Goal #1 Buy fewer processed foods
I'm doing very well on this goal. Dinners haven't seen much change since I didn't use much processed foods to start with but I do have a few recipes that I've loved over the past month that I'll share this upcoming week.
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If you had seen the snack shelf of the pantry a month ago it would have been fully stocked with a few different types of crackers, vanilla wafers, graham crackers, pretzels, etc.
This past month I've found a few favorite recipes to replace the boxes of store bought snacks. I also realized that the kids didn't need 15 different choices of snacks. Three or four healthier snacks will do just fine.
Here is our pantry shelf as of yesterday. There are a few boxes of cereal to the side, some raisins, and Jon's tortilla chips. Here's what is in the clear storage boxes....
These crackers are like wheat thins but even better! I sprinkle the tops with Kosher salt before they bake so they have a slight sweetness in the cracker but salty tops. YUM!!
Wheat Germ Wafers
From the Best Loved Whole Grain Recipes cookbook
1 C. All Purpose Flour
1 C. Whole Wheat Flour (I use Whole Wheat Pastry flour for both cups of flour)
1 C. wheat germ
1/4 C. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
3/4 C. water
1/3 C. butter, melted
Kosher or sea salt to sprinkle on the tops
Preheat oven to 350. Combine flours, wheat germ, sugar, salt and baking powder in a large bowl.
Combine water and butter in a small bowl. Add water mixture to flour mixture; stir until mixture forms a soft dough that forms a ball.
Divide the dough in half and turn it out onto a well floured surface. Roll out one portion of dough at a time until it's very thin (1/8" at least). Cut the dough into whatever shape you like using a pizza wheel or knife.
Place them close together but not touching on lightly greased baking sheets. Sprinkle with salt. Bake for about 10 minutes but check them often. You want the edges to just start to turn medium brown. If you take them out too soon, they won't be crunchy but don't let them burn.
Cool them completely on wire racks then store in an airtight container.
This recipe make 3 cookie sheets full of crackers.
Graham Crackers I roll these really thin and use lots of flour when rolling since the dough tends to stick. I cut them into rectangles sometimes but this time I used heart cookie cutters. The kids love them and they're not very crumbly so they don't make a big mess when they eat them. I substitute all Whole Wheat flour for the flours in the recipe.
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I also made Cheese Crackers from Sustainable Eats Blog. I love her blog and this recipe was fantastic! I didn't use the garlic powder or the paprika. The dough was so easy to make in the food processor and the roll and slice method made for quick cracker baking.
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Then lastly, I made Oatmeal Cookies. I wanted a treat this weekend. They were so delicious! They spread a bit more then I expected. Probably since I didn't add any nuts but that made them crispy... which is a bonus.
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I'm experimenting with how these recipes do in the freezer. It would be great if I could bake a big batch of any one snack and keep half in the freezer until we need them. So far the Cheese crackers have done really well after being in the freezer.
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And though I'm still buying bread from the store (100% whole wheat and the shortest ingredient list possible), I made 8 loaves of homemade bread this weekend for the freezer. It was easy with my recipe that makes 4 loaves at a time. This bread is our favorite but we also use store bought for some things.
I'm so tall, aren't I? I stand on a stool to knead the dough to be able to put more downward pressure on the dough as I knead. My kitchen counter is too high otherwise and my dining room table it too wobbly. Charlotte took a picture of me as I kneaded.
Here are a few loaves waiting to be sliced and wrapped.
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Goal #2 Buy Local
Aren't these eggs gorgeous? They are from a nice lady who lives about 15 minutes away. I bought eggs from her often last year but had gotten out of the habit of buying them. Luckily her hens had been laying more eggs when it was warm last week so I was able to buy 4 dozen on Friday! I was so happy to get them. She feeds her hens lots of veggie scraps and they have a big area to roam around in so they yolks are a lovely deep yellow/orange.
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I'm having great luck finding local sources for grass-fed/pastured meat. Localharvest.org has been really helpful. As soon as our freezer supply of meat is gone, we'll be buying our meat locally. I'm planning to visit each farm before placing an order though. I want to see for myself where my food comes from whenever possible.
Goal #3 Get The Most From My Garden
I'm still getting kale from my garden and used it in a soup this past week. While the ground was soft last week, I pulled some carrots and parsnips.
They're a bit dirty but I didn't feel like washing them yet. The carrots I'm pulling are so big! I've been shocked by the size of the carrots I've been able to grow this past year. The parsnips seem small in comparison. It's a good thing I pulled them when I did since the ground is frozen and there's 8" of snow and ice above them.
That's the update for now. I'll check back in on the goal progress by next month if not sooner.
