Eat Clean Sunday and Winners

It has been another great weekend despite the weather being a bit on the rainy side. I dedicated part of the time in planning my menu for the week and look for new recipes to try. I really want to to re-dedicate my cooking practices to a more “clean eating” approach. I wanted to start with my breakfast selections, as it seems that getting up in the morning is getting harder and harder as the school year comes to an end. I went right to a great source for a lot of clean eating recipes The Eat Clean Diet Cookbook by Tosca Reno. This cookbook has over 150 clean eating recipes for the whole family to enjoy. It includes many color pictures of the recipes which in my opinion makes a great cookbook. I was immediately drawn to the Carrot Bread Recipe on page 314. I wanted to share this with you, as I know a lot of you are looking for healthy recipes.

Carrot Bread

Ingredients

1 lb (454 gms) carrots, peeled and grated
1 1/4 C (300 mL) whole wheat flour
1 1/4 C (300 mL) cornmeal
1/4 C (60 mL) flaxseed meal
1 1/2 tsp (8mL) baking powder
pinch of sea salt
3 egg whites
1 egg yolk
2 TBSP (30 mL) canola oil
1/2 C (125 mL) organic honey
3/4 C (180 mL) fat free organic milk or Low Fat Soy Milk
1/4 C (60 mL) raisins
1/4 C (60 mL) dried cranberries

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (190 degrees C).
In a small saucepan place carrots and enough water to cover them. Bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, drain, and let cool.

In a medium mixing bowl place dry ingredients (flour, cornmeal, flaxseed meal, baking powder, salt).

Instead of Flaxseed meal, I used a new product that I found recently, Salba (as seen in above measuring cup). Salba is is a whole grain high in vital nutrients and minerals. Grown under strict growing conditions by one family of growers in Peru, Salba is nutritionally consistent from crop to crop.

What are some of the nutritional benefits of Salba?

• higher in Omega-3 than flax or salmon
• higher ORAC score (antioxidants) than blueberries or pomegranates.
• improves CVD risk factors in Type 2 Diabetes
• higher in fiber than All Bran
• higher in iron than spinach
• higher in calcium than milk

Ideas for Salba for Baking (whole or ground):

• Replace the 1/6 flour in any recipe with ground Salba
• Add whole grain to any recipe
• 1T Whole grain Salba + ¼ cup of water = 1 egg (stir Salba to prevent clumping, blend gel for best results)

Enhance your muffins, breads, cookies, meatloaf, pie crusts, etc. with Salba! I decided to enhance this bread with Salba because I wanted it to be a powerhouse of nutritious goodness.

In another bowl, whip egg whites until stiff.
In a small bowl put egg yolk, honey, and milk. Mix well.

Add to dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Add whipped egg whites and fold until just combined. Add dried fruit, nuts, and cooked carrots and mix until just combined. Do not over-mix or loaf will be tough.

Prepare a 5 x 9 inch loaf pan with cooking spray. Pour batter into loaf pan and bake for 60 minutes or until cake tester comes out clean.

The nutritional data per recipe in the book:
calories 288, calories from fat 53, protein 6 g, carbs 53 g, dietary fiber 6 g, sugars 23 g, fat 5 g, sodium 67 mg
Number of Servings: 10

The verdict:

I had to sample a tiny piece because it smelled delicious. It was moist and tasty. This will make a great breakfast for the morning.

Sorry for the delay of announcing the winners of Friday’s contest. And the winners of the Tyson Meal Coupon are……

1. Michelle at Lucky Taste Buds

2. Heather from A Healthier Me

3. Zara from Crazy Mom

4. Amanda from Fake Ginger

5. Carol from Uncovering Food

Please send me an email at smmuconn@gmail.com to redeem your prize Congrats to the winners. Hope your weekend was great! More Clean Eating recipes this week and a Cinco de Mayo Celebration Mom on the Run Style.