Banana Cinnamon Waffles

Banana Cinnamon Waffles

Instead of making a pile of pancakes for us to eat throughout the week, I decided to make waffles. The recipe I normally use for both pancakes and waffles is great but I felt like finding something new or at least changing it up a little this week.

There is a lot of inspiration out there. I tend to start with the word "healthy" when searching for recipes on the internet. This usually gives me options most in line with how I like to cook. It mostly translates into using less oil, cream and sugar or adding fruit, veggies or flax to punch up the overall nutrition of something. For example, pasta sauce. I made a recipe that called for 1/4 cup olive oil once as is and once with two tablespoons of olive oil instead. The sauce tasted the same. Don't get me wrong, olive oil isn't bad but I like to reduce things like oil, butter and sugar where I can. However, I'm not one to replace ALL the oil or butter a recipe calls for with applesauce or yogurt. I've tried it and it just doesn't cut it. On the other hand, replacing sugar with honey or maple syrup has been successful in many things I've made. Also, it's common for waffle and pancake recipes to call for some sugar and oil in the batter. I've had no problems skipping both likely because it's usually only 1 to 3 tablespoons respectively. For me, the fun is in the experimenting. I always learn something new.

These waffles are perfect to eat right away or freeze for later. Serve with maple syrup and butter or your favorite toppings. I had maple syrup and chopped pecans on mine. Yum.


Banana Cinnamon Waffles
Makes 8 to 10 waffles
Adapted from here.

1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/4 cups buttermilk*
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 large ripe banana, mashed
Cooking spray

Directions

Combine flour, flaxseed, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl, stirring with a fork or whisk.

Combine milk, eggs, and vanilla, stirring with a whisk; add milk mixture to flour mixture, stirring until blended. Fold in mashed banana.

Preheat a waffle iron. Coat iron with cooking spray. Spoon about 1/4 cup batter per waffle onto hot waffle iron, spreading batter to edges. Cook 3 to 4 minutes or until steaming stops; repeat procedure with remaining batter.**


*I haven't tried it with regular milk or non dairy milk but it works. Reduce the amount of milk to 1 1/2 cups when not using buttermilk. I have made this swap in other recipes but will be testing it in this recipe soon. If you beat me to it, let me know how it turns out.

**I have a waffle iron that beeps when the waffles are ready. I set it to the highest (7) setting to ensure some crispiness on the outside.

Homemade Chocolate Shell

I've been meaning to post this little gem for a while. I can't remember where I found this but I'm so happy I did! (You can do a search for homemade magic shell and get lots of ideas).

A hard coating of chocolate over a cold scoop of ice cream brings back happy childhood memories. From a scoop at home with "magic shell" to a chocolate dipped cone at the Foster's Freeze.

Let's quickly compare homemade chocolate shell to the well known Magic Shell from Smucker's.

Smucker's Magic Shell: Sugar, Sunflower Oil, Coconut Oil, Chocolate, Whole Milk Solids, Cocoa Processed with Alkali, Contains 2% or less of: Soy Lecithin, Salt, Vanilla.

Homemade Chocolate Shell: Chocolate, Coconut Oil.

The Magic Shell didn't have as much of a big bad ingredients list as I expected it to. But it still has things you can avoid like added sugar and oil by making your own. Plus why buy it when it's super simple to make and you're in control of what ingredients go into it? Here's how I made mine:

Ingredients:
3/4 cup Dark chocolate chips
1 tbsp Coconut oil

Directions:
Put chocolate chips and coconut oil in a microwavable glass container (I used my Pyrex measuring cup). Heat slowly in 30 second intervals, stirring each time, until completely melted. Pour over your favorite ice cream and watch the magic!

PS: I really like the article linked to Soy Lecithin (above or click here). It explains the ingredient thoroughly giving you the information you need to decide whether or not you want to avoid it.

Homemade Almond Butter

My almond butter!

Almond butter is great but it sure is expensive. So is anything outside of peanut butter for that matter. I've also found there is a big difference in price between non-organic and organic versions of almond butter. Because I use so much of it, some would say I should be using the organic but it's just not in the budget.

The MaraNatha brand is the most economical I've seen. But again, the price varies widely within this brand depending if it's organic, all natural, raw, organic raw, no stir, etc. I don't frequent Costco much but they do have the best price for the MaraNatha All Natural Almond Butter. It's a large jar, 26 oz., I think. It's approx. $11. I've seen 12-16oz. jars of other brands from $7 to $18 depending on the variety.

I've always heard making your own almond butter or any other nut or seed butter is easy and possibly cheaper. Almonds can be pricey so it may or may not be cheaper if you compare ounce for ounce but making something yourself is rewarding in my opinion so that's gotta worth something, right? I hadn't planned on making my own almond butter any time soon but the place I buy it from was out and only had really expensive alternatives. I decided to just go without. I'll get some next week. Well next week came and they were still out! What the heck? After getting home, I found a half bag of almonds in the cabinet. The husband said they were stale. They were a little stale I guess but not bad. I figured this was the perfect opportunity to try my hand at making almond butter. I researched recipes and methods. I settled on just winging it. I knew the almonds were unsalted and unroasted so I started with roasting them at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. I watched them carefully because they can burn quickly. I then let them cool. Once cooled (mostly), I put them in a food processor and started processing! After the almonds started to become creamy, I added sea salt. I'd add a little, blend then taste. And continued until it tasted good to me. I then scooped it into a mason jar and, boom, I had almond butter!

I can get a 16 oz. bag of raw almonds (not organic) for under $5. I can't get a jar of almond butter for that. My first batch was not a full bag and only filled the 8 oz. jar half way (pictured). I have since made a full bag and it filled the entire jar. It is thick and yummy. It's better than any almond butter I've had from the store. My almond butter is simply roasted almonds and salt - consistent with what you'll find on the shelf (minus the love, haha). Although, some brands do add sugar and oil so if you don't want those things, make sure to take a look at the ingredients before purchasing. My next adventure in "butter" making will be sunflower seed butter. I'll use the same process and see what happens.

PS: It's my brother's birthday. I love my big bro very much and hope he is having a wonderful day.

I'm moving... Soon!

Hello family and friends of Medium Food Mama. It's been quiet around here, hasn't it? I have been working on posts and having fun researching new foods to chat about here on the blog while juggling some changes. One of those changes will be a move to a WordPress site and a proper domain - mediumfoodmama.com. The migration has not started yet but I will update once it does. I am looking forward to a fresh start on the new site (all old posts will move with me) and I have lots of posts in progress. I'll be writing as much as possible while the site is created/migrated and stick them in the queue, which will translate into more posts more often, cool, right?

I may post a few more times here as I do have some posts ready but it depends on how long the switch will take. So keep hanging on, please. I've got some good info on granola bars, frozen waffles and easy homemade jam, just to name a few.

Blueberry Oat Scones with Coconut Oil

Scones in production!

I've been on a scone kick lately. It's been tough to resist the scones at Whole Foods, really tough. So I decided to get in the kitchen and make a bunch of my own. I started with pumpkin. They were really good. I'll post the recipe soon. Then I made blueberry. Coming off a successful pumpkin scone, I had the confidence to do a little experimenting with the blueberry version.

I took inspiration from Weelicious (as I often do) and combined it with my style of baking. The results were terrific. That's why I decided to post this one first. My kids are always taste testers and since I create most of my recipes with them in mind, it's important they dig it. And they certainly loved these.

My palate is accustomed to nutty flavors from hearty grains and sweetness from fruit or honey not white sugar. So for me, these are perfect. My boys are also used to these flavors but that's not to say it can't be too much in some of the food and baked goods I make because it can and has. Sometimes it's just not balanced enough for them to like it. Hearty grains can get dense and occasionally (depending on the recipe and other ingredients) bitter and a bit harsh. Combine that with only a little sugar and it can be a "no thanks" recipe very easily. Oh, and I always like to be clear, I like sweet stuff as much as any one else, my chocolate chip cookies for instance, but I ultimately prefer treats like this scone. Give me a cup of coffee and one of these and I'm good. And the bonus is, I feel better afterward. Not guilty or like I need to add two miles to my run. Win win.

Okay, back to the experimenting. Scones are typically made with all-purpose white flour and butter. Makes for a tasty scone for sure. I decided to use my favorite white whole wheat flour in place of white flour and coconut oil in place of butter. Also instead of three tablespoons of white sugar, I used two tablespoons of brown sugar. I was going to leave out the sugar entirely but back to what I mentioned before, I was trying to avoid a "no thanks" result. I will say though, these might be just fine without the brown sugar, I really didn't taste it. I'll give it a try next time. Finally, the recipe I based this recipe on called for buttermilk. I didn't have any and somehow I was out of vinegar so I couldn't make my own. I substituted low fat yogurt and milk for the buttermilk. With all my substitutions, the texture and flavor were what I'd expect from a scone. I hope you'll give it a try.

Blueberry Oat Scone with Coconut Oil
Makes 8
Adapted from here.


2 cups white whole wheat flour
1 cup old fashioned oats
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup coconut oil, chilled & cubed*
1/4 cup low fat plain yogurt
1/2 cup 1% milk
1 egg
1 cup frozen blueberries

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2. In a bowl, whisk together flour, oats, sugar, baking powder and salt.
3. Using your fingers, massage the coconut oil into the flour/oat mixture until is resembles coarse meal.
4. Whisk the yogurt, milk and egg in a separate bowl.
5. Pour the yogurt mixture over the flour/oat mixture and stir with a fork until combined.
6. Gently fold in the blueberries (still frozen).
7. Form dough into a large circle/patty (roughly 1 inch thick/8 inches in diameter) and place on a baking pan lined with parchment paper. I shape it further after it's on the parchment paper.
8. Bake for 20 minutes.
9. Cool and serve.

*I measure a half cup of room temperature coconut oil and stick it in the refrigerator for a bit. It becomes cold and completely solid and allows you to cut it up and combine it with the dry ingredients the same way you would with butter.

With frosting on top!

Yes, pumpkin recipe season is upon us but I'm one of those people that make pumpkin things all year around. When Trader Joe's starts selling canned organic pumpkin (September-ish), I start stocking up. It's a $1.99 per 15 oz. can. An average price from what I've seen. I make sure I end up with enough cans to get me through the year ahead. I happened to underestimate how many I would need last season causing me to run out mid Summer. I'll be sure to add on a couple of extra cans this year.

Oh, and, I know I could make my own pumpkin puree but remember - this mama needs some convenience. Canned pumpkin is one of those conveniences! Never do I say never (well except when asked if I'd run a full marathon) so one day I may make my own puree but it won't be this year!

I've shared pumpkin bread in the past but this one is a perfected version of what I once made and it's topped with a simple cream cheese frosting. I was inspired by my oldest son's sweet tooth and our shared love for pumpkin bread. As I talk about often, it's a rule that we make our own "treats" and buying them is the exception. Although I don't consider my whole wheat pumpkin bread on its own (sans frosting!) a treat, I apply the same rule to quick breads, muffins and like items as the store bought versions are highly processed and full of unnecessary ingredients. And, when the exception arises, I make a point to purchase fresh baked items from an actual bakery not something in a box wrapped in plastic.

Okay, enough about that. Let's get to the yummy bread. This bread is awesome on it's own. It is a common snack in our house. On this particular day, we were in the mood for a little something extra. The initial request was for cake actually. Ending up with whole wheat pumpkin bread with cream cheese frosting turned out to be a perfect compromise.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting
8 to 10 servings
Adapted from 100 Days of Real Food and Weelicious


Bread:
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour (or white whole-wheat flour)
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/3 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup honey or brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup pumpkin puree


How to make:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl whisk together the dry ingredients (flour to salt).

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add eggs, oil, honey (or sugar), vanilla, and pumpkin. Stir together gently with a fork, don't beat it up!

Line standard loaf pan with parchment paper or grease with oil. Add batter.

Bake for approximately 30 – 40 minutes. Check for doneness at 30 minutes. Let cool before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
4 oz. light cream cheese, room temperature
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

How to make:
Beat all ingredients together until smooth. I mixed by hand (what a workout!) but you can use an electric mixer to make it easier (and smoother).

Frost cooled pumpkin bread. I had extra frosting... I guess I could have put on more but I think there will be extra regardless. Slice loaf  (8 - 10 slices) and enjoy!

Recipe: Peanut Butter Cups

Halloween is upon us and so is the relentless marketing of packaged candy. Luckily, my four year old (that has a wicked sweet tooth), knows the stuff in the bags have nothing on the treats we make ourselves. I reference Michael Pollan's rule "Eat all the junk food you want as long as you cook it yourself" all the time when shopping with my kids. They're not only accepting of this, they get excited about getting to make treats at home. The time, effort and ingredients we put into making our treats not only nurtures a healthy relationship for the boys with sweets but creates positive memories they are sure to appreciate for years to come. 

One of my favorite items to receive while trick-or-treating was Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. I was also a sucker (through my 20's and early 30's) for the holiday versions of this candy, you know, the pumpkins, Easter eggs, etc. I still have to resist the urge this time of year not to throw a few Reese's pumpkins in my cart while the boys aren't looking. Well until yesterday that is. When I finally made my own peanut butter cups.

I was originally inspired by my mom earlier this week to make my own. She was looking at all the candy on sale in an ad and mentioned wanting some Reese's Peanut Butter Cups or Kit Kat bars. In an effort to curb her craving and show her homemade treats are far better than store bought ones, I researched recipes and got to work. The results were fantastic. My mom, my boys and my hubby loved these little guys. Oh, and I did too! If you haven't made homemade peanut butter cups yet, I suggest you do. I'm pretty certain you'll love them as much as we do.

Good intentions

I have good intentions, I have for the better part of my life. But the problem is, I have a hard time seeing them through. Some days I feel like a complete failure because of this. I honestly feel like when I die, I will be known as the girl (okay, woman) with the best of intentions BUT... fill in the blanks.

I have to change my success to failure ratio. But from where I'm sitting (imagine a small apartment with crumbs, toys, dishes, other misc clutter and a decent supply of convenience snacks in the cabinet), it seems close to impossible. Do I get stuck because it's truly overwhelming or is it because making homemade mac and cheese instead of grabbing a box (albeit a well researched better than big brand box) half the time or keeping the sink empty and the laundry kept up is just not me? I ponder this every day. One of the few things that keeps me from losing all hope is I know I can't be alone on this.

As mothers, we strive for perfection where there really can't be any. I read a good amount of parenting blogs and food blogs that make it appear that perfection IS a possibility. Come on people, give me a break. But I guess that's why I started Medium Food Mama to begin with. And I suppose this is where I need to focus and continue to help myself and others be okay with giving the kids a Trader Joe's trail mix bar instead of a homemade one every now and then because it was cheaper and less time consuming and occasionally letting the house get to the point it looks like robbers ransacked it (this will be my excuse if someone shows up unexpectedly today by the way). But sometimes I still ask, are these things a reflection of who I really am and are my good intentions worthless? Ugh.

Well now that I've gotten that off my chest, I think I can move forward. My good intentions this week are to make a yummy meatloaf that will make me smile when the kiddos gobble it up, this fennel side dish, a couple quick breads and homemade graham crackers to hand the kids for snack in place of that convenience bar I mentioned earlier, keep the dishes under control, do some laundry and maybe get to the much needed shampooing of the rug. And a few other things of course but you get the picture. Here's to a good week. Deep breath. Fingers crossed.

Ice cream!

I finally bought an ice cream maker! A few months ago I spotted a small and very cute baby blue ice cream maker in a Target ad. I wanted to get it but with Christmas coming up at the time, I didn't want to buy anything extra. But this weekend I decided to go for it!

It was a small investment of $30 that I hope brings us big returns in the form of yummy homemade ice cream. This particular maker is space-friendly (aka small), which is a must around here. The other advantage to its petite nature is it limits the amount of ice cream we can make. Being huge ice cream fans, that's a very good thing. Even though we have ice cream in the freezer pretty much year around, it's still considered a treat.

Like anything else I get the opportunity to make myself, I was most excited about having control over the ingredients. And how cool is it for the boys to help make ice cream? It's another opportunity to teach them about quality ingredients and how much better a treat is when we make it ourselves.

A while back I had stumbled upon a recipe for "cornstarch ice cream" by Mark Bittman. I like Mark Bittman and figured it was worth a shot. The cornstarch replaces the need for eggs making for a non-eggy, lower fat ice cream base. Even though, in some circles, cornstarch can be frowned upon, I'm not opposed to it. I do use arrowroot when possible in place of cornstarch but arrowroot can become slimy when used with dairy. Besides, if Mr. Bittman is down with a little cornstarch, I am too. Here's my version of the original recipe:

Strawberry Buttermilk Cornstarch Ice Cream

1 3/4 cups 1% milk
1/2 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3/4 cups buttermilk
1 cup strawberries, sliced

1. Put 1 1/4 cups milk, the sugar and salt in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook until mixture begins to steam.

2. In a bowl, blend cornstarch and remaining 1/2 cup milk; there should be no lumps. Add cornstarch mixture to pot. Cook, stirring, until it starts to thicken and barely reaches a boil, about 5 minutes. Immediately reduce heat to very low and stir for 5 minutes or so until thick. Stir in vanilla extract.

3. If mixture has lumps, strain it into a bowl. Chill until cool, a couple of hours (you can skip this step if you have a machine with a built-in freezer). When cool or if there are no lumps, pour into an ice cream machine and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Yield: 1 generous pint.

This ice cream came out great. It was a hit with the kids and the hubby. I'm looking forward to making different varieties of the cornstarch ice cream as well as other more typical ice cream bases. Next flavors on deck: Low fat banana then chocolate!

These faces make it all worth it

I get stressed out. Way out. Some days the stress gets to me so intensely I feel like checking myself in to the mental ward - for the betterment of my family.

On these particularly stressful days, I often get the urge to not take the time to make my boys the healthiest snacks or the healthiest meals. Instead I feel like reaching for the nearest box of cereal bars or the microwavable mac & cheese. And you know what? Sometimes I do. I am the medium food mama and all. More importantly though, I'm human.

But with that said, watching my boys enjoy one of my homemade snacks as they did this morning, keeps me motivated even in the most stressful times. I know feeding them real food and teaching them the value of it will not only benefit their growing bodies but create a natural propensity for healthy eating. To this day I crave white flour quesadillas and caramel apples over whole meals and fresh fruit; proof that what you grow up on influences your palate - for life.

Yes, we all crave foods that are less than healthy once in a while but some of us more often than others. My husband for instance grew up with no soda and little to no packaged junk in the house, homemade school lunches and family dinners. He has always preferred healthy food. I thought he was kind of a square at first (15+ years ago) especially when he would give me a grossed out look while I nuked a can of Spaghettios for dinner. Oh and the worst was his lack of desire (need) for dessert. What do you mean NO dessert? OMG. This was especially hard in the early days as I didn't want him to think I was a pig or anything. No girl wants her boyfriend to think that. Am I right? The hubby's natural preference for good food and little desire for junk illustrates my point. So does my preference for the opposite.

Don't get me wrong, hubby likes ice cream, chocolate (thank God), pie and the occasional soda but it's very occasional and he prefers it if we make the pie and the soda is not a Pepsi but a Hansen's. That sort of thing. I enjoy eating this way too but it's not without hard work - daily. I still indulge in foods that comfort me more often than I should. My take on it is, they comfort me because that's what my mama fed me. I know it seems hard to believe but I'm convinced that if she had prepared fresh fruit salads as an after school snack, I'd find comfort in fruit salad to this day.

The smiles on my boys faces while they eat something I made and that's good for them, makes this mission so worth it. Also, the knowledge that what and how they eat now will stick with them for a lifetime is an incredible thing to get the honor to influence.

"All Natural"

We so often see the claim "all natural" on food packaging. A few years back I contacted Snapple about their all natural claims and not surprisingly, they blew me off. The email said something like "Our ingredients meet the necessary requirements to be labeled all natural. If you're looking for something without sugar, we offer a Black & White tea." Hu? Um, okay. I wasn't looking for a sugar free beverage but one that was really all natural. Clearly they didn't have one.

I think we're all aware that claims on products are governed by a very loose set of standards and so much of it is not what it seems. It's our responsibility to look beyond what the box says and in the case of Ben & Jerry's, beyond the pint. I read the following article and was not surprised. However, I was surprised to find out they are owned by Unilever. I had no idea.

Ben & Jerry's making bogus 'all natural' claims, food watchdog says

It's not that I thought they were still the small company they started out as but I guess their marketing has done a great job maintaining that small company feel and I still sorta pictured Ben & Jerry making the ice cream. I know, impossible but still a nice thought.

Anyhow, the point to this post is "all natural" really doesn't mean "all natural." Things that are really all natural don't usually need to be labeled as such. There is so much competition in the food industry and I understand the pressure to make these seemingly harmless claims to make us feel better about buying the product but if they're not true, it's no longer harmless.

Also, regarding Ben & Jerry's specifically, we pay more for their specialty, "all natural" product. But why? If the ingredients are similar to those in a bargain ice cream, what are we paying for? Most definitely not higher quality ingredients but certainly the irresistible and unique flavors no one else offers us. Genius.

We do have other options though. Making our own is likely the most economical and certainly gives us the most control over ingredients or there are ice cream companies that are using quality ingredients, we just need to take a closer look. And remember, everything in moderation. Whether a pint of Ben & Jerry's or a bowl of homemade ice cream, it's all good - in moderation.

B&J Cake Batter ingredients: Cream, Skim Milk, Water, Liquid Sugar (Sugar, Water), Sugar, Wheat Flour, Coconut Oil, Egg Yolks, Soybean Oil, Butter (Cream, Salt), Cocoa (Processed With Alkali), Chocolate Liquor, Natural Flavor, Salt, Guar Gum, Soy Lecithin, Turmeric (Color), Carrageenan