Eggless Nutritious Oats Fruit & Nut Scones

Know What You Eat:  Whole grains one like Oats, play an essential role in promoting your overall good health. Aside from fiber, whole grains can also provide you with a number of essential vitamins and nutrients, including folate, iron, magnesium, selenium, thiamine and riboflavin. Eating the recommended three servings of whole grains each day can also help reduce your chances of developing several serious diseases, such as heart disease, and might help with maintaining a health weight. It also lowers the risk of developing heart disease, Promotes satiety, which is important for weight management maintains healthy blood pressure, as well as keeps you regular..

Ingredients:

1/2 C Almond flour  ( almonds can be powdered in grinder )
1 C Quick cooking oats
1/2 C Whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 C Oats Flour
3/4 C Yogurt OR Apple sauce
1/2 C Candied Fruits (Tutty fruity)
2 Tbsp Mixed Nuts, roughly chopped
1  tsp Baking soda
1- 1/2 tsp Baking powder
3/4 C Melted Butter
1 C Brown Sugar ( add more acc. to taste ) can also be replaced by honey.
Few drops of Mixed Fruit /Vanilla Extract (essence)

 Method:

1.. Add quick cooking oats, almond flour, whole wheat pastry flour in a bowl, add sugar, baking soda, baking powder, butter and candied fruits to the flours and mix until the flour mixture start turning like crumbs.
2.. Now slowly add yogurt or apple sauce and knead everything as a dough.
3.. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 350F
4.. Sprinkle some flour over a plastic sheet, place the dough over the flour and roll the dough as a disc or thick roti, add few more nuts & tutty fruity chunks over the dough, press with hands.
5.. Now cut this disc into 8-10 triangles.

6.. Bake this scones for 15-20minutes or until its turns pinkish brown, done..Enjoy warm or cold with tea as a quick breakfast, anytime healthy and guilt free snack.

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Lowfat Eggless Banana Walnut Apricot Muffin / Bread / Cake

Know what you eat: In this post I thought of focusing on why we should use more whole wheat flour/grains over refined flour...Must read eye-opener.

The baking industry is experiencing double-digit growth in both organic and whole grain products. Organic wheat flours are used in a variety of products, and improved whole wheat flour varieties also are finding their way into the market. These new flours often offer added health benefits, such as more fiber, and allow manufacturers to make new health claims.

Lets see what refined flour made from wheat actually is:

Refined flour made from wheat:

* The calorie content of refined white flour actually increases about 10% because of everything else that has been taken out.

* An average of 66% of the B vitamins have been removed.

* An average of 70% of all minerals have been removed.
* 79% of the fiber has been removed.
* An average of 19% of the protein has been removed.

Most refined flours made from wheat are fortified. Let's take a look at the nutritional content of fortified flours:

The B vitamins thiamin, riboflavin and niacin have been added to enriched flours giving an average of 230% of these vitamins over hard red wheat. Most of the vitamins B6 and folacin has been removed in refined flour. These two nutrients are already fairly low in wheat and aren't generally fortified in enriched flour. Of 9 minerals, Calcium, phosphorus, and iron are the only minerals that are fortified in refined flour. And of them, it is not a sure thing that even each of these minerals will be fortified. Check the label before you buy. Mention should be made about chelation. The minerals that have been taken out are chelated, or wrapped in protein. In their chelated form, these minerals are easily absorbed by our bodies. As chelated minerals are expensive, I would expect the minerals that have been added back in are not chelated, and therefore have a very low ratio of absorbtion by our digestive systems.

Summary: In the flour refinement process, except for the carbohydrates, most of the nutrients are removed. To give us confidence in their products, it is sold as fortified flour. Yet the refined flour we buy, except for the few nutrients they choose to fortify, has far fewer nutrients than the wheat it was born from.

When we eat white flour, we are eating a nutrient poor food that happens to be fortified in some areas. It is questionable that the nutrients they do fortify are as natural or health promoting as the nutrients they took out of the wheat during the refinement process.

Dry ginger Powder: Dry Ginger Powder is finely-grounded and light yellow powder renowned for its subtle lemon like aroma and sharp, biting flavor. Health benefit: it can help cure diabetes, head aches, colds, fatigue, nausea and the flu when used in tea or food.

Lets take a look at the recipe now:

I have seen many recipes for banana bread/ muffins , ofcourse, each one has their own version, the same recipe can be made in thousand different ways.....but...but... I wanted to come up with something new and wholesome for my kids and came up with this recipe...as it has all the goodness of whole-wheat pastry flour, cracked wheat...oats flour too, sugar (optional), bananas, & some nuts & given some special touch of dry ginger powder & apricots ...just for additional health benefits + its lowfat & eggless.

Prep time: 15 mins

Cooking time: 20-30 mins

Yields: About 12



Ingredients:


1 C whole wheat pastry flour
1 C whole wheat flour

1/4 C Oats flour (rolled oats made into fine powder in spice grinder)
1/2 C Cracked wheat (fine variety)
1/3 C brown sugar (add more if you like more sweet)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 C milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp dry ginger powder
1 C walnuts & Apricot chopped
1-1/2 tbsp butter, room temperature
2 large soft, ripe bananas

Method :

1. In a bowl add butter, sugar, vanilla extract,milk (in short, all the wet ingredients) & mix thoroughly.

2. Now add flour, oats flour, cracked wheat, baking powder, salt, and mashed bananas ( with hands or use a fork), & chopped nuts. Fold in togetgher untill combined. The consistency of the batter should'nt be loose like a cake batter, little harder than that should be fine.
3. Now with a spoon drop this batter halfway in a lined muffin pan.
4. Sprinkle some chopped nuts on it, and bake in a preheated oven 325F for approx. 20-25 mins or untill done.
5. Serve it in a breakfast, or anytime snack....Its super delicious & healthy.

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Wild Blueberry & Oatmeal Muffin - Eggless

Know What you Eat: Wild Blueberries may be small but they pack a healthy punch! Sweet, tangy and intensely blue, Wild Blueberries are rich in phyto nutrients — antioxidants such as anthocyanin, as well as anti-inflammatory. These natural substances, found in fruits and vegetables, are believed to protect against disease and promote healthy aging… and with their powerful natural antioxidant qualities, Wild Blueberries are at the top of the antioxidant “A-list”! Lets talk a little about highly beneficial Oatmeal.. The oatmeal nutrition facts reveal even more benefits than previously thought. The facts are these: if you are looking for a delicious way to eat healthy, and you want to entice your children into eating well by offering them something that is quick and tasty, you need to consider oatmeal. 

It helps you lose weight : Oatmeal is known for being a food that "sticks to your ribs", meaning that it simply stays in your stomach longer than junk food. This longer stay in your stomach allows you to feel fuller for a longer amount of time. You will find that your body no longer is tortured with the constant cravings that come from simple carbohydrates. Thus, you end up with significantly more energy and less hunger. 

Coming to the muffins: I always keep frozen berries in my freezer for instant smoothies, parfaits, & muffins. A handy healthy snack/dessert for anybody, combined and kept ready in any time of the day, Egg Substitute =  Applesauce goes well with berry muffin. Here's how I made it.  It goes to Helen's fussfreeflavor guest hosted by Nayna's Simply food .

Ingredients: C = Cup, tsp = teaspoons, Tbsp = tablespoons

1 C Oatmeal powder/flour  (instant oatmeal powdered in grinder)

1/2 C Wheat flour

1/2 C All purpose flour

1 C C Brown Sugar  (adjust to your taste)

1/2 C Applesauce

1/2 C vegetable oil

1/2 C Skimmed Milk   

1 C fresh/frozen blueberries

     1 1/4 tsp baking powder

     1/2 tsp salt

     1/4 tsp aluminum free baking soda

     1/2 tsp white sugar (optional)
     1/4 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (175 degrees C). 

2. Lightly grease a 12 cup muffin pan. In a small bowl, mix the oats and milk  together. Set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, mix flours, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Thoroughly blend in the oil and applesauce.

4. Stir in the oat mixture, and fold in blueberries. 

5. Spoon /Scoop batter into the prepared muffin cups.

6. Mix 2 teaspoons sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl, and sprinkle evenly over the tops of the muffins.

7. Bake 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.

8. Transfer on a wire rack if desired to let it cool. Best enjoyed in breakfast for fuller stomach.

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Instant Oats Crepe/Dosa

Know What You Eat: Instant Oats dosa/spicy oats pancake comes very handy and its nutritious when you dont know what to cook on Sundays for brunch..or you are tired of eating same old oats porridge..This is high in dietary fiber very high in manganese, magnesium,phosphorus,thiamin.

  

Just takes under 30 mins to get on to a plate

Ingredients:

1 C Oats (rolled or quick ), powdered in coffee grinder

1/2 C Semolina

2 Tbsp Rice Flour
1/2  C Yogurt 

1-1/2 - 2 C Water

2 Green Chillies, finely chopped

1 Onion medium size, finely chopped

Salt, to taste
A pinch Asafoetida
Cilantro, finely chopped
Cumin (optional)

Directions:

1. Mix everything and set aside for 20-30 mins.

2. Heat griddle; turn to high heat; pour a laddle full of batter on the griddle from outside to inside, The batter will spread on its own due to the heat. Fill up open spaces. The dosa, just like pancake will have tiny holes in them, this allows the dosa to breathe and get crisp as well. Now pour a teaspoon of oil around the dosa.
3.Allow it to cook on medium heat.
4. Flip when the bottom side is done, turned slightly golden brown. Wait for the other side to get cooked, about 1 minute.
5. Since yogurt is added, these dosa’s will turn out to be soft. If you like it to be crisp, then cook it in simmer and add a little more oil, until you get the desired texture.
6.Serve it with dry powder chutney along with some ghee (clarified butter)(I bought it ready made)

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Insanely Chocolaty Chewable Sandwich Cookies

A Very Happy Valentines Day to all our readers. When I think about romance, the last thing on my mind is a short, chubby toddler coming at me with a weapon. lol..lol..Well I don't understand why Cupid was chosen to represent Valentine's Day. Whatever the history of Valentine's Day, each February 14 has become a highly commercialized holiday in North America and beyond, that's intended to celebrate love and relationships..OK AGREE..BUT why look for special days..if love is but the discovery of ourselves in others, and the delight is in  the recognition,why bind in special days, celebrate it always,  thats my thought, anyways......I made these pecan mudslide (original recipe), which demanded for eggs, all purpose flour & pecans, which is replaced here by oats-flour, wheat flour, all purpose & almonds, of course its eggless by replacing egg with apple sauce, rest the taste remains similar. The perfect adjective for these heavenly bites..Insanely Chocolaty Chewable Sandwich Cookies for all chocolate lovers. Here's how I made them. For now enjoy this visual treat!!!

Ingredients:

1 C Oats flour

1/2 C Wheat flour

1/2 C All purpose flour

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 C bittersweet chocolate chips

1/4 tsp espresso powder/Instant coffee 

3/4 C Sugar (add more if you like more sweet), OR replace with xyliTol

1/4 C unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/4 C Canola Oil

1- 4oz Apple Sauce

1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract.

2/3 C chopped toasted almonds

Method:
1. Line a baking dish with parchment paper.

2. In a small bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

3. Melt 1/2 C of chocolate using the double-boiler method or in the microwave. While still hot, stir in espresso powder. Set aside to cool.

4. In the bowl of a stand mixer cream together the sugar and butter until fluffy. 

5. Slowly add whisked dry ingredients and mix until combined. Stir in the melted chocolate, and apple sauce.

6. Finally stir in the reserved chocolate chips and toasted almonds

7. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish and spread it into an even-ish layer with a spatula

8. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and line three baking sheets with parchment paper.

9. Place in the fridge for 20-30 minutes, or until firm enough to handle without it sticking to your fingers.

10. Remove the dough from the fridge and slide the parchment paper and dough onto a cutting board. Using a large, sharp knife, cut the dough into equal pieces.

11. Give each piece a somewhat rounded shape with the palms of your hands and place on the prepared baking sheets.

12. Insert into the oven and bake for 12(chewy)-15(crispy)minutes. Or until the surface is just set, but still plenty soft when gently pressed in the middle.

13. Let the cookies settle on the baking sheet for 20 minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.

Sandwich filling:

1/2 C White chocolate chips.

Orange Extract/essence (optional)

Method:

Microwave or double boil to melt white chocolate. After melting at this point of time add 2 drops of orange essence. Once the cookies are cold enough, apply melted white chocolate with a help of a butter knife,on one layer and sandwich it with other. Put it right in the fridge or set aside, to harden chocolate filling. Enjoy!!

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Beetroot & Oats Halwa / Pudding -- Repost

Know What U Eat: Both beet root and beet greens are very powerful cleansers and builders of the blood. 

Anemia: The high content of iron in beets regenerates and reactivates the red blood cells and supplies fresh oxygen to the body. The copper content in beets help make the iron more available to the body. A great blood builder.

Atherosclerosis: This wonderful crimson juice is a powerful solvent for inorganic calcium deposits that cause the arteries to harden.

Blood pressure: All its healing and medicinal values effectively normalizes blood pressure, lowering high blood pressure or elevating low blood pressure.

Varicose veins: In similar ways that it helps to keep the elasticity of arteries, regular consumption of beets juice also helps prevent varicose veins.

I made this beetroot halwa, adding some cooking oats, its entirely optional though, when I first heard of beetroot halwa, I wasnt sure how it would taste..but it ecxatly taste like carrot halwa, with just a twist of adding oats to give nice chewy, sticky texture to it with the benefits of having oats in a different way.. For now try this..Beetroot & Oats Halwa!! 
Sending it to  Nivedita's Celebrate Sweets- Halwa Event.

For 3 Cup Halwa you need:
4 C Beetroot, peeled & shredded
1/2 C Sugar/Jaggery (adjust according to your taste)
1/2 C Old Fashioned Oats (optional, it gives a chewy and sticky texture)
Handfull of nuts..( I used almonds, cashew & pistachios)
1/2 tsp Cardamom powder
1/4 C Milk OR Half & Half
2 Tbsp Clarified Butter/Ghee





Method:
1.  Peel, shred/grate beetroot and steam for couple of minutes in microwave, just to quicken the cooking process. Its optional. 
2. On a medium flame, add ghee in a heavy bottom pan, fry nuts, then add shredded beets for 3-5 minutes on medium heat. 
OR Cook it more if you did not steam earlier.
3. As the water from beets, starts to evaporate, slowly start adding a tablespoon of milk, every 2 mins untill done.
4. Now cooking oats, sugar/jaggery and stir well, cook untill the sugar syrup evaporates.
5. Add cardamom powder at the end of the process and serve hot.

Also find this @ Raks Kitchen

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Home Made Healthy Multigrain Graham Crackers

Know what you Eat – Graham Crackers comes under the list of healthy snacks but if
you read the ingredients most of them are made with partially hydrogenated oils and
very few are made with whole grains. Typically to make graham crackers one has to use
graham flour which is made by grinding finely the endosperm of winter wheat. The bran
and germ layers are returned and mixed in, resulting in a coarse, brown flour with a
nutty and slightly sweet flavor. Today, some commercial granaries remove much of the
wheat germ to prolong the shelf life of the flour. So most of the brands available in the
store all you get is stripped out and processed graham cracker.

Graham cracker was in my must bake list for a long time and instead of just going for
whole wheat flour, i used whole wheat, brown rice, oats, sorghum and coconut flour.
Yeah my pantry has you name it will have it kind of different flours stocked, so went for
this multigrain and was planning to bake a vegan version but the coconut flour absorbed
all the moisture, so had to add some milk to roll the dough and cut out the crackers.
Yes it did taste good.

Better late than never, we are very glad to share with you that our
Almond-Oats Ginger Bread Cookie was featured in the Jan 2010 Town Square News letter.


Ingredients
Whole Wheat Flour – 1 1/2 cups
Oats Flour – 1/2 Cup
Brown Rice flour – 1/4 cup
Coconut flour – 1/4 cup
Barley flour – 1/4 cup
Sorghum flour – 1/4 cup
Baking powder – 1/2 tsp
Canola or Sunflower oil – 1/2 cup
Maple syrup – 1/2 cup(Make it 3/4th cup if you want it sweeter)
Salt – 1/4 tsp
Ener-g Egg replacer – 1 1/2 tsp
Warm Water – 1 Tbsp
Milk – 1/4 cup
Cinnamon powder – 1 tsp

Method

1) Mix all the dry ingredients – Whole wheat flour, oats flour, brown rice flour, coconut flour
sorghum flour, barley flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon powder.
2) Add water to the egg replacer and beat till fluffy.
3) Now add the oil, maple syrup to the ener-g mixture and combine thoroughly,
now add all the flours to this mixture and combine to get a well moistened dough.
4) Preheat baking oven to 350 Degrees fahrenheit.
5) Because you are using coconut flour it will start absorbing the moisture, so keep 1/4th of cup
of milk handy. Take half the dough and add little bit of milk and roll out into a  1/8” thick
on a greased and floured baking sheet. Cut into desired shapes with a knife or a cookie
cutter. I just used knife and cut out square and rectangles.
6) Bake in a cookie tray lined with parchment paper for 8-10 minutes till they are golden.
7) Now flip them back and bake for another 3-4 minutes to make it really crisp.
8) Once completely cooled, store in a air tight container
9) I had these crackers for 4 days in room temperature and  made a no bake chocolate cake
with the remaining graham crackers, so not able to tell you the shelf life of these crackers.
10) Do the same to the remaining dough, because of the coconut flour you had to keep
adding little milk as when rolling out the dough. Repeat procedure from 5-7.

Notes – I came across this recipe from a magazine in the local library,which had used 3 cups of
Whole wheat graham flour, because i had so much of all these other flours i combined all of them. This
is the first time i am making crackers with coconut flour, when using coconut flour
it just absorbs all the moisture and make it dry so i had to keep on adding milk to
roll out cut into desired shapes. Next time when i am making i am planning to add
finely ground almond meal. The original recipe uses honey, whereas i substituted it
with maple syrup.



Event Participation –
This goes to Whole Grain Baking – Brown Rice an event hosted by Madhuram
of Eggless Cooking.

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Vegan Fat free Banana Oat Nut Bar & Banana-Beet Milk

Know what you Eat – Oats, via their high fiber content, are known to help remove cholesterol from
the digestive system that would otherwise end up in the bloodstream.Bananas are an exceptionally rich source of fructooligosaccharide, a compound called a prebiotic because it nourishes probiotic (friendly) bacteria in the colon. These beneficial bacteria produce vitamins and digestive enzymes that improve our ability to absorb nutrients Almonds which is high in monounsaturated fats, that is good for the body  and is associated with reduced risk of heart disease. In addition to healthy fats and vitamin E, Magnesium and Potassium. Jaggery (Panela) is a "natural" sweetener made
by the concentration of sugarcane juice WITHOUT the use of any chemicals / synthetic additives or
preservatives. It contains an enormous wealth of minerals / protein / vitamins and iron. Beets get their garnet color from antioxidants called betalains, which help your body detoxify potentially cancer causing substances.  Go for raw milk than pasteurized and homogenized milk, which causes higher incidence of milk  allergies or lactose intolerance, from organic grass fed cows without any growth hormone or antibiotic.


After school snack is the most important meal in our house, the dining table becomes the vent out place to discuss what all things happened in the school in the whole stressful?? day, so the table should look colorful and tempting as per the kids, at the same time should be nutritious according to me. It is not very difficult to achieve both with little bit of planning and creativity and this is one such snack, which they relish. Using beets instead of artificially flavored strawberry drinks, is much  more healthier.


Vegan Fat free Banana Oat Nut Bar

Preparation Time - 10 Minutes
Cooking Time - 20 Minutes
Serves - Makes around 12 bars

Ingredients

Old Fashioned Oats - 1 3/4 cup
Oats Flour - 1/4 cup
Banana – 2 big
Powdered Jaggery(Panela) - 1/2 cup
Chopped Almonds - 1/2 cup
Grated Coconut – 1/2 cup
Chopped Dates - 1/4 cup
Toasted Chia seeds – 2 Tbsp
Cinnamon powder - 1/2 tsp
Salt pinch
Water

Method

1) In a pan add little bit of water to the powdered Jaggery/Panela  just to cover the surface and heat
till the jaggery is fully dissolved. Filter it of any impurities and keep it aside.
2) Combine the Oats, Oat flour, flaked almonds, chopped dates, cinnamon powder and salt.
3) Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, In a blender puree the banana and add the
banana puree and the jaggery syrup.
to the Oats mixture and mix well and thoroughly.
4) Line a loaf pan with parchment paper and transfer the Oats mixture to the baking pan
and bake  till a knife inserted at the center comes out clean.
5) Take it out of the parchment paper and set it aside to cool.
6) Once cooled cut into bars of desired size and store in an airtight container.
7) Can be kept at room temperature for 2 days, refrigerates up to 2 weeks.

Notes – I make these bars quite often, I keep on changing the nuts and dry fruits with
sunflower, pumpkin seeds, dried apricots, figs, raisins, cashews, walnuts, dried cranberries etc
just not to get bored with the same taste.

 Banana & Beet Milk

Preparation Time – 5 Minutes
Cooking Time – 15 Minutes
Serves – 2

Ingredients

Beet - 1 Small sized
Banana - 1 Big
Raw milk - 12 oz(1 1/2 cups)
Raw Honey - 1 Tbsp  or to taste
Vanilla Extract - 2 drops
Ice cubes - few optional

 Method

1) Pressure cook the beet for 3 whistles and keep it aside.
2) Once the beet is cooled, peel it and chop it into small pieces.
3) In a blender add the beet pieces and little bit of milk and make a fine puree out of the beets.
4) To this beet puree, add banana slices and blend well.
5) To this add the milk, raw honey, vanilla extract, ice cubes and blend together and serve.

Event Participation

1) This  goes to Kids Delight Wholesome breakfast hosted by Srivalli.

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Multigrain Bread with no refined flour

Know what you Eat – Wheat, Oats all in its natural unrefined state, features a host of important
nutrients. Therefore, to receive benefit from the wholesomeness of the grain it is important to choose
products made from whole grain flour rather than those that are refined and stripped of their natural
goodness.  Ragi(Finger Millet) is a super food which contains nearly 15% protein, contains high amounts of fiber, B-complex vitamins including niacin, thiamin, and riboflavin, the essential amino acid methionine, lecithin, and some vitamin E. It is particularly high in the minerals iron,
magnesium, phosphorous, and potassium. Brown rice protein is very good source of protein can be
easily tolerated by people who are allergic to whey protein, soy protein etc, 1 scoop 20gm of brown
rice protein contains 12g of protein.

If you look for whole grain bread in the store most of them will have whole grain combined
with flour or bread flour and not 100% whole grain, unless specifically mentioned.
So when i came across this recipe which was  simple to make , i wanted to try it out. Instead of just
whole wheat, i added oat flour, finger millet flour and organic brown rice protein to fortify it.
I should say i got a thumbs up from my official taster(my elder one), meaning the recipe passed
the taste test and which is always a tough task.

Ingredients

Wheat Flour - 2 Cups
Oat Flour - 1 cup
Ragi(Finger Millet) Flour – 1/4 cup
Organic Brown rice protein powder – 1/4 cup
Instant yeast – 1 packet(2 1/2 teaspoons)
Water – 1 1/3 cups
Vegetable Oil – 1/4 cup
Non fat dried milk – 1/4 cup
Honey – 1/4 cup
Salt – 1 Teaspoon
Method
1) In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients and stir till the dough starts to leave the sides of the bowl.
2) Transfer the dough to a lightly greased surface, oil your hands, and knead it for 6 to 8 minutes,
or until it begins to become smooth and supple.
3) Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover the bowl, and allow the dough to rise till puffy
for 60 minutes.
4)  Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled work surface, and shape it into an 8-inch log.
Place the log in a lightly greased 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan, cover the pan loosely with lightly greased plastic
wrap.
5) Allow the bread to rise for about 1 hour, or until it's crowned about 1 inch above the edge of the pan.
A finger pressed into the dough should leave a mark that rebounds slowly.
6) Preheat an oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for about 30 minutes, the bread is baked
fully, when you thump the bottom it should sound hollow.
7) Cool it on a wire rack after baking and slice once cooled completely.
8) Enjoy with some peanut butter and honey for breakfast, lunch or snack.

About Brown Rice Protein
You can find organic brown rice protein in your health food store or online. I got mine from
mothernature.com, the brand name is Tribez nutrition. It is slight brown in color and a very fine powder
and tastes little like brown rice flour. You can add it to smoothie or add it to porridge and cook, add
it to your flour while baking. Infinite possibilities. There are so many brands out there but check for
the organic one’s and buy.

Event Participation

1) The bread goes to Baking with Whole Grains – Brown Rice hosted by Madhuram of egglesscooking.com.

2) Sending this to Kids Delight Wholesome breakfast hosted by Srivalli.

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Oats Almond Macaroon ??

There are three things which i regularly bake -  Bean burgers, Vegan Oat Bar(will post the recipe soon), Cookies using Almond & Oats Flour.
Thinking of saving energy when using the oven,  i bake all these things on the same day.
This was one such day, i had the Oat & Almond flour, beans, Oats and nuts all sitting on my kitchen countertop and i wanted to finish all
the baking and cooking before my Kids come back from school. The vegan Oat Bar uses banana as the binder and i added two bananas to be pureed
to my food processor. Suddenly the phone rings and while talking in the phone i proceeded to finish the baking job. Distracted with the conversation
instead of adding the banana puree to the Oat bar, I added it to the Cookie flour and without realizing mixed it. Only after thoroughly mixing it, i realized
my mistake. Thus was born this Oats Almond Macaroon or suggest me a good name for this. When i baked them they were crisp on the outside and crumbly
in the inside, the next day they were all spongy. But before eating i put them in the toaster oven and toast for around 5 minutes and it gives a crunchy
texture on the outside  and of course they all tasted good. Why not, might be i might try making these once again when i have some ripe bananas
in the hand. Now let us get on to the recipe.

Preparation Time – 15  minutes
Cooking Time – 15 minutes
Serves – Makes around 2 1/2 dozen macaroon
Ingredients
Oats Flour – 2 cups
Almond Flour – 1 cup
Walnuts – 1/4 cup chopped
Coconut – 1/4 cup shredded
Maple Syrup – 1/3 cup
Clarified Butter – 1/8 cup
Ripe Bananas – 2
Cinnamon powder – 1/2 tsp
Baking Soda – 1/2 tsp
Salt pinch
Sliced Almonds – few(optional)
Method
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2) Combine Oats flour, almond flour, walnut, coconut, baking soda, cinnamon powder and salt.
3) In a food processor puree the banana without any lumps.
4) Add this banana puree, maple syrup and clarified butter to the flour mixture.
5) Line a cookie tray with parchment paper and drop the flour mixture into small balls leaving
enough space in between.
6) On top of the dough place a slice of sliced almond
7) Bake for 10-15 minutes till the macaroons are baked completely and slightly brown.


Event Participation
These go straight to Kitchen Mishaps hosted by Malar of Kitchen Tantra.

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Eggless Gluten free Oat & Almond Ginger Bread Cookies with no refined sugar

Wishes for a very Happy, Healthy New Year 2010.

Know what you Eat - Almonds are low in saturated fat and contain many other protective nutrients - protein, calcium and magnesium - for strong bones, vitamin E and compounds called phytochemicals, which may help protect against cardiovascular disease and even cancer. Oats are an excellent source of iron, dietary fiber and thiamin. They also contain antioxidants that are believed to protect the circulatory system from diseases such as arteriosclerosis, which affects the arterial blood vessel.

My kids love cookies, but one thing which scares me is the increased chance of cavities apart from all the other health problems when consuming refined sugar. This is one more experimental attempt by me to create a nutritious cookie without any refined flour, and by adding maple sugar, molasses and using xylitol(for icing) in place of refined table sugar.  This was a sure hit among mine as well their friends.

Preparation Time - 15 mins
Cooking Time - 10 to 15 mins
Makes around 6 to 8 cookies

Ingredients

Gluten Free Oats Flour - 1 cup
Almond Flour - 1/2 cup
Clarified butter(ghee) - 1/8 cup
Honey - 1/8 cup
Molasses - 1/8 cup
Baking powder - 1/2 tsp
Grated ginger - 1 tsp
Cinnamon powder - 1 tsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp

Method

1) Combine the Oats flour, Almond flour, salt, cinnamon powder and baking powder.
2) To this add clarified butter, honey, molasses and grated ginger.
3) Roll the dough and take a small ball and flatten it.
4) Using a cookie cutter cut out the desired shapes.
5) Pre heat an oven to 350 degrees Fahrenhiet.
6) Line a cookie tray with parchment paper and bake the cookies for 10-15 minutes till they are fully baked.
7) Once the cookies are well cooled stored in an air tight container.

For the icing

Cream Cheese - 2 Tbsp(Organic without animal rennett)
Butter - 1 Tbsp
Xylitol(powdered) - 2 tsp or to your taste

1) Beat the cheese and butter, to this add xylitol.
2) Fill a ziploc with the icing and decorate the cookies.

Event Participation

1) This goes to the Cakes & Cookie event hosted by Mahimaa .

2) This goes to the Oats Feast & Cakes-n-Cookies events both hosted by Sara's Corner.

3) This goes to It's time to Jingle hosted by Asankhana.

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Glutenfree Eggless Oats & Almond Candied Fruit Cookie

Know what you Eat - Gluten is a special type of protein that is commonly found in wheat, barley, rye, kamut, spelt and triticale, ut unfortunately most oat stock has been found to be contaminated with wheat because of processing methods. But you can find gluten free Oats in your health food store or online. These contain oat gluten but not the type of gluten that can harm people with Celiac disease or gluten intolerance.
Now coming to the nutrition in these cookies Almonds are low in saturated fat and contain many other protective nutrients - protein, calcium and magnesium - for strong bones, vitamin E and compounds called phytochemicals, which may help protect against cardiovascular disease and even cancer. Oats are an excellent source of iron, dietary fiber and thiamin. They also contain antioxidants that are believed to protect the circulatory system from diseases such as arteriosclerosis, which affects the arterial blood vessel. Preparation Time - 20 mins


I stick on to Oats because of their high fiber content and Almonds because of its high nutritional content. The cookies being a part of my kids daily snack , i no longer need to feel too guilty to give something with empty calories and they taste great too.


Cooking Time - 20 mins
Makes - Around 30 Cookies

Ingredients

Oats  Flour - 3 Cup
Almond Flour/Meal - 1 1/2 cup
Butter - 3/4 cup(room temperature)
Raw Sugar - 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp (if you want a more sweeter version otherwise keep it to 1/2 cup)
Tutti Fruity(Candied Fruit) - 1 cup
Almond Extract - 1 tsp
Baking Soda - 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp

Method

1) To get Oats flour in a food processor grind the Oats to fine flour consistency.
2) Add 1tsp of sugar to the Almond and grind to a fine powder, adding the sugar will prevent the almond flour from becoming sticky.
3) Combine the Oats flour, Almond flour, Salt, baking soda and the candied fruit pieces.
4) Cream the butter and sugar together and add the almond extract to it.
5) Slowly add the Oats and Almond flour to the butter, sugar mixture and make a dough.
6) Preheat an oven to 350degrees Fahrenheit.
7) Line a cookie tray with parchment paper.
8) Take a small amount of the dough, roll it and flatten it with hand.
9) Place them in the cookie sheet leaving enough space for the cookies to expand.
10) Bake for around 10-15 minutes till they are slightly brown and completely baked.
11) Cool them completely(this is must as they will be very crumbly even to touch) and transfer them to an airtight container.




Event Participation

1) This goes to the Oats Feast & Cakes-n-Cookies events both hosted by Sara's Corner.

2) This also goes to Eat Christmas Cookies event hosted by Susan.

3) This goes to It's time to Jingle hosted by Asankhana.

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Veggie Filled Multi Grain Rolls/Buns

Know what you Eat - Barley is an excellent source of fiber and a good source of Niacin, a Vitamin-B that provides numerous protection against cardiovascular risk factors. Millet is a very good source of Magnesium and try to include this in your daily intake as magnesium is the key factor for a healthy heart and diets rich in magnesium help in reducing migraine attacks and childhood asthma. Oats are an excellent source of iron, dietary fiber and thiamin. They also contain antioxidants that are believed to protect the circulatory system from diseases such as arteriosclerosis, which affects the arterial blood vessel. Whole wheat is rich in dietary fiber and is a good source of iron.

Instead of having your bread varieties from single grain, go for multigrain to get all the nutrition and health benefits. Try this Veggie Filled Bun for a breakfast with a smoothie, snack or with Soups & Salads for Lunch or Dinner.

Preparation Time - 20-30 mins

Cooking Time - 20 mins

Makes - 6 buns

Ingredients:

Whole wheat flour - 1 cup
Barley flour - 1/3 cup
Millet flour - 1/3 cup

Oat flour - 1/3 cup
Wheat Gluten - 1 Tbsp

Yeast(for whole grain) - 1 1/2 tsp

Warm Milk or Water - 1/4 cup

Salt - 1 tsp or to taste

Sugar - 1/4 tsp

Butter or Oil - 1 tbsp(room temperature)

Oil(Olive/Canola/Sunflower) or Melted Butter - 1 tbsp

For the Filling

Onion - 1 medium sized
Carrot - 1 Grated
Bell Pepper - 1 small size chopped into fine pieces
Beans - handful, chopped into fine pieces
Peas - handful(thawed)
Paneer/Cottage Cheese - grated handful
Turmeric powder - 1/2 tsp
Red Chili powder - 1/2 tsp or to taste
Salt - 1 tsp or to taste
Oil - 1 tsp
Pav Bhaji Masala or Garam Masala(Optional) - 1/2 tsp

Method:

1) Soak yeast in warm milk along with sugar and let it sit for 15 minutes to foam and rise.

2) Once the yeast is activated mix the Wheat, Oat, Barley, Millet flour, Salt,  butter and the yeast mixture.

3) Knead and make it into a soft dough.

4) Cover and leave it in a bowl for about 1 hour till the dough doubles in size.
5) Heat a pan, add a tsp of oil and then add the onion, carrots, beans, peas, beans, salt, turmeric powder, chili powder and saute them till they are tender. Now add the grated paneer, garam masala or pav bhaji powder and stir on high heat and switch of the stove.
6) Let this veggie filling cool down.

7) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

8) Now knead the dough one more time and make it into small balls, flatten and slightly stretch the dough with your palm, spoon the veggie filling in the center and cover  it up with the stretched dough and keep in a baking tray covered with parchment paper.
9) Brush the top with oil and bake till a knife inserted comes out clean.

10) Enjoy

Event Participation

1) This goes to Whole Grain Baking even (Barley) hosted by Madhu.

2) This goes to Susan's Yeast Spotting event.

3) This goes to Cooking for Kids-Veggies & Fruit event hosted by Lakshmi and started by Sharmi.

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Banana-Oat Bar

I had few ripe bananas at home and my first thought was to make banana nut muffins. But i am trying to cut down on wheat consumption and the next option was to make granola bars. But i just had half cup of extra thick Oats and i didn’t feel like driving a mile to buy them. Well i love to experiment with food and that made to come up with this recipe and it did taste good, to top it all was “Kid Approved”.

Know what you Eat – A single serving of whole oats rich in soluble fiber can reduce hypertension, or high blood pressure, and so reduce the need for anti-hypertensive medication.  Bananas are an exceptionally rich source of fructooligosaccharide, a compound called a prebiotic because it nourishes probiotic (friendly) bacteria in the colon. These beneficial bacteria produce vitamins and digestive enzymes that improve our ability to absorb nutrients, plus compounds that protect us against unfriendly microorganisms.

Ingredients

Oat flour – 1 1/4 cup
Extra thick Oats – 1/2 cup
Grated Carrot – 1/4 cup
Grated Coconut – 1/4 cup
Agave Nectar – 1/4 cup
Sunflower or Canola oil – 1/4 cup
Milk – 1/4 cup
Extra ripe bananas – 3
Alum free Baking Soda – 1/2 tsp
Chia or Flax Powder – 1 tbsp
Salt – 1/4 tsp
Cinnamon powder – 1/4 tsp
Sliced Almonds – 1/4 cup

Method

1) Mash the ripe banana into puree.
2) Mix Oat flour, Oats, grated carrots, coconut, baking soda, chia powder, salt, cinnamon powder and combine thoroughly.
3) Add Agave Nectar, Canola Oil, Milk and banana puree  to the oats mixture and mix without any lumps.
4) Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
5) Line the baking pan with parchment paper or grease and transfer the batter to the baking pan.
6) Spread the sliced almonds on the top and bake till a tester inserted in center comes out clean. Enjoy these guilt free snacks.

Event Participation

1. This goes to Madhuram's Whole Grain Baking Event- Oats for October 09.

2. This also goes to Guilt Free Snacks, event hosted by Yasmeen.

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Protein Packed Vegan Kidney Bean, Brown Rice and Oats Patties

Know What you Eat: Kidney beans are a very good source of protein, cholesterol-lowering fiber, very good source of folate, manganese,  thiamin (vitamin B1), phosphorus, iron, copper, magnesium, potassium and vitamin K. In addition to lowering cholesterol, kidney beans' high fiber content prevents blood sugar levels from rising too rapidly after a meal, making these beans an especially good choice for individuals with diabetes, insulin resistance or hypoglycemia.  Kidney beans are an excellent source of the trace mineral, molybdenum, an integral component of the enzyme sulfite oxidase, which is responsible for detoxifying sulfites. Just one cup of cooked kidney beans supplies 177.0% of the daily value for molybdenum.

Brown Rice: Brown rice is good source of complex carbohydrate. It provides 15 essential nutrients, including B-vitamins, niacin and potassium. Brown rice is a very good source of selenium, which is essential for thyroid hormone metabolism and immune function.

Oats: A daily serving of whole oats rich in soluble fibre can reduce hypertension, or high blood pressure, and so reduce the need for anti-hypertensive medication. Nearly 1 in 3 American adults has high blood pressure. It usually has no symptoms, but can cause serious problems with the heart and blood vessels, leading to other complications.

Preparation time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 20 mins
Makes 8 med.sized patties


Ingredients:


4 C Rajma, boiled & mashed (Red Kidney Beans)
1 C Brown Rice, Cooked
1 C Beet root, boiled & shredded
1 C Quick cooking Oats + 1Tbsp to coat
1 C Mixed vegetables, chopped or shredded ( carrot, cabbage, onion)
1 tsp Green Chilli, finely chopped
2 Tbsp Coriander, finely chopped
1/2 tsp Fresh Ginger, finely chopped
1 tsp Garam Masala (mix. of cinnamon,blackpepper,cumin,cloves,dry mango powder etc)
Salt to taste, use bread crumbs if needed.

Method:


1.. In a bowl mix all the above ingredients, mash coarsely, and make 8-10 equall size balls, pressing them slightly to make the shape of a patty/disc shape.
2.. In a dish spread some quick cooking oats to coat the outerside of each patty.
3.. Now in a iron/non-stick skillet, spray cooking oil, and  cook untill light golden brown adding a teaspoon of oil if needed on both the sides of this patty.
OR
4.. Pre-heat oven to 350F& transfer the patties to a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake until golden brown, about 10 minute on each side and then broil for 5 minutes till the patty is well baked.Enjoy these delicious & healthy patties with your favourite bread & salad. Have it for breakfast, lunch or as a guilt free snack too.


Note: Remember you are adding all the ingredients which are already cooked..so do not over cook in the oven, or it will start to fall apart.


Event Participation:


JFI-Rajma hosted by Divya an event started by Indira.
Kids Delight hosted by Srivalli.
Madhuram's Whole Grain Baking Event- Oats for October 09
Srilekha's "EFM-Oats Series" event.

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Almond Oats Chocolate Chip Cookie(Eggless & Gluten free)

Know what you Eat - Almonds are low in saturated fat and contain many other protective nutrients - protein, calcium and magnesium - for strong bones, vitamin E and compounds called phytochemicals, which may help protect against cardiovascular disease and even cancer. Oats are an excellent source of iron, dietary fiber and thiamin. They also contain antioxidants that are believed to protect the circulatory system from diseases such as arteriosclerosis, which affects the arterial blood vessel.

Our doctor is a firm believer of the Atkin formula, he advises us to stay away from Rice and Wheat(even whole wheat) as they are fattening. He sketched out a diet plan for us which consist of Finger Millet(Reinventing the wheel), black chick pea, green mung bean and Quinoa. Our staple brown rice and whole wheat(even though i love them i use it occassionally now) has been taken over by other grain & beans in the past few years. Being the staples replaced, now i am slowly working on replacing wheat with other grains in my baking too. This is one such cookie and it gave me lot of satisfaction as it contains the goodness of Oats and protein rich Almonds. Almonds are concentrated in protein. A quarter-cup contains 7.62 grams-more protein than is provided by the typical egg, which contains 5.54 grams. I tried using Almond flour(my ultimate target) alone and the taste was unmatched, but they were lot crumbly.

Preparation Time - 10 mins
Cooking Time - 10-15 mins
Makes - 18 to 20 Cookies

Ingredients

Oats Flour - 2 Cups
Almond Powder - 1 Cup
Semi sweet Chocolate chips - 4 oz (1/2 cup)
Butter - 4 oz(room temperature)
Agave Nectar - 2 oz
Baking Soda - 1/4 tsp
Salt - 1/4 tsp
Vanilla extract - 1/2 tsp

Method

1) Preheat Oven to 350 degrees Fahrenhiet.
2) Sift Oats, Almond flour, Baking soda, salt and chocolate chips and set them aside.
3) Combine Butter and Agave nectar and then add the vanilla extract.
4) Now add the Oats-Almond mixture slowly to the butter and combine without any lumps.
4) Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
5) Take small out of dough, make a ball and flatten them using your hand and place it in the parchment paper.
6) Leave enough space as the cookies will expand while baking and bake for around 10-15 minutes till they are slightly brown and completely baked.
7) Cool them completely(this is must as they will be very crumbly even to touch) and transfer them to an airtight container. Great for kids as a guilt free snack along with some fresh fruits.

Note - I have tried these cookies couple of times, it comes out very well. The consistency of the dough depends on the room temperature. Once i baked them on a very hot day and had to spoon the dough instead of flattening them, still it comes out well. I have tried the vegan version also with 1/2 cup of Canola oil and replacing agave nectar with 1/2 cup Maple syrup. With Maple syrup they are little bit on the crispy side.

Event Participation

1)This dish goes to Just not any other dish hosted by Dew drop in the Kitchen.

2)This dish a sure kid pleaser goes to Kids Delight hosted by Srivalli.

3)This dish goes to Eggless Baking Event Using Oats hosted by Madhu.

4)This also goes to CFK-Chocolate hosted by Hema started by Sharmi.

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