Bread Recipe

For the last four years we have made most of our bread at home.  At first we used a bread machine, but when that bit the dust we started making it by hand.  Besides the fact that I can't leave the house during the process, I don't find it any harder.

Because our kids don't eat meat and they are on the picky side, we use the bread to add foods to their diet that they would otherwise turn up their noses at.  Each child has a favorite type of bean and they all eat peanut butter, but that doesn't seem like enough protein variety to me.  Since we generally stock cooked beans in the fridge I make sure that I rotate the type of bean we use in our bread recipe.  Same story with nuts and seeds.  Monday's bread might feature chick peas and walnuts and Wednesday's bread could have black beans and pumpkin seeds.  If I have almond flour on hand I usually sub some of that in, too, in place of regular wheat flour.

Each recipe makes two small boules.

10 ounces warm water
1 cup beans
1/2 cup nuts or seeds

2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups bread flour
1/2 cup of ground flax
scant tbsp bread machine yeast
1 tsp table salt
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
2 tbsp blackstrap molasses or honey

Blend the first three ingredients in a high speed blender until smooth.  Add to other ingredients and knead in the bowl for 2 to 3 minutes.  Cover with a warm damp cloth for 30 minutes.

Knead the dough another 2 to 3 minutes, split in two and shape into boules.  Oil a baking sheet and sprinkle cornmeal on it.  Place the boules on the baking sheet and cover with a damp cloth for 45 minutes.

Uncover the dough and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Once the oven is hot, bake the bread for 40 minutes.

I find that this recipe makes a hearty, reliable sandwich bread.  I always feel better about the kids eating bread when we make it ourselves and can control for things like oil and preservatives.  The only trouble is not eating it all myself.  ;)

Noms

Just some pictures of what meals are looking like around here.  Our farm share started about a month ago and I couldn't be happier with it.

Carrots in looove...

Literally eating my salad out of a serving bowl.

Salad and homemade bread with this tahini dressing.  I never use oil in it.  I sub in extra lemon, water or veggie broth.

The kids have been bagel obsessed lately.  I joke a lot that we're glutenarians.

Mostly Plant-Based Menu Plan and Grocery List 6/11/2015-6/17/2015

Around here, I try to keep the food really simple.  My husband and I have been entirely plant-based for a year and a half.  In restaurants I refer to myself as vegan, but I do eat honey.  I just use the term while I'm out because it makes it really clear to other people which foods I definitely don't do.  The kids are almost entirely vegetarian.  I have one boy who will jump at the chance to eat ham at family parties and such, but the other two usually decline.  When my husband and I changed our diet we made a conscious decision not to "outlaw" any foods for the kids.  I explained the change to them in child-friendly terms and we stopped serving meat in the house.  They still typically have two servings a week each of eggs, yogurt, and cheese.

Breakfast is pretty boring.  Usually some combination of fruit, cereal, toast, oatmeal or yogurt for the kids and a green smoothie or oatmeal for me and my husband.  Lunch is usually a fruit and a veggie for the kids with a pb&j, eggs, grilled cheese, a bagel or yogurt.  I tend to eat leftovers.

Dinners get a little tricky.  We do them as a family, but I don't think there is a single meal that I serve where every family member eats every part of the meal.  For example, my husband and I eat cornmeal pancakes with our chili, but the kids skip the chili.  Two of the three kids and the grownups eat lentil loaf and my other son doubles up on his veggies and calls it a meal.  I think each child has one kind of bean that they'll eat on purpose.  We bake all of our own bread, so I blend cooked beans and raw nuts and seeds with the liquids before I mix the dough and that way I know they are getting a variety of nutrients and a little boost of protein with every slice.  On a normal day the kids each eat three different vegetables and four fruits, but often their serving sizes are bigger than the standard.  We're all about progress, not perfection.

Our grocery budget is $200 a week for a family of 5, but that doesn't account for a couple of dry goods items I get on subscription from Amazon.com.  I know that amount might make some people faint, but up until I read the Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey at the beginning of the year, I didn't even have a grocery budget and we were spending an outrageous amount.  Another opportunity for progress.


Dinners
Salad and Chick'n Strips
Chili and Cornmeal Pancakes
Split Pea Soup and Grilled Cheese
Lentil Loaf
Lemon Soup and Scrambled Eggs
Black Bean Fajitas
Leftovers or Homemade Pizza

I had a lot of the dry goods on hand already at the beginning of this meal plan, so the grocery list was manageable.  We are also due to get our first farm share on Tuesday, so that's kind of a veggie wildcard!

Mozzarella Cheese                                                  Spinach x 2 10oz
Almond Milk x 3                                                     Red Peppers x 3
Yogurt                                                                     Lemons x 2
                                                                                Garlic x 2 bulbs
Canned Tomatoes x 2                                             Carrots x 3lbs
Split Green Peas                                                      Celery
Tea                                                                          Broccoli x 4 heads
Coffee                                                                     Red Peppers x 3
Whole Wheat Flour                                                Vidalia Onions x 2
Cinnamon                                                               Romaine Hearts
Thyme                                                                     Cucumber x 2
                                                                                Whole Watermelon
Crackers                                                                  Apples x 3lbs
Bagels                                                                     Bananas x 2 bunches (12?)
                                                                                Nectarines x 4lbs
Cereal x 3                                                               Avocado x 2
Frozen Pineapple and Blueberries                         Parsley
                                                                                Sweet Potatoes x 2
Maple Syrup                                                           Small Red Cabbage
Chick'n Strips                                                         Red Onion
                                                                               Beets x 3
Popsicles - kids                                                      String Beans x 1.5lbs
Chocolate Cat Cookies - kids

 Tonight's vegan chili with quinoa and sweet potato made in our InstantPot.

The little girly enjoying her pancakes and string beans.  The nectarines were gobbled up too fast to get a picture of them.