Whole-Grain Daily Bread

Due to the fact that we live in a small town, the grocery store is not always super accessible.  We do have a great little one in town, but hours are limited and if you roll into town hungry after 8 pm (especially in the winter) you could just be out of luck.

For this reason (and the fact that I just like to do it,) I make most of our bread (unless I am pregnant or have a bitty newborn and doing anything extra is completely out of the question.)  When we invested in a Zojirushi bread machine, I also bought "The Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook" by Beth Hensperger.  I honestly only use a few of the recipes on a regular basis, but have not tried one that hasn't turned out well.  If you like making bread at home in a machine, get this book!

So with my little modifications noted (If you haven't noticed, I am not super great at following recipes 100%) here it is:

Whole-Grain Daily Bread

2 pound loaf (it is embarrassing how fast we can go through this)

1 1/3 cups buttermilk (I often just use baking buttermilk powder)
1/2 cup 5 grain cereal (or 7 or 9...)**
1/2 cup water**
**or you could follow their directions and use 1 cup of cooked whole grain, firmly packed**
3 T. canola oil
3 T. honey

3 1/3 cups bread flour
2/3 cups whole wheat flour
1/3 cups rolled oats
1 T. + 1 t. gluten
2 t. salt

2 1/2 t. SAF yeast (or 1 T. bread machine yeast)

Use basic cycle on your machine!

I have to note also that one thing I love about this bread machine is the fact that it has a pre-heat function.  This is especially handy when your home is often less than 60 degrees before noon (until the sun warms it up...or we make a fire!) and bread can be sensitive to temperature.  I highly recommend it!

Obligatory Photo (not the most beautiful loaf in the world, but yummy anyway!):

Winners! :)

Today I am working on getting back on my feet after a family weekend away full of laughter, biking, God and (almost) no computers! :) Laundry is high, 5 am workout this morning was EAR-LY and the dog needs a good bike ride today!

But, I am excited to announce the winners of the Kavu bag giveaway, Annie (our guest post from this past week) for following via GFC and Anna for liking Tales of a Mountain Mama on facebook!

Congrats to both of you - check your inboxes!

Coming up this week:
Itti Bitti review and giveaway
A guest blogger
....and our favorite bread machine bread recipe.

Don't forget to enter the itunes and the Mountain Mama: Expecting Adventure giveaways!!!

A chocolate chip cookie that is HEALTHY! Thank you, Katie!

Tell me this doesn't look amazing!?!?!?!?!

Found a great site, Chocolate Covered Katie, where the author, Katie, is revolutionizing desserts.  We love dessert and we love to be healthy, so I was all over it!

J was a big helper as we tried out this Deep Dish Cookie Pie.  It is healthy, delicious and totally deserves to be eaten with a spoon.  Mine wasn't as beautiful as hers, but our taste buds loved it anyway!

You can find the recipe here and I copied and pasted it from her site to make it easy for you:

Deep-Dish Cookie Pie

(High in fiber… and gluten-free!)

• 2 cans white beans or garbanzos (drained and rinsed) (500g total, once drained)
• 1 cup quick oats
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 3 T canola oil
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 and 1/2 cups brown sugar (Seems like a lot, but this makes a big pie. I think we got like 20 servings from it! You can try adding less, if you’re used to healthy desserts; I chose to use this much because the people to whom I served it are used to “normal” desserts. Also, white sugar will work if you don’t have brown.)
• 1 cup chocolate chips

So easy to make!

Blend everything (except the chips) very well in a food processor. Mix in chips, and pour into an oiled pan (I used a 10-inch springform pan, but you can use a smaller pan if you want a really deep-dish pie.) Cook at 350F for around 35 minutes. Let stand at least 10 minutes before removing from the pan.

Try it and let me know what you think!

This Moment

*No words necessary, just a precious moment*

Mountain Mama: Expecting Adventure - Marin Nursing Top Review

A few weeks ago I contacted Teresa, founder and CEO of Mountain Mama:Expecting Adventure about helping me get families with young children (or pregnant mamas) outside and adventuring. I was thrilled when she said YES! and offered to let me review a couple of their shirts (and a little something for you too... ;))


I found out about Mountain Mama Expecting Adventure this past winter when I was pregnant with P and so tired of making due with sweatpants and hand-made (poorly, by yours truly) fleece belly covers.  I heard from a friend that there were maternity long underwear being made (wahoo!) and they were awesome. Mountain Papa is always an advocate of getting me outside (and staying sane...for all of us...) and so bought me a pair of those said long underwear (see here and here) for my February birthday.  They.Are.Awesome. (and so is he! :))  I wore them comfortably skiing and just being outside for the next few months.


What they say about their clothing: The world's first technical outdoor apparel for maternity. Because adventure doesn't end with pregnancy... It's just beginning!


The other thing that really impresses me about ALL their clothing is the fact that they aren't JUST for pregnancy.  They are made to work from "washboard abs" to baby belly and back again.  I love that I can keep on wearing these shirts for a long time.  


Another great thing about Mountain Mama:Expecting Adventure is that they source their materials and build their clothing as close to home as they can.  In fact, nothing travels more than 20 miles in the entire process.  Local and sustainable (and super impressive!)


So, Teresa sent me a Marin Nursing top and a Clouds Rest Baselayer Crossfront (that review will come later....but I must say that I have worn it every day in the past week!)


This is the photo from their site of the Marin:

*Guest Post* A Movin' Mama

Every mom needs a different outlet or renewal time. For me that means getting of the house and being active. My husband is in the military and we recently moved across the country from our family and friends so not only did I want to lose my baby weight, but I wanted a social outlet too.

To achieve these goals, a jogging stroller was a must for me. After my baby was born and I was feeling up to it (probably about 2 weeks), I started walking. Just to the end of the block and back. I just would walk a little farther every time. By 5 weeks, I started jogging. Now, 7 months later I have done two 5Ks and am doing a 10K at the end of the month ~ wish me luck!

Outdoor Blogger Network

I am super excited about a new discovery I made today that opens up a whole new world of opportunity to connect with other outdoor adventurous families. It is called the Outdoor Blogger Network and it is a central place for outdoor bloggers to show what they've got and for people to find some really great outdoor information.

I also managed to find this wealth of information at a perfect time because this week they are having a 1 year birthday celebration and offering a bunch of giveaways for OBN members (you must have an active blog listed in their directory.) This is totally worth checking out! Love that there are places to win the opportunities to review great gear, an easy avenue to search out other like-minded bloggers and tons of great photos.

Anyway, just wanted to share!!!
Click here to visit and see it for yourself!