Author: foodjules

Grains are an important part of our five food group daily consumption, however, when choosing your grains, be sure to keep them Whole Grain!

Grains are the seeds of food plants that have been harvested and include foods such as wheat, rice, oats, cornmeal, barley etc. Grains are high in carbohydrates which provide energy to our brain and muscles. There are two types of grains: Whole Grain and Refined Grain.

Whole Grains are the entire seed of the plant and contain the entire grain kernel. Whole Grains are rich in vitamins, fiber, protein and iron.  Whole Grain foods include brown rice, oats, barley, spelt, quinoa and whole wheat products such as whole wheat bread, pasta etc.

Refined Grains are processed grains and are missing some of these important nutrients. Refined grain foods include white rice, pasta, white bread and foods made with white, all-purpose flour such as cookies, cakes, muffins etc. We should be consuming limited quantities of refined grains as they provide us with limited nutritional benefits and breakdown into unnecessary sugar in our bodies.

Quinoa is one of my favorite whole grains with a “nutty” flavor plus its packed with protein. These Zucchini Quinoa Bites are a delicious addition to my recipe book. They remind me of little quiches without the phyllo crust, making them gluten free.

These quinoa bites are a perfect vegetable side dish to any meal or as an appetizer. They are super easy to make and so very yummy, a perfect whole grain food. I liked them so much, I’m going to make a couple other versions and will post the recipes later this week.

Oh my… I just had some of the Cornbread from last night. It’s so sweet and delicious, especially toasted with a little dab of butter, YUM!

This cornbread is made with oat and corn flour so it’s gluten free but it doesn’t taste gluten free, not at all. I think it just might be the best corn bread that I have ever eaten, seriously. The honey in this recipe really brings out the sweetness in this bread.

If you prefer corn muffins, you can use the same recipe, just bake them in a muffin tin for 15-20 minutes or until light golden brown. You can serve it for breakfast, with some warm chili this weekend or as a sweet bed time snack.

Enjoy!

As many of you know, we don’t eat a lot of meat in this house, as my husband is a vegetarian. Don’t get me wrong, the kids and I do get in our chicken, turkey meatballs and fish whenever we can, but most days our protein comes from beans, eggs, cheese or peanut butter and occasionally, tofu. (chuckle, chuckle… Michael and Lucas are peanut butter addicts! They eat at least a couple servings every day.)

For dinner tonight, we’re making these delicious, Black Bean Enchiladas. They are packed with protein and fiber and oh, so delicious. I just love cheese so I fill up the inside with tons of cheese and sprinkle a ton more right on top.

Today, we are using my homemade Enchilada Sauce. It’s so easy to make with just a few simple pantry ingredients. I have to be honest, this was my first time making Enchilada Sauce. I didn’t realize it would be so easy to make, but it was so simple and only took a few minutes. Plus, it tastes so much better then the canned stuff too. I don’t think I’ll ever buy mass produced enchilada sauce again!

There are so many benefits to making your own sauce. First, you know exactly what ingredients you are putting into the sauce. There aren’t any preservatives or additives, such as monsodium glutamate, soy protein or corn gluten. Second, you can make it allergen friendly, which is what I did, substituting the all-purpose flour with brown rice flour. However, I know we all lack time in our lives so if you don’t have the time to make your own enchilada sauce, I would buy it at your local natural foods store, as those brands aren’t likely to contain MSG.

With so many different types of beans, it is easy to enjoy meatless meals from these Black Bean Enchiladas to Minestrone Soup or Vegetarian Chili. The options are endless. As I am a firm believer in living and eating everything in balance, I feel it’s important to balance our intake of foods. We are so fortunate to live in a country where there are so many available food options for us. So, we should use that freedom and allow ourselves to keep an open mind to different foods.

I welcome you to replace a couple of your meat or fish meals, with a vegetarian option. Go ahead and make a couple days of your week, meatless meal days. Your body will thank you.

I don’t know about you, but I just love granola! It’s sweet, nutty and packed with flavor, plus it’s great for you, full of  protein and whole grains. It’s a perfect gluten free breakfast or snack.

We’ve been making homemade granola for quite some time now. It’s way better then the store bought stuff with just the right amount of oats, nuts, dried fruit and sweet honey goodness. It’s always so fresh too, probably because it doesn’t last too long in this house. We eat granola with everything from cereal, to yogurt, in smoothies or just by the handful.

Our Food Jules Nutty Granola recipe is so delicious, that it has become one of our most popular products at the summer farmer’s market. Once you taste the difference between homemade, fresh granola and the store bought ones, you will never want to eat the packaged granola again! Granola is so versatile too, you can pack it full of nuts or seeds, dried fruit or even chocolate chips. It is a perfect gluten free snack.

Over the past year, we’ve started making Nut Free Granola Bites that the kids take to school as a snack. These are so good and easy to pop in your mouth for a quick breakfast on the go! The kids love them so much that I’ve started to incorporate them into my cooking class curriculum. Plus, they are  nut free, which makes them a perfect, nutritious school snack, without worrying about any potential allergies.

I’ve also been tinkering around with different granola bar recipes and even tried converting our standard granola recipes into bars, but it’s never quite worked out as well as I thought it would. Until this weekend. I tried a new granola bar recipe, made a few minor adjustments and voila, our Nutty Granola Bars have arrived. These granola bars are perfect, so soft and chewy yet you still get a little crunch from all of the nuts. Plus, they are so simple to make. Again, you if you need to keep it nut-free, you can swap out the nuts for sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds or even chocolate chips.

The key to making a perfect granola bar is to bake it for just a few minutes, until it’s slightly golden. You don’t want to over bake it or it will get too dark and too hard to eat. Also, you have to be sure to let them cool completely before cutting them into bars, otherwise they will fall apart. I allowed our bars to cool at room temperature for a couple of hours before cutting them and then stored them in an air tight container.

Well, I hope you’ll enjoy all of these delicious granola recipes and feel free to share your favorite granola recipes with us. Our next granola adventure may be a dark chocolate coconut granola bar, YUM. Mike and Lilliana would love that one!