Easy Homemade Sandwich Bread!

"Keep calm and bake on!"

That's what we did during Typhoon Trami and there's nothing like the smell of fresh homemade bread in the home...can you smell it now? Happiness!

A lot of work went into this lovely loaf of bread. I mixed all the ingredients together and then my youngest got to work kneading it. He did a great job! I usually put it in my kitchen aid and let that do the work, but the bread came out dense. My 7yr. old wanted to help knead it so I should him how and he ended up giving it a few too many punches and then folding. It turned out to be a great method!!

It wore him out a little bit and he had fun! Plus the dough came out nice and soft and rose perfectly!!

So glad my kids love to help out in the kitchen. I certainly love teaching them the importance of cooking!! 

They love love this bread and I love that they love it!

Happiness is definitely homemade!

I've been using King Arthur's Bread Flour and it's been great....

*This recipe is for a bread machine. I don't have a bread machine, so I do it a little differently. If you have a bread machine then add it all together in the machine and press start. If you don't follow my directions.

Easy Sandwich Bread

Ingredients:

• 1 cup lukewarm water
• 1/3 cup lukewarm milk 
• 3 tbsp. butter
• 3 3/4 cup bread flour
• 3 tbsp. sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast or instant yeast

Directions:

• Put lukewarm water in your mixing bowl and add sugar and instant yeast. Let it rest for 5mins.
• It should be foamy and bubbly, add the rest of the ingredients and mix together.
• Knead it for 10-12mins until nice and soft.
• Oil a loaf pan and shape the dough for the pan. 
• Let it rise for 1 hr. and don't forget to set your oven at 350 degrees.

For the small 1lb. loaf use this...

• 2/3 cup lukewarm water
• 1/4 lukewarm milk
• 2 T butter or I like avocado oil
• 2 1/2 cups bread flour
• 5 tsp. sugar
• 1 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1tsp. active dry yeast or instant yeast

• I let it rise for 2.5 hrs. I turn the oven on about the last 30 mins of the rising time to 350 deg. and then bake for 33 mins in a glass baking dish.

• After it's done rising put into the oven for 40-45mins until golden brown..... 

Let it cool and enjoy with some fresh butter and smile :) 

"Muesli Bars"

This recipe is found at Whole Foods Simply. I love her website and how simple and easy she puts recipes together with whole foods.

Wholefood Simply Snack Bars

75 grams roasted almond butter (this is 1/3 cup, you can use hulled tahini or sunflower seed butter for a nut free option)

75 grams (5 tablespoons) cooled roast pumpkin or pumpkin puree

75 grams desiccated coconut (3/4 cup finely shredded dried coconut)

1/2 ripe banana

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon vanilla

pinch of salt

Preheat your oven to 175 Degrees Celcius or 350 Degrees Fahrenheit.

Grease and line a mini loaf tin (mine is 6″ x 2.5″) with baking paper hanging oven the sides for easy removal.

Place all ingredients into your blender or food processor in the order listed, blend quickly to combine. Alternatively mash the almond butter, pumpkin and banana together in a bowl and then stir in the remaining ingredients.

Press the mixture into the loaf tin and cook for 30 minutes or until golden on top and an inserted skewer comes out cleanly.

Remove from the oven, leave in the tin for five minutes then carefully move the slice onto a cooling rack. Once it has cooled chop into bars. Enjoy!

You could also double this recipe and make it in a standard loaf tin, be sure to increase the cooking time.

***I used tahini paste and didn't add the shredded coconut. I added chopped pecans. My loaf came out soft and mushy inside. So, I couldn't cut it into bars. Nonetheless, it was delicious!

"Baked Goods"

I like to think of these dishes as the "real baked goods."

All you gotta do is throw some fruit and veggies onto a baking sheet and put it in the oven.

Make your own dipping sauce.

And most importantly BE CREATIVE!

Top dish is papayas topped w/ a slice of banana, beets, and radishes. The sauce is frozen peas, fresh mint, ginger, chia seeds, soaked and peeled almonds, and water.

Bottom dish steamed hard squash, papaya, banana, starfruit, and turnips. Sprinkled with grated nutmeg and crushed cardamon. 

I'm working with a wonderful friend I have met who is a very creative and an amazing cook! She is opening up my right brain and getting my creative juices flowing. She baked all these and shared all her good ideas!

I'm really focusing on food and how it makes me feel....I'm listening to my body. For the last 10 years I've been on a serious health journey because through health challenges and c-sections and raising kids it's been a bit crazy. I've tried this and tried that...vegan, raw food, juicing, candida diets, alkalizing-diets, whole foods, gluten-free, etc. I did see great improvements in my health, but at the same time I still wasn't feeling great in other ways. But as I've included more, actually a lot, of cooked veggies in my diet, I have felt a world of difference and have slowly, but surely been feeling better! I'm so thankful for all the good people who have helped me along my journey!

Coconut Vinegar Chicken

This chicken came out so so good.  

Marinade (roughly):

4 Tbsp Coconut Vinegar

3 Tbsp Olive Oil

1/2 Lemon Juice

3 Garlic Cloves minced

1/2 tsp Sea Salt

1 Tbsp Oregano

Fresh Thyme

I can't remember the exact measurements I used, but this is close enough. With the oregano I like to pinch and rub it between my fingers to release more flavor. I poked holes in the chicken breast with a fork and flipped it over and over in the marinade. Let it marinade for 10min to 1 to 2 hours. I baked it at 350 deg for about 42 min. Used my meat thermometer to check when it was done, I don't like to overcook it because then the meat is too tough. Chicken should be cooked to 165 deg. 

 Served it with baked asparagus

And mashed potatoes

Also, some onions, zucchini, and squash.

And, sweet potatoes for me.

My kids ate it all up without even making a peep, well except fighting over who got the last pieces of asparagus. Our youngest kept stealing asparagus off his siblings plate. 

**This is an altered recipe I came up with from a previous recipe. I'm doing a cleanse that is restoring the health of my gut. Lots of good soups to make. Check out www.livehealthwise.com for other good recipes.