Successful Spelt Substitution

Once again I have stolen a picture from the internet. By the time Simeon was taken care of and breakfast was done we weren't waiting for photo shoots! This is similar to our Saturday breakfast, except ours was better! Why? Because our waffles were whole grain. Yuck you say, bad attitude I say. I made a straight substitution, whole spelt flour for the all purpose flour the recipe called for. Being I had little time (until my child's next feeding) and Daniel and I were hungry I kept it simple. I used a recipe out of The Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book. I must say I have better waffle recipes, but they require an overnight rise. Here is a pancake recipe I love, Sourdough silver dollar pancakes. These can't be beat, but require some prep the night before.

At any rate the quick fix waffles were very good this morning. Spelt flour is lighter in color than whole wheat and has a milder flavor. It is perfect for quick breads, muffins, cookies, and pancakes or waffles. Try it yourself, be sure to get whole spelt flour and be sure it is fresh. Here's a link to a guide to whole grain storage. Now to clean the mess up...

Soak those grains

So my friend Amber was so kind to send me a gift, a cookbook entitled Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. Since I'm working this week I haven't had enough time to read and digest much of it. Ms. Fallon presents a lot of interesting ideas, some are new to me(canola oil is a man-made danger), some are now commonly held by the nutrition field (eat much less sugar and refined flour), and some I know something about but feel like I could research some more. By the way I have never heard that canola oil is dangerous before and there definitely needs to be research done on this.

One of these ideas that I knew a little about has to do with the phytates in whole grains. In nutrition school we were taught that whole grains contain phytates and in your GI these phytates can bind up minerals like iron and calcium and prevent you from digesting them. What I didn't know is you can do things to inactivate some or most of the phytates! And because I am sceptical of one person coming up with new information I did some research. Here's a few abstracts I found on the subject: here and here.

The most effective technique is to soak the grains or flour in an acidic medium at room temp before cooking. Hmm sounds like a bread starter to me. Most of my breads are actually prepared with a starter, because this improves the flavor and makes them easier to knead. And now it sounds like starters are good for another reason too!

I am going to start soaking my add in grains, like the oats and spelt berries overnight before I cook them, with a little lemon juice or buttermilk in the water. If I can just remember to do this I'll be doing good. If you want to try this at home it would be easy & your grains would cook quicker. I'm thinking of oatmeal in specific, and this technique is fine for whole, rolled, cracked, or completely milled (flour) grains. Another benefit of this is your grains will cook quicker in the morning!

There's good in all vegetables

The poor poor vegetables we've blacklisted: potatoes, carrots, celery, corn, and iceberg lettuce. And what have they done to deserve this ill treatment? Well nothing, they're just being themselves. Seriously this is a great article I read on these blacklisted veggies. I hope that we start seeing more information like this come out. What a concept, instead of only eating expensive "superfoods" maybe we should eat a well balanced variety of foods. Even non- superfoods have wonderful nutrients to offer us. Just a thought.

The food industry is misleading us again...

This article was shocking to me. I personally have checked restaurants online menus to find the healthier selections before I eat out. And working in the food industry myself I am always honest with customers. If you are going to make something that is high in fat & calories you need to tell people. The thought occured to me, if they are going to lie about the "healthy options" how much are they lying about the "traditional meals". Shame on those restaurants.

Yet another reason to cook & eat at home.
-If you prepare the food then you know what is in it.
-If you eat at home you are less likely to overeat.
-Plus I've mentioned before the spiritual connection I believe exists from preparing your own food.

Grocery $ are too high!

Everytime I hear about how high groceries are I cringe. I buy groceries for our family & I buy ingredients to bake for the market. And with gas up and medical expenses up we don't need anything else to go up.

Until now I haven't been very affected by price increases. My organic stone-ground flour has stayed about the same (at this point anyway). The dried fruits I use have always been fairly high, I buy unsulfured because sulfur present in most dried fruits inhibits the yeast. I use other higher end ingredients because they taste better, such as fresh ginger in my cookies and aged Asiago cheese in my Asiago bread. I figure if my customers want a run of the mill cookie they'll buy it at Sam's where it is cheaper.

But egg prices going up is starting to be problematic for me. Also milk prices have gone up 30- 40%. This is frustrating to me; I really want to offer the best prices I can to my customers but still bake quality healthy goods. My bread prices range from $4- $7. More expensive than the grocery perhaps but my bread is homemade, fresh, and delicious. And buying more expensive groceries is still cheaper than eating out!

So what are some tips for saving money on groceries:

• be like my Granny & PopPop shop the sales , having a deep freezer would be helpful
• buy in bulk: you can get healthy grains, fruits, sweeteners, ect at our local coop Rainbow for far cheaper than buying them individually packaged (the items are sold in bulk bins but you get as much as you want)
• buy less packaged drinks: I love my new aluminum water bottle as soon as I drink the water from it I refill it and stick it in the fridge. I grab it on my way out the door if I'm going to be gone for awhile. Although it was $20, I'll save that and more since I'm not buying bottled drinks.
  
• buy seasonal produce: La strawberries are in season and can be found for reasonable prices at farmers markets.
  

I pray that these grocery price increases do not continue. But our economy is strong and we are still far better off than many people in the world.

Phony Egg Claims

I came upon an article today that was distressing. This article about eggs that was pretty good, she didn't quote many actual studies but it was a decent piece. At the bottom she said that:

As for fortified eggs from hens whose feed is enriched with extra omega-3 fatty acids-- a fat that is good for your heart, your brain and your joints -- they may not be all that they're cracked up to be. Lab tests commissioned by the Center for Science in the Public Interest found that some of the eggs, said to have come from hens that had eaten feed rich in omega-3s -- contained less of the beneficial fat than advertised.

This was shocking to me as I have been using (a lot) of these high omega 3 eggs in my baked goods. They do cost more & I have been passing that cost to my customers believing that I was baking a healthier product. So it sounds to me after doing more reading that they need to do some more studies before it can be proved that high omega 3 eggs are better for you.

I have been buying most of my eggs from a local vendor at the market. His chickens are truly cage free (or pastured) & are treated more like pets. So I'm supporting the local economy, getting a great fresh product, and the chickens are very happy. It seems to me that happy free range chickens would produce healthier eggs than conventional chicken "farmers" who stuff the chickens in little cages, feed them hormones & antibiotics to keep them producing.

Here's a great article from Mother Earth News (yes does sound a bit hippy:) On the last page they reference several studies that support the health benefits of pastured eggs over conventional. Here's a few:

• A 1999 study by Barb Gorski at Pennsylvania State University found that eggs from pastured birds had 10 percent less fat, 34 percent less cholesterol, 40 percent more vitamin A, and four times the omega-3s compared to the standard USDA data.
• In 2003, Heather Karsten at Pennsylvania State University compared eggs from two groups of Hy-Line variety hens, with one kept in standard crowded factory farm conditions and the other on mixed grass and legume pasture. The eggs had similar levels of fat and cholesterol, but the pastured eggs had three times more omega-3s, 220 percent more vitamin E and 62 percent more vitamin A than eggs from caged hens.

These studies are enough reason for me to pay a few more dollars per dozen eggs.

All about the fiber

I'm introducing my Double Yum (bran) Muffins. Bran in parenthesis b/c some people are afraid of healthy things like (bran). Males age 14-50 need 38g fiber/day and females that age need 25g fiber/day according to the US dietary guidelines. These muffins with 6g fiber will help you get there. Let's quickly review why we need all this fiber.

According to the American Dietetic Association fiber is important because it:

• lowers bad (LDL) cholesterol
• helps our GI move things along normally
• slows digestion & makes us feel full
• can prevent & help manage these diseases: Diabetes, heart disease, & diverticulitis
• may prevent cancer
  

These muffins are really good & good for you. They are have a roboust whole grain taste with bits of sweet and tart apricots. The addition of fresh spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, & cloves) kicks the flavor up a notch. With a double dose of bran: high fiber wheat bran and heart healthy oat bran, not to mention the additional fiber from the dried apricots & flax seed.

Ingredients: organic stone-ground white whole wheat flour, dried unsulfured apricots, oat bran, succanat, wheat bran, organic stone-ground spelt flour, cage free eggs, blackstrap molasses, canola oil, dried buttermilk powder, flax seed, mechanically pressed palm oil, organic cane sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, cloves

Nutrient information- 1muffin: 204kCal, 8g fat (1.5g sat fat, 3g monounsat, 2.5g polyunsat) 33g carb
( 6g fiber, 14g sugar), 6g protein
**approximate calculation- not actually tested**

Fats can be very confusing

Today I was not supposed to be spending hours researching the best fats to cook with. But my plans to be productive were altered when I was stumped by a recipe. I'm working on a new muffin recipe for the market. I am going to have Double Yum (Bran) Muffins in less than a month. So I'm starting to work up a recipe. This usually begins by me selecting a recipe after searching for a lengthy time period. Then I change it so much it becomes more my recipe than anyone elses. So this recipe is a "6 week bran muffin" (I will not have the batter around for 6 weeks:). Because I do so much baking it will be handy to have a batter that is good for longer than a week.

So my recipe calls for shortening. Normally I would say no way and switch out for canola oil- my choice for heart healthy cooking. But this is a longer sitting batter so maybe some shortening might help the texture of my muffin. I have some Spectrum organics "mechanically pressed organic palm oil" . They call their product " a healthy, trans-fat free alternative to traditional shortening". Is it? As someone that has had some nutrition classes I know saturated fats are healthier than hydrogenated fats found in conventional shortening. I searched a good bit and the best I could find was Dr. Andrew Weil saying that palm oil contains vitamin E and is better than the evil palm kernal oil. And this product has 6g sat fat/ 1Tbsp. So in the quantity that I'm using it in my recipe each muffin will have 0.75g sat fat. That is really not much at all.

If you read my post on butter being not so bad for you then you understand my confusion over the choice of fats. In the nutrition realm it is agreed on that Trans fats are bad bad. I don't use any of those. Saturated fats are out of favor, but in baking they have their place. Butter is great for flavor and texture; too much of it is too many calories... weight gain... lots of health problems in general. And there is some conflicting research out there concerning what fats are the best for you. Chocolate has a high quantity of saturated fats and it is "good for you". There is a good bit of research showing that omega 3 fatty acids are good for our hearts, brains, ect. So I am choosing to use fats that are high in these: such as canola oil and flax seed.

I'm using canola oil for the remainder of the fat in the recipe. I chose that oil because it has a good amount of omega 3 fatty acids. The spectrum website is slightly confusing on this matter. Of course they would like me to buy their walnut oil for my baking (considerately more expensive than my canola) but their is little difference in the omega 3 fatty acid content of walnut and canola oil. I can tell you this because of several hours I spent digging up the facts! The USDA database rules again!

You want the numbers...

I've had several customers request nutritional analyses on my bakery goods. So I analyzed my Toffee biscotti recipe using my nutrition software. If you are interested go to the Toffee biscotti post.

It wasn't as easy as it should have been, but I'm fairly confident that it is a good approximation. I would have analyzed all my recipes already if not for several obstacles:
1. my items are handmade so the portions aren't exact
2. the bread doesn't come pre-sliced
3. my analysis software does not contain all my specialty ingredients in its database
4. I am not required by law to have nutritional information b/c I am a "mom & pop" operation, to have real nutrition info I would need to have my food sent off and physically tested

All that said I'm glad to provide some information. On my biscotti I have listed the information for a serving size of 1 large biscotti (or sometimes 2 small) equal to 1/12 the recipe size. And when I get the bread analyzed I will list the numbers for a portion of the bread- your slices may be bigger or smaller than mine. But hopefully my analysis will be helpful.

Local Mill

How many times have you said I wish there was a local mill close to me? OK so everyone has a different dream.

For those interested there is a "working water powered grist mill" in Rogers, Arkansas by the name of War Eagle Mill, https://wareaglemill.com/. I would love to get away one weekend and visit this place, hint hint Daniel. It even has an attached restaurant called The Bean Palace. Bags of stone ground flour and hot bean soup what more could you want?
So this mill grinds their own stone ground flours that they sell at the mill or online. The flours that I have tried have been fresh and I've had good results baking with them. This place even bags their flour in cloth sacks! How cool is that? They're sturdy and colorful. You can reuse them maybe for giftwrap. Additionally their shipping costs are affordable. So if you're looking for a local, affordable source for stone ground flours try War Eagle Mill.

Use what you're paying for!

Yeah Uncle Sam is a little intense I know. I want to let my friends know about the wonderful tool we have available from the government. This is the USDA database at: http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/.

This is a great tool that I use all the time. You can put in a food (ex. oatmeal) and choose from the list given. Then you select the portion and you get a very complete list of what's in the food (vitamin, fat, fiber...). No every food you can buy isn't listed but many foods are. I use this to help me decide what ingredients I want to use (ex. is there a big difference between stone rolled organic oats and old fashioned steel rolled oats).

And you can use it to search for foods rich in a certain nutrient (iron, calcium...). Did you know that clams are the food most nutrient dense in iron? This is a great resource, most nutrition analysis programs use this database. Your tax dollars pay for it might as well use it!

Daily soapbox: Meat Thermometer

OK so when I check my daily nutrition news this is what I see: food poisoning, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/22/AR2008012200349_2.html. This article is pretty scary, it is about long term affects of food poisoning. Arthritis, kidney failure, and paralysis are very serious.

I knew about many of them b/c of my lab background. After seeing the picture from the clinical laboratory and then food prep side I know that food poisoning is nothing to play with. Most chicken in the grocery store has Campylobacter that is a fact. I don't remember the percentage of Salmonella contamination but it is "normal flora" in chickens. After processing sometimes some nasty Salmonella will be shrink wrapped with the chicken you take home from the store. And we all hear about the ground beef recalls due to E.coli.


Believe me I'm not saying to avoid buying meat. The easiest way to check if something is done is to get a reliable meat thermometer and cook your meat to the recommended temperatures. Once I got ours I wished I had bought one a long time ago. If you don't get a thermometer you will either undercook your meat and risk possible infection or overcook it and eat dry meat like we used to do. And little holes from the probe of the thermometer are far preferable to slashing the meat to see if it's done (also like we did pre-thermometer days). We use the CDN DTQ450 ProAccurate Quick Tip Thermometer, it is digital- 10 seconds to give a temp & is accurate. It runs about $20. If you want to spend more there is the $95 thermapen, it gives a 3 second readout and is also accurate (I reserve this one for my bread, but it would work for meat). I know you're thinking I don't want to fool with that, but it really is easier and will give you piece of mind about serving that hamburger or chicken.

Here's a link to a government site about recommended cooking temps: meat http://www.fsis.usda.gov/is_it_done_yet/. Use your common sense: wash hands after handling meat, use separate cutting boards for meat, and wash contaminated surfaces with hot soapy water.

Coffee & Miscarriages

I know my female friends out there probably already know what I'm talking about. Certainly we have all heard that when you're pregnant you should avoid caffeine or at least limit it. Why is this? Well when I was in nutrition school they told us that high caffeine consumption is linked to increased miscarriage risk. The recommendation given is to limit caffeine to 2 cups of coffee or less per day. And I kinda thought, big deal everyone should be able to cut their caffeine that much.

Well today I read that there is a study that correlates moderate caffeine consumption with miscarriages. Here the article: caffeine http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22718279/. Like every other study, this one study is not confirmative and they need to do more research. But it does cast some doubt to the old ≤ 2 cup rule. Moms to be that I know will do anything for their baby, so I imagine with a possibility of danger most would cut caffeine all together. I probably would too.

Chocolate good for you?

Some scientist somewhere is always trying to spoil our fun. According to an article I read today chocolate consumption may have a negative affect on bone strength. Chocolate is a link to the article: http://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/news/ng.asp?n=82549-osteoporosis-flavonols.

My personal take on this is:
- they need to do more studies
- eat a balanced diet with plenty of sources of calcium (especially dairy)
- don't eat too much chocolate (duh- not a balanced diet)

As for me, I eat plenty of calcium rich food and enjoy my chocolate. Those who know me well could tell you how unlikely it is that I will give up my chocolate!

Carrot allergies....

So when my husband tells me he's "allergic" to vegetables maybe he is telling the truth. According to this article anyway: allergies http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/2007/12/11/a-pesky-allergy-to-fruit-and-vegetables.html

I have never heard of this allergy. Apparently fruit & vegetable proteins mimic the pollen proteins (ragweed, birch...) that people are allergic to & cause them to have a mild but uncomfortable reaction like hives. Although the article mentions that if too much of the offending fruit or vegetable is eaten at once a serious reaction can occur. The article also gives some great tips for being able to eat the vegetable or fruit: peeling them or microwaving them for a short amount of time.

Cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, lettuce) berries, and tropical fruits usually don't cause this problem. So allergies to cauliflower or cabbage are convenient, but not likely. Since Daniel doesn't have pollen allergies I'm not sure he can use this excuse.

What's a wheat berry? And what about farro?

My loyal customers would say, "Elizabeth's whole wheat bread with the nutty little grains in it".

Now I like this basic picture provided by our friends at Mypyramid.gov. I may add your tax dollars are paying for this site so might as well make use of it. There is a more detailed illustration at this website: www.mainebread.com for those food nerds like me who want to know more.

So the wheat berry is the fruit of the wheat grass that we use to make bread, cookies, pilafs, ect... And if you use the entire grain without removing the germ and the bran then you have "a whole grain" product.

So my Wheatberry bread is 100% wholegrain just like all of my breads, but it is unique in that it has roasted farro berries added to the dough. Farro is variety of the ancient grain spelt. I have written about spelt in my post Crisp mornings, pumpkins & cranberries . For more information about spelt check out this page from one of my suppliers: www.ansonmills.com/farro.htm. So I should call this bread farro berry, but being most people don't know what farro is I think Wheatberry is ok. My wheatberry is an excellent everyday bread. It rises very well (for a whole grain bread), has a lightly sweetened whole grain flavor. The roasted farro berries are sweet (less bitter than our modern wheat), slightly smoky, and nutty. It is a popular bread and one I always try to have on hand.

Ingredients: Ingredients: organic stone-ground whole wheat flour, water, roasted farro (spelt) berries, buttermilk powder, orange juice, Mississippi honey, molasses, canola oil, butter, egg white, salt, yeast

Is butter really bad for you?

So I check some food blogs daily and I am just blown away with how proficient the authors are at updating their sites! I do good to put one entry per week. One of my New Year's resolutions was to be better at blogging.

So I often check the nutrition news, and if I run across something interesting I think I may post it here:)

BUTTER http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22116724/



So this article is one of the best I've run across in awhile. It makes many good points. I'm not shocked b/c in "nutrition school" we were taught to look at research and be ready to change the advice we give people. Our knowledge of the world around us is not static. Personally being a Christian I have had a hard time believing that butter, cheese, and meat are to be totally avoided. We say that God's creation is good, so why would he give us food that is "bad". Now I'm not saying to eat only saturated fat laden foods, but they can fit into a well balanced diet between fruit, veggies, and of course WHOLE GRAINS! If you want to comment after reading it go ahead!

Christmas Gifts

I hope all of my friends and customers have had a wonderful holiday season. The holidays are a fun and busy time. I always feel like I'm in a whirlwind.

I like many people ate too many rich foods, but I guess that's kind of what happens this time of year. Now it's time to get back on the track of healthy eating. I have been inspired to return to my friends fruits and especially neglected vegetables by my new cookbook Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld.



I have in the past been skeptical about "sneaky pea" cookbooks. That is hiding vegetables in cakes to get people to eat them. I mean there is something to be said about eating a food in it's natural form, texture intact. And vegetables cooked correctly are really delicious. BUT, after almost 2 years of marriage I can really understand the value of this cookbook. I love vegetables and fruits, but my dear husband does not. No he doesn't hate them, but it is rare that he eats his daily recommended servings of veggies and fruits. So I would recommend this book highly for those of you out there that like to cook.

Pros of this book:
1. The recipes look delicious (we have tried the zucchini & shiitake burgers- our friends liked them too)
2. Vegetables go down better for non-vegetable lovers as part of mac n' cheese, muffins, ect.
3. The purees Jessica recommends can be frozen- great for times that you don't have fresh produce in the fridge

Cons of this book:
1. The purees will take some time to prepare & some planning to have vegetable on hand

You are what you eat...

Yeah that old saying really is true and we seem to hear more about it these days.

But people still like cookies, muffins, biscotti, cinnamon rolls... So my philosophy is eat those things, but healthier versions and in moderation. When I say my cookies are better for you I don't mean substitute one for the piece of fruit you were going to eat! There is room in a healthy diet for treats.

So how do I make "healthier" treats? Pay attention to the ingredients I cook with. Yes using higher quality, healthier ingredients is more expensive, but I don't want to sell baked goods that I wouldn't bake for my own family. So let me break down some of the products I use and give you more information. I think for now I'll touch on sweeteners and leave the other ingredients for later.

Sweeteners:

Honey- I use local organic honey to help support our local farmers and to decrease the amount of pesticides we are ingesting. Here is a link to some nutrition info.

Blackstrap molasses- I love the flavor of this nutritious syrup, so hearty & rich. I use it in my ginger cookies, wheatberry bread, pumpernickel bread. The organic, unsulfured molasses I use has the best flavor of any molasses I have ever tasted. I love the fact this is a great source of calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium among other nutrients.

Sucanat- b/c I can't always use molasses in baking I use this unrefined dried cane juice in place of brown sugar. It is in my cinnamon rolls and ginger cookies. I figure it's better to get some nutrients with your sugar. On the very bottom of this page is some info nutrients found in sucanat.

Organic raw cane sugar- in some recipes (toffee biscotti, chocolate cherry muffins) I don't want the flavor of molasses overpowering more subtle flavors. So instead of using completely refined sugar I use this. Although it is not as nutrient rich as molasses it does have some of the nutrients that refined sugar is void of.

Organic barley malt syrup- has a distinct malted flavor that is nice in my barley apricot bread. This is not the brand I use but here is some good information malt.

Boiled apple cider- it is what it sounds like, a fruit juice that has been reduced to a syrup. It is sweet, but in a mild unassuming way. B/c it is mild & expensive I can't use this for everything. It is a nice subtle sweetener for my malted apple bread & the only sweetener I use in that bread. Certainly it can not be considered a fruit, I know the fiber & nutrients were lost in processing, but it is a less refined sugar for sure.