and stretch marks while treating eczema, psoriasis, and other irritations!  I buy my coconut oil at Costco for a very inexpensive $22 for 78 ozs and the African shea butter I got from amazon for around $18 for 32 oz. with shipping.  I will never go back to a commercial face or diaper cream again!  My face feels amazing after using this.  I use it every morning and night.  I used it on my baby when he was a newborn with a terrible rash that nothing would touch!  The secret was this cream plus a few shakes of corn starch each diaper change.  It is all we ever use now.  You can use it as chap stick, hand cream, body butter, for stretch marks, for acne, sun burn cream etc....  Let me know how it works for you!

The Tomato Sauce Recipe No One Should Live With Out! A Famous 4 Ingredient Sauce That Happens To Be The BEST Tomato Sauce Ever!

I know what you are thinking... How can a simple 4 ingredient sauce be the best sauce ever?  I am sorry to admit that I usually buy my tomato sauce.  It is such an easy nice thing to have on hand.  I have made crock pot sauce, stove top sauce and it has been good but a little labor intensive and not really that  much better than the jar sauce.  I know it is healthier, but sometimes you just don't have time for all homemade.  In fact, I had jarred sauce in my cupboard when I went to make a baked pasta dish the other day.  When I was looking on line for a good pasta bake recipe I landed on one that included this tomato sauce.

Photo courtesey of The Kitchn where I found this great recipe!

The blog post raved about the richness, smoothness and deep flavor of this sauce.  It looked so simple and I had all the ingredients, because who doesn't have 1 onion, salt, butter and a can of tomatoes?  Evidently this is a true Italian recipe by Marcella Hazan from a cookbook called Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking

So here it is!  The simplest tomato sauce recipe you will ever make that give you rich, full flavor, mouth watering results!

Marcella Hazel's 4 Ingredient Tomato Sauce Recipe

1 onion cut in half

1 28 oz. can plumb tomatoes

5 Tablespoons salted  butter (I did not use all 5 Tablespoons, and it was still delicious)

Salt to season to taste. ( I like sea salt)

Throw all of the ingredients into a pot and simply simmer this concoction for 45 minutes or so on the stove top.  The butter adds an incredible richness and really brings out a deep flavor in the tomatoes.  Now Marcella says to remove the onion all together.  I tasted it and it was delicious!  However, I decided to leave it in for the added nutritional benefit and just used an immersion blender. Now prepare to be amazed! INCREDIBLE! 

That is it!  You can memorize this classic recipe and have a quick fix for any night you are in need of a quick supper.  Just toss this over whole grain pasta, or add to any recipe calling for tomato sauce.  I would imagine this would be great to make in large batches and can!  Then you can have the convenience of jarred sauce and all the goodness of homemade taste!  Let me know what you think!  Have any simple recipes we should know about?  Share them in the comments.  Thanks!

Pumpkin, Pumpkin, Pumpkin! The best HEALTHY pumpkin recipes!

I know that last year I posted A LOT more health and fitness workouts, exercise tips, and the like, but being almost 7 months pregnant is not conducive to that.  So healthy recipes it is!  I just had 3 large carved pumpkins given to me to cook up so I am swimming in pumpkin puree.  I have roasted and pureed 2 of them filling about 7 large mason jars.  Some have been tucked into the freezer (with headroom in each jar so they don't burst of course), but now I can't wait to use them in some delicious, truly inspired healthy recipes.  Pumpkin lends itself to healthy recipes as it is a great substitute for half of the fat in baked goods with it's moisture and is packed full of vitamins, fiber, minerals and other nutrients.  But really aside from all that who doesn't love pumpkin in the fall!  Keep in mind that no matter how decadent these recipes look I only chose healthy recipes or recipes that with a few small tweaks would become healthy.  There is an over abundance of sugar and fat laden pumpkin recipes out there.  This is for those of us who want to eat healthy and LOVE it all at the same time.

Pumpkin Pie Baked Oatmeal

This yummy recipe comes from budget bytes a great healthy, budget friendly blog.  Sub out the refined sugar for 1/2 the amount of honey and you get rid of the refined sugar while keeping all the sweet goodness!

Pumpkin Chocolate Granola Bars

How beautiful are these bars!  To make them a little healthier just swap out the brown sugar for 1/4 cup honey and you are good to go.  See the recipe and a beautiful array of artistic photos of these bars at Pastry Affair
Sweet and Salty Roasted pumpkin seeds

You can find the recipe for this delicious and healthy treat from HERE from For the Love of Fiber.  What could be healthier?

Simple Crock Pot Apple Pumpkin Butter

This is a quick easy, HEALTHY, recipe from For the Love of Fiber is a perfect way to use your fresh pumpkin and apples this season!

A classic Pumpkin Nut Muffins

This recipe uses whole wheat, and to make them even healthier use fresh pumpkin, sub out the vegetable oil for coconut oil, and use 1/4 to 1/3 cup honey in place of the 3/4 cup raw sugar.  Find the whole recipe HERE at Skinny Taste.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Bars

These decadent looking treats are actually gluten free, vegan, and free of refined sugars!  Find the 

recipe HERE at Clean Green Simple


Healthy Pumpkin Pancakes

This Allrecipes favorite would be a perfect way to use some of your freshly harvested pumpkin!  To drop some of the sugar use apple or pumpkin butter in place of syrup or a dollop of plain yogurt sweetened with stevia on top like we do.  The full recipe found HERE at Allrecipes.

Pumpkin Pie Fudge

Who would believe you could have fudge and be making good food choices all at once!
This fudge is made with coconut oil for a healthy fat, and uses only 2 Tablespoons of maple syrup as the only sweetener.  Throw in the addition of a nutritious vegetable like pumpkin and you are guilt free! Recipe found HERE at Unwheated.

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

I know it says butternut squash, but sub in a pumpkin for a similar flavor.  I LOVE this recipe from my William Sonoma "Soup" cookbook.  It is the whole reason I got the cookbook!  I had the soup at a relatives and could not get enough of it.  I think the secret is the large amount of garlic that is roasted to a sweet mellow flavor and the delicious leeks.  Truly healthy and I am looking forward to making this again but with my large supply of pumpkin! I found the whole recipe Here at Indulge and Enjoy. So you can do just that!

Now I tried (for hours!!) to find just the right pumpkin cinnamon roll recipe to share with you guys. Something perfectly delicious, made with whole wheat, coconut oil, and honey or other unrefined sugar, however it was a bust.  Everything I found was loaded with white flour sugar and fat or  vegan or gluten free or yeast free.  I didn't want something hard and healthy that had no resemblance to a true cinnamon roll so I will have to create my own version.  I am getting a bosch mixer and grain mill tomorrow (SQUEAL OF DELIGHT!!!) that my mom picked up for me out of town from a craigslist ad, and I can't wait to get started on the challenge!  YUMMY!! Have any ideas for your favorite healthy delicious ways of using pumpkin?  Share it in the comments!

What To Do With 6 Gallons of Ready To Expire Milk

I know this is a crazy dilemma but some of you money saving mamas out there must have run into something similar.  Here is how it happened to me...
I answer the phone and a friend says she has some extra milk from the soup kitchen and would I like some.  I say "sure!".  I get off the phone assuming I have an extra gallon of milk.  In actuality she shows up with her husband behind her carrying a CASE, yes a case of milk.  Six gallons of milk packed into a milk crate soon made their way to my table.  I was grateful for the thought so I smiled and thanked them as they walked out the door.  After they had I left I stared at my table for a while... I use almond milk, and at my house we don't drink milk we just use it in cereal for the hubby and sometimes the kids.  I love free food though as our grocery budget is a tight one with 6 people. What was I going to do with 6 gallons of milk that by the expiration date were supposed to be drunk in the next few days!!

A friend just stopped by as I was writing this post.  Perfect I sent her home with 2 gallons!  That just leaves 4!  Now if you have a large enough freezer you could just freeze them all.  Some people complain that fat free milk separates a little after being frozen.  You can shake the milk as it is freezing every 30 - 60 minutes to try to stop that from happening.  I never have a problem with 2% or higher fat milks separating.

As far as the freezer goes though it doesn't work for me at the moment because I have been processing apples from a friends tree and have filled it with several bags of apple pie filling.  So I could only cram in 2 gallons after much rearranging.  With two in the freezer that leaves 2 to use up.  I am thinking a creamy soup like chowder for the majority of one gallon.  Since we are a family of 6 we always make a double batch of soup.  The other gallon is in my crock pot making Homemade thick and creamy yogurt.

Ok it is 1% milk so it will not be as thick as the yogurt I usually make, however it will be yummy drinkable yogurt for the kids, and handy for making Ranch Dressing from Scratch (recipe here), used as buttermilk in pancakes

( I LOVE the healthy delicious Oatmeal Pancakes we make) and other baked goods.  You can make a huge batch of pancakes if you have time to cook them all up and then freeze them for an easy breakfast.

I also will use some in place of half of the fat in homemade biscuits or scones .

 I also use yogurt as a great addition to my smoothies (my recipe here) (my recipe here) to add some tanginess and a protein boost.  Anytime you have ready to expire milk on hand it is a great idea to make yogurt because the fermentation process extends the life by at least 2 weeks or so.

Need a  few other ideas to use ready to expire milk?  How about making rice pudding, cooked pudding, baked oatmeal to eat and one to freeze, quiche, cream of whatever soup from scratch to use in recipes ( you can freeze it), or bread pudding like my delicious pumpkin bread pudding recipe!  Making flan would be a good use as well of any extra milk.  How do you use extra milk when you find it on super sale at the store or have some that needs used up soon?

Healthy Baking Substitutes

Just wanted to share these healthy baking tips I found from Picklee .  Coming into baking season soon with fall approaching!


Be sure to check out her great post to see exactly how to make the substitute and what foods they work best in. 

 The measurements are not cup for cup always and there are some baked goods that work better than others.  Just thought you healthy eaters out there would appreciate this!  I have used most of these substitutes but the avocado and the black beans are new ones to me!  Looking forward to trying them out!  For more on sugar substitutes be sure to see my past post The Sweet Stuff Line Up!

Crispy Healthy Egg Rolls On The Grill!

I was craving egg rolls, but not the greasy, pork filled kind you can buy.  I wanted a lighter egg roll with a little ground turkey, and tons of vegetables.  So I thought I would make my own.  But I wanted them crispy but not fried and I definitely did not want to turn on my oven while it was 95 degrees outside!  My husband suggested it might be possible to grill them .  It worked beautifully!  

Crispy Healthy Egg Rolls

Ingredients

2 cups cabbage ( about 1 small head)

2 medium carrots

3 green onions

1/2 lb organic ground turkey

( you can omit this and add some mushrooms in it's place if you want them vegetarian)

2-3 cloves of garlic

1 inch piece of ginger peeled and chopped fine

!/4 cup soy sauce

1/2 Tablespoon of cornstarch

1 pkg egg roll wrappers

olive oil

Directions

Prep all your veggies quickly and easily by throwing it all in the food processor and pulsing it till everything i chopped to your liking.  I usually cut the cabbage in smaller wedges and the carrots into a few chunks to break it down to keep from having large chunks left. Saute your turkey and crumble it up with a spatula while cooking.  Now drain the fat and set it aside.  Throw all the veggies into a pan to saute in a small Tbl of olive oil.  While they are cooking mix the soy sauce with the cornstarch to get it to coat the veggies nicely.  Now toss it into the cooking veggies.  Once the veggies are cooked turn off the stove and add in the turkey and mix up.  Important to note that you need to let the mixture cool down before you start rolling the egg rolls.  I failed to do this and mine split in a few places where the hot filling weakened the wrapper.

 Fill the egg rolls with a few tablespoons of  filling and start rolling.

You can follow the guide on the back of the egg roll package for rolling directions.

Now you start rolling.

I lay them on a cookie sheet as I roll so I can easily transport them to the grill and so they are not touching as they will stick together if they are.

.












Oil the tops lightly with a pastry brush

Now place them oiled side down and lightly oil the unoiled side.

Just grill a few minutes and when it looks golden and crispy flip them!

You will be rewarded with a batch of crispy delicious egg rolls that have only a fraction of the calories that restaurant ones have!  Let me know if you try it!  They were a big hit.  We scarfed them all up in no time flat!

All Natural, DELICIOUS Watermelon Lime Sorbet with No Added Sugar!

I was at Trader Joe's while visiting my sister in Santa Fe and saw these beautiful watermelons for $3.50!! Half the cost of what they are where I live.  So I decided to make a delicious, refreshing, TOTALLY HEALTHY watermelon lime sorbet.

You can make it with an ice cream maker or without!  The recipe is very simple.

Watermelon Lime sorbet

Photo courtesy of Rachel Ray

My version is sweet, light, refreshing, and oh so delicious as well as being completely healthy! 

8 cups of cubed watermelon

1/3 cup fresh lime juice

1 tsp powdered stevia 

Now you can make this two ways.  The first way does not require an ice cream maker. For this method simply place the watermelon chunks on a cookie sheet and freeze.  While that is freezing mix your stevia into your lime juice.  Once the watermelon is frozen throw it and the lime juice stevia mix into the food processor .   Since the fruit is frozen it will blend all nicely and stay a nice sorbet consistency with out the need of the ice cream maker.

 If you want to use the ice cream maker throw all the ingredients into a processor or blender and then into the ice cream maker.  If you have a room temperature watermelon you may have trouble getting your ice cream maker to freeze it all the way past a slush.  So start with cold or slightly frozen watermelon.  If you choose to use a warmer melon you may just need to throw it into the freezer for the last bit.  If you are serving it right away keep an eye on it that it doesn't freeze too hard!  If you are serving it later you will need to pull it (if frozen hard) out of the freezer early to let it warm to a better consistency and shave with a fork before serving.

My regular sized watermelon (not personal size and not huge) made two batches in the ice cream maker and left me a batch and a half of watermelon lime mixture for popsicles!  The kids loved it both ways and I felt great giving it to them!  I have really tried to keep my kids sugar intake limited and this is a fun way of doing it so they don't feel deprived.  In fact the neighbor boys scarfed them down as well and didn't even notice the lack of added sugar!  Let me know how it goes.

P.S. If you are looking for some other sorbet, smoothie and popsicle recipes check out these posts I did earlier with TONS of recipes that will refresh on a hot day, satisfy a sweet tooth and keep you looking great in a swimsuit!

Refreshing Mango Strawberry Lime Salad

Green Smoothie Guide. 

Cool Summer Treats that Cure the Urge to Splurge! 

All Natural No added sugar Mango Sorbet