Friday, March 11, 2011

Hiding Nutrition

In my quest to eat healthier, I have been hiding some nutrition in our meals.    One of my terrible habits I have been trying to break is not eating breakfast.    I was a "just coffee for breakfast" girl.     I know.  I know.   Terrible habit.    For about six weeks now I have been eating either oatmeal or mini wheats for breakfast.    Not too long after I started eating oatmeal I decided to start sprinkling flax seed over the top.    My personal choice is Carrington Farms Organic Milled Flax Seeds.

I have heard so many great benefits of flax seed that I thought I might as well give it a try.    It is high in Omega 3s and has been shown to prevent or reduce the symptoms of arthritis, colitis, cancer, heart disease and even acne.    

After reading on the back of the package that it could be used in place of some of the flour of your baked goods, I tried it when baking muffins.    The boys never noticed.    I let Little Guy in on my secret and he loved the idea of hiding nutrition.


We even gave these bread machine cinnamon rolls a try we found at the Ameriflax website.

Bread Machine Flax Cinnamon Rolls

3/4 C2 % Milk
1 Egg
3 C All-purpose Flour
3/4 C Ground Flaxseed
1/2 tsp. Salt
3 Tbs. Granulated Sugar
4 Tbs. Margarine or Butter
2 tsp. Fast Rising Instant Yeast
Filling  
3 Tbs. Margarine or Butter
1/3 C Granulated Sugar
1 Tbs. Cinnamon
1/2 tsp. Nutmeg (optional)
Icing Sugar Glaze  
1 C Icing Sugar
2 Tbs. 2% Milk
1/2 tsp. Vanilla
• Measure ingredients for dough and place in bread machine pan in order recommended by manufacturer. Select Dough Cycle.

• Remove dough from pan and place on floured surface. Cover and let rest 15 minutes.

• Roll dough into a rectangle, about 10 x 15 inches.

• Spread margarine or butter over dough to within 1 inch of the edges. Sprinkle sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg (if desired) evenly over dough.

• Roll up dough tightly on long side. Press edges to seal and form into a 12 inch long, evenly shaped roll. Cut roll into 1 inch pieces

• Place rolls onto a greased 9 x 13 inch pan.

• Cover and let rise until double in volume, about 30 to 45 minutes.

• Preheat oven to 375° for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.

• Let cool in pan 10 to 14 minutes.

• Drizzle with icing sugar glaze. Cut apart and remove from pan.


Little Guy got into the game.    The last time we made lasagna he got the idea of "hiding" spinach in the sauce.    Oh you should have seen the pure giddiness on his face when we finished eating supper and he was able to tell is Dad and big brother that they had eaten spinach --- which they hate!

3 comments:

The JR said...

I use to add flax seed oil to smoothies. I need to get back to a healther eating habit soon.

Stacy at Exceedingly Mundane said...

I'm so glad you posted the cinnamon roll recipe, I will have to try that! I've been using flax for a couple of years now, in my oatmeal. I border on high cholesterol, so I eat oatmeal every morning. Luckily, I do LOVE breakfast, but then again, that's part of the problem - I love eggs, sausage, bacon, french toast and all the bad for you stuff as much or more than cereal or oatmeal or poptarts!

I do old-fashioned oats every morning in the microwave (had to go buy a very deep bowl to keep it from overflowing). I add a few pieces of dried fruit (cherries or blueberries normally), then 2 t flax (I just buy the Hodgson Mill in Kroger), a dab of Smart balance butter, a squirt of agave and then some walnuts. It keeps me full for a while!

I tried adding flax to the last banana bread recipe I made and it was good. That reminds me, I need to add that one to my recipe site! You couldn't tell it was in there, so I would definitely add it to muffins, breads, etc.

Another great post! :)

HEATHER said...

Deanna, that recipe sounds fantastic! I will have to give it a try.
I'm the same way about "two cups of coffee" for breakfast. One thing I noticed when my husband and started trying to lose weight, I was not getting enough calories to even diet, so my metabolism was hoarding fat, thinking that I was starving. So I have started trying at least drink a Carnation Instant breakfast, if I don't feel like eating. It has helped me to start losing some weight.