Breakfast Idea: Crunchy Chewy Granola

At the Gilmore Park Church Community Kitchen, Minoo shared with us some food safe leftovers tips from dietitian Heather McColl. Here is the excerpt:

Double duty dinners are a perfect time-saving solution to getting a homemade dinner on the table in a hurry. When storing and reheating leftovers, use the following measures to keep them food-safe:

  • Ensure your fridge is at the correct temperature: 4 degrees or colder. A fridge thermometer is a good investment.
  • Refrigerate leftovers immediately after dinner or within 2 hours of cooking.
  • Cool food quickly by storing in shallow containers on your refrigerator’s wire shelves to promote maximum airflow and even cooling.
  • Quickly cool a large pot of hot food like soup or stew by chilling in an ice bath and stirring frequently before storing in the refrigerator or freezer.
  • Chill large pieces of meat or poultry quickly and safely by deboning and dividing into small pieces before storing in the refrigerator
  • Date your leftovers and use within 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator or store in the freezer for up to 6 months.
  • When reheating leftovers, be sure to heat foods to an internal temperature of 74 degrees or bring liquids like soup to a rolling boil.
  • A good rule of thumb is when in doubt, throw it out as you can’t tell the safety of food by its look, smell or taste.

Crunchy-Chewy-Granola-10

The second breakfast item which Minoo shared is a Crunchy Chewy Granola. This granola can be eaten as snacks or as topping on your favourite yogurt.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup sunflower oil
  • 1/2 cup honey
  • 1/2 cup agave syrup
  • 5 1/2 cups old fashioned oat flakes (you may substitute up to 2 cups of oats with any other cereal flake you desire)
  • 1 cup sunflower or pumpkin seeds
  • 4 tablespoons sesame seeds
  • 1 cup chopped mixed nuts
  • 2 tablespoons wheat germ
  • 1 tablespoons ground flax seed
  • 1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
  • 1 1/2 cups dried fruits (like craisin, raisin, blueberry, sour cherry or goji berry)

Crunchy-Chewy-Granola-1

In this recipe, Minoo introduced us with new sweetener called agave syrup. Agave syrup or nectar is available at Costco and Galloway’s Specialty Foods.

Crunchy-Chewy-Granola-12Crunchy-Chewy-Granola-6

Minoo shared with us the nutrients of agave includes Vitamin A, B1 (Thiamin), B2 (Riboflavin), B3 (Niacin), B6 (Phridoxine), B9 (Folate, Folic Acid), C, E, K, protein, selenium, natural fats, natural sugars, carbohydrates, starch, magnesium, calcium (good amount), iron, potassium, phosphorus, sodium, zinc, copper, manganese and dietary fiber (good amount).

Source: unknown

(more…)

Continue ReadingBreakfast Idea: Crunchy Chewy Granola

Breakfast Idea: Quinoa and Millet Porridge

Once again, Minoo prepared a few recipes for breakfast or brunch at the Gilmore Park Church Community Kitchen. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. A good nutritious breakfast will help kids to perform better in school.

Quinoa-and-Millet-Poridge-8

This Quinoa and Millet Porridge is stained purple by the blueberries which is rich with antioxidants. It is a good substitute to the more regular oatmeal porridge.

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup millet
  • 1/4 cup quinoa
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 cup frozen blueberries
  • 2 tablespoons ground flax seed
  • honey

Quinoa-and-Millet-Poridge-1

Source: unknown;  Serves 2

(more…)

Continue ReadingBreakfast Idea: Quinoa and Millet Porridge

All About Grains

Minoo had selected a theme of grains to introduce to the community kitchens. She brought a variety of grains to the Gilmore Park Church Community Kitchen to share with us.

All-About-Grains-1

We learned that we can incorporate various grains in our diet beside the staple rice or oats that we are familiar with. We can add grains into our soup, stew or salad.

Here is an article which Minoo shared with us:

Grains are the mainstay of human sustenance. About half the world’s arable land is devoted to the cultivation of grains in some form or other, and 80% of the calories that human consume come from grains. Civilization as we know came into being as we transformed from wandering hunter-gatherers into farmers with secure and stable communities nourished by the fruits of our labours.

Grains are amazing plants, developed from weed like plants, grasses actually, that were able to spring up from any odd patch of ground on which a seed happens to fall. Among their many characteristics that make them so valuable is spacing, they take up little room, sending up stems topped by crowded spikes of nutrition packed seed kernels. They mature in just a few months and all of the seeds ripen simultaneously. They are easily prepared for cooking, even with primitive tools. Best of all, grains are often dry enough when fully ripe or after a brief parching in the sun to be stored without going moldy, so a good harvest ensures a year long supply of food.

(more…)

Continue ReadingAll About Grains

Multigrain Salad

Following the knife skills workshop, Ian proceeded with a grain workshop.

Multigrain-Salad-2

In this workshop, Ian introduced us to four grains, i.e. Couscous, Bulgar, Quinoa and Kasha. Ian showed us how to cook the different grains and we got to taste the texture of all the grains which is lightly dressed with olive oil and salt. Most of the grains can be cooked like pasta but the nutrients will be lost in the water. So, if you cook it the pasta way, save the water to make stocks.

Multigrain-Salad-1

A good place to buy such grains is Galloway’s Specialty Foods.

Multigrain-Salad-3

The grains are used along with some fresh vegetables, herbs, seeds and dried fruits to create a healthy multigrain salad.

Multigrain-Salad-9

The above are some of the vegetables and herbs that were prepared from the knife skills workshop.

Multigrain-Salad-4

Couscous is the easiest and quickest to prepare among the 4 grains. All you have to do is … (more…)

Continue ReadingMultigrain Salad