Whole Grain Blender Waffles

January 9, 2012

WaffleRaise your hand if you ate too many sweets in the month of December.

Come on – ‘fess up now. :)

I know I did! And every year when January comes around my body starts craving some real food.

Something simple after all those rich holiday meals.

And maybe something with whole grains to counteract all those truffles. :)

These waffles are the perfect choice! They are a whole grain waffle that I can make with things I almost always have in my pantry. And best of all – I mix the entire thing in my blender in minutes!

They are even gluten free.

Whole Grain Blender Waffles
Adapted from Sue Gregg’s Eating Better Cookbooks

1 egg
1-1/2 cups buttermilk
2 Tablespoons olive or canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2  cup of brown rice
1/2 cup popcorn (unpopped)
1/2 cup of oatmeal (rolled or quick)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder

Preheat waffle iron at highest temperature.

Place the egg, buttermilk, oil, vanilla, rice, popcorn and oatmeal in the blender in the order listed and blend on high speed for 3 minutes.

Add the salt, baking soda, baking powder and blend briefly. It should start to bubble immediately.

Grease your waffle iron well (I douse it really good with cooking spray).  Pour the batter -which should be thin – on the waffle iron. DO NOT PEAK! I’m serious here. Do NOT open that waffle iron until the little light goes off. Trust me on this one – just step away from the iron.

This should yield about six 7-inch waffles. (Although the first waffle you attempt will not work – it never does. I think it’s part of Murphy’s Law or something!)

Make sure you give the batter a quick stir before you pour each new waffle – it has a tendency to settle.

These are wonderful with the super-lean “Amish Chwistmas Sausage” and hot apple sauce on top for an easy “breakfast for supper”.

If you prefer – just substitute 2 cups of flour for the rice, popcorn, and oatmeal and blend briefly.

Or if you want to get fancy – you can substitute kamut, millet, barley, kasha, or wheat berries for the grains listed. That is – if you know what they are and actually have them in your pantry. :)

These are best when hot and crisp from the waffle iron – but you can freeze them and pop them in the toaster for a quick meal.

Wow! Don’t we feel healthier already?! :)

I’ve linked these posts up with Tempt My Tummy Tuesday at Blessed With Grace and Tasty Tuesday at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam.

By Country Gal | Posted in Breads, Cooking and Food, Health | Tagged , , | Comments (5)

Mental Slippage

February 25, 2011

I seem to have a bad case of mental slippage this last week.

Brain burps. A momentary lapse of thought.

Or just plain forgetfulness.

On our trip to the big city last weekend I had meticulously written out a detailed list for every store I needed to go to – and left them in the car. Except for one store – I remembered the list but had forgotten to put several important items on it.

That wasn’t nearly as bad as my mental lapse on Sunday. My friend Cinnamon just had the sweetest little baby you ever did see – and I was supposed to bring her a meal on Sunday.

Totally slipped my mind.

Then I discovered that the gal who was bringing their Saturday meal forgot too. Ouch. Two days in a row. Her kids even said, “Melinda won’t forget – she’ll bring us something yummy.”

Double ouch.

I did bring them a meal on Monday – but forgot the pile of movies and the extra Easter script I was going to bring along.

The rest of the week continued like that -forgetting to put the pan of scones in the oven, walking into a room and forgetting why I went in to it, the kids needing to remind me several times to correct their math.

The list goes on and on.

I don’t know what my trouble is – but I blame senioritis.  You know -  having a graduating senior in the house.

My mind is full of ACT scores, financial aid packets, college visits, and senior pictures.

All those numbers, the dates, the decisions!

Just looking at the price of college tuition is enough to freeze some brain cells.

Or <gasp> maybe the senioritis is mine.

After all – I did just have a birthday.  You know – they say the mind is the first thing to go.

No – on second thought – let’s all just forget I said that.

Here’s hoping that a nice quiet weekend and a few good nights of sleep will restore my cognitive prowess.

But until then – I’ll keep slugging away at my to-lists.

That is – if I can remember where I put them. :)

By Country Gal | Posted in Children, Friends, Health | Tagged , , | Comments (4)

The Infirmary

February 9, 2011

influenza
The Dreaded Influenza has struck.

My living room is now an infirmary.

Four of the five kids are down – two on the couch, one in the recliner and one on the window seat.

Our particular strain isn’t awful – just miserable with low grade fevers, sore throats, aches and stuffy heads.

Since 80% of my students are down sick, I have canceled school until the outbreak has passed. That means hours of Food Network, Martha Speaks and Word Girl.

At least they’re too miserable to fight over the remote – they just sit and stare at whatever is on the screen, dozing off and on.

I can always tell who has the remote by what is playing. You know Angel Girl doesn’t feel good when she sits through hours of car shows!

Pedro was the first to fall victim over the weekend. I made him a pot of chicken soup on Saturday. I’ve been adding more broth, chicken and noodles every day since.  I have no idea where the original soup started and where it ends!

I spend my days keeping kids comfortable – refilling glasses of orange juice and hot apple cider, taking temperatures, and fluffing pillows – while the influenza runs it’s course. I’m very thankful we have a relatively mild strain – some of the stories I’ve heard are scary!

And at least they are all sick at once – or almost.  If everyone had waited for his/her own week – we would be sick till the spring thaw!

It sounds like Word Girl is playing now – so Buddy must have the remote. I guess it’s time to make my rounds, take some temperatures, and check the condition of my patients.

Stay healthy!

By Country Gal | Posted in Health, Winter | Tagged , , | Comments (6)

The Water Challenge

November 12, 2010

It’s already started – dry skin season.

Every year I have kids who really suffer during the cold months. Every year I tell them that they need to moisturize from the inside out – which means that they need to drink more water.

Every year my words fall on deaf ears.

Until this year. This year a miracle happened. One child listened.

She actually asked how much water she should drink. I told her 8 – 8 ounce glasses.

There was a pause while she did the math. “You mean I have to drink 64 ounces of water every day?”

Yep. (Extra points for doing the math correctly!)

I do it every day. It’s totally possible.

She pondered this for a day or two, then on Sunday she pulled out her water bottle, did some calculating and determined that if she drank 2 of those every day, she would reach her quota.

She then filled it and put it in the fridge so she was ready for the next day.

Monday was a success and the dry spots on her shoulders were gone.

By Tuesday her hands were starting to heal.

By Wednesday she noticed that she actually sweated when she worked out.

At the supper table, she shared her new found wisdom with her siblings – who listened better when it came from one of their own.

Then she issued a challenge – which of them would join her in drinking 64 ounces of water the next day?

After supper there was a flurry to find water bottles and get them filled.

Water

The kids decided that whoever didn’t drink their quota of H2O would be subject to PT (physical training) inflicted on them by those who did finish.

Thursday was a success (although a couple of kids chugged about a quart in the evening to finish up!)

Friday was also a success.

I’m not sure how much longer this can last – but as a Mom – I definitely feel vindicated.

Momma’s always right.

PS – How much water did you drink today?

By Country Gal | Posted in Children, Health | Tagged , , | Comments (5)

Poison Ivy – Revisited

October 27, 2010

I can’t believe it.

Here I am a miserable, red itchy mess again – thanks to my nemesis – the dreaded poison ivy.

After my last horrible episode with the toxic weed I have been extremely careful outside. So how could I possibly get poison ivy when I have barely left the house for a week? I wasn’t even out of the yard since last Monday?!

But the kids were.

They were all over the property – in and out of ravines and up and down the hills.

Then they took their dirty clothes off and put them in the laundry.

Clothes

I’ll give you three guesses as to who helped to sort that laundry and start it through the washer.

I must have gotten some of that nasty urushial oil on my forearms and spread it – everywhere – my arms, legs, back, all over my abdomen and even on my face.

With an outbreak this big, many of the things I’ve tried before just weren’t practical. I did shower twice a day using Dawn soap to stop the oil from spreading.

And I changed our bedding every day and I never wore any article of clothing more than once before washing it.

But the real hero for this nasty bout has become my die hard blow dryer – the one I bought back in college and now  pull out once a year to defrost the freezer.

Dryer

I read online that blowing a blow dryer directly on the rash and holding it there for as long as you can will help with the itching. In my desperation, I tried it and – believe it or not – it worked.

It heats the rash up until it stings and itches so bad you can’t stand it.  But it stops the itching for a good two hours.

It wasn’t a cure all – nor did it stop the rash from spreading – but it did keep me sane until I could get in to the doctor for a round of medication.

Oh – happy pills – how I needed you!

Needless to say – it’s been a painful week thus far.

But there’s always a bright side – with the rash on my forearms I can’t do any laundry or dishes so I won’t spread it to others. :)

By Country Gal | Posted in Health, Rural Realities | Tagged | Comments (4)