What do we have here?

My “make it stick” topping combo!

• ground flax – put it on TOP instead of cooking it in – absolutely loved this and no gelled texture
• a little glob of PB – it’s just so hard to resist
• coconut butter [in the jam jar!]  – A few of you suggested adding in 1T coconut oil to the mix and said that for some reason the coconut oil fats held you over better.  A lot of times I’ll add a sprinkling of coconut butter but today I added 1T.  I used this instead of coconut oil for added fiber.  [coconut butter is ground from the coconut meat – coconut oil is the oil extracted from the meat]
• 1/2 banana

My “make it stick” hot cereal combo!

• 3T rolled oats
• 3T oat bran
• 3T masa harina
• 1c water
• 1c unsweetened soy milk

Besides the amazing flavor combination of this mixture, the volume definitely kept my gut happy.  I upped the carbohydrate amount, and as suspected that worked!  I also think there is something a bit more satiating with corn flour.  Anyone else?

With a little raw honey drizzle, this bowl was one of my favorites in a long time.

I really liked the change of having 1T coconut butter and a little nut butter, instead of the other way around.

Lovely morning bowl shadow.

Corny Oatmeal

• 3T oat bran
• 3T rolled oats
• 3T masa harina [can sub corn flour or fine ground corn meal, but will have a slightly different texture]
• 1c water
• 1c soy milk [Edensoy, GF, unsweetened – 12g protein]

1. Combine ingredients in a pot, bring to a boil, stir + reduce heat to simmer.
2. Cook until desired consistency is reached. ~7-9min

Toppings

• 1T coconut oil
• 1T ground flax meal
• 1/2T peanut butter
• 1/2 banana

The texture was dreamy.  Super thick + creamy, with a little chew.  If you’ve never had masa harina, it’s worth checking out, if you like corn flavor.  If you’ve ever had a tamale, that is what the filling is made with.  I absolutely love it!  I have a few other recipes using masa harina, that you can check out here, here, + here.

All of the nutrition facts were right on par with my normal bowls, but this definitely stuck much better!

Onto more exciting things!!

I have been in such a cooking rut lately.  There is still just so much going on with the house, that it’s been hard to work on recipes once my breakfast is over.  Not to mention the constant chaos + mess in and around the kitchen.

But today, I didn’t care.  My stove was in the middle of the kitchen and I was determined to use it!

I miss bread!  Gluten free, store-bought breads just don’t do it for me.  Sure, millet bread is delicious, but the nutrition facts are less than stellar and the ingredient list is quite long.  GF bread slices are always tiny and have about 100 cals, 1g protein + 1g fiber.  Not exactly what you would call nutrient dense.

I’m determined to find away around this.  A way that doesn’t call for 18 types of flour, yeast, rise times, etc.

A gluten free quick bread, we’ll say.  A gluten free bread, that whether you’re avoiding gluten or not, you will want to make + eat.

It’s an extremely simple recipe, which stemmed from trying socca a few months back.  I like socca okay, but the flavor of garbanzo flour isn’t my favorite, and it actually kills my stomach [bloat!].  I made a few recipes, like this buckwheat + millet pizza crust and a buckwheat + garbanzo cinnamon raison “bread” but wanted something more “everyday.”

It takes ~45min to bake, but it takes about 5min to mix together.  You need one bowl and only a few ingredients.

You will want to grease your pan or line it with parchment.  I prefer parchment.  Actually, I am obsessed with parchment.  I rip a little slit in the corners so it fits better in the pan.

Oh, this is vegan too, and the raw batter was quite tasty.

My fingers were crossed when this went in!

Not too much of a mess!

“Dakota!  Look HAPPY!”

“gooood girl…”  This is about as happy as she gets.

And here, you can see her starting to drift asleep, while her butt hovers above the floor.  Does anyone else’s dog do that?  The hovering or sleeping sitting up??  Also notice the chaos behind her.  We started putting together more furniture.  Send help!

As the bread was baking, I painted + then worked on lunch.

A repeat kale salad + smoky dressing that you really must try!

I think I went a little heavy on the kale today.  I may still have some leaves stuck in my throat!   Dinosaur kale works much better for raw kale salads!

First bite!  WINNER

Hot out of the oven, I just couldn’t stop eating this.

The texture is dense, but not overly so.  There is a bit of fluff to it as well.  It’s not tough in anyway, but had a nice little crunch from the chia seeds.  The buckwheat + millet flours were a great combo and the flax added extra nuttiness.

It’s hard to exactly describe the texture, but it’s something like a….

cornbread-muffin-cake-pancake-bread?

It’s not crumbly at all.  I love that it holds together perfectly with no gluten + no eggs!

It’s definitely not like a light fluffy, whole wheat sandwich bread, but that wasn’t my goal.  My goal was nutrient dense, delicious + customizable and it turned out to be just that!

Buckwheat Millet Quick Bread [serves 4-?? nutrition facts below figured for 4 servings] gf/vegan/soy free

• 1/2c + 2T raw buckwheat flour [ground from raw buckwheat in a blender – not Kasha or toasted buckwheat]
• 1/2c + 2T raw millet flour [ground from whole millet in a blender]
• 2T chia seeds
• 2T ground flax meal
• 1/2c + 1T unsweetened almond milk
• 3/4c water
• 1/2t baking powder
• 1T unsweetened apple sauce
• 1T olive oil
• 1t sucanat [or pure cane sugar]
• 1/2t salt
• 1/4t black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375* and grease bottom + sides of a 9×9 square pan or line with parchment.
2. Stir together buckwheat flour, millet flour, chia seeds, flax, baking powder, sucanat, salt + pepper in a medium sized bowl
3. Add in water, nut milk, applesauce + oil and stir until just combined.
4. Pour into pan, and evenly spread.
5. Bake for about 42-46min, until golden brown + cracked all over the top.

Notes:

*I always recommend grinding your grains fresh, as it results in a much better flavor.  It’s also typically cheaper!  If you have a blender [works better than food processor] you should have no problem grinding them up.  I have had a bad experience with store-bought buckwheat flour [Arrowhead Mills].  It tasted awful, so now I always grind fresh.  Also, kasha or toasted buckwheat are not the same as raw.  Those will have a much toastier [almost burnt] taste.

*Feel free to sub in quinoa flour, amaranth flour, garbanzo flour, etc, for the buckwheat or millet.  I have no idea if a gluten-flour would work, like whole wheat.  If you try, let me know!

*If you don’t have chia seeds, use 4T flax meal and vice versa.

*If you don’t have nut milk, you can use all water or cow’s milk.

*If you don’t have applesauce, you can use 2T oil.

*This should freeze [well wrapped] and thaw really well.

The serving size really varies.  It depends what you want to do with it.  You could definitely eat half and smother it with nut butter for breakfast or lunch.  You could use 1/4 of it to make a veggie sandwich.  You could cut it into 8-10 pieces and use it for a dense snack.

Either way, here’s a look at the nutrition facts based on four servings.

Not too shabby!  Especially compared to any GF bread I’ve seen in the store.

You could really dress this up any way you like.

• toast it
• nut butter slather
• smothered with chili
• hummus
• tomato paste
• veggie sandwich
• jam
• eggs
• doughy croutons

You could also customize this a million different ways!

• curry style [curry, turmeric, coconut oil]
• Mexican style [cumin, coriander, chili powder]
• Italian style [oregano, basil, parsley]
• add garlic
• leave out the salt + pepper and add dried fruit
• add chopped nuts

Both lists go on + on!

If you like buckwheat bakes, you will like this “bread!”

Enjoy + gooooooodnight!

Ashley

A new oaterific mix, with peanut butter swirled in.

Extra Thick Scottish Oats

• 1/4c Scottish oats [partially ground oat groats, can grind in the blender]
• 1T raw buckwheat groats
• 1T oat bran
• 3/4c nut milk
• 3/4c water

1. In a small pot, add dry ingredients over medium heat and toast 2-3min, stirring frequently.
2. Add water + milk [careful, it will spatter], stir and bring to boil.
3. Turn heat down + simmer for about 12min, until desired consistency is met.  Stir/whisk every few minutes.

Everything I like about breakfast was in this bowl.  The texture was extremely thick + creamy, with a slight chew.  The swirled in peanut butter ensured a little pnutty goodness with every bite.  I kept the mixture simple, as I’ve been doing lately, and topped with banana, raisins, and almonds.

If this doesn’t make you say mmmmm…I’m not sure what will!  Maybe recipe #2?

I started putting together our new fans today, but came to a halt when I realized the screws that the fan came with, were not long enough to attach to the outlet box in the ceiling.  I’m sure you want to hear about all of these exhilarating details of my day-to-day…..

The biggest bean I’ve ever seen!  Kenna got the nickname “beans” because she is like a string bean.  Very tall + lanky + slender.  She’s a Great Dane/Lab mutt, that we found at a Great Dane rescue in Charlotte, NC.

Whenever I’m doing ANYthing on the floor, Dakota decides to make herself known.

She plants herself at my side, practically on top of me, and stares at me in the eyes.

Just like this.

And then she gets even closer.

And she never even asks if I need help.  She could have at least passed the screwdriver!

Things that make you go mmmm #2!

More chia pudding!!  I was so excited by the first batch, that I had to make it again today.

Chocolate Cherry Chia Pudding

• 3T chia seeds
• 3/4c water or nut milk
• 1.5T unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1c frozen cherries [or strawberries, blueberries, etc.]
• 1-3t raw honey [or maple syrup or 1/2 banana]

1. Combine chia seeds, water/milk + cocoa powder in a bowl.  Stir every minute for about 20-30min, until very thick + gelled.  Again, I just kept it next to me while I worked on the computer, so I could keep stirring.
2. Throw in blender with frozen cherries + blend until smooth.
3. Add honey or maple syrup if needed.  You could also add 1/2 banana for sweetness + creaminess.

Since eating this the past 2 days, I swear that I have felt more hydrated.  I’m typically a big water drinker, and have not felt as thirsty after consuming this chia pudding.

Things that make you go mmmm #3

I seriously MMMM’d out loud when I tasted this and my eyes may have bulged out of my head.  Then I tasted it again.  And again.  Then I made dinner + poured it on top of everything + mmm’d again.

I cannot take credit for this, but Mama Pea can!  It’s her “mmmm Sauce,” and it did not disappoint.  It took all of 3min to throw together, which was the best part.  I would definitely recommend making a double batch.  This is going to be gone in no time.

It tastes like a mix between creamy ranch + caesar salad dressing, but without anchovies or raw egg.  Between all of my tastes + tonight’s dinner, it’s already half gone.

You really need to make this.

And a big congrats to….

Nicole @ Of Cookies & Carrots

I’ve been experimenting with my limited supply in overnight oats… Im still working on the perfect amount of liquid

though I definitely want to make that pumpkin concoction as it looks HEAVENLY.

You will soon be the proud owner of a 2lb bag of chia seeds.  Thanks for everyones’ entries!

Happy Friday!

Ashley

1. This ancient seed contains one of the highest known plant sources of essential fatty acids [omega 3 + 6], which supports heart health.
2. They stabilize blood sugar levels, by slowing down the rate at which carbohydrates are digested.  They are also packed with soluble fiber, which helps stabilize blood sugar as well.
3. They are said to have anti-inflammatory properties, from high amounts of omega-3 fats.  Helps to keep our joints lubed up!
4. Sustained energy, from this complete, plant-based protein.
5. The essential fatty acids, also help with brain power + function.
6. They are very easily digested, unlike some other forms of protein + fiber.  No need to grind these seeds, unlike flax, to get the full benefit!
7. Chia seeds absorb 10x their weight in water, making them great in helping enhance body hydration.
8. They can be used as an egg replacer in baked goods.  [1T ground chia seeds, mixed with 3T warm water – whisk and let sit for 5-10min – replaces 1 egg]
9. They are loaded with nutrients like calcium, iron, zinc, magnesium, and more.

When ChiaSeedsDirect.com contacted me about a review + giveaway, I jumped at the chance.  I know a lot of you have mentioned wanting to try out this fun + new [but actually very old] ingredient out for yourselves!

What can you do with these wonder seeds?

• add them to your oatmeal
• add them to overnight oats, for tons of volume
• add 1T into a buckwheat breakfast bake – I never leave them out!
• blend in 1-2T to your smoothie, which makes it extra thick!
• grind the seeds to thicken a sauce, chili, or stew
• use them in baked goods [instead of an egg], like sweet breads + muffins
• use them as sprinkles!
• mix them into your yogurt
• make chia gel for extreme hydration
• make chia pudding

The list goes on + on.  Today, I wanted to try making chia pudding for the first time.  I’ve seen it numerous times on Gena + The Twins’ blog, and they always make it look so good!

It was feeling a bit like fall today, so I thought I would pop open a can of pumpkin.  There is really never a wrong time to open a can of pumpkin.

I based this off of both of their recipes for pumpkin chia pudding.  Thanks for the inspiration, ladies!

It definitely doesn’t look pretty, or even appetizing while making it, but I assure you the end result was delicious.

What’s in that bowl?

Raw Pumpkin Chia Pudding [adapted from Gena + Pure2Raw]

• 3T chia seeds
• 1/2c pumpkin puree
• 1c water
• 1t cinnamon
• 2t local raw honey
• 1/4t ground ginger
• pinch of all spice
• pinch of ground cloves
• pinch of salt
• *1/2 banana – optional – added in to blender

1. Combine all ingredients and stir every minute or so for about 10-20min.  I just kept the bowl by me, while doing computer work, and stirred every so often.
2. *If you want a smooth texture, add the mixture to your blender with 1/2 banana.

*You can use nut-milk, instead of water.  You can also use less or more liquid, depending on the consistency you want.

The result was this goopy mess, that I didn’t really like at all!  I’m not a big fan of the chia-gel texture.  It’s very different.  Do you chew?  Do you just swallow?  Beats the heck out of me!  I wasn’t enjoying this, so I decided to blend it up, as Michelle + Lori did.

I added 1/2 banana and stuck it in the blender on low, working up to high, until it turned into creamy pudding magic.

Now this is what I’m talkin’ about!

It was the closest thing to healthy pumpkin pie filling, I’ve ever tasted.  It was extremely thick and nut gummy at all.  Very pudding-like!  The banana gave it only a slight hint of flavor, and you could definitely leave it out.  I used it for added creaminess. 

I’m already dreaming of all the flavor combinations you could make!  This little meal was extremely feeling.  Gotta’ love how those chia seeds expand in the stomach!

Now about that giveaway…

The winner will receive a TWO pound bag of chia seeds.  Here’s how to enter!

If you’ve used chia seeds in the past, what is the most creative way you’ve used them?  If you have been dying to try them out, what will you add them to first?

Entries close tomorrow at midnight EST!  This giveway is open to US + Canadian readers.  Good luck!!

Ashley