Steel-cut oat Cream of Wheat

Steel-Cut Oats

Who loves Cream of Wheat? I do, I do, and so does Nolan (one of my picky eaters).  I don't remember where I saw this recipe but it is awesome.  Do you like steel-cut oats? Well, I do, (not surprising since I love pretty much anything)lol.  Anyhow, it takes about 20 minutes to prepare steel-cut oats on the stove.  I don't always have that much time in the mornings.  My kids aren't big fans of it but oh how I wish they would love it and eat it.  Imagine all the whole grain goodness that they would get right before going off to school.  But I found the solution! Steel-Cut oat cream of wheat! The first thing you do is put a cup or so of steel-cut oats into your blender, any blender should work. Turn on the blender and on high speed blend for about 30-60 seconds.   The oats should turn into an almost sand consistency.

Not sure you can tell the texture from the picture.  But this is the steel-cut oats after being put through the blender.

There will be a couple of pieces that aren't completely like flour but that's ok as long as most are.  In a small saucepan heat 1 cup milk of choice (I usually use soy or almond milk) whisk to keep it from burning to the bottom of the pan.  When it starts to boil dump about 1/2 cup of steel-cut oat flour into it and whisk until liquid begins to absorb.  I like mine a little lumpy so I add 1/2 cup + 1 T of the oat flour.  Remove from heat.  It should be nice and smooth.  If it's a bit dry and thick, like I make it, I just add another 1/2 cup or so of milk.  Top with your favorite toppings.  I topped mine with 1/2 cup blueberries, 2 T shredded unsweetened coconut, and a tablespoon or so of sliced almonds.  Sometimes I add chia seeds or ground flax seeds.  The possibilities are endless.  Nolan just likes a little bit of brown sugar.

What are some of your favorite oatmeal or cream of wheat toppings?

Cream of wheat with blueberries, coconut, and almonds.

Fluffy, healthy pancakes

I love pancakes! I have tried lots of healthy pancake recipes lately but they all come out chewy.  They aren't gross just not your super yummy fluffy pancake that we are use to.  Today I found the perfect recipe.  Hooray, hooray, happy day.  The original recipe came from www.picklesnhoney.com.  I changed it a tiny bit because I didn't have flax seeds or unsweetened almond milk.  All in all it's still basically the same recipe.

Fluffy Pancake Recipe:

• 1 cup whole-wheat flour
• 1/2 C. All-Purpose Flour
• 1 1/2 Tsp. Baking Powder
• 1 Tsp. Sea Salt
• 1 3/4 C. Non-Dairy Milk (I used almond milk) dairy milk would also work
• 1/2 Tsp. Vanilla
• 1 chia seed egg (1 Tbs. Chia Seeds, 4 Tbs. Water) (can use a regular egg also)
• 1 Tsp. Canola Oil
• Non-Stick Cooking Spray

Instructions

1. Prepare your chia seed egg by combining 1 Tbs. chia seeds and 4 Tbs. water.
2. Set aside for 3-5 minutes, and allow to thicken.
3. In a large mixing bowl add  flours, baking powder and salt.
4. Add non-dairy milk, vanilla, canola, and flax egg and mix until just combined.
5. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat.
6. Lightly spray pan with cooking spray and pour pancake batter onto pan. Cook 1-2 minutes per side.
7. Plate with your favorite toppings and enjoy!

Notes

Feel free to add a touch more non-dairy milk to achieve your desired consistency. If you don't have chia seeds you can also use ground flax seeds mixed with water.  

My daughter was afraid they were going to be gross because they had almond milk and whole wheat flour in them.  But she was wrong, she loved them.  So did my son, the pickiest of the bunch.  Try them, I don't think you will be disappointed.