In Pursuit of a Breakfast Cookie

I’m always in pursuit of finding things my family will eat for a quick breakfast on the go.  Muffins and burritos are a standby; but I had it on my brain the other day to find a breakfast cookie that would have some healthy qualities for a good start to the day.  Especially on weekends when we are sometimes out the door very early to get to a soccer game.   I wanted something that will have some carbs for energy and some protein.  Kind of like having a slice of whole wheat toast with a little peanut butter, which is great before a game.  But not that, just for the sake of having variety, does that make sense?

The first thing I did was look at my friend Allison’s blog and her recipe for a breakfast cookie.  She does a great job of packing in all kinds of good stuff.  Problem is, I’ve got picky eaters who have already snubbed homemade granola bars or muffins with too much stuff like nuts or dried fruit.  I looked at oatmeal cookie recipes because I knew they love those and so I thought maybe I would just add a few things to increase the bulk of an oatmeal cookie.  Then I also looked at another breakfast cookie recipe and decided to mainly use that, but consider the base of an oatmeal cookie and the health qualities of Allison’s cookie.

The results are pretty good as far as taste is concerned and there’s room for improvement and making variations to increase nutritional qualities.  And I suppose it's not exactly a cookie, the texture is much more like the top of a muffin.  But that’s the best part of a muffin anyway, right?  I actually started with 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda and then I looked at the batter and was nervous it would all run together, so I added more flour and another ½ teaspoon of baking soda.  So I think that gives it a cake-like texture.  If my peanut butter jar wasn't close to empty, I would have added some and if I had people who liked nuts in things I would have added chopped nuts.  I could probably add raisins and they would like them and one of my kids would have loved it with mini chocolate chips.  What I like is the slight banana flavor with the molasses and the oats give it a crunch.  There’s lots of room to be creative and experiment.  The bottom line for me is that although it’s still got quite a bit of sugar (which I think could be reduced), I tried to boost it’s nutritional value with some more protein, fiber and iron.  I can use this as a benchmark to continue to improve it from here.

Oatmeal Breakfast Cookie

Adapted from All Recipes
Makes about 24 depending on the size of your scoop

1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 c. brown sugar, packed
1 c. sugar
1 very ripe banana
1/4 c. molasses
1 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
3 heaping tablespoons ground flax
1/3 cup vanilla almond milk
2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups quick cooking oats
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda

Heat oven to 350.
In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together the butter, oil and sugar until incorporated.  Then add banana, molasses, eggs and vanilla, mix well and then add the ground flax and almond milk and mix together at medium speed until incorporated.

In a separate bowl combine the flours, oats, salt, cinnamon and baking soda.  Combine the flours with the sugar mixture in portions, mixing with each addition just until there are no pockets of flour.

Drop spoonfuls of the batter on a parchment or foil lined baking sheet leaving ample space between each as it spreads while baking.

Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until just browned on the edges and not wet in the center.

After they cool, wrap each individual cookie to store in the fridge or freezer.  It takes just 8-10 seconds to heat one in the microwave, maybe a few more seconds if it is frozen.  You could even try warming it in the toaster oven which would make it a little crispy on the outside, but soft on the inside.

What I Did this Summer

I had all the intentions of keeping up with the blog all summer. I posted before the July 4th holiday and after that our summer just flew by and I hardly had the chance to sit and write. I thought I would share some photos of things I made this summer and a few links and with kids back at school I'm slowly getting back to it.

Fried Chicken and Waffles





Strawberries!







Filipino Buko (coconut) pie







Made Filipino egg rolls (lumpia) with my oldest







Fabulous Strawberry Pie!







And a sparkling chocolate cake for my birthday girl!







Here's a few links I've come across and wanted to pass along-

A few iPhone apps that are useful for being organized for back to school.

A muffin recipe and back to school lunch and snack ideas from The Meal Makeover Moms

Because my life has become increasingly busy managing 2 kids in school and a new baby, I'm working on some ideas for changing how I cook and manage my kitchen and trying new recipes. I will try to get back to my weekly posts soon. I swear. :)

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Simple Grilled Tilapia

Tilapia is a nice, inexpensive white and fairly firm fish that is mild in flavor.  So it's versatile.  I like to use it to make fish tacos and I also like that it grills quickly and with little fuss.  This recipe is really a no-brainer and nothing fancy, just simple and fresh tasting.

Grilled Tilapia with an asparagus, carrot and snap pea stir fry and green salad.  Simple Summer.

Grilled Tilapia
4 tilapia fillets
2 tbl extra virgin olive oil
Juice from ½ a lemon
1 clove garlic, minced
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

In a small bowl, whisk olive oil, lemon juice and garlic together.  Place fish in a shallow baking dish and pour lemon juice mixture over, be sure to flip them over to be properly coated with marinade.  Place fish in refrigerator for 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, prepare grill; oil grates and heat to medium high heat.  Season fish with salt and pepper, place on grill and cook for 3 minutes per side until no longer opaque and slightly charred.  Use a good wide spatula to flip the fish, if the grates are nicely oiled it should be no problem to flip, the fish is firm enough to stay intact.  Or if you have a grilling basket and you like to use it, go for it.


Variation- swap lemon juice for lime, add a sprinkle of chili powder or your preferred taco seasoning mix and you have grilled fish for tacos.

Product Review- Newton Fruit Thins

The latest opportunity I was given in the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program was to try Newton Fruit Thins. I was sent a package of the Cranberry Citrus Oat.  I really had no idea what to expect, I actually really like the traditional Fig Newton and some of the other Newton flavors, and I thought maybe it would still be a soft, but thin fruit cookie.  But no, thin means crisp in this case and luckily, I am someone who likes crisp cookies.  In general, I'm not hung up on textures.  I don't discriminate against one texture or another, I guess I like them all.  I digress, anyway...Newton Fruit Thins, are light and crispy with flecks of fruit, in this case; cranberry and it had a hint of orange flavor.  It was also a bit nutty in taste and texture since it contains oat.  I really liked them.  My kids were hesitant, but seemed to like them after trying a couple.  The nutritional information boasts 8 grams of whole grains per serving, which I think is 3 cookies.
I haven't tried the other flavors; Blueberry Brown Sugar, Chocolate Raspberry and Fig and Honey, but I'm thinking the next one I'd try is the Chocolate Raspberry.  These were great to pack as a snack when we were out all day for a soccer tournament.  And I was thinking that crumbled up and sprinkled with some Greek yogurt as an afternoon snack would be very yummy.
So if you pass these by in the supermarket, I would say give them a try and let me know what you think.

Things We Love

This section is devoted to being a comprehensive resource for products and services we love.  Please share with us anything you love and don't see listed here.
Magazines

Bon Appetit- Besides recipes, the magazine features interviews, travel and/or restaurant articles and features about products.
Cook’s Illustrated - Consider this magazine the Consumer Reports for cooking.  No advertisements which means they review and rate both kitchen equipment and food products.  Plus provide excellent articles and detailed recipes.  The website is also full of great information but requires a paid subscription.

Everyday Food - Martha Stewart's magazine for the everyday home cook.  Plenty of easy recipes, often more realistic to make than what you would find in Martha Stewart Living. 

Food Network Magazine- Features a lot of recipes, plus articles, profiles of the network chefs and entertaining ideas.
Real Simple - For everything from home decor to health and finance.

Cooking Light - Very popular magazine that often takes traditional recipes and makes them lower in fat and/or calories.

Shape - Great fitness magazine that also features interviews, fashion and cooking.

 

Cook Books
Paula Deen's My First Cookbook
Williams-Sonoma Kids in the Kitchen: Fun Food
I'm Just Here for the Food: Food + Heat = Cooking
Everyday Food: Great Food Fast
The New Best Recipe: All-New Edition
Joy of Cooking: 75th Anniversary Edition - 2006
Serious Barbecue: Smoke, Char, Baste, and Brush Your Way to Great Outdoor Cooking

Products and Services

Contigo BPA Free Kids Autoseal 2-Pack, Set of 2, Girls Colors

Snapware and Container Store for pantry organization
Reusies- reuseable sandwich and snack baggies
Easy Lunch Boxes- Great re-useable containers that are much less expensive than others on the market.
Get Natured - A blog for living a whole health lifestyle.
Pampered Chef- Outstanding cooking tools, cookbooks and seasonings.

Chef Mark- Remarkable Palate- Personal Chef Services in NYC, plus a great blog with audio cooking tips
Chefs Catalog- Huge catalog of cooking tools and equipment 
 

Food Products

Penzey’s Spices
Trader Joe’s Truffle Brownie Mix- we like to bake from scratch, but this mix is outstanding!

Trader Joe’s Carne Asada or Tri-tip Asada (watch the sodium content, but it tastes great)

Aidell’s Sausages

Aidell’s Teriyaki Chicken Meatballs
Amy’s Organics Bean & Cheese Burritos
Costco Rotisserie Chicken
Everett & Jones BBQ Sauce
Cowgirl Creamery Cheese (SO GOOD!)
Cal Tex Cattle Cooperative (Sacramento area local, grass fed Angus beef)

Farm Fresh to You - Organic produce delivery, commonly referred to as a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture)

Non-Food Related
Chicks-n-Chickens - Lullaby exercises for mama and baby
Etsy - GREAT place to shop for handmade items.  Wonderful for unique gifts, especially for hard to shop people.
Celtic Cloths- Fabric retailer plus all the supplies you need for making your own cloth diapers

Product Review- Magnum Ice Cream Bars

Right off the bat I must confess that I love ice cream. I have a major sweet tooth and baking is my first love, but I never pass up ice cream. I actually love to make ice cream, so look to see some posts from me with recipes this summer.

So, as a member of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, the new premium ice cream bars, Magnum provided the opportunity to try their product, I jumped at it. I chose their Double Caramel which is vanilla bean ice cream dipped in chocolate, then that is dipped in caramel and then dipped in chocolate again. Yum, right? Right! I am always a fan of chocolate and caramel in combination, so when given a choice I'm always going to pick that over something all chocolate or just chocolate and vanilla. It was delicious; the chocolate coating was not a fake waxy flavor, it tasted like chocolate. The caramel in between did not drip too much, but it wasn't firm and chewy. The vanilla ice cream was not a heavy super premium, which I love, but it was a nice creamy vanilla bean. It worked for this bar and tasted good.
Magnum bars come three in a package, which is not enough if you have a family, you'd have to purchase more boxes. They are $5 or less per box, I saw them for $3.86 at Walmart, which I think is a reasonable price for a good size and higher quality ice cream bar. I hope to see them in a larger "family" package or maybe sold at Costco in larger volume. If you love ice cream and ice cream treats like I do, definitely give these a try this summer.

All About Artichokes

Chef Elisa is based in Denver, CO and is a caterer and a chef with Whole Foods Market.

I enjoyed my first artichoke of the Spring recently,and it got me thinking.  I grew up eating artichokes and I have fond memories of this unique little piece of produce, which is actually a thistle.   I remember savoring the ritual of dipping each leaf into Best Foods mayonnaise, scraping my teeth across it to enjoy that small bite of unique flavor.   And most importantly, the delicious heart that lies inside, a prize awarded for your patience in deconstructing the little globe one piece at a time.
I’ve encountered a lot of people who have never eaten a whole, fresh artichoke.  Many people have only eaten the hearts (usually from a can) in pasta and pizza.   But I think everyone should enjoy an artichoke, especially when they are at their peak in Spring.  If you have never tried one and are a little put off at the idea of having to pull your food apart leaf by leaf and scrape the “meat” off of it, you may be encouraged by the artichoke’s health properties.  In researching this article, I was pleasantly surprised to find that artichokes contain cynarin, which is a “phenolic acid compound… that stimulates digestion, protects the liver, and lowers triglycerides and cholesterol.”  So you can feel better about slathering those leaves with butter, mayonnaise or aioli knowing that the artichoke can naturally help your HDL/LDL ratio!

I think the artichoke is best simply steamed, but boiling also works well.  Wash it well, trim the end of the stem and snip off any thorny points on the leaves if you like.   Put a few inches of water in the bottom of your pot, put the artichokes in the steamer basket and in about 30 minutes (depending on the size and toughness of your artichoke) you will be ready to enjoy Spring’s bounty!  To determine if it is cooked, simply poke a fork into the stem at the base of the artichoke, it should be able to slide in and be removed easily.
Every once in a while I like to relive my childhood memories by enjoying an artichoke with just plain old mayonnaise.  It was good enough for me at 10 years old, and it is good enough now!  However, the chef in me really can’t be satisfied with plain mayo all the time.  Usually I like to dress up my mayo with some crushed fresh garlic and lots of lemon juice, usually called an aioli but I take a shortcut and use prepared mayo instead of making my own!  You could put practically anything into your mayo – how about some pesto to pay homage to the artichoke’s Italian roots, or some chopped chipotle peppers in adobo sauce for a little spice.  If you’re ever feeling ambitious, try making a stuffing with breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese and herbs, spoon a little between each leaf and then steam the artichoke until cooked through.  There are a number of simple recipes available on the website for the California Artichoke Advisory Board.
So the next time you’re perusing the produce at your grocery store, don’t be afraid to reach for one of those thistles and try something new.  They’re delicious AND nutritious, and you might even get your little ones to eat them on account of how fun it is to play with your food!

Read more at Suite101: Cynarin: A Compound in Artichokes Reduces Cholesterol and Supports Digestion
Artichoke recipes at : http://www.artichokes.org/recipes.html