Saturday, February 7, 2009

How [Not] to Use Leftover Sprouted Wheat...

I have plenty of flops in the kitchen, but Thursday morning was one of those, "try-to-get-it-down-before-I-gag" moments. It all started with a batch of sprouted wheat. I don't pay very close attention to measurements (oh, ok...directions too, I guess) in the kitchen, so when I ended up with a half gallon of sprouted wheat, I was a bit surprised. I made three loaves of sprouted wheat bread, which I will definitely try again. But that still left me with a half gallon minus a cup of hairy little sprouted wheat berries. So, I googled recipes with sprouted wheat and came up with a sprouted wheat breakfast. The directions were simple: add milk, and eat like cold cereal. Yeah, well I tried that. No dice. It was like eating okra or the seeds of a tomato (the only two foods I've come across that I can't get down.)

Brainstorm! Maybe I could lightly cook the sprouted wheat in the milk, and it would turn out like oatmeal. Well, there's got to be some "law" about how apples don't turn into oranges, or something like that. My sprouted wheat did not turn into oatmeal. It turned into warm, hairy wheat berries. So, I add honey. And maple syrup. And cinnamon. And banana. I finished that whole bowl, vowing never to eat sprouted wheat in that manner again (and no, I didn't have 'more energy' throughout the day as the website that posted the recipe suggested)!



Sprouted wheat, 1: Megan, 1.

Last night, I still had 4 cups of even hairier looking sprouted wheat, so I decided to make some banana bread with it. What did I have to lose? It couldn't be any nastier than the whoatmeal. Here's the recipe:

2 cups sprouted wheat berries
1 1/2 very ripe bananas
scant 1/4 c maple syrup
1/4 c butter
2 T coconut oil
1/4 t allspice, nutmeg
1 t cinnamon
pinch of cloves
1/2 t salt
2 t baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 t dried vanilla

This was actually really good. I made it less than twelve hours ago, and it's half gone. And we've been sleeping 8 out of those less than twelve hours! I would probably add 1/2 c - 1 c of flour next time, but the bread was SO MOIST! Fantastic flavor.






Sprouted wheat, 1. Megan, 2.


And finally, this morning I made Mango Grain Pancakes. Mark loved them, which is always a good thing. I probably wouldn't use mango again, but we had a mango on its way out, so I figured I'd try!

Here is the easy, healthy, yummy recipe:

1. In blender, blend the following for a few minutes:
3/4 c kefir
3/4 c milk

OR 1.5 c yogurt, or milk, or buttermilk, or water with whey, or some combination!

1/2 c sprouted wheat
1/2 c spelt berries
1/4 c millet
1/4 c barley

OR 1.5 c any combination of grains (note: too much millet results in a crumbly pancake!)

2 T coconut oil or 2 T butter
1/2 t vanilla extract

2. Let sit overnight in blender.

3. In the morning, add 1 egg. Blend.

4. Pulse in 2 t baking powder, 1/2 t baking soda, and 1 t salt.

5. Let rest 5 minutes.

6. Heat a griddle over medium high heat and butter. Cook pancakes several minutes, and add fruit. Cook several more minutes, or until golden brown. Flip. Enjoy!








Sprouted wheat, 1. Megan, 3. I'll take that record.

2 comments:

  1. sprouted wheat berries are pretty durn good in smoothies...I like the sound of the banana bread.I emailed you back- but let me know if it came thru- my outlook kept crashing on me. That oatmeal sounds disqusting- How did you manage to eat that?

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  2. the whoatmeal was atrocious. really, it was. next time i sprout, i'll throw some in my smoothie - great idea! =)

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