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.

Peanut Butter and Jelly

Never underestimate the PB&J. When made with quality ingredients, it's a nutritious snack or meal for the kids. And you, too. Here are my rules when making a peanut butter and jelly sandwich:

1. Whole grain bread, wrap, etc.

2. Natural peanut butter

3. Organic real fruit spread

Whole grain bread is easy to come by and Jif or like brands are not natural peanut butter. They commonly contain sugar, molasses, hydrogenated vegetable oil, mono and diglycerides. Even the "Natural Jif" is not natural peanut butter. It contains sugar, palm oil and molasses. Pick one that contains just peanuts or just peanuts and salt. There is no need for anything else. You can read an earlier post about peanut butter here for a little more detail.

Now for the jelly/jam/preserves/fruit spread/conserve. Like peanut butter, they are not all created equal. Some are full of artificial ingredients, color and preservatives. Here are some examples:

Smucker's Strawberry Preserves:  Strawberries, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Corn Syrup, Sugar, Fruit Pectin, Citric Acid.

Smucker's Simply Fruit Strawberry: Fruit Syrup, Strawberries, Lemon Juice Concentrate, Fruit Pectin, Red Grape Juice Concentrate Added for color, Natural Flavors.

Smucker's Low Sugar Strawberry: Strawberries, Sugar, Water*, Fruit Pectin, Citric Acid, Locust Bean Gum*,  Potassium Sorbate Added As a Preservative, Calcium Chloride*, RED 40*.  *INGREDIENTS NOT IN REGULAR PRESERVES.

Market Pantry Strawberry Preserves: Strawberries, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Corn Syrup, Sugar, Fruit Pectin, Citric Acid.

Trader Joe's Fresh Strawberry Preserves: Fresh Strawberries, Corn Syrup, Sugar, Pectin, Citric Acid

Dickenson's Strawberry Preserves: Strawberries, Sugar, Corn Syrup, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Pectin, Citric Acid

The ingredients in your jelly/jam/preserves/fruit spread/conserve should be as minimal as possible. Pectin and citric acid are common ingredients in store bought preserves, which is fine for me but so are artificial color, corn syrup and/or high fructose corn syrup, which are not fine for me. Look for preserves with a short ingredients list. Like:

Happy Girl Kitchen, Co Strawberry Jam: Organic Strawberries, Organic Cane Sugar

Santa Cruz Organic Fruit spread: Organic strawberries, organic sugar, fruit pectin, organic fruit and vegetable juice (color), citric acid

365 Organic Strawberry Conserve: Organic strawberries, organic cane sugar, natural fruit pectin, ascorbic acid, citric acid

In my experience you may or may not pay more for a better quality jelly. The prices seem to be comparable with the exception of the big brand organic spreads, they're terribly over priced. Trader Joe's, although not used as an example in the good list, has some affordable options (read the labels though to avoid the one/s with corn syrup) as well.

And, of course, if you or your children have a peanut allergy, seed or other nut butters make a yummy substitute for peanut butter. My favorite is Sunflower Seed Butter. So go ahead, make a PB&J for you and the kiddos, it's nutritious, affordable and fast!

Recipe: Chicken (Tortilla) Soup

There was a sale last week on roast chicken at Whole Foods that I could not pass on: $4.99 each, regularly $9.99 each. I bought two. I figured one would make a nice and easy dinner as is and the other I could use for sandwiches, quesadillas and/or soup. And I made all three. I added Annie's BBQ sauce to the chicken for BBQ chicken quesadillas, I made a simple chicken salad for a sandwich and, my favorite item out of the bunch, a take on chicken tortilla soup.

The soup was easy to make and resulted in a flavorful and filling meal. I adapted this recipe from here. I chose not to use fried tortilla strips or chips but rather serve with warm corn tortillas on the side, more my style. I also added corn and cumin and skipped the cheese. I also didn't top with cilantro only because I did not have any. I liked this soup very much and will definitely make it again. I'm happy to have something new to serve with the burrito and taco dinners I so often make.

Budget update

Between the budget software I purchased (YNAB), the coupons and specials I've been utilizing, our new budget goals are coming together. I set a grocery budget of $125 a week (based on what I've seen others budget) and we came in at $130-ish for week one and are on track to spend about the same this week (week two). Not too bad. And it wasn't until I came back from the store that I realized we already had a pound of 100% grass-fed ground beef in the freezer. I told myself to take inventory before heading out but, like most mornings, I got frazzled and sidetracked on our way out the door. I would have saved nine bucks had I been more focused. In theory, we should see the savings next week by not buying more beef.

As I was reviewing the receipt, I noticed where I may be able to save more next time around. For instance, Kashi cereal. I had a coupon for $1 off of two. The retail price was $3.99 per box at Whole Foods (WF) so I paid $6.98 for two after coupon. But I believe Kashi cereal is cheaper at Target or even Trader Joe's (TJ's) although the selection may be smaller. I will confirm this the next time I'm at the other stores. The other item that would have saved me at least a buck if I had waited to buy it at TJ's is the box of Annie's Shells and Cheese. It costs $2.19 at WF and only .99¢ for TJ's brand of regular mac and cheese. TJ's Organic Shells and Cheese is only $1.29, which would still be a savings of almost a buck. My oldest son insisted on getting the box ("for his lunch today") and to be honest, I wasn't up for the battle he was ready to wage over it if I had said no.

The item we saved big on this week was chicken. WF has an early bird special on Saturday mornings. It can be just about anything and this week it was chicken breasts. Not organic but local, pasture raised chicken for $2.99 a pound. We got six split breasts for $14. We can pay $12 to $14 for just two so this was definitely a great deal. I won't have to buy chicken for two weeks, maybe three, yay! WF also has Friday only specials. Last Friday was organic cherries for $2.99 a pound. I saw them in the store today and they were $5.99 a pound so that was definitely another great deal. The only bummer is our normal shopping day is Sunday (this week it was today, Monday) and the above mentioned specials are on Friday and Saturday. If I wasn't close to the store on those days, it may be a wash but since I am, making three separate trips isn't so bad I guess. Maybe I'll talk to the hubby about moving our big shopping to Saturday mornings? Here's our list from this week's shopping:

Whole Foods:
Clover 2% milk, 2 gallons
Clover 2% milk, half gallon
Clover 1% milk, half gallon
Clover organic yogurt, 4
Fage 0% plain yogurt, 17.6 oz.
Clover Eggs, 1 dozen
100% grass-fed grounf beef, 1.25 pounds
Diestel ground turkey breast, 1 pound
Chicken breast halves, 6 (Saturday early bird special)
Diestel deli turkey, 1/2 pound
Wellshire deli ham, 1/2 pound
Raw almonds, 16 oz.
Roasted unsalted sunflower seeds, 16 oz.
Bananas, 5
Organic cherries, 1 pound (Friday special)
Organic blueberries, 1/2 pint
Organic strawberries, 1 pint
Organic Gala apples, 4
Organic Granny Smith apples, 2
Organic celery, 2 pack
Organic Russet potatoes, 2
Kahsi 7 Whole Grain Flakes
Kashi Indigo Morning
Organic flax fig waffles
Organic flax berry waffles
Annie's Shells and Cheddar
Annie's Cheddar Bunnie

Total: 100.71

I have a little less than $25 to get:
Bread
Cheese
Canned tomatoes
Organic strawberry jam
Natural peanut butter
Organic spinach
Organic spring mix

I'll report back. We also didn't make it to the Farmers' Market this week, boo! I'll also write more on the YNAB software. So far it has helped us avoid a negative balance in our checking, keeps me aware of what we have left in each budget category and where we've overspent. Looking forward to digging deeper into the program and sharing my experience. And just in case anyone is wondering, I have no association with YNAB.  I stumbled upon a post about the software here and purchased it with my own, almost maxed out credit card. :)

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Budget

I'm revamping our budget. I have felt scattered and undisciplined when shopping for groceries for a while now. I go to three different stores as well as the farmers' market. Between meal planning, hunting for the healthier convenience items at the lowest prices and everything else that comes along with being home with my boys (and taking care of two more four days a week), I find myself lost at the moment.

We shop at Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Target and the farmers' market. Trader Joe's has great prices, there's no denying that. But they won't disclose where their private label meat comes from and some of their ground beef identifies up to three possible countries of origin in one package (yuck!) not to mention the only grass-fed beef offered in our local store comes from New Zealand. Their produce and eggs are questionable as well. So I don't buy meat or eggs at Trader Joe's nor produce with the exception of the occasional bag of organic potatoes or lettuce.

So on to Whole Foods. I was listening to a program on sports talk radio and heard the host refer to Whole Foods as "Whole Paycheck." It made me feel better to hear someone that I feel it safe to assume makes a decent salary say this. I still can't help but feel out of my "tax bracket" while shopping there. And regardless of how smart we try to shop, it still results in a significant bill. So frustrating. We buy our meat including lunch meat, eggs, milk, some produce and the occasional prepared item. Prepared food = lots of money, I know.

Next stop is Target. Besides household basics, I buy bread, pasta, sometimes coffee, Annie's Whole Wheat Bunnies and Greek yogurt. They have the best prices on all of these items almost all of the time. For instance Whole Foods sells my favorite Greek yogurt for $1.69 each and the same yogurt is $1.29 at Target. Adds up when you're buying five at a time, every week.

Finally, the Farmers' Market. Sometimes produce is less at the Farmers' Market and sometimes it's more. Ultimately, I feel better about buying my produce there even if it's more because I know exactly where it came from and I'm supporting the farmers. And my boys always see or learn something new, that makes it even more worth it. Besides fruits and vegetables, we occasionally buy beef and bread from the Farmers' Market. The beef is local and 100% grass-fed. The meat is some of the best tasting meat I've ever had. It is a bit higher in price than the local grass-fed beef sold at Whole Foods. The only time we don't buy the beef at the Farmers' Market is if our schedule that day prevents us from going home directly after the market or keeps us from the market entirely. In those cases, it's added to the Whole Foods list.

Just writing about this is giving me anxiety, that's how overwhelmed I've become. My first step to feeling in control again is using a new budget software. My hope is it will help me create a new budget and keep us out of the "hole." Next is coupon clipping and mapping out sale items. I just hope the $1.50 I spend on the newspaper to get the coupons gives me more than that back in savings. Finally, meal planning must be consistent. Is there a meal planning software? I bet there is, I'll have to look into it. A free download would be ideal!

I have followed other budget series on other blogs and certainly appreciated the information but haven't been able to make it work as they seem to have. Specifically, 100 Days of Real Food's series. I was so happy when the author decided to do a budget pledge because I was getting a little irritated reading about eating real food from someone who was obviously not short on cash. But even with the information published, I still question if it was truly $125 a week, all week, every week. Not to be a skeptic but I have tried and have consistently failed at buying all organic, real and/or whole foods for my family of four for that amount. Maybe it's geography? Maybe it's something else? I don't know. Regardless, I'm going to give it a go again. Motivated by the absolute need to reduce our outgoing and the perceived success over at 100 Days of Real Food, let's do this!

I'll post about the results as they come in. Posting will help me keep on top of things sorta like Weight Watchers weekly weigh-ins do! Looking forward to getting started.

Carrageenan

Carrageenan is a seaweed extract. It's a common and cheap food additive used as a thickener and emulsifier in ice cream, yogurt, cottage cheese, soy milk and other processed food products. It is also a vegetarian and vegan alternative to gelatin.

I recently read, in a weekly newsletter I subscribe to from Dr. Weil, that based on results of animal studies, Carrageenan has been tagged by some as an unsafe product that may cause ulcerations and cancers of the gastrointestinal tract. I did a little more research and found other articles that say the same. "I think the evidence is compelling to avoid carrageenan in any product, and especially if you have irritable bowel disease." Andrew Weil, M.D.

I eat low fat dairy often. After reading more on Carrageenan, it kept coming up in low fat products. This prompted me to take a look at the items I had in my fridge. And, yes, there it was. In the cottage cheese and sour cream. Both of the low fat variety and both from Trader Joe's. I know that it is better to use the real and/or full fat versions of these kind of foods and do avoid fat free items, except Greek yogurt and avoid fat free and low fat cheese because of the junk added to them but as I mentioned, I do eat dairy often and like to offset some of it with low fat varieties. Luckily my favorite yogurts (low fat and 0%) do not contain Carrageenan.

I was able to find a few options for low fat cottage cheese and sour cream. Not surprisingly at Whole Foods. My husband picked up a low fat cottage cheese from Kalona Super Natural. This stuff was the cream of the crop. Organic, reduced fat (2%) and grass fed. The taste was fantastic. And I usually don't eat cottage cheese straight (I use it in recipes like lasagna) but I would consider it if it was Kalona. It happened to be on sale for $3.29 for a 16 oz. container. I believe the everyday price is $3.99. I also found that Daisy Brand low fat cottage cheese and light sour cream do not contain Carrageenan. I picked up a 24 oz. cottage cheese for $3.59. A little cheaper and a little larger. I haven't had a chance to try it yet though. I think I've heard some decent things about Daisy Brand products but maybe only from their ads and famous jingle. Not too sure.

Among the many articles I came across on Carrageenan, I wanted to share the one from the TLC Cooking website. Click here to check it out. It's a quick read and I like the info. It sends a message about processed foods that a lot of people don't think about. I especially like the mention of "food scientists" and the "normal cook." And the part about Carragennan being "completely natural" reminds us that just because something is from a natural source initially or even entirely, doesn't make it good for us.

One day my family and I will eat grass-fed dairy 100% of the time but until our budget evolves, I will at minimum avoid buying dairy containing Carrageenan. Now onto researching Locust Bean Gum! :)

Flavored water

I had a hard time sleeping last night because of something I read about. It was an article published almost two months ago that I didn't stumble upon until yesterday. It was about high levels of lead found in a long list of food and drinks for children. The most irritating part, besides the lead of course, is some of the brands implicated. Brands such as Earth's Best Organic, 365 Organic and Trader Joe's Organic. I pay more for the organic versions of juice because I want the best for my son. I know organic doesn't always mean better (i.e. processed foods, etc.) but I think it's normal to have a certain expectation with the organic label when it comes to fruits, vegetables and food that is made specifically for our little ones.

I owe my restless night specifically to Trader Joe's and their Organic Apple Juice. I have been giving Gavin this apple juice since he turned one. That's roughly two and a half years. Yeah, I know, juice isn't the best thing to give kids on a regular basis... we have always put half water half juice but he has it practically everyday. To think that I've been happily handing over a sippy cup of lead laced apple juice to my son for over two years makes me a little sick and has me considering a doctor's appointment to have his lead levels checked.

This serves as a reality check for me. First, less juice for Gavin. Second, I will not feel bad about researching and researching and researching some more the food and drink we give to our kids. Because honestly, some people look at me like I'm crazy sometimes because I won't let my kids have a Happy Meal, a Ball Park frank (or any other who knows what filled casing), a can of Spaghetti-O's, or non-organic and/or non-local produce. Peer pressure among parents is fierce and comparable to high school peer pressure - seriously. And finally, my passion to seek out and share alternatives to common items to help all of us not feel so darn helpless has been reinforced tenfold.

Now on to a related recent find. I love Jamie Oliver. My husband and I have watched him since The Naked Chef days. I'm a follower of his Food Revolution movement and recommend checking it out if you haven't already. I also follow his tweets (@jamie_oliver) and that's how I was turned on to his flavored water recipes.

I think flavored water is a great alternative to juice. I particularly like the orange and berry suggestions. I think Gavin will dig it. I pay between $3.49 and $3.99 for a gallon of juice (no extra charge for the lead). We have a Brita water pitcher and the fruit we'll need to buy weekly is likely going to be the same cost of juice. Both my husband and I have wanted to cut back on Gavin's juice consumption for a while now so I guess stumbling upon the article on lead was the push we needed to make the change.

Priorities

Thought it would be nice to share how we currently prioritize the where, what and how of our food shopping. Doing this will also help me see where I can make changes/improvements.

Meat, poultry: Organic and/or local. We purchase a minimal amount of meat and buy it from the farmers' market or Whole Foods. Holding Ranch is the farm we buy from at our farmers' market and Whole Foods offers meat and poultry from farms in places like Sonora and Sonoma.

"We still do meat and poultry the old-fashioned way, when people cared where their meat came from, how it was raised and how it was processed. This is from the Whole Foods site, I liked it and wanted to share. You can read the entire section here. I know Whole Foods has its faults and has become a little bit of a giant but it's one of the better choices we have.

Dairy, Eggs: We buy Clover Stornetta brand milk, yogurt and eggs from Whole Foods. We don't buy the organic because that's one place we've decided to compromise for budget sake. I trust Clover's farming practices enough to skip the organic. A note about eggs: I would love to buy farm fresh eggs but at $6 a dozen we can't swing it right now.

Cheese: Is that considered dairy too? Yeah but I'm giving it its own section anyhow. We buy cheese from Trader Joe's because of price and they claim no hormones, etc. I'm still researching what companies TJ's uses to produce their food. I stopped buying meat from there a long time ago because one, I got a package of chicken that was horribly bad well before the sell by date and two, they won't disclose where they get their meat and poultry from due to "confidentiality." Not acceptable. Now with that in mind, what about the cheese I'm buying? Could be from lousy producers I know but I still have some faith in their organization and feel comfortable for the time being getting it from them.

Produce: Organic or pesticide free preferably local. Again, we buy from the farmers' market or Whole Foods. The farmers' market is usually a better value unless WF is having a sale.

Bread: This is an item that I flip flop on. I prefer the bread from Great Harvest at the farmers' market but it's $5.50 a loaf. With us not compromising on meat, poultry and produce, we can't afford it on a regular basis. Next in line is Rudi's Organic brand at $4.39, still pricey. Then there's Organic Whole Wheat from TJ's at $2.99, which is the right price and decent but I triple check the date and the loaf itself for mold as I've had freshness issues more than a few times with their bread.

Boxed food, canned goods: Yes, there's still a good amount of this stuff in our pantry. I do my best to pick items with a decent ingredient list and high nutritional value. I buy at WF and TJ's.

I will go into more details on the specific items we buy and prices at a later time. So how do you prioritize your grocery shopping? Feel free to share your method.