Carrot & Sunflower Seed Breakfast Bread

Carrot & Sunflower Seed Breakfast Bread (inspired by FiveEuroFood )

• 2 + 1/2 cups (625 mL) flour of choice (I used equal parts light and whole spelt)
• 1 cup (250 mL) oatmeal (100% pure rolled oats)
• 1 tsp (5 mL) salt
• 1 heaping Tbsp (15 mL) Herbes de Provence (any mixture of dried herbs will do)
• 2 Tbsp (30 mL) sunflower seeds 
• 2 large carrots (about 1 cup grated)
• 2 Tbsp (30 mL) orange juice
• 2 Tbsp (30 mL) orange zest
• 1 + 1/2 Tbsp (22.5 mL) dry active yeast

Makes 10 Slices

Nutrition & Cooking Notes:

1. I’m calling this a breakfast bread but of course, any occasion and any hour of day works!
2. You can experiment with different flours as you like for this loaf.  If you are looking for something light and springy, you may want to start with AP flour in combination with the oats but naturally this will take away from some of the nutrients.  It’s a bit of a balancing act however because using only whole grains in tandem with the weight of the carrots and seeds can create a dense, heavy and somewhat chewy loaf.  You will also not get as much rise from your loaf with the heavier, denser grains but this may or many not be a consideration for you.
3. Oven temperatures vary widely.  The oven I am using here is the hottest I’ve ever worked with and I placed the bread on the lower rack to prevent it from over-cooking (browning).  If your oven is more moderate, a middle rack placement with slightly more cooking time may be appropriate.  Allowing the bread to sit in the warm (but turned off) oven allows the interior to continue to cook.
4. Herbes de Provence is simply a mixture of herbs typically found in the Provence region of France. The brand I use (Morton & Bassett) contains: chervil, basil, rosemary, tarragon, garlic, lavender, marjoram, savory, thyme and parsley.
5. Studies continue to link a shortage of vitamin D to many serious diseases including: cancer, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, heart disease and influenza. Recent research has also shown that vitamin D deficiency is associated with higher levels of inflammation in the body (a precursor to age-related diseases). Our best source of vitamin D comes from the sun. During non-summer months, when the northern latitude sun is not sufficiently strong, adults are advised to take at least 1,000 IUs (international units) of vitamin D per day. Children should also be taking vitamin D. Older adults, people with dark skin, those who don’t spend a lot of time outdoors and those who wear clothing that covers most of their skin, should consider supplementing year round. Vitamin D levels can be easily tested through your medical or naturopathic doctor.

Directions:

Heat oven to 400 F.

1. Peel and roughly chop carrots placing them into a small pot on the stove. Add just enough water to cover the carrots – about 1 cup. Allow carrots to come to a gentle boil for about 10 minutes until barely soft.
2. Stain the cooked carrots reserving the warm liquid.
3. Place carrots in a blender with some of the reserved water and pulse once or twice (depending on power of your blender) just until the carrots have broken down into small pieces but are not yet mush or purée (add more of the reserved water if necessary). 
4. Transfer the blended carrots into a large dish with surface area (such as a casserole dish) and spread them out to cool.
5. Meanwhile place flour and oatmeal in a large bowl. Add salt, herbs and sunflower seeds, mixing to combine.  Add yeast and combine once more.
6. To the cooling carrots add orange juice and orange zest, mixing to combine.
7. Add cooled carrot-orange mixture to the dry ingredients and mix to combine. Add the remaining reserved water (and additional water) as necessary to bind the dough. (I use my hands to mix at this point). The dough should be sufficiently moist (not too dry) without being wet.
8. Form dough into a rough ball and place in a bowl.  Cover with a cloth in allow the dough to sit in a warm, dry place for 15 minutes. 
9. Remove dough and knead 5-7 times on a floured surface. 
10. Transfer the dough into an loaf pan that has been sprayed with olive oil and shape the dough to accommodate the loaf dimensions (trying to distribute as evenly as possible).
11. Cover the loaf once more with a cloth and allow it to sit for 30 minutes in a warm, dry place to rise. 
12. Remove cloth, admire your beautiful loaf and then place in the middle or bottom rack of oven (depending on how hot your oven is) for approximately 20-25 until the loaf begins to take on a golden colour.  Turn oven off and allow the loaf to sit for another 5 minutes in the oven.
13. Carefully remove loaf from oven and allow it to cool for 10 minutes or longer before slicing.  Enjoy!

When our boys were young, pancakes were a breakfast regular.

And not just on weekends.

My husband would get up early in the morning on work days and cook up a batch of pancakes before the boys headed off to school. He would fill the batter with oatmeal and plump apricot and smother the cakes in peanut butter. The boys loved them and it was a great way to motivate them in the morning, get them involved in the cooking process and fill their bellies with some wholesome ingredients that combined quality carbohydrates, vital protein and natural fats. Over time, other ingredients found their way into the batter like ground flax seed, nuts and yogurt.  A whole generation of nut butters also unfolded around this time so we got to experiment with some of our favorites — almond, hazelnut, and pumpkin seed — elevating the sometimes under-nutritious pancake to a whole new level.

The fun part about pancakes is that virtually anything goes.  You can adapt them to suit your dietary needs and preferences and leave out the grains altogether if you prefer. This is easily accomplished by using a base of ground nuts, seeds, drupes and/or legumes instead.  Many of these ingredients come in their own flours (coconut flour, almond flour, chickpea flour, for example) and are available at health food stores but you can also grind your own nuts/seeds.

Here is a version that I made from a combination of almond, chia and flaxseed: Grain Free Lemon Rosemary Pancakes

The pancakes I’m featuring today are made from a base of spelt and oatmeal with some delicious yogurt mixed in. Despite the pancakes’ protein and fibre rich base, they have a pleasingly light, springy and creamy texture. The sprinkle of coconut is especially yummy over the finished cakes with the raspberry and yogurt.

Although pancakes are not that common at this stage in our home, the boys were more than just a little excited to find these cakes waiting for them when they got back from school the other day. They popped them in the toaster and smothered them with almond butter! Great snack.

Be sure to read the Nutrition and Cooking Notes for options and best results.

Raspberry Yogurt Pancakes with Oatmeal and Spelt

Raspberry Yogurt Pancakes with Oatmeal and Spelt

• 1 + 1/4 cups (312.5 mL) spelt flour (or flour of choice*)
• 3/4 cup (187.5 mL) oatmeal (100% pure rolled oats)
• 2 tsp (10 mL) baking powder
• 1 tsp (5 mL) baking soda
• 1/2 cup (125 mL) fresh raspberries – crumpled + more for topping
• 3/4 – 1 cup (250 mL) buttermilk or until proper consistency is achieved
• Generous 1/2 cup (125 mL) plain Greek yogurt
• 2 tbsp (30 mL) coconut oil, melted
• 2 eggs, gently whisked
• 1 Tbsp (15 mL) orange zest
• 2 tsp (10 mL) vanilla
• 2 Tbsp (30 mL) coconut flakes for topping, optional

Nutrition & Cooking Notes:

1. *You can use any flour of choice here including gluten free grains.
2. If you have not yet experimented with spelt flour in baking/cooking, I encourage you to provided you are not gluten intolerant.  Although spelt contains gluten it has a soft and silky quality to it that many find easier to breakdown and digest than wheat.  These same delicate properties give rise to a smooth and silky texture in baked breads, muffins and cakes such as these.
3. If fresh raspberries are on the expensive side or are looking a little jaundiced this time of year, you can certainly use frozen berries but just bear in mind that this may affect the liquid content of the recipes as berries release water as they thaw.

  Directions:

1. In a large sized bowl, combine: spelt flour (or flour of choice), oatmeal, baking powder and baking soda mixing well to integrate.
2. Gently add the raspberries to the dry mixture tearing them into smaller pieces with your fingers as you drop them into the mixture (a bit like crumpling cheese) — it will give the berries more coverage in the batter.  Stir the dry batter and berries together gently taking care not to mash the fruit.
3. In a separate medium sized bowl, whisk together: eggs, buttermilk, coconut oil, vanilla, Greek yogurt and orange zest.
4. Meanwhile, warm a skillet (cast iron works especially well) on the stove over low-medium heat adding a dollop of coconut oil, butter or olive oil to the pan and spreading to cover the base of the skillet.
5. Add wet ingredients to dry, mixing only until combined.  Allow the mixture to sit for a moment. If the batter is too thick, simply add more buttermilk or water.
6. Drop the batter by quarter cup fulls (or so) onto the hot skillet allowing the cakes to bubble around edges before flipping over and cooking the other side.
7. Plate the cooked pancakes and top with a sprinkle of coconut (if desired) and some additional yogurt and fresh berries.

Are you clenched?

I was reading the most fascinating article in the car last night while I was waiting for my son to finish up practice.  It was written by a cancer survivor who described her success in relaxing her body and mind through the simple exercise of ‘unclenching’ her face.

One of the first areas of the body we tighten unwittingly under stress is our jaw and this form of compression has a ripple effect throughout the body often giving rise to blockages and pain.

So right in front of her oncologist and chemotherapy nurses, this patient would engage in a deliberate act of unclenching her jaw before each treatment, a technique she learned in her yoga practice.  She describes it simply as “dropping the lower jaw away from the upper jaw and letting it hang with an open mouth” (she parallels the look to those “heavy metal mouth-breathing dudes from high school” which I not only found hilarious but also a helpful visual).

But it’s what she describes next that I found most interesting.

Belly breathing, visualization, meditation, music and movement are all common ways of eliciting a relaxation response in the body in preparation for the more difficult work of calming the mind. Trying different techniques can help identify the ones that are best suited to our sensibilities.

I share this one as a possible new experience which the author describes as one of the simplest and profoundly effective techniques we can practice.

Well I haven’t been this excited about the outcome of a baking experiment since I made these Flourless Peanut Butter and Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies.

These muffins are soft, moist and surprisingly sprightly despite their lack of flour (love that). They have a nice rise, delightful taste and are also powerfully nutritious.  The banana and nut butter flavours are muted amidst the more dominant chocolate chili taste.  For good or for bad, the black beans are imperceptible in taste (in my view anyway).  They add colour, bulk, density and character to the mix — as well as a host of nutrients.

Be sure to check out the Nutrition and Cooking Notes for more information and best results!

no visible beans in here