white-to-wheat bread

This is a great fine-textured bread that you can start making with all-purpose flour and gradually add more and more whole wheat (freshly ground hard white wheat will give best results) until your kids (or your insides) are enjoying whole wheat bread. It simply makes a little more bread with white flour. I do knead a minute or two longer with all whole wheat.
I always double it and found I got 7+ loaves white or up to about half wheat.
Now I make 6 loaves almost all whole wheat - I use the smaller loaf pans and use a little high-gluten bread flour kneaded in and thus no need for dough enhancers or added gluten. Put it in the freezer as soon as it cools completely for fresh bread all week :)
If your kids are still not sure about wheat bread, time it to come out of the oven when they get home from school hungry or toast it with jam-

White-to-Wheat Bread
based on "White Bread Plus" from Joy of Cooking

In your mixing bowl:
3 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 Tbsp salt
1 pkg yeast (1 Tbsp)

combine 2 1/2 cups hot water and 1/2 cup shortening (I now use canola oil and half that amount) and gradually add to dry ingredients, beat two minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.
Add 1 egg (works fine without it too) and 1 cup flour, beat three more minutes. Add as much more flour as you can stir in, then knead in rest (up to 3-4 cups additional flour). Knead about 10 minutes. Rise in greased bowl about 1 hour, divide into pieces and shape into balls and rest ten minutes. Shape and put into seasoned or sprayed loaf pans and place in cold (or warmed a little in winter) oven for 30 minutes or until double, turn oven to 325 and bake 35 minutes.

The going greener guidebook

Here is the link to the Going Greener Guidebook. It gives you websites and an explanation about the websites. It gives you packaging details so that you know what the stamps on products actually mean. It also gives you books to read - many you can check out at the library because I have already done so. The guidebook also gives you a buying guide for organics and explains what organic means. The guidebook is 21 pages long. But easy to read and gives you good comprehensive information.

http://www.zinio.com/reader.jsp?issue=416093491&o=ext

Allison's Tried & True Whole Wheat Bread

3 cups warm water
1 Tbsp. salt
1/4 cup lecithin, vegetable oil, or apple sauce
1/3 cup honey
1 Tbsp. dough enhancer
1 Tbsp. wheat gluten
1 Tbsp. flax seed
4 cups wheat flour
1 Tbsp. yeast
1 cup oats

Combine water and yeast. Let proof.
In a separate mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients.
Add wet ingredients and yeast/water mixture. Let rise until double.
Punch down and form into two loaves. Let rise until double.
Place loaves in cold oven, then heat oven to 350 degrees.
Bake 30-40 minutes.

Salsa

1 can black beans
1 can sweet corn
1 can diced tomatoes

Season to taste:
kosher salt
chili powder
garlic powder
cumin
onion powder

Fast & Easy Melt-in-Your Mouth Chocolate Squares (a.k.a. black bean brownies-don't tell the kids)

One 15 oz. can black beans, drained and well-rinsed
3 large eggs
3 Tbsp. canola oil
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. baking powder
pinch salt
1/2 cup mini or regular chocolate ships, divided
optional, 1/2 tsp. peppermint extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 8x8 baking pan with nonstick pan spray

Put beans in food processor and process until smooth and creamy. Add everything else except chocolate chips and process until smooth. (or put ingredients in blender and blend until smooth and creamy) Add 1/4 cup chips and pulse a few times until broken up a bit. Pour batter in pan and sprinkle with remaining chips.

Bake 30-35 minutes or until edges start to pull away and toothpick in center comes out clean. Cool in pan before cutting.

**Notes: No Gluten! Some prefer to add 1/2 cup all purpose flour. You can use mashed banana instead of oil. One can of beans equals 1-1/2 cups if you cook your own (divide a big batch into 1-1/2 cup portions to freeze)
Another option is to puree one can of black beans with liquid and use it with brownie mix instead of oil, eggs and water, just dry mix and bean puree for high-fiber and protein, lower fat fudge brownies. For lower sodium, rinse beans and replace liquid with water (about 1/2 cup).

Pinto Bean Pie

1/2 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs, beaten
1 heaping cup mashed beans (1-1/2 cups cooked beans=about 1 cup mashed)
1 9-inch unbaked pie shell

Mix sugars, butter and eggs until creamy. Add mashed beans and blend thoroughly. Pour into pie shell. Bake at 375 for 20 min. Reduce to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 25 minutes or until a knife inserted into the pie comes out clean.

Granola

3 cups oats
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 cup nuts
1/4 cup oil
1/4-1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup water (optional)
1/2 cup dried fruit (raisins, etc....)

Mix oats, coconut, nuts, other seeds you might want. Add oil, honey and water if desired. Mix well. Spread on lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake at 300 degrees for 30 minutes, stirring every 10-15 minutes.

Variations:

Replace honey with maple syrup
Use macadamia nuts and dried pineapple (or other tropical fruit)
After baking, spray with a vanilla & almond mixture (1 Tbsp. vanilla & 1/2 tsp. almond)
Add cinnamon in with the oil, honey and water
Add 1/4 cup sunflower or pumpkin seeds
Add 2 Tbsp. flax or sesame seeds
Be creative! Enjoy!

More water will give a moister/chunkier granola. No water gives a very crumbly, dry granola.