My Favorite Honey Wheat Bread

Braided Honey Wheat Bread

I don't know what I would do without my Kitchen Aid mixer when it comes to making bread! I started out watching people on YouTube making bread and it was so fast and easy with the mixer. The first recipes I started making were French bread. I also tried sourdough but didn't use the mixer because, well, "they" the experts said not to. You really can over knead the sourdough!

The best bread recipe I found was on the back package of Bobs Red Mill's wheat flour! Simple ingredients and so easy in the kitchen aid. 

Ingredients:

1 cup warm Water
2 1/4 tsp. Active Dry Yeast (one 7 g packet)
1 cup Milk room temperature
1/4 c. Honey (raw honey)
2 Tbsp. Oil (I use extra virgin olive oil)
2 3/4 c. Unbleached all-purpose flour
2 3/4 c. Whole wheat flour
1 Tbsp. Salt 

Start out by warming a cup of water in your microwave (or stove) to just the right temperature. You might ask, "what is the right temperature?" My rule of thumb is to get it the same temperature as you would for a baby bottle, not too hot, and not too cold. This way the yeast will activate. 

Using your Kitchen Aid bowl, pour the warm water in with the yeast and mix it up with your plastic spatula. Let it sit for 5 minutes to activate the yeast.

Next add the warm, room temperature milk, honey, oil and stir. Add the 2 3/4 c. of unbleached flour and salt. Mix with the mixer on #2 speed for just a minute. Add the 2 3/4 c. of whole wheat flour and mix for 10 minutes on #2 speed. You will know it is ready when the dough springs back when you push it and not stick to your hands. 

Next take the dough out of the bowl and form it into a ball. I add oil to the Kitchen Aid bowl and coat the bottom and sides and put the dough down top side and coat with oil and turn it over. Place a slightly wet kitchen towel (clean, please!) over the top and placed in a dark, warm place which is usually your oven. I turn the oven light on and even turn the stove on for less than one minute on the warm 170-degree temperature.  I will immediately turn it off. It is just to get a slight warming to the oven. You don't want it to cook, you want the dough to rise!

I wait 60 minutes and check the dough. When it has doubled in size, I remove it (beat it down some before removing from the bowl) and place it on a clean counter that is sprinkled with white flour. I will knead it a few times and form it into a ball before cutting it in half. I usually make two loaves in my 4x8 pans that have been coated with olive oil.  If you want to make twisted bread or use your baguette pans, then roll it out and cut it into 3 even pieces. Roll the pieces to fit and place in the banquette pan or twist like in a braid to make the braided bread and use parchment paper on a big sheet pan to cook. If you don't have parchment paper, then just lightly oil the sheet pan and bake. I prefer parchment paper for easy clean up! Whichever way you choose to do it, it will be good!

You can also let the dough rise again before baking for about 30-45 minutes, but I find I don't need to do that with this recipe. It rises when it cooks. 

Preheat your oven to 425 degrees and then turn it down to 375 degrees. Before putting it in the oven make sure you coat it with egg whites and make some cuts on top of the loaves. I like to make designs that look like wheat stalks or even a flower look. You can also sprinkle bagel topping seasoning on top for a gourmet flavor! It is a perfect combination for bread. I have also added garlic and herbs into the dough after it has risen.

Cook for 30 minutes or until brown on top and sides. I like it crusty so I will wait until it is hard on the side, just don't overcook. 

Enjoy the fresh bread with some butter and jam, and you will have a super delicious treat for any time of the day. 

💓-y- Banana Nut Bread

💓-y Banana Nut Bread

💓-y Banana Nut Bread is now my favorite to make! Healthier version than I usually bake. I substituted the white sugar with honey, egg whites for the whole egg, and plain Greek yogurt for the butter. The bread is moist, and the texture is firm. I don't even miss the butter because of the yogurt!

3 ripe bananas smashed
1/2 c. plain non-fat Greek yogurt 
1/4 c. of raw honey (however sweet you would like it)
1 tsp. of baking soda 
dash or a pinch of salt 
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbsps. egg whites to equal one egg
1 c. whole wheat flour 
1 c. ground pecans or walnuts 
1/4 c. of white flour (more if needed)
Oil to coat the pan - I prefer extra virgin olive oil

Pull out that loaf pan no bigger than 4x8 and coat it with a small amount of olive oil. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Smash those bananas in a bowl and add 1/2 c. of plain non-fat, or low-fat Greek yogurt while mixing it all. Mix well with the honey, baking soda, salt, vanilla, and egg whites. Add 1 cup of whole wheat flour and 1 cup of ground nuts and mix. Next, depending on how thick the nuts make the mixture, I add 1/4 c. of white flour up to 1/2 c. depending on the thickness of the mix after adding the nuts. Usually, it is thicker than cake batter. You don't want it runny or too thick for the batter—something like the middle of the road. The Greek yogurt gives it a good texture.

Pour the mixture into the prepared loaf pan and set the timer to 50 minutes. Depending on your oven, it may cook faster. I check it for 50 minutes to see if it springs back when pushed on, or I'll stick a toothpick into the center to see if it comes out clean or close to it! If not, leave in another 5 minutes and check again. I only bake it for 1 hour at maximum. You don't want to overcook!

Take it out and remove it from the pan. Place it on a metal cooling rack. I like to eat it while it is warm. If you want whipped cream, add a small dab on top. You can also add warmed fruit such as blueberries and strawberries. Don't overdo it, or it won't be too 💓-y! ENJOY!

The calorie calculator is approximate for the recipe based on eight slices of the loaf: 

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8
Amount per serving
Calories	408
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 20.7g	27%
Saturated Fat 2.1g	11%
Cholesterol 0mg	0%
Sodium 236mg	10%
Total Carbohydrate 42.1g	15%
Dietary Fiber 4.8g	17%
Total Sugars 19.4g
Protein 17.5g
Vitamin D 0mcg	0%
Calcium 143mg	11%
Iron 2mg	9%
Potassium 440mg	9%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calorie a day is used for general nutrition advice.

Added ground nuts

Thick batter

Ready to bake!

Baked and ready to eat!

New York Eggy Cheesecake

 

Perfection

Ingredients: 

Crust: 

1 cup graham crackers crushed 

1 cup of pecans crushed 

5 tablespoons of sugar, or monk fruit, or Stevie, or a combination of each

1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon 

6 tablespoons of butter melted

Mix all the ingredients together and pat down in the bottom and sides of a cheesecake pan or 9" baking pan. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 8 minutes and then take out to cool.

 Filling ingredients: 

24 ounces of cream cheese 

1 cup of sugar or sugar substitute for baking 

1 tablespoon vanilla extract 

1 tablespoon of lemon or lemon zest (grated lemon rind)

5 eggs

1/4 cup of heavy cream 

2 tablespoons of sugar or monk fruit, or Stevie or a combination of each

First mix the following with your hand blender or mixer: 

24 ounces of cream cheese 

1 cup of sugar or monk fruit or Stevie or a combination of each

Add-in: 

1 tablespoon of vanilla extract 

1 tablespoon of lemon juice or grated peel

then take 5 eggs and separate the yolks and whites 

Mix the 5 egg yolks into the cream cheese mixture and blend. 

In a separate bowl whip, the egg whites with two tablespoons of sugar or monk fruit, or Stevie or a combination of each until firm, and then fold and mix with the cheesecake batter. 

Bake in the preheated 350-degree oven for approximately 75 minutes. It should be a mix of brown on top. Take out and let cool. 

I like to zap some frozen organic strawberries in the microwave (or stove if you prefer) for the topping along with some homemade whipping cream.

Homemade Whipping Cream 

2 cups of heavy cream 

3 tablespoons of sugar or monk fruit, or Stevie or a combination of each

Whip with your blender until firm. Serve on top of the strawberries or topping of your choice.

Cooking at Home During Quarantine

I like cooking, but I can't wait to be able to go out, sit at a table in a restaurant, order, eat, and enjoy family and friends. The only thing I won't like is the bill, but it will be so worth it. During this quarantine, if you have the funds and can help out your favorite local eateries, do so. They are struggling and take-out orders can help keep them in business. 

Brown Sticky Rice

When I cook brown rice on the stovetop it is never sticky like the white sticky rice that I love so much! Tonight we cooked brown rice in our Instant Pot on the multigrain setting for 35 minutes instead of the standard 40 minutes - 1 cup of rice to 2 cups of water - and it was sticky like the white rice and tasted so good! 

I was shocked to say the least because I didn't expect it!  If you love white rice and have an instant pot try it! You shouldn't be disappointed. I know I wasn't! 

Living with Reactive Hypoglycemia & High Cholesterol

Seasoned ground Turkey and vegetables

 The picture above is a mixture of ground Turkey, bell peppers, onions, cilantro and lots of spices! The spices are turmeric, garlic, pepper, fajita seasoning, pepper, basil, and ginger. My husband has reactive hypoglycemia and I have high cholesterol so trying to balance the two can be difficult. He can eat any type of meat but I need low fat so we have to compromise now when eating at home. 

Bell Peppers ready to go! 

This bell pepper dish is actually an old classic that we both enjoy so happy to make it for the first night that we have to throw out all of our junk and medium to high sugar food, and buy no refined sugar, potatoes, and to my husband's detriment white rice dishes! 

I studied everything I could on "Dr. Google" (as my physician would say), but next week we will be going in to see a dietician to answer all our questions to make sure we have it right.

This morning I went through our pantry and read every label on the jars, cans, and bags. It appears that most everything we have has tons of sugar (maybe not tons but he can't eat hardly any) in it and other things that we can't eat. I pulled out about 12 full bags and 6 Tupperware containers of food that we can no longer eat. I will be stopping by the local food bank with the unopened products for some people who can eat sugar with no problems.

Here is the dinner tonight and wish me luck to find something or anything my husband will like for tomorrow. I believe, unfortunately, or maybe, fortunately, I have a new calling!

Final Results!

Keeping Food Fresh

Strawberries are perfect for the FridgeSmart or Freeze-It containers

My food stays fresher when I use my Tupperware products, whether for freezing or in the refrigerator! I signed up originally to buy from Tupperware but ended up selling as well. Why? Simply because I LOVE their products!

Check out my Tupperware website to view all the new, updated and on sale products sold by Tupperware! Click here to view or order:  Earthsflowers

I love the FridgeSmart products because when I buy cilantro and/or other herbs/vegetables they stay fresh longer and I don't end up throwing them out if I haven't used them within a week. The Freeze-It ® Plus containers are one of my favorite because I can put leftovers in the individual containers and they are easy to remove the food, and re-heat even if they are frozen. The Zest 'N Press gadget is easy to use for squeezing lemons, limes and small oranges as well as zesting with the same tool.