Sourdough Apple Fritter Donuts

Yield: 12

Prep Time: 4 hours

Cook Time: 8 minutes

Total Time: 4 hours 8 minutes

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Ingredients

Sourdough Batter

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• 1/2 cup sourdough starter
• 1 cup milk
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 2 eggs

Add After Fermentation

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• 2 cups diced apples
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Glaze

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• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1-2 tablespoons milk
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

1. In a bowl, mix together the sourdough starter, flour, sugar, milk, coconut oil and eggs together. Cover with a lid, wet cloth or plastic wrap and let sit on a the counter for 4 hours or in the fridge overnight.
2. When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350. Add the rest of the ingredients, diced apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, vanilla extract, and baking soda.
3. Pour you apple fritter batter into silicone donut molds. Bake for 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees.
4. Let cool for a couple minutes before taking the donuts out of the molds. Mix together 1/2 cup powdered sugar and 1-2 tablespoons milk and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract. Glaze the donuts and let cool

Apple fritter donuts are a perfect fall treat and a favorite treat to pick up from any of our local bakery or Donut shop. The sweet apple with and now I can make them any time for my kids with simple, sourdough, healthier ingredients.

This recipe is for baked donuts using donut molds instead of deep frying in hot oil. No need for a candy thermometer or an air fryer… just silicone donut molds and your normal oven.

Sourdough desserts are my new favorite things! Sourdough bread can be hard to get right sometimes and a lot of people give up on baking sourdough when they can’t get the right rise in their breads. I personally don’t make the fancy Instagram loafs that you picture when you hear the term sourdough. Mostly I make sourdough desserts, pancakes, apple fritters, flat bread, cookies, banana breads, muffins the non-rising baked goods. 

The idea of sourdough is to use a ferment dough/batter in your baking for added health benefits. When our dough is fermented it brakes down the grains making them easier to digest as well as making it easier to absorb the nutrition from the grains. Fermented dough also have prebiotics that the bacteria in our gut feed off of also helping us digest not just the bread but everything we eat. 

When we make non-rising sourdough baked goods we mix our sourdough starter, flour and liquids. Let sit on our counter for about 4 hours or in the fridge for overnight. Then we add the rest of our ingredients and bake. The longer you let if ferment (sit on the counter) the healthier the benefits but also the more sough flavor it will get. I don’t mind the sour flavor but some people don’t want to taste that in their desserts. 

Many sourdough recipes for baked goods like these will are considered sourdough discard recipes. The problem with these is that they mix 1/2 or 1 cup of discard to the recipes but don’t let the batter ferment. This will add only a very little amount of the benefits that true fermented sourdough brings.

Ingredients for Baked Sourdough Apple Fritters

Ferment the following ingredients

• Sourdough Starter. If you don’t have a sourdough starter you can buy a starter off of Amazon or learn to make your own. 
• Milk. I you don’t like the idea of having whole milk in your batter sitting on the counter for 4 hours you can use water and add 1/3 cup dry powdered milk to it later. 
• Flour. I use all purpose flour for these apple fritter donuts. You can use a combination of whole wheat flour and all purpose flour but I wouldn’t go all whole wheat flour for this recipe. We want a light and airy texture and that can be hard to accomplish with whole wheat flour. 
• Brown Sugar or Honey. The flavor changes a little depending on if you use brown sugar or honey. Both bring great flavors to our apples fritters donuts so its up to you and what you choose. 
• Eggs. I don’t add the eggs at this stage unless I’m letting them ferment in the fridge. If I fermenting on the counter I will add the eggs later, right before I bake them.
• Coconut Oil. If you don’t have coconut oil around you can substitute with another oil, apple sauce or butter.

Add after fermented

• Chopped Apples. Granny Smith apples are best for this recipe but often I just use what ever apples I have on hand and they all seem to work out. Dice your apples in to small pieces, about the size of a fingernail. For the best apple fritters avoid larger chunks of apple. They make your donuts more crumby and harder to hold together. Keeping them small will help them cook faster and provide the best texture. 
• Baking Soda. Baking soda is our rising agent that will help keep our apple fritters light and airy. the baking soda will react to the fermented dough and create little gas bubbles giving us the desired texture. 
• Cinnamon & Nutmeg. My two favorite spices, especially with apples. the ground cinnamon and nutmeg will give us a warm flavor that pairs perfectly with our apples.  
• Salt. Enhance the flavor with good salt like Redmond Real Salt. If you are looking for a unrefined natural salt with multiple minerals and electrolytes harvested in the United States of America, then look no further. Redmond Real Salt is full of flavor and nutrients and harvested out of the ancient seabed deep beneath Central Utah.
• Vanilla or Almond Extract. I love almond extract, but its expensive and not many house holds keep it around. Vanilla extract is just as good. If using vanilla use 1/2 a teaspoon. Almond extract can be a bit stronger so only use 1/4 a teaspoon for the apple fritter donuts.

How To Make Baked Apple Fritters

Ferment The Batter

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the active sourdough starter, flour, sugar, milk, coconut oil and eggs together. Cover with a lid, wet cloth or plastic wrap and let sit on a the counter for 4 hours or in the fridge overnight.

Add The Rest of Ingredients

When you are ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350.
Add the rest of the ingredients, small chunks of apple, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, vanilla extract, and baking soda.

Pour Into Donut Molds

Pour you apple fritter batter into silicone donut molds. Bake for 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees. 

Note: you can also make this into sourdough apple fritter bread by using a loaf pan instead of donut molds.

Glaze Baked Donuts

Let cool for a couple minutes before taking the donuts out of the molds. Then transfer them to a wire rack. To make your sweet glaze mix together 1/2 cup powdered sugar and 1-2 tablespoons milk and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract or maple syrup. Glaze the donuts and let cool completely.

The post Simple Sourdough Apple Fritters | Baked Donuts for Kids appeared first on Embracing The Home.

Sourdough Waffles

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Ingredients

• 1 cup sourdough starter
• 2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 3 eggs
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 teaspoons baking soda

Instructions

The Night Before

1. Mix together 1 cup starter, 2 cups flour and 1 1/2 cups of water. Let ferment on the counter overnight

In The Morning

1. Preheat your waffle maker. Grease it in between every waffle.
2. Mix 3 eggs, 1/4 cup coconut oil, 1/4 cup honey, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 2 teaspoons baking soda into the starter batter.
3. Pour into your waffle maker and cook for about 4 minutes. Each waffle maker is a little different and the cook time may very.
4. Serve with maple syrup, fresh fruit, lemon curd or homemade whipped cream!

How to make sourdough waffles, a simple and easy sourdough breakfast, discard recipe for gut healthy start to the morning.

Sourdough waffles are a very simple delicious recipe. I love the flavor the sourdough give my breakfast and it makes me feel good to serve my family gut healthy foods for breakfast/dessert.

Ingredients for Sourdough Waffles

• Sourdough Starter. Fed or unfed sourdough start will work for this recipe.
• Flour. All purpose flour usually makes the sweeter, fluffier waffle. Whole wheat makes the much healthy breakfast and adds that whole wheat flavor that some (me!) like and some (my husband) do not. You can also adjust to a 1/2 & 1/2 ratio with these two flour or keep it 100% either way.
• Water. We will mix the flour, water and sourdough starter together and let ferment overnight ready to use in the morning for waffles.
• Eggs. Eggs provide a great source of protein, omega 3 fatty acids, selenium and many different vitamins and minerals.

• Honey. Honey can be substituted with sugar or maple syrup. I use honey to sweeten just about everything.
• Salt. Salt for flavor. These tortillas with be flavorless without salt. Enhance the flavor with good salt like Redmond Real Salt. If you are looking for a unrefined natural salt with multiple minerals and electrolytes harvested in the United States of America, then look no further. Redmond Real Salt is full of flavor and nutrients and harvested out of the ancient seabed deep beneath Central Utah
• Baking Soda. Baking soda is our raising agent. Baking soda reacts with the fermented batter and creating little air bubbles making a soft and fully waffle or pancake.

How to Make Sourdough Waffles

First make your sourdough starter to make a whole lot more starter. This means we are going to take 1 cup of starter and add 2 cups of flour and 1 1/2 cups water and let ferment on the counter overnight.

In the morning preheat you waffle maker. Then mix into your starter batter, eggs, coconut oil, honey, salt and lastly baking soda all together.

Your batter is now ready to cook! Use your favorite waffle maker or cook on the stove top as pancakes.

Grease your waffle maker between each waffle and be patient. Some waffles makers take a long time. If the waffle is sticking to the lid the waffle is not done. Give it a little more time to cook.

Serve with maple syrup, fresh fruit, lemon curd or homemade whipped cream!

Tips

• Grease your waffle maker between each waffle. You don’t need a lot, a little will go a long way.
• Be Patient. If you try and lift the lid and its sticking the waffle is not done. Be patient and let it cook a little longer.
• Freeze for another day. Make mini waffles in bulk and freeze them for quick toaster waffles in the morning.

Why Sourdough?

Is sourdough healthy? What is it about sourdough that makes it healthier than regular breads or dough?

Sourdough is made when the dough is fermented with beneficial bacteria. The fermentation breaks down the starches in the wheat and making it easier to digest.

The wheat that we grow and buy in the USA is not easy to digest. The seeds have been modified, as it goes it sprayed with chemicals that prevent disease to the wheat plant but stunts its nutritional value. Have you ever heard of wheat belly? Have you notice all the trendy low carb diets being successful? This is not because carbs are bad but because our wheat and sugars have been modified and processed so much. The more processed and modified our food is the more foreign it is to our body making it hard on our system and can cause lots of different healthy issues.

One of the steps to improve our health is to ferment our breads and dough. Breaking down the hard starches before you eat it helps so much! Sourdough doesn’t just break down the starches but does so much more. Check out “11 Reasons To Eat Sourdough Bread” by Bread Affair to learn more.

Can I make sourdough waffles with the discard?

Yes! If you have 2-3 cups of discard ready you can easily make this recipe. Essentially that is what we make in the first steps of this recipe. Mix together a cup of starter with 2 cups flour and 1 1/2 cups water to make enough discard for the next mornings waffles.

Would if I don’t have a sourdough starter…

Can I still make sourdough waffles with our the sourdough starter? Yes and no… Let me explain.

Sourdough starter is make of flour and water that has been fermented. To ferment your flour and water mixture is simple, just let the mixture sit with a clothes or loose lid on your container/bowl or jar. The longer you let it sit the better the fermentation. To keep the good gut healthy bacteria alive you need to feed the mixture with more water and flour each day. The longer you keep this up the stronger the fermentation is and the better the sourdough starter is.

The first step in this recipe is to add flour, water and starter together and let sit overnight. To make this recipe without sourdough starter you can simple let your flour and water mixture lightly ferment over night. Just follow the recipe without the sourdough starter.

Using the starter will help the fermentation process get started and will break down the hard to digest starches faster. Without the starter is will not break down as much or ferment strong enough to be considered real sourdough waffles.

If you have never made sourdough and want to make your own sourdough starter check out little spoon farms “Sourdough Starter Recipe“.

What is the best waffle maker to use?

I’m still looking for the best affordable waffle maker out there but I can give you my honest review and hopeful some helpful suggestions. The YASHE Double Waffle Maker or a Cast Iron Waffle Maker is my best suggestion.

Look for deep grids

My cute little In & Out waffle maker is cheap, low wattage making it take forever to cook the waffles. My kids love the little palm tree but the grid is very shallow. The Dash mini waffle maker was only $10 and has deep grids that give it a much better texture. Although it is uses 350 watts which is lot, making it take a long time to cook still.

Look at the watt’s size.

When looking for a waffle maker I suggest looking at the wattage. Most of the cheaper, slower Belgian waffle makers have a wattage of 1000-1200 while the commercial grade waffle makers mostly use 1500 watts. In a waffle maker I would look for 1400 watts or more for a quick, crispy waffle.

YASHE Double Waffle Maker is a 1400 watts double 6 inch waffle maker for only $59.99. This is one I would put on my Christmas wish list.

My Oster Belgian 8 inch waffle maker has a wattage of 1050. It takes a very long time I typically have to make my waffles ahead of time and reheat in the oven when when want to eat them.

Mini waffle makers have a lower wattage all together. Most of them being as low as 350 watts. The multi mini waffle makers are typically around 1200 watts, like the Dash multi mini waffle maker.

Try cast iron waffle makers

I’ve heard great things about the cast iron waffle makers and would like to try one out. I do love the mini waffle and cast iron mini (4 inch) waffles makers are hard to find. I did find a 6 inch cast iron for less than $30.

The post Sourdough Waffles Easy Recipe – Overnight appeared first on Embracing The Home.

Protein Waffles

Yield: 20 mini waffles

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

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Ingredients

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup almond flour
• 1 cup split pea powder/flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup pumpkin puree (or smashed bananas)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3 tablespoons sugar or honey

Instructions

1. Plug in waffle maker and preheat. (I like the mini waffle maker so we can freeze the waffles and heat up in the toaster)
2. Make split pea powder. Take 1 cup of split peas and blend till powder in a blender or coffee grinder.
3. Mix together dry ingredients, whole wheat flour, almond flour, split pea powder, baking powder, salt, sugar and cinnamon.
4. Mix wet ingredients, eggs, milk, pumpkin or banana.
5. Mix batter together.
6. Oil your waffle maker with your favorite baking oil.
7. Pour into waffle maker and let cook for 4-6 minutes.

Store in refrigerator for 5-7 days or in the freezer for about 3 months.

How to get lots of protein in your kids breakfast? High protein waffles! My kids love them, they’re super nutritious, and great with fresh fruit or peanut butter and honey.

High Protein Ingredients

Whole Wheat Flour vs All Purpose Flour

Whole wheat flour contains 11-15% protein while All Purpose flour contains 9-12% protein. In other words, 1 cup of whole wheat flour contain about 16 grams of protein and all purpose flour contains about 13 grams of protein. Three grams may not seem like a big difference but it does add up with each cup.

Almond Flour

Almond flour contains about 24 grams of protein. This is almost twice as much as all purpose flour. So when making a high protein breakfast that your kids will enjoy, use almond flour.

Split Pea Powder (or another protein powder)

Split pea powder/flour is a great source of protein. 1 cup contain about 25 grams of protein. The protein amount is about the same as using almond four but much cheaper. Just take dried split peas and blend them in the blender or coffee grinder into powder. On the down side split pea powder/four can taste a little bitter. Almond flour has a delicious flavor but is expensive. Split pea powder/flour flavor is not great but its cheap. I use both in my recipe to save some money and keep my waffles tasting wonderful.

If you don’t like the split pea powder you can use more almond flour or another source of protein powder.

Eggs

Eggs are another great source of protein. Each egg has about 7 grams of protein. There are four eggs in this recipe adding another 28 grams of protein to this recipe.

How Much Protein in Each Waffle?

I’ve approximated about each mini waffle contains about 5 grams of protein. Eggo waffles contain 2 grams of protein per waffle. This more than doubles the protein count per waffle.

More High Protein Breakfasts

• Greek Yogurt. Add 1/2 a cup of Greek yogurt is 12 grams of protein.
• Eggs. 2 eggs for breakfast is about 14 grams of protein.
• Oatmeal. 1/2 cup cooked oatmeal is 6 grams of protein. Add an egg into your oatmeal and make it 13 grams.
• Protein Smoothie. Protein Smoothie’s including greek yogurt, protein powder, chia and flax seeds make a great source of protein. For 10 oz smoothie (kids size) you could easily get 15 grams of protein. A 16 oz smoothie could easily contain 30 or more grams of protein with the right ingredients.

Low Protein Breakfast To Avoid

• Cheerios. 1 cup of original Cheerios contains about 3 grams of protein… no need to mention other sugar cereals…
• Eggo waffles contain 2 grams per waffle…
• Nature Valley Breakfast Bars contain 3 grams per bar…
• Yoplait Strawberry Yogurt has less then 5 grams protein per 1/2 cup (not all yogurts are equal)…

How Much Protein Do Kids Need?

According to the internet…

• Ages 1-3 need 13 grams of protein a day
• Ages 4-8 need 19 grams of protein a day
• Ages 9-13 need 34 grams of protein a day
• Ages 14-18 need 52 grams of protein a day
• Average adult women need 46 grams
• Average adult man needs 62 grams

This is a guide line but truly the amount of protein you need is dependent on your body’s size and how active you are. For kids, they may need more as they are going through growth spurts. For women and men they made need more if they are trying to loose weight or gain muscle.

The better way to measure how much protein you need is to multiply .8 by how many kilograms you weight or .36 by how many pounds you weight. This will give you a better estimate of how much protein you need each day.

How To Make Protein Waffles

Plug in waffle maker and preheat. I like the mini waffle maker so that I can freeze the waffles and later heat them up in the toaster for a quick breakfast.

Make split pea powder. Take 1 cup of split peas and blend till powder in a blender or coffee grinder.
Mix together dry ingredients, whole wheat flour, almond flour, split pea powder, baking powder, salt, sugar and cinnamon.

Mix wet ingredients, eggs, milk, pumpkin or banana.Mix batter together.

Oil your waffle maker with your favorite baking oil. Pour into waffle maker and let cook for 4-6 minutes.

The post Waffle Recipe – High Protein (kids breakfast) appeared first on Embracing The Home.

Pumpkin Gingerbread Loaf

Yield: 1 Loaf

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

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Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup yogurt
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon Salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract/powder

Instructions

1. In a large bowl mix together wet ingredients. pumpkin, eggs, molasses, yogurt,
2. Next add the sugar and then the rest of the dry ingredients, flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, vanilla,
3. Prepare your loaf pan by spreading butter or oil and sprinkling 1 tablespoon of cinnamon and 1 tablespoon of sugar.
4. Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake at 300 for 60 minutes.

This pumpkin gingerbread loaf is a great addition to your fall season baking. Full of warm spices, molasses, and pumpkin this moist bread is great for breakfast, brunches, lunch or just a nice afternoon snack.

Ingredients For Pumpkin Gingerbread Loaf

Pumpkin Puree

You can use canned pumpkin or fresh pumpkin for this recipe. I like to cook a pumpkin or two at the beginning of the fall season and freeze my pumpkin puree for all my pumpkin recipes throughout the festive months. If you are using a whole pumpkin check out my post on how to make pumpkin puree.

Plain or Vanilla Yogurt

I use Greek Plain Yogurt, I use yogurt in replacement for oils or butter in most of my muffins and bread. It has more vitamins and protein then oils and butter and less fat.

Eggs

Eggs are the binding agent in this recipe also adding 6.5 grams of protein per eggs. Whole Eggs also contain vitamin B12, selenium (anti-oxidant, anti-cancer, and stimulates the immune system) and iron.

Blackstrap Molasses

Full of flavor, nutrients and keeps my breads moist and delicious! Oh how I love molasses! It is so rich in so many vitamins and minerals and such a fun ingredient to add to my recipes. Molasses contains, iron, calcium, magnesium, sodium, copper and more. healthy for your heart and nervous system. Read more on the Benefits of Molasses here!

Flour

I use a combination of organic whole wheat and organic all purpose flour. Whole wheat is full of a wider range of vitamins and minerals such as, manganese, calcium and selenium, then all purpose or even enriched flours. It also has more flavor but is also a bit more dense. So I do half and half whole wheat and all purpose.

Sugar

You can substitute sugar with honey or maple syrup. Both of those would also add a lovely flavor to this recipe but I typically bake with sugar and save my honey and syrup for smoothies, pancakes, teas, oatmeal and such.

Cinnamon

Cinnamon is the chosen spice in order to add another layer of flavor to this recipe. Nutmeg, cloves or allspice would also be great additions but this recipe already seem complex with so many textures that I left those out for now.

Salt

Salt is going to help bring out all the flavor in this recipe. You can use table salt or pink Himalayan salt or another sea salt will also works great.

Baking Soda and Baking Powder

Both of these are a rising agent. The original recipe just had baking soda but as I adapted and added all these heavy grains I found the baking powder was also needed.

Vanilla

I like to use vanilla powder rather than extract. You can find the vanilla powder on amazon. This powder is a 1:1 ratio for vanilla extract so you don’t have to do any extra math when substituting. I like the flavor a lot and its been a great addition to my pantry.

How To Make Pumpkin Gingerbread

Mix Wet Ingredients

In a large bowl mix together pumpkin, yogurt, eggs, and molasses.

Add Dry Ingredients

Next add your sugar, flour, spices and baking soda. Mix together with a whisk, spoon or spatula.

Prepare Your Loaf Pan

Butter or oil, your loaf pan and sprinkle a mixture of cinnamon and sugar on in the pan to give the crust a sweet crunchy texture. Pour the gingerbread batter into the prepared pan.

Bake

Bake at 300 degree for 60 minutes. Due to the molasses the bread will be dark and a little hard to tell when its done. Insert a toothpick to see if your loaf is done. If it comes out clean it is done, if it comes out with batter or crumbs stuck to it, it needs to bake longer.

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Pumpkin Muffins

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Ingredients

• 2 Cups Pumpkin
• 3/4 Cups Milk
• 2 Eggs
• 1 Cup Sugar
• 2 Cups Flour
• 1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
• 1/2 Teaspoon Nutmeg
• 1/2 Teaspoon All-Spice
• 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1/4 Teaspoon Salt

Simple Maple Glaze

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• 1 Cup Powdered Sugar
• 2 Tablespoons Maple Syrup

Instructions

1. Mix wet ingredient together, pumpkin, egg and milk
2. Add dry ingredients starting with the sugar and ending with baking soda.
3. Spoon into a greased or lined muffin pan.
4. Bake for 20-22 minutes at 350 degrees
5. Let cool for a few minutes then remove gently from molds. Drizzle or dip into caramel syrup or a simple maple glaze and enjoy with a fresh glass of eggnog!

This recipe of pumpkin muffins is sweet, light and full of spice! Perfect for these cool and cozy fall mornings. The recipe includes fresh pumpkin and spices like cinnamon and nutmeg. Easy, simple recipe to follow that even your kids could make them. You can also make these muffins as donuts!

Ingredients For Pumpkin Muffins

Pumpkin

You can use canned pumpkin or fresh pumpkin for this pie. I like to cook a pumpkin or two at the beginning of the fall season and freeze my pumpkin puree for all my pumpkin recipes throughout the festive months. If you are using a whole pumpkin check out my post on how to make pumpkin puree.

Flour

In most of my recipes I like to use 1/2 all purpose 1/2 whole wheat but for these muffins I choose to use 100% All Purpose Flour. All purpose has a much lighter texture insuring a good rise and lighter muffins.

Sugar

Sugar is our sweetener, you can substitute with a 1:1 ratio of Monk Fruit Sweetener or honey or maple syrup. If you use honey or maple syrup consider reducing the milk by 1/4 of a cup to make up for the added moisture.

I like to use organic cane sugar from Azure Standard. If you’ve never heard from azure standard before you should check our my Azure Standard Review to learn more.

Milk

I use rice milk or regular milk sometimes I even use just plain water. What ever type of milk you typically use will work for this recipe. If you use water use a little less, instead of 3/4 cup use 1/2 at first then add a tablespoon more if needed.

Eggs

Eggs are a bonding ingredient, they are very important to the texture of baked goods. We want our muffins to be soft with a little springy but not crumbly. Eggs also help with the raise, keeping the muffins from becoming dense.

Baking Soda and Baking Powder

This recipe calls for both baking soda and baking powder. Baking soda is activated as soon as it is mixed in so we want to add it in last. Baking powder is also activated at the mixing point but also has some agents in it that need heat to insure activation. By adding both of these raising agents we get a longer raise throughout the baking process giving us a fluffy muffins.

Spices

Our spices include cinnamon, nutmeg, all-spice. These spices add so much flavor and you can easily adjust the amounts and create a whole new flavor. If you favor one flavor over the other you can experiment by adding a extra 1/4 teaspoon to the spice you want to stand out. Reduce another spice you want to be more subtle then the others.

I also really like freshly ground nutmeg. This is optional but if you have never tried grating your own nutmeg from whole cloves you are missing out. I love the taste of nutmeg and fresh nutmeg does not disappoint!

Salt

Enhance the flavor with good salt like Redmond Real Salt. If you are looking for a unrefined natural salt with multiple minerals and electrolytes harvested in the United States of America, then look no further. Redmond Real Salt is full of flavor and nutrients and harvested out of the ancient seabed deep beneath Central Utah.

How To Make Pumpkin Muffins

Preheat Oven to 350 Degrees

Mix Wet Ingredients Together

In a large bowl mix together pumpkin, eggs, milk and whisk together.

Add Dry Ingredients

Add sugar first, then flour, spices, salt and your baking powder and baking soda. Mix all together until smooth. You can also mix all the dry ingredients in a separate bowl then add together but personally I like to use less dishes.

Spoon Batter Into Muffin Pan

Line your muffin pan or grease the inside and poor the batter in 3/4 of the way up. Sprinkle some sugar and cinnamon on the top if you like.

Bake

Bake for 20-22 minutes at 350 degrees. Let cool a few minutes before enjoy the first bite!

Add Caramel or Maple Glaze

You can drizzle caramel syrup on your muffins as I did or you can make a very simple maple glaze with powdered sugar and maple syrup. Add 1/2 a cup of sugar to 1-2 teaspoon of syrup. Mix together and drizzle or dip your muffins.

The post How To Make Pumpkin Muffins appeared first on Embracing The Home.

Baked Oatmeal Apple Cinnamon

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

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Ingredients

• 1 Cup Oats
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 cup wheat bran
• 2 tablespoons chia seeds
• 1 Apple
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup water

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. In a bowl or your 9x9 baking pan, mix together all the dry ingredients, oats, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, wheat bran, chia seeds, chopped apple and raisins.
3. Mix together the milk, water and honey and pour into the dry mixture.
4. Cover the pan with foil and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
5. Let cool for a few minutes before eating, serve with a little more milk and enjoy!

Baked oatmeal is my favorite way to make oatmeal! There are so many options of different flavors and added ingredients to make it tasty and healthy. This recipe includes chia seeds, bran, cinnamon, apples, raisins and honey making the well rounded healthy, filling and fueling breakfast.

Ingredients for Cinnamon Apple Baked Oatmeal

Oatmeal

I like to use rolled oats for breakfast bake but any type of oatmeal will work. Steel cut, quick oats, rolled oats which ever type you like best. Depending on the type of oats you use will play a part in how long you baked the oats for.

Wheat Bran

Bran is a the outermost layer of wheat. This part of the wheat is typically left out of your flours. It has a nutty and slightly sweet flavor and is full of nutrients that your flour is now lacking. By adding it back in you are getting more nutrition such as magnesium, fiber, copper, iron, manganese and selenium.

Chia Seeds

Chia Seeds are extremely nutritious, in just 2 tablespoons of chia seeds are full of magnesium (23% DV), iron (12% DV), phosphorus (20% DV), zinc (12% DV), thiamine (15% DV), niacin (16% DV), calcium (14% DV), fiber, protein, omega 3 fatty acids, and antioxidants. They are also a great source for Essential Amino Acids. Chia seeds are beneficial to your heart, bones, and nervous system. They are also knows for the reducing appetite and food intake and can be effective for loosing and maintaining weight.

Baking Powder & Salt

Baking powder is a raising agent. Now you might think this is a strange ingredient to add to oatmeal and it might be but I have found it adds just enough of a fluff to our oatmeal making keep it from becoming dense and thick.

Apples

Apples are sweet and full of flavor, fiber, vitamin C and potassium. They are a great addition to our healthy, hearty breakfast.

Raisins

Raisins are probably the most classic and my favorite addition to my oatmeal. They are sweet and full of fiber, iron, calcium and antioxidants.

Honey/Sugar

Honey’s sweetness makes life so much better. Not only that but its full of antioxidants, antibacterial and anti-fungal. Honey helps build up your immune system and aids in fighting off colds and other viruses. Antioxidants protect cell’s from damage and in doing so protect you from cancer and heart disease.

You can also sweeten your oatmeal with brown sugar or maple syrup or monk fruit sweetener. Most any sweet thing will substitute.

Milk & Water

You can add milk (cows or plant based) or water for this recipe. Sometimes I only use water other times I do 50/50 milk and water. The best is when its mostly milk with a little water. I have yet to try all milk but I’m sure that would be juts as good.

How To Make Cinnamon Apple Baked Oatmeal

Step 1: Mix Dry Ingredients

In a bowl or straight in your 9×9 inch pan mix together all the dry ingredients.

Step 2: Add Wet Ingredients

Mix together the milk and honey, if you honey is more solid or crystalized like mine is most of the time, heat it on the stove top or in the microwave just till it mixes with the milk better. Then add the milk, honey and water to the oatmeal mixture.

Step 3: Bake

Cover the oatmeal with some foil and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Once its done baking, let cool for a couple minutes before scooping into a bowl. Serve with a little more milk and enjoy!

Shop This Recipe

Azure Market Organics Chia Seeds, Whole, Black, Organic

Amazon Sideaway Foods Whole Organic Chia Seeds Value Pack (32oz)

Azure Market Organics Wheat Bran, Dark, Organic

Amazon Bob’s Red Mill Wheat Bran, 16 Oz

Monk Fruit In The Raw Sweetener Baker’s Bag, 16 oz., Keto Certified Monk Fruit Sweetener, Zero Calories, Zero Net Carbs, Non-GMO Project Verified

The post How To Make Baked Oatmeal – Cinnamon Apple appeared first on Embracing The Home.

Baked Banana Donuts

Yield: 24 Donuts

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 14 minutes

Total Time: 24 minutes

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Ingredients

• 3 Ripe Bananas
• 1 Cup Yogurt
• 3/4 Cup Milk
• 1 Egg
• 1 Cup Sugar
• 2 Cups Flour
• 1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
• 1/2 Teaspoon Nutmeg
• 1/2 Teaspoon All Spice
• 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1/4 Teaspoon Salt

Cinnamon Sugar Topping

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• 1/2 Cup Sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Cinnamon
• 1-2 Tablespoon Butter

Chocolate Topping (Optional)

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• 1/2 Cup Chocolate Chips, Melted
• Sprinkles (optional)

Instructions

1. Mix wet ingredient together, banana, yogurt, egg and milk
2. Add dry ingredients starting with the sugar and ending with baking soda.
3. Spoon or pipe into donut molds.
4. Bake for 12-15 minutes at 350 degrees
5. Mix together the cinnamon sugar topping and/or melt you chocolate chips.
6. Cool just enough to handle and remove gently from molds. Rub a some butter on the tops and dip, butter side down, into the sugar and cinnamon mixture.
   For chocolate topping there's no need to butter them, just dip into melted chocolate then let cool completely. Add sprinkles if desired.

This recipe of Baked Banana Donuts is sweet, light and healthier than the any other fried donuts you will find elsewhere. We love our donuts from our local Sunshine Donuts Bakery but they are a treat and not something we like to give our kids everyday. My Baked Banana Donut recipe is adapted from banana bread and muffin recipes.

Ingredients for Banana Donuts

Banana

Banana’s are sweet, full of potassium, magnesium and antioxidants. They sweeten and keep any baked goods moist. These donuts stay light, moist and sweet with banana’s. The sweetest banana’s are overripe banana’s, do not use the green ones for this recipe.

Greek Yogurt

Greek yogurt is full of protein and vitamin B12, calcium, phosphorus and selenium. This recipe doesn’t have any oil or butter because the healthy Greek yogurt provides the needed moisture while adding a lot more nutritional value then butter or oils.

Milk

I use rice milk or regular milk sometimes I even use just plain water. What ever type of milk you typically use will work for this recipe. If you use water use a little less, instead of 3/4 cup use 1/2 at first then add a tablespoon more if needed.

Egg

Eggs are a bonding ingredient, they are very important to the texture of baked goods. We want our donuts to be soft with a little springy but not crumbly. Eggs also help with the raise, keeping the donuts from becoming dense.

Sugar

I use organic cane sugar from Azure Standard, and this recipe calls for 1 whole cup. It seems like a lot to me to use a whole cup of sugar as I’m trying to make ‘healthy’ donut and that is why I don’t call these donuts healthy. You could substitute with honey (1:3/4 ratio), maple syrup (1:3/4 ratio) or monk fruit sweetener (1:1 ratio).

Spices, Nutmeg, All-Spice & Cinnamon

These donuts are fall flavored with all the lovely fall spices such as nutmeg, all-spice and cinnamon. These spices are full of warmth and joy. I like to use fresh nutmeg but that is optional. If you don’t have all-spice you can substitute with 1/4 teaspoon of cloves. Cloves is very strong and can easily overwhelm a recipe so be careful.

All Purpose Flour

In most of my recipes I like to use 1/2 all purpose 1/2 whole wheat but for these donuts, again as a dessert and not a breakfast I choose to use 100% All Purpose Flour. All purpose has a much lighter texture insuring a good rise and lighter donut.

Baking Soda and Powder

This recipe calls for both baking soda and baking powder. Baking soda is activated as soon as it is mixed in with the liquids (namely the greek yogurt) So we want to add it in last. Baking powder is also activated at the mixing point but also has some agents in it that need heat to insure activation. By adding both of these raising agents we get a longer raise throughout the baking process giving us a fluffy donut.

Salt

A little salt goes a long way in enhancing the flavor of every wonderful meal, including sweet desserts.

More Banana Baked Goods…

How To Make Banana Donuts

Mix Wet Ingredients

In a large bowl mash the bananas and add yogurt, egg and milk and mix together.

Mix Dry Ingredient

Add in the dry ingredients starting with the sugar and ending the the baking soda. You can also mix all the dry ingredients in a separate bowl then add together but personally I like to use less dishes.

Spoon or Pipe into Donut Molds

You can spoon the batter into your donut molds or pipe them in. Using a piping bag goes a lot smoother, faster and cleaner but is not necessary.

Bake and Add Toppings

Bake on a baking sheet so that you can handle the silicone molds easily. Set oven to 350 and bake for 12-15 minutes.

While they are baking combine some sugar and cinnamon for the topping. Once baked, let cool just enough to handle then remove from the molds. While still warm rub some butter on the tops of the donuts and butter side down, dip them into the sugar and cinnamon mixture.

You can also melt some chocolate chips and dip the donuts in chocolate. My kids especially love it when I add a little bit of sprinkles on the chocolate.

Let Cool and Enjoy!

Let the banana donuts cool down all the way before letting the kids bite into them. Enjoy and happy baking!

Shop This Recipe!

Aichoof Silicone Donut Mold for 6 Doughnuts, Set of 2. Food Grade LFGB Silicone Bagels Baking Pan, Non-Stick, Dishwasher Safe, Heat Resistant and Microwave Safe(Blue)

The post Baked Banana Donuts That My Kids Love appeared first on Embracing The Home.

Ingredients for Granola

Oat

Old fashioned rolled out is the best choice for granola. The texture of granola is a huge part of what makes granola great. Oats play a huge part the texture but not all types of oats are equal in delivering this texture. Old fashioned rolled oats is best.

Almonds

Almonds add an extra crunch and flavor and is my favorite nut to add to granola. Walnuts and pecans are also fit this recipe and make delicious granola. If you don’t like these options you can choose your favorite nut. We add nuts in order to add more layer of texture. The oats give our base layer and we want the nuts to add crunch without braking out teeth. In order to not brake our teeth chop the nuts or add them to your food processor or blender before adding them to the granola.

Brown Sugar

Sugar is our sweetener but also plays a part in the texture of our granola. You can use just honey as your sweetener or substitute with maple syrup. I like using brown sugar because I do believe it helps bring out the texture I want. To much honey and maple syrup makes the granola too wet and it doesn’t always cook the same.

Honey

Honey helps sweeten our granola with a bit of added flavor. Maple syrup is also a great substitute for honey if you prefer. You could also substitute sugar instead of using honey. Honey is also a healthier choice over sugar so I do sweeten with both to create the right texture without to much comprise.

Blackstrap Molasses

Molasses adds a great depth of flavor to anything that you add it to. It also has great nutritional value being full of rich vitamins and minerals. Our American diet lacks good vitamins and minerals and then use synthetic supplements. There no need for supplements if you purposely add ingredients that are rich in vitamins and minerals in your diet.

To learn more about the benefit of blackstrap molasses read this.

Find more recipes with molasses here…

Oil

I use Coconut Oil but other oils would work as well but becareful of which one use choice. the different oils wont change the texture but each oil has a little different flavor and it comes out differently in what you cook it with. Coconut oil in my experience taste best when making granola.

Wheat Bran

Wheat bran is another ingredient that I choose to put in for its nutritional benefits. Bran is one of the 3 parts in a wheat kernel and is stripped away during the process of making our refined flour. It is full of great healthy benefits including its great source of Potassium, Manganese, and Fiber to name a few.

Wheat bran in our granola offers a little bit of softer chew for a variety of texture. It also contains gluten. Most granola recipes are gluten free, you can leave the wheat bran out or use Oat Bran for a gluten free option.

Where to find wheat bran? Not all grocery stores carry wheat bran but Bobs Red Mill Wheat Bran will probably be the easiest to find in the baking section. Or you can order online from Amazon Bobs Red Mill Wheat Bran or Azure Standard Wheat Bran.

Flax Seeds

Another great ingredient full of nutritional value. Flax seed is full of omega-3 fatty acids that are super important for our brain and nerve function. They are also a great source of thiamine, copper, protein, fiber and lots more. I buy my flax seed whole and grind it just before adding it to my recipes.

Cinnamon

Cinnamon adds some delicious flavor along with some great antioxidants. Herbs and spices have so many great healing abilities. I’m very intentional to add lots of flavor through natural herbs and spices like cinnamon into my recipes.

Salt

Salt brings out the flavor of everything you put it on. Its a great resource in the kitchen for making any flavor or recipe stand out. When it comes to baking, table salt works just fine but if sea salt has the needed health benefits.

Egg White

The egg white at first seems like a strange ingredients and not its not for the added protein and health benefits… The egg white is a binding agent along with the sugar and helps create the chewy, crunchy chunks.

How To Make Granola

Melt Oil, Sugar, Honey and Molasses Together

In a small sauce pan melt coconut oil, sugar and molasses together. We want the sugar to melt completely but not to come to a simmer or boil. We don’t want to create candy and brake our teeth on our granola. Take off heat as soon as its melted.

Blend or Chop Dry Ingredients

In a food processor to Vitamix, chop almonds, flax seed, wheat bran and 1 cup oats. Pulse a few time till a the almost are crumbly but not blended smooth, we want texture.

Mix Dry Ingredients

Pour you chopped ingredients in a bowl and add the rest of the oats

Combine Wet and Dry ingredients

Pour the sugar mixture into the dry ingredients and mix until fully combined.

Froth Egg White

In a separate bowl take one egg white and whisk with a fork or small whisk until frothy. Add to granola mixture.

Bake Granola

Spread the mixture on a baking sheet evenly. Its okay if its thick but I wouldn’t have it any thicker than half an inch. Bake at 275 for 30 minutes. Do not mix or crumble while its baking. just leave it alone and let bake.

Let Cool and Crumble

Let cool completely before braking apart. Once cool down you can brake the granola with your hands or a fork if you prefer. At this point you can also add dried fruit to your granola if you want. We like to add raisins, golden raisins my family’s favorite. Add, dried blueberries, craisins, dried apricots or whatever you fancy.

Store

Pantry: Store in an air tight container or zip-lock bag for up to 3-6 month in a cool dry environment.

Freezer: You can also store your granola in the freezer for long term storage, 6-12 month. When freezing granola make sure you use an freezer zip-lock or an air tight container. When freezing be sure to give room for expansion

Storing in the refrigerator may cause the granola to get soggy, I don’t recommend.

Granola

Yield: 2 Quarts

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Ingredients

• 1/2 Cup Coconut Oil
• 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
• 1 Tablespoon Molasses
• 1/2 Cup Honey
• 2 Cups Oats
• 1 Cup Almonds
• 1 Cup Wheat (or Oat) Bran
• 1/2 Cup Flax Seed (whole)
• 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
• 1 Tablespoon Cinnamon

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 275 degrees.
2. Melt the Coconut Oil, Brown Sugar, Honey and Molasses in a small sauce pan. Don't simmer or boil, just melt and then take off heat.
3. In food processor or vitamix chop the Almonds, Flax Seed, Bran and 1 cup Oats. Chop till chunky but not smooth, we want texture, just not too big.
4. In a large bowl mix our chopped mixture with the rest of the oats (1 cup), Cinnamon, and Salt.
5. Add the sugar and oil mixture and stair until combined.
6. In a small bowl take 1 egg white and whisk with a fork or small whisk until frothy. Add to the granola.
7. Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper. Spread the mixture on baking sheet evenly.
8. Bake for 30 minutes at 275 degrees. Do not stir, just leave alone.
9. Let cool completely before braking apart. Once cooled brake in to bite size pieces with your hands. At this point you can add any raisins or any other dried fruit. Store in a air tight contain in your pantry for up to 6 months.

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Most of these ingrdients will easily be found in your local grocery store. Flax, Wheat Bran and Blackstrap Molasses are the few that might prove to be difficult. Here are some options.

Learn more about Azure Standard by reading my Azure Standard Review and Costco Price Comparison.

Flax Seed

Amazon: Anthony’s Organic Brown Whole Flaxseed, Batch Tested and Gluten Free, Raw, Non GMO, Sproutable, Keto Friendly 2lbs $14.99
Azure Standard: Organic Flax Seed, 5lbs $8.66

Wheat Bran

Amazon: Bobs Red Mill Wheat Bran 8oz $7.77
Azure Standard: Organic Wheat Bran 16oz $2.40

Blackstrap Molasses

Amazon: Golden Barrel Unsulfured Black Strap molasses, 32 oz $11.49
Azure Standard: Blackstrap Molasses, Organic $7.29

Vitamix

Amazon: Vitamix, Pearl Grey, Series 750 Blender, Professional-Grade, 64 oz. Low-Profile Container $699.99 ON SALE $399.99

Food Processor

Amazon: BLACK+DECKER 3-in-1 Easy Assembly 8-Cup Food Processor, Black $38.99

The post Granola Recipe Easy, Healthy And Crunchy appeared first on Embracing The Home.

Why We Drink A Green Smoothie Every Day

As a mom I’m responsible for my kids health. I responsible to teach them and give them healthy habits to practice that will help sustain them so they can grow and thrive. So I do my best to make this smoothie something they will drink and enjoy without minimizing the nutrients. 

I myself have epilepsy, and gut issues since childhood and after my last baby I gained a lot of weight and  have had some major hormonal imbalances. So I curated this drink to fit my needs for healthy brain and nervous system, filled with vitamin B’s that help aid my hormonal imbalances, vitamin C and antioxidants that help with mine and my kids immune system and overall health all from real foods.

We’ve make a “healthy drink”, as my kids call them, faithfully every morning for the last month. It has not fixed all my problems but I have notice, in this small amount of time, drinking a green smoothie faithfully has lowered my crazy appetite, improved my PMS mood swings (Thank the Lord!), and given me more energy and better rest. My kids still got the flu that went around, I still get tired after long days, I haven’t lost any weight but I know healing takes time and a lot more work then just 1 smoothie a day.

All that to say, we are embracing our health one step at a time. Without overwhelm, bitter tonics or synthetic nutrients, but real food, easy to make, fun drink that doesn’t cost a fortune. I hope this recipe encourages you and help you embracing your families health with joy and peace.

This favorite green smoothie recipe can absolutely be adapted and I think everyone should adapt it in some way or another. My desire is to help you make a smoothie you enjoy and are able to drink every morning in order to add the nutrients you need to keep you strong and healthy..

Ingredients That Will Add High Nutrients To Your Green Smoothie

Chia Seeds 

2 tablespoons of chia seeds are full of magnesium (23% DV), iron (12% DV), phosphorus (20% DV), zinc (12% DV), thiamine (15% DV), niacin (16% DV), calcium (14% DV), fiber, protein, omega 3 fatty acids, and antioxidants. Chia seeds are also a great source for Essential Amino Acids. Chia seeds are beneficial to your heart, bones, and nervous system. They are also knows for the reducing appetite and food intake and can be effective for loosing and maintaining weight.

Flax Seeds

1 tablespoon of ground flax seeds has thiamine (10% DV), Copper (9% DV) Manganese, (7% DV), Magnesium (7% DV), Phosphorus (4% DV), Selenium (3 %, DV), Zinc (3% DV), Vitamin B6 (2% DV), Iron (2% DV), Folate (2% DV). Flax seed is a great source for thiamine which is an important vitamin that help with our metabolism and cell function. Copper helps with brain development and immune health and helps our body’s absorb iron. Flax seeds is another great source for Essential Amino Acids.

I like to take both chia seeds and flax seeds together because one of them his high in iron while the other is high in copper. Copper helps iron absorb and along with protein they produce hemoglobin which transports oxygen in red blood cells.

There are so many other good combinations of vitamins and minerals that work together in just these two ingredients alone. We could go on but let’s move on.

Blackstrap Molasses

1 tablespoon of blackstrap molasses can be powerful, manganese (37% DV), Copper (29% DV), Iron (25% DV), Calcium (15% DV), Potassium (8% DV), Magnesium (15% DV), Vitamin B6 (10% DV), Selenium (7% DV). These vitamins and minerals aid in the function of your nerves system, brain, blood and heart health, immune system and if you want go in more depth on the nutrients found in molasses read, “Benefits of Blackstrap Molasses“

*My kids will not drink this smoothie without a banana if it has molasses in it. Banana’s are the only thing that I found that mask the strong molasses flavor.

Lemon juice

Lemons are most commonly known as a high source of vitamin C, they also contain fiber and other beneficial plant compounds but lets focus on vitamin C for a minute. Vitamin C builds up your immunity, it strengthens you immune system helping fight off bacterial infections, allergies and even cancer. This vitamin plays an important role in the formation of collagen, helps with arthritis, lowers cholesterol, prevents constipation, keeps blood from clotting… and more. Vitamin C is important and 1 lemon has about 40 mg or 50% your DV of vitamin C. Lemon’s are a great source in vitamin C but not the greatest, Oranges, bell pepper, strawberries, broccoli, kale, have even more. Lemons are more acidic than these other fruits and vegetables and therefore increases urine pH making it harder for kidney stones to form.

Substitute lemon juice for orange juice, grapefruit juice for other citrus flavors or make your smoothie extra creamy adding oat milk, almond milk or coconut milk or some great raw milk. You can also add tea for added herbal benefits, green tea or red raspberry leaf tea, dandelion tea, nettle tea all add great benefits to you health.   

Spinach or other leafy greens

1 cup of raw spinach includes Vitamin A (16% DV), Vitamin C (9% DV), Vitamin K (121 % DV), Vitamin B9 (15% DV) , Iron (5% DV), Calcium (2% DV), Potassium (4% DV), Manganese (12% DV), Magnesium (6% DV). Raw spinach also contains some Essential Amino Acids but not nearly as much as flax and chia seeds do. Spinach is known for its plant compound, Lutein and zeaxanthin that work together to improve eye health. It also contains MGDG and SQDG both components that help slow down cancer growth. Spinach also has nitrates that moderate blood pressure and improve hearth health.

Spinach also contains calcium and oxalates, too much of these and they can cause a build up creating calcium stones or kidney stones… But don’t stress to much over this, 1 cup spinach in your smoothie should not cause kidney stones. Three reasons why: 1. you are also adding acidic lemon juice making it more difficult for the stones to form. 2. You are blending with water making it easier for you gut to break down and regulate the both calcium and oxalate in a way that’s beneficial to you. 3. Its only 1 cups, that not over doing it. Don’t be afraid to eat healthy foods because of what might happen. Do your research.

Vitamin K can also seem controversy as it is essential in clotting blood. We obviously don’t want blood clots in our arteries or veins but we do want our blood to clot when we get a cut or laceration so we don’t bleed out. Vitamin K keeps us from bleeding out while Vitamin C keeps our blood from clotting when its not supposed to. Its important to have both of them to keep the right balance.

You can also substitute fresh spinach for any other leafy greens like swiss chard, broccoli leaves or kale.  

Honey

Honey helps make this drink drinkable. Its sweetness makes life better. Not only that but its full of antioxidants, antibacterial and anti-fungal. Honey helps build up your immune system and aids in fighting off colds and other viruses. Antioxidants protect cell’s from damage and in doing so protect you from cancer and heart disease.

Bananas

I have found my kids wont drink a smoothie unless there are banana’s in it. You can use frozen bananas or fresh ripe bananas in your fruit smoothies. Bananas mask the molasses and spinach flavors just enough and sweeten the smoothie. One banana’s thankfully also are a great source of Vitamin C (12% DV), Copper (11% DV), Potassium (10% DV), Magnesium (8% DV) and more. Banana’s support your digestive system and aid you metabolism and are full of antioxidants. They are beneficial for heart health and the potassium helps regulate blood pressure.

Strawberries

1 cup frozen strawberries contain, Iron (9% DV), Potassium (7% DV), Magnesium (6% DV), Copper (12% DV), Manganese (28% DV), Selenium (3% DV), Vitamin C (101% DV). Strawberries are great for you immune system. They have lots of antioxidants and reduce the risk of chronic diseases like cancer and heart disease. These sweet strawberries are known to slow down glucose digestion regulating your blood sugar. Strawberries are just one of the many berries that are so very good for you. Blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and also cherries, are all so very beneficial and can be substituted in this recipe

Learn more…

I hope you are encouraged and enlightened more than overwhelmed by all the information about the nutrients information of these ingredients. I hope adding a daily green smoothie to your day benefits you as much as it has me.

To learn more about the vitamins and minerals, amino acids and antioxidants that are in your foods check out “Healthy Healing” by Linda Page. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is wanting to learn more about how food heals the body.

If you want quick way to find out nutrition value of a specific food go to https://www.nutritionvalue.org/. You can type anything in and it will give the nutrition values or you can search for a vitamin or mineral and it will give you foods that are a good source for that vitamin.

Green Spinach Molasses Smoothie

Yield: 1-2 Glasses

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total Time: 5 minutes

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Ingredients

• 1 Tablespoon Chia Seeds
• 1 Tablespoon Flax Seeds
• 1 Tablespoon Blackstrap Molasses
• Juice from 1/2 a Lemon
• 1 Cup Frozen Spinach or 2 Cups Fresh Spinach
• 1 Tablespoon Honey (or to taste)
• 1/2-1 Banana
• 1 Cup Frozen Berries
• Water, fill to cover an 1/2 inch or so over

Instructions

1. Add all ingredients to blender
2. Blend thoroughly so the flax seeds are completely ground. If you want to grind those up first you can.
3. Serve and Enjoy!

Notes

other ingredients to try: greek yogurt, orange juice, pineapple or pineapple juice, kale, ginger,During the cold and flu season I also add elderberry syrup

I hope this green smoothie recipe encourages and helps you get the nutrition you need each day. Again, don’t be afraid to adjust the recipe and if you do share in the comments how it turned out!

The post Green Spinach & Molasses Smoothie appeared first on Embracing The Home.