3 Grain - 3 Seed Bread

Sourdough

This is the first step if you don’t already have sourdough. Sourdough will take on its strength and character over time, but this is one good way of creating a natural leavener:

1 – 2 cups wheat kernels and or rye kernels coarsely ground
1 – 2 cups water
1 – 2 Tablespoons yogurt with live active cultures
1 cup organic Unwashed grapes

In a medium bowl combine the ground grains, water and yogurt. Mix well to combine.
Place the grapes in a cheese cloth and tie it into a secure sachet. Hold it over the grain mixture and squeeze the grapes until they are all mushy, then place the entire sachet into the mixture and submerge it. Cover the bowl with a single layer of cheese cloth – enough to keep the bugs out but still allow environmental dust to get in. Place the bowl in a shady area outdoors for 5 to 7 days. Check daily to stir the mixture and add more water if necessary. Bacteria from the air will find their way into the dough and start to ferment it. It should begin to smell sour like wine.

Now you are ready to bake bread!

Three Grain – Three Seed Bread

Day 1

1-1/2 cups red hard wheat berries
2-1/2 cups rye berries
2/3 cup millet or buckwheat
1/3 cup flax seeds
1 cup sunflower seeds
1/3 cup pepitas
1 cup sourdough starter
5 cups warm water (~ 100º F)

Coarsely grind or mill the grains into “cracked wheat” and “rye chops.” These can also be purchased as such. Combine grains and seeds in a very large glass or ceramic bowl. You can alter the amounts and types of seeds you like. Add sourdough and warm water. Stir well to combine. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel and let sit in a warm place for 8 hours or over night.

Day 2

Save 1 cup sourdough for next time. Store in a glass jar in the refrigerator. It will keep for many weeks, even months. The top may discolor into dark shades of gray. This is normal and can still be used.

2 cups warm water (~ 100ºF)
2 Tbs sea salt
2 – 3 cups high gluten bread flour
1 package dry yeast
½ cup warmer water (~105ºF)
¼ cup honey or juice concentrate
8 – 10 cups whole wheat flour

Stir salt into warm water until dissolved, then stir into soured grain mixture.
In a separate small bowl add dry yeast to ½ cup warm water, let sit for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, add 2 to 3 cups bread flour to grain mixture and stir rapidly in small circular strokes for about 5 minutes.
Stir yeast and add to grain mixture, add honey and stir until well incorporated. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a pre-warmed oven (about 90º F, oven should be OFF) and let ferment 1 hour.
Stir grain mush enough to push most air bubbles out. In the bottom of a mixer bowl, place 1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour, top with ½ the grain mush and 1 more cup whole wheat flour. In a mixer with a dough hook, mix on medium speed for 5 minutes, adding more flour as needed until dough is about to pull away from the sides but still sticky. Remove from bowl and let rest on counter top. Repeat with the second half. Grease 4 to 6 loaf pans with plain butter, if using.
Form loaves as desired using more kneading flour as needed, score with a sharp knife, spritz with tepid water from a spray bottle and place in a pre-warmed, humid oven that is OFF. Allow to rise until doubled. Remove from oven.
Preheat oven to 425ºF. Spritz hot oven with water to create a lot of steam, place bread pans in oven and bake for 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350º F and bake one more hour.
We usually get three 2# loaves, one 1 ½# loaf and a couple baguettes out of this. Sometimes we make rolls or pita breads from the leftover dough. It depends on how much oven space you have. The rolls will double and bake first, then the big loaves. Upon cooling, we package the bread in aluminum foil and then in a large plastic freezer bag. The bread freezes really well. Thawed sliced bread tastes best when toasted.

Almut's Home-made Ice Cream

1. Sliced Frozen Strawberries (or fruit of choice). Can use fresh, if so, add about 1/2 C extra Sugar.

2. 1 C Sugar

3. 1 C Heavy Whipping Cream

4. 4 C Plain Yogurt

**Blend/Puree until smooth.

**Move to Ice Cream Maker for approx. 20 minutes, or until frozen.

VEEEEERRRRYYYY Yummy!!!

Monday, May 7th

Tonight we spent a lot of time discussing Fruits and Veggies. We had a great diagram of a "plant", showing each different part of it, and we were assigned to think of as many varieties as possible that come from different areas of a plant. Here is some of what we came up with:
Fruits: Peppers, Tomatoes, Apples, Zucchini, Squash, Strawberries, Pumpkins, Cucumbers, Egg Plant, Cherries, Bananas.
Flowers: Artichoke, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Broccaflower
Stems & Shoots: Celery, Asparagus, Rhubarb, Heart of Palm
Tubers: Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, Jicama, Turnips, Sun Chokes.
Roots: Carrots, Turnips, Kohlrabi, Radish, Parsnips, Beets.
Bulbs: Onions, Garlic, Leeks
Leaves: Lettuce, Spinach, Cabbage, Collard Greens, Swiss Chard, Herbs, Mustard Greens.
Seeds: Peas, Legumes, Green Beans, Soy Beans, Corn, Okra

These are just a few examples. The challenge was given to us to also categorize by colors of the rainbow, giving us more varieties to work with and ensure we are getting adequate amounts of Fruits and Veggies. Remember, it's no longer "5 a Day", it's "More Matters". Different fruits and veggies offer different nutrients for our bodies. For example, those that grow above the ground are usually high in vitamins, those that grow below, high in minerals, stems and shoots are high in fiber. So, sorting by color can also help sort out our nutrient content.

We also spent time discussing meal planning. We were challenged to think of meals that can provide two meals for our families. For example, dinners that can be used for lunch the following day. In order to help wrap our brains around this chore of planning, here were some helpful hints.
1. Plan a big meal first
2. Look at what you have on hand and plan meals for those items first. This will eliminate stock piling items and waste.
3. Portion out your veggies as you're unloading. Chop and prepare so that when you need them, they are accessible, easy and quick.

Hope you can use these helpful tips and tidbits to get you through the next two weeks!

Dinner Table Conversation Starters

How does your body tell you when you are hungry?
How do you quench that hunger or feeling?
How do you think other people feel when they are teased about how they look?
What can you do to be more accepting of people of all shapes and sizes?

Almut's Power Cookies

Pre-Heat over to 350 degrees Bake 12-15 minutes
Ingredients:
1 C & 2 Tsp. Flour
2 C Quick Oats
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 C Granulated Sugar
1/4 C Brown Sugar
1/2 C Sunflower Seeds
1/4 C Flax Seed

(**Flax contains a lot of fiber in it's whole form and is high in vitamins, minerals and Omega 3 Fatty acids in it's ground form**)

1 tsp. Baking Soda

1/2 t Cinnamon
1 C dark chocolate chips

**Mix all dry ingredients together**

1 stick butter (softened)

1/4 C Milk
1 Tsp. lemon juice

1 t Vanilla
1 Egg

**Create a "well" in the middle of dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients and mix together until all is moistened.**
**Scoop into 1 T or 2 T balls onto cookie sheets. Lightly flatten w/ a fork. Bake as stated above**
ENJOY...THESE ARE DELICIOUS!

Monday, April 24

We had a good meeting Monday night. Lots of information and even more questions and clarifications. Here is a BRIEF (very brief) overview of what we covered (or at least what I wrote down).

1. What is a dietitian? Has a BA with heavy emphasis in science, is licensed and does internships.

2. What does scripture say about health, our bodies and taking care of ourselves?
a. We are to be healthy so that we are available for God and the service He calls us to.
b. We are to be good stewards of our bodies, not just our time and our finances.
c. We need to be able to enjoy food without baggage of what is in it, what we were taught and know that it is given to us for our nourishment.
d. 20% of cancer cases could be decreased by maintaining 5 servings or more of fruits and vegetables.

3. What does the "Nutrition Facts" label tell us?
a. All packaging is regulated by the FDA & has legislation to regulate what you can and cannot call food (ex. 100% juice)
b. "Good" = 10% of the nutrients, "Excellent" = 20%+ (ex. "Good source of Iron", "Excellent source of calcium")
c. Good rule of thumb when looking at a label and determining if it is "healthy" is to look at the first four ingredients.
d. Enriched ~ adding nutrients that were already in the original product back after they have been stripped.
e. Fortified ~ adding nutrients that are NOT in the original product (ex. Vitamin D milk)
f. The term "Natural" is not regulated
g. Organic can be on the label as long as ingredients are 95% organic.
h. Trans Fat is only in processed food. Trans Fats and Saturated Fats are BAD fats.
i. Natural sugars feed our brains. We can substitute honey for sugar, but you will need to reduce another liquid in your recipe.

We learned that the transition to a healthier lifestyle will be easier when we can...

Stop thinking Healthy vs. Unhealthy and start thinking Natural vs. Processed!

100-Calorie (or less) Snack Packs

These are some ideas I got from my Parents Magazine (Nov. 06 issue).
Purchase snack size bags (they're very convenient) to make your own.

Here they are:

1 small orange

1 Cup Watermelon

2/3 Cup Cocoa Puffs

13 Stauffer's Animal Crackers

15 mini Carrots

3/4 oz. Cheddar Cheese

3 Tbs. Raisins

2 Twizzlers

6 Reduced Fat Triscuits

7/8 Cup Cheerios

1 C Celery Slices

2/3 Cups Mini Marshmallows

12 Soy Crisps

1 Cheese Stick and 5 slices shaved Ham

In addition, I pulled another article from the April '07 issue regarding Power Snacks. Here are those ideas.

Veggie dip: Slice fresh vegetables into thin strips & serve w/ Hummus

Turkey Tortilla: Place deli turkey, low-fat mozzarella & lettuce on whole-wheat tortilla.

Roll tightly, seal and refrigerate. Cut into one-inch slices.

Sweet smoothie: Blend a banana w/ one cup nonfat milk and two tablespoons Ovaltine.

You can add variety by mixing in other fruits, yogurt & peanut butter.

Yummy Yogurt: Mix low-fat yogurt w/ a low-fat granola and dried cranberries.

Ants on a Log: Fill celery sticks w/ peanut butter & top with raisins

Fruit Kabobs: Place melon chunks, pineapple wedges & grapes (sliced in half if your child is under 4)

on an ice-pop stick, alternating fruit w/ small cubes of low-fat string cheese.

Use yogurt for dipping.

Ode to Oatmeal: Top oatmeal w/ one tablespoon peanut butter and one tablespoon raisins. Mix and serve.

Perfect Parfait: Layer low-fat cottage cheese and sliced fruit in a parfait glass or clear cup.

Hope these are useful for you!

Sorry couldn't make it last night.

My name is Melissa Millheim. I am a stay at home mom with 2 kids ages 2 and 4. My husband and I will have been coming to the Journey for a year in June. We have been doing things with people from the Journey for quite awhile so last June it was a good time for us to make the move to the church. It has been the best move we have every made.
I am excited about the nutrition class and look forward to seeing you all next week.
Erin, thanks for putting this together. It looks great.
Almut, Do you think you could post that handouts that you gave out last night or should we just get them from you next week?

Re-Cap of our first meeting

Last night was our kick-off to this 6 week training class. We discussed our families, what brought us to the Journey and dove into what we would like from the next several weeks.

In our discussion, we established that it would be better if we moved our start time to 7:30 p.m. and went until 9:00 p.m., each Monday. Almut requested that we take Monday, April 30th off due to a full day for her.

We broke into groups of 3 and discussed what we would like to cover in the curriculum. Some of the main points were:
Menu Planning
Healthy Snacks to have on hand at all times
Looking at Labels
Healthy proteins for children
Dressing up simple meal
Creative side dishes (outside of corn and potatoes)
...and many more.

Almut took time to give us our first recipe for Trail Mix and all ingredients came from Aldi, making it very cheap and creating enough to last about one month. The ingredients were:
1 jar unsalted dry-roasted peanuts
1 bag raisins (Almut used yellow raisins for color)
1 bag dried cranberries
1 bag yogurt covered raisins
1 bag almonds
1 bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 box of honey-nut cheerios (Aldi Brand)
**Mix ingredients together, scoop 1 Cup into small baggies, place in larger bag for storage. Remember to take them with you wherever, in your purse, diaper bag, car. Easy to always have on hand.

Almut gave us several hand outs from budgeting to our food pyramid, the USDA's food allocation for families, and several articles. If you missed those, I'm sure she can e-mail them to you or bring them next time.

That about covers it...well, not really, but without re-teaching the class (and I can guarantee it would not compare to Almut), here is the first summary.

Stay tuned for more information, recipes, etc. We will always be updating!