Sourdough Starter (from Allrecipes)

Have you ever wondered where the heck do you buy sourdough starter? Or any "unusual" baking ingredients? A lot of these items you cannot buy in your regular grocery store. Many things you can make from scratch, right in your own kitchen. If you want to make your own sourdough at home, here is the most simple, handy recipe for you to use for sourdough starter. I will keep posting cheaper and healthier alternatives for baking ingredients for everyone, as much as I can. All credit for this recipe goes to Esther Nelson, here is the link : http://allrecipes.com/recipe/sourdough-starter/


And here is the recipe!

Ingredients:

1. 1 pkg dry active yeast (.25 ounce)
2. 2 cups warm water
3. 2 cups all purpose flour

1. In large non-metallic bowl, mix together dry yeast, 2 cups warm water, and 2 cups all purpose flour and cover loosely.
2. Leave in a warm place to ferment, 4 to 8 days. Depending on temperature and humidity of kitchen, times may vary. Place on cookie sheet in case of overflow. Check on occasionally.
3. When mixture is bubbly and has a pleasant sour smell, it is ready to use. If mixture has a pink, orange, or any other strange color tinge to it, THROW IT OUT! and start over. Keep it in the refrigerator, covered until ready to bake.
4. When you use starter to bake, always replace with equal amounts of a flour and water mixture with a pinch of sugar. So, if you remove 1 cup starter, replace with 1 cup water and 1 cup flour. Mix well and leave out on the counter until bubbly again, then refrigerate. If a clear to light brown liquid has accumulated on top, don't worry, this is an alcohol base liquid that occurs with fermentation. Just stir this back into the starter, the alcohol bakes off and that wonderful sourdough flavor remains! Sourdough starters improve with age, they used to be passed down generation to generation!

Overnight Apple Oatmeal

If you know you have a crazy busy morning ahead of you, this is great and super easy to prepare the night before. It saved me so many days that I almost ran late for work. I hope you enjoy this recipe, I didn't copy it off of anywhere,  I just guessed out the measurements at the time and it happened to turn out perfectly , which like, never happens. Anyways here you go!

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup dry oats
• 2 tbsp chia seeds
• 1 cup almond/soy milk
• 1 chopped apple
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp hemp hearts
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans

Stir all of the above ingredients in a to go container, or in a decent sized breakfast bowl, and set in the fridge.
When you are ready to eat in the morning, pop it in the microwave for about 2-3 minutes , then stir until well mixed. Top with brown sugar or honey. Shovel into mouth. Yum.  Oh , don't forget your keys. Or phone. Have a good day!

Creamy Mango Protein Smoothie...With a kick!

When I work in the mornings, I usually get up at around 5:00 a.m. At that time, I never really feel like eating a big meal , and I find that protein smoothies will do the trick and curb my hunger until around 10:00-11:00 a.m. (Or I drink one at 5, and bring an extra, and drink another at work when it isn't busy!)

This is basically just a mish-mash of whatever I had on hand, and it blended quite well together, I really enjoyed it- it tastes sinful but is actually healthy! Enjoy, here is the recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 cup frozen mango chunks
• 1/2 cup frozen or fresh cranberries (can use raspberries or blackberries too!)
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• dash of cayenne pepper

Optional: 1 tbsp chia seeds, 1 tbsp matcha



FuN fAcTs! :

The cinnamon in this smoothie will help stabilize your blood sugar throughout the morning, the protein will curb your hunger, the cayenne pepper is a great metabolism booster, along with the lemon which is very high in vitamin C, which helps you burn fat . Cranberries add a slight tartness to even out the sweet, and are also great for cleansing the urinary tract. The matcha is a great antioxidant, and pick-me-up! It is much more concentrated than steeped green tea, since it is actual green tea leaves ground up, no waste there! I subbed out real milk for the almond, because I am a "lactard". Haha. Also, it is a much lower calorie alternative to milk and is good for your skin and hair! The chia seeds (if you chose to add them) are very high in omega 3's, and dietary fiber.