Pineapple Smoothie--Eating Healthy Makes Cents!

Good Morning!

Just wanted to share a yummy and inexpensive breakfast that we like to enjoy--especially in these super hot days of summer!  I may have shared this before, but if I did well just consider this a reminder! ;)

When the weather is hot, there is only one thing I really want for breakfast--or dessert for lunch, or as a light supper, and that is a smoothie!  I like to eat as healthy as possible, and as simple as possible as well.  I know some people like to add all sorts of powders and things into their smoothies, and that is great for them.  But for me, I want it simple, so I base all of my smoothies off of one main "secret" ingredient--frozen bananas!  Every.  Single.  Smoothie.  Frozen bananas.  And in all EXCEPT for the banana smoothie, you will never even know the frozen bananas are in there because the other things you add in are the flavor you taste.  Of course, I like bananas, so I do not mind if I taste something and it tastes like bananas, but you know what I mean.

So, for this smoothie--which was really yummy and I would love to have another one to eat as I sit here typing this blog post, I had some bananas frozen in the freezer.  I will take my over ripe bananas--you know, the sort you will use for banana bread making--and peel them.  I also like to break them in half and then I put them into a freezer bag.  For me, since I am making smoothies for my family, I put bananas into a gallon size freezer bag, but if you are only making for one or two people you can make a quart size freezer bag full.

So I take my frozen bananas and put some in my blender with a little water.  Now, I am using a very powerful blender--a Vita Mix, and I used a regular Hamilton Beach blender from Walmart for years and years.  You can do this with any blender, BUT the one difference is with the less powerful blenders you are going to have to add more water so it will be a bit more like a drink and a little less like an ice cream. Depending on your blender, you also might need to do this with bananas that are not frozen, and just have your pineapple be frozen.  But it is still all good!  So I will first blend some bananas with water, and while my blender is still running start putting in frozen pineapple chunks through the top lid hole.  I put in pineapple until it is a nice bright yellow color, because I want to make sure I can TASTE the pineapple.  And then I will keep adding a couple more frozen banana halves, and a little more water if it is having trouble blending, until I have my blender canister full to the top, because I know I am going to have three other people all looking at my smoothie and wanting some for their breakfast as well! :D

So there you have it.  My Pineapple Smoothie recipe = frozen bananas, frozen pineapple, and water.  It doesn't get any simpler than that!  And since I shop as much as possible at Aldi's, I can purchase my bananas and frozen pineapple pretty cheap as well.  Saving money on groceries, AND most important saving money on doctor bills (by staying healthy as much as possible!) are both things I love to do!

What smoothie flavors do YOU like to create?

~Susan

Homemade Grape Nuts--Eating Healthy Makes Cents!

My recipe fills a two quart mason jar

Hi Everyone!

It's been a while since I shared a "Eating Healthy Makes Cents" recipe!  I think I need to go back and write down which recipes I have already shared here, or I am going to start sharing the same ones over and over again! ;)  Which I suppose is not the WORST thing, but not exactly how I want to spend my limited blogging time!  

Today's recipe I KNOW I have not shared before, because I just recently found it while looking for something else on-line, and then tweeked it to our tastes/preferences.  The original recipe had one cup of sugar in it--um, no thank you!  If I want one cup of sugar to the ratio of other ingredients in this recipe, I can just go buy a box of fruit loops!  But that is the beauty of making food homemade--you can add or subtract according to your preferences.  :)  

All in all, I really do like this recipe.  It kind of does remind me of the name brand Grape Nuts cereal, but not exactly the same.  I had to laugh when I read the reviews on the site where I found the recipe, because some people were saying how it tastes EXACTLY like the "real" Grape Nuts cereal, and then right after them someone else would say that while they liked the recipe, it tasted NOTHING at all like the "real" Grape Nuts!  So just goes to show you that we all tastes things differently!

But on to the recipe!  It is simple, and much less expensive than purchasing commercially made cereal.  This batch will make and fill up to the top a two quart mason jar that I store it in.  

Homemade Grape Nuts

3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1/4 cup brown sugar (a bit more if you want it sweet--original recipe calls for 1 cup)

2 cups water

2/3 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

Mix all ingredients together.  If it is too dry, add a tablespoon or more of water.  You are wanting it to be like a thick cake batter.

Spread mixture onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet.  Bake 15 minutes at 375 degrees.

Remove from oven.  It will look like a heavy cake.

Let cool completely--this is hard to wait for when you want to make your recipe! ;)

Once cool, break into large chunks and grind in a food processor until it is like crumbs.

Return those crumbs to a cookie sheet or a large baking pan.  I use my lasagna pan because it has sides on it, and this helps me not spill the cereal when I am stirring it.

Bake in a 250 degree oven for one hour or until crisp, stirring every 15-20 minutes.  

In my oven it is NEVER crisp after only one hour, so I will bake the crumbs for an hour and a half or so, then turn off the oven but leave the cereal in there to finish drying completely. I like to make the recipe in the evening and then leave it in the oven (turned off) over night.  In the morning, the cereal is ready for breakfast!

Baked cake-like cereal on left, crumbs on right

Some variations if you want to add them include adding in some vanilla, or cinnamon or coriander.  Making food yourself, you know exactly what is in it and you can add in your favorite ingredients! And no long ingredient list filled with names you cannot even pronounce, let alone know what they are!

My favorite part--eating it!

And now you have another healthy inexpensive recipe to help stretch those grocery budgets.  Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!

~Susan

Oatmeal Patties--Eating Healthy Makes Cents!

Hi Everyone!

This week's healthy, inexpensive recipe is brought to you in response to a FB question from my friend Pam.  Their family ends up traveling together quite a bit at meal times, and she was looking for some variety of something to put in sandwiches instead of only peanut butter and jelly.  I understand this need so very well!  If you do not eat meat, you can do things like cheese and egg salad for variety--but once I had to cut out dairy from my life, well, it became a choice of peanut butter and jelly or jelly and peanut butter! :)  I LIKE peanut butter and jelly sandwiches--I really do--just not all the time!  And while my tongue loves the taste of some of the meat substitutes out there--my pocket book does NOT like the expense and besides that a lot of them are not really all that healthy.  Just look at the long list of ingredients--if you can't pronounce it, it probably isn't good for you to eat!

ANYWAY, so came about my own personal search for things to stuff into sandwiches that were both healthy and--as always--I wanted them to be cheap as well.  Today's recipe definitely fills both of these requirements.  So instead of sharing the recipe only with Pam, I thought I would post it here on my little blog in case others would like it as well.  I hope your family ends up loving it as much as my family does!

~Susan

 Oatmeal Patties

2 cups water

4 Tablespoons soy sauce

2 tsp. honey

2 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. sage

2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. Italian seasoning

2 cups quick oats

Combine water and seasonings in a saucepan and bring to a boil.

Add oats and turn heat down to medium. Cook for around 5 minutes until it is thick, stirring constantly.  You are basically making oatmeal--just for the water, you are using seasoned water.  

Remove from the burner and use two spoons to shape into the size patties you want.  Most of the time I make smaller patties and use them on small rolls that I make, but this time I was wanting to use them with regular sliced bread sandwiches, so I made them larger.  I use nonstick baking sheets in my pans.  If you do not have these, just give your pans a quick spray of nonstick spray.

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until they are slightly browned on the bottom.  If you try and flip them over and they are still soft like oatmeal, they need to bake longer.  Once they are brown on the bottom, flip them over and bake 15 minutes longer.  In the above picture, the patties closest to me have not been flipped over yet, the patties farther away from me have already been flipped.

And there you have it.  Yummy Oat Patties, fresh from the oven!  The above picture shows this recipe doubled, as I like having enough for my little family to eat for two meals.  I enjoy cooking--but I am so busy all the time that having leftovers the next day is a real blessing.  I love these in sandwiches with lettuce and tomato and a bit of onion--yum!  You can also tear them into smaller pieces and add into any pasta dish for extra yummyness! 

These patties freeze great! And remember--eating healthy does not have to cost a lot!

Light Oat Waffles--Healthy Eating Makes Cents!

Good Morning Everyone!

Thank you for all the positive responses on my Carrot Soup recipe I posted last week!  You all are a brave lot, because so many of you were very excited about trying that recipe--and "Carrot Soup" just isn't a commonly heard of type of soup!  But I hope you do try it and love it as much as I do.

Ever since posting that recipe last week, I have been dutifully taking pictures of different foods as I make them--because, quite frankly, almost ALL of the foods I make on a regular basis are on the economical side of things. . . So I have the recipes and I have the pictures--what I do not usually have is the time to post!  But I thought I would try and make some time this morning, so am posting this even as I am at this moment munching happily away on my plateful of Oat Waffles! :)  The one picture you won't see is a waffle all arranged in a pretty way on a plate and ready to eat.  Why?  Because I ate it--and then thought about that final picture!  But there will be enough pictures to help you know if you want to make these or not, and what stages should look like if you do decide to.  :)

So here it is--my VERY easy famous oat waffle recipe. . . alright, so it may only be famous in my own house, but it certainly IS famous around here! :)  As far as amounts go, I normally will double the recipe amounts, two different times, so in reality I am making four batches of this recipe.  This is to feed four people as a meal, and our family is really three adults and only one child.  This will make enough for all of us to eat like little piggy wiggies, and still have some left ofr the two kids at least to have the next day.  Leftovers heat wonderful in a toaster oven, which will re-crisp the waffles after they become sort of limp from sitting.

Light Oat Waffles

2 1/4 cups water

2 cups regular rolled oats (old-fashioned)

2 Tab. whole grain flour

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. vanilla flavoring

2 Tab. sesame seeds

Place all ingredients except sesame seeds in blender and blend until creamy.

It will look like this--and will be a bit on the runny side but will thicken a bit more as it sits.

Preheat a non-stick waffle iron on high for 5-8 minutes.  This is important, make sure the waffle iron is hot before you put the batter in.  I have two waffle irons, a round one and a large square one, and I will heat both and run them at the same time.  This helps you get more ready for a whole family to sit down and eat them at the same time--otherwise, people can eat in shifts as the waffles come out hot, or you can keep them warm in an oven until you have enough to all sit down, but they will soften and not retain their crispness. 

When waffle iron is ready, sprinkle some sesame seeds on the bottom of the waffle iron, scoop some batter into the iron, and then sprinkle the top batter with more sesame seeds.  Close lid and bake for 10-12 minutes, or until it is lightly browned.  DON'T peak until it has baked at least 10 minutes.  Peaking too early can result in your waffle being torn in two as you open the waffle iron.  Don't ask me how I know this.  Just trust me.  ;)

Eat right away or cool on baking rack before freezing.  If freezing, separate waffles by wax paper and freeze in Ziploc freezer bags.  This turns it into your own convenience food of frozen toaster waffles!  I like to heat them in my toaster oven, but I believe a regular toaster would work the same way--you would just have to tear them in half or whatever size needed for your toaster.

And there you have it.  Really, eating these waffles is just as healthy as eating oatmeal for breakfast.  And with the main ingredients being oats and water, they are super super cheap on the budget as well.  We like to eat them with peanut butter and applesauce and granola on top, or my favorite is with a spread of home made jam.  Today's waffles were eaten with home made strawberry jam and some had orange marmalade jam on them.  Yum yum yum!

Hope you enjoy!  And a big thank you to those who shared some of their healthy, inexpensive foods with me last week.  I am looking forward to trying some of those recipes!  And since today I am posting a healthy breakfast food, what is YOUR favorite healthy breakfast food?

~Susan

Creamy Carrot Soup--Eating Healthy Makes Cents!

Hi Everyone!

I thought I would start a little mini-series today.  It may be "very" mini, as I don't have a lot of time to post on this little blog, but I still wanted to at least do a little bit.  I have been thinking about how often people have the idea that they can't afford to eat healthy--that it costs too much, and that it is too complicated.  Well, I have a smattering of recipes that would argue those thoughts--especially the ones about eating healthy costing too much.  And I just thought I would like to share some of those recipes with you.  

I have no idea how often I will post them, due to lack of time, so this will be a very sporadic series.  But be that as it may, I will share when I can and I hope these recipes help someone.  :)

The first recipe I wanted to share with all of you is for Carrot Soup.  Now I KNOW what you are thinking, because quite frankly the words "Carrot Soup" didn't exactly tork my gibs either!  But once I sampled it, I knew it was a recipe to stay!  And with this being Fall and all, it is the perfect VERY inexpensive meal for those cold days.  These ingredients are inexpensive all the time--but if you have an Aldi's store near you, this week you can make this recipe for dirt cheap, since they currently have a two pound bag of carrots on sale for only 49 cents!  Don't worry if you missed it--they will bring this carrot sale around again.  And every time I see it, I buy a couple extra bags of carrots.  They store well in the fridge, and I know that I am going to put Carrot Soup on my menu! :)

Creamy Carrot Soup--serves 2

1 lb. carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks

1 small onion, diced

1/4 c. instant oats

1/2 c. non-dairy milk (or extra water)

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. allspice

salt to taste

1.  In a medium saucepan, combine 2 cups water, carrots, onion, and oats over high heat.

2.  Bring to boil, then reduce heat to medium.

3.  Cook, stirring frequently, until carrots are fork-tender, about 5 minutes.

4.  Let cool a bit, then transfer to a blender in batches and combine with non-dairy milk.  Blend until smooth and creamy.

5.  Transfer back to saucepan and stir in ginger and allspice.

6.  Gently reheat, adding in salt to taste.

~~~~~~~~~~

Now, the amounts you see in the pan in the picture are this recipe tripled.  For my family of four, I triple the recipe except I do NOT triple the ginger but only double the ginger.  This is just for my own taste preferences, plus if I make food "too" spicy my youngest does not like it.  So this is my compromise.  But adjust things to your taste.  Also, for the tripled recipe amount I add in 2 tsp. salt.

Hope you enjoy this yummy soup!  And I would LOVE it if you leave me your "go-to" healthy and cheap recipes in the comments section!

Have a beautiful day--and eat healthy!

~Susan