My name is Ashley McLaughlin, and this is my blog, Edible Perspective. Check my about + FAQ pages for more of the nitty gritty.  I'm thrilled that you stopped by. Enjoy!

         

Entries in buckwheat (58)

Wednesday
Aug032011

breakfast again

You know I had to make Buckwheat + Puffed Amaranth Cereal again.  I had only been thinking about it all day + night!

I snapped a few quick photos without my tripod and man can I tell a huge difference!  The natural light in our kitchen isn’t that hot, so I have to put the shutter speed down pretty low.  I also have to widen the aperture when shooting without a tripod, which causes less of the image to be in focus.

Wide aperture + low shutter speed + shaky hands = blah

But blah is still delicious!

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This bowl was similar to yesterday’s but a few toppings changed:

  • 1/4c raw amaranth [instead of 3T]
  • 1/4c soaked groats [instead of 1/3c]
  • mixed in 2T Raw Protein with the popped amaranth
  • toasted coconut

Using more amaranth, less groats + a little protein boost, helped this bowl hold me over longer.  Always a good thing!

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Right now I’m chillin’ with my girl Kelsey at my favorite coffee shop, The Bean Cycle

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We’re trying to be productive, but are quite hopped up on caffeine, which means 1 thing.

Chat-fest!

Iced coffee with COFFEE ICE cubes.  Genius!

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Kelsey was also my lunch date.  I made a savory version of one of my most popular breakfast and cannot wait to share!

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“I mean business.”

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As Kelsey would say….

Cheers!!

Ashley

Tuesday
Aug022011

buckwheat + puffed amaranth cereal

I have a new breakfast obsession.  Surprised?

I’m hooked after 1 bowl. 

Have you made the popped amaranth yet??  If not, you must!  You can find amaranth in the bulk aisle of your natural food store [hopefully!] or in a Bob’s Red Mill package.  If you can’t find it there, check online.  The same goes for the 2nd main ingredient, raw buckwheat groats.  Not kasha, or toasted buckwheat, just plain old raw groats.  They’ll look a bit tan/yellowy/green in color.

I got the idea for adding soaked buckwheat to the puffed amaranth, after seeing Angela soak + blend buckwheat, to make breakfast porridge.

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However, for this, I wanted to keep the buckwheat whole.  After soaking it, there is still a nice crunchy chew, that was begging to be added to a bowl of cereal.

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Un-soaked groats are extremely crunchy and strangely, edible!  There aren’t many grains you can chew through raw [without at least sprouting].  However, some people can be sensitive to uncooked and/or un-soaked grains.  The soaking + rinsing process helps aid in easier digestion. 

Soak your groats overnight + rinse them thoroughly the next morning.  It’s easiest if you use a fine mesh strainer. <--- top 5 favorite kitchen tools!

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Both puffed amaranth + raw buckwheat are extremely mild in flavor.  They have a slight earthiness to them, but are not sweet at all.  Sweetener is definitely not needed, if you add some delicious fruit toppings, but 1/2-1T maple syrup is always welcome. 

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Puffed Amaranth + Buckwheat Cereal

  • 3T raw amaranth
  • 1/3c soaked + rinsed raw buckwheat groats

Toppings

  • small banana
  • cherries
  • 1T almond butter
  • cinnamon
  • 1/2-1T maple syrup
  • 1c unsweetened almond milk
  1. Pop amaranth per instructions.
  2. Let cool for a few minutes, then add 1/3 very well rinsed + soaked buckwheat groats to the bowl.
  3. Add toppings.

*Soak raw buckwheat groats in a bowl, with water, covering the groats by a few inches.  Leave in the fridge overnight.  In the morning, drain the water and empty groats into a strainer.  Wash the groats thoroughly, as a slimy coating will be produced from the soaking.  You your hand to mix the groats around, while rinsing, to ensure they are slime-free.  1-2min

Breakfast is served!

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This bowl was incredibly delicious.  The buckwheat groats added amazing texture to every bite.  It was hard not to go back for seconds.

Nutritional information for:

  • 3T raw amaranth
  • 1/3c raw buckwheat groats

image

Nutritional information for:

  • all ingredients, including all toppings in my bowl

*I forgot to add in the 1/2T maple syrup, which adds ~7g sugar + 25 calories.

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I use caloriecount.com to enter in the nutritional information of the recipes I make.  It’s not frequent that I enter in the information.  Typically, it’s when I know a recipe is extremely healthy and turns out incredibly delicious.  I like to see just how delicious, I can make healthy.  All recipes and food items have a grade rating, A, A-, B+, etc. and this recipe received an A!  Probably an A- with the maple syrup though. ;)

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Latest obsession.  Divulged. 

Speaking of delicious, tonight’s dinner made up for last night’s sub-par grilled meal.

Mama Pea’s Yukon Gold White Bean Basil Burgers!  I’ve made these twice already, and this time made a double batch.  Veggie burgers are just so convenient.  You can eat them cold out of the fridge, thrown on a salad, wrapped in lettuce, or heated up on a bun.

Heck, this “dough” is even good raw.  I couldn’t stop eating it before I turned them into patties.

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I made a few changes for ingredients I had on hand. 

  • chickpeas, instead of white beans [slow cooked my beans today – delicious + cheap!]
  • red potatoes, instead of yukon gold taters
  • halved the basil
  • added 1/2T chopped fresh rosemary [1T if doubling the recipe]
  • added 1t chopped fresh thyme [2t if double the recipe]
  • 1.5T oat flour, instead of 2T whole wheat flour [3T if doubling the recipe]
  • 1T unsweetened almond milk – needed moisture because chickpeas are drier than white beans [2-3T if doubling]

Both the original + this version were completely delicious.  Making recipes adjustments, for what you have on hand, is easier than you think!  And if you have lovely fresh herbs growing in your backyard, by all means throw some in!

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Too bad I’m out of pickles.

Can’t say the same for ketchup though!

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Off to bed, before I dig into the rest of the “dough” from these burgers. 

Ashley  

Thursday
Jul282011

7 Links

I’m sure you’ve seen these 7 links posts floating all around the blog world lately.  The other day, my blog buddies Kelly + Gena, tagged me!  This is such a great idea, that benefits both the reader + blogger.  The reader can get to know the blog/blogger more thoroughly and the blogger can reflect on which posts have made the most impact with their readers.  It’s a win win!

This post really got me thinking, and you will see it was not easy for me!  I’m including a few more than 7 links.  I hope you don’t mind. ;)

1] My Most Beautiful Post

Recipes For Mom {intro + part 1}

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This post might not technically be beautiful, but it was extremely meaningful and important to me.  My mom is finally on the road to good health, after battling medical problem after medical problem throughout the years.  I wanted to do something special to help her along, so this new series is just that.  It will be expanded on in coming months for sure!

runner up: Slowing Down – part II

2] My Most Popular Post

Beer Baked Fries

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Hands down, this is my most popular post and it was just posted a few weeks ago!  It happened to get Stumbled Upon and racked up over 15,000 hits in ONE day.  WHOA.  I’ve received many comments telling me this recipe was a hit with their whole family.  There have also been comments about hopes for brownie points with husbands and engagement proposals from boyfriends, using this recipe. ;)  Definitely worth a try!

runners up: maple cinnamon almond butter, quick sweet potato bean tacos, DIY cereal – puffed amaranth, fancified breakfast

3] My Most Controversial Post

Detox Day 1 – Overview + Recipes

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This past January, I conducted my own detox/cleanse, after putting up with digestive annoyances for over 10 years.  I wouldn’t say this post, or any of the detox posts, were controversial.  However, they really got people talking.  The comments I loved the most, were from readers saying how excited they were to see someone conducting a detox in a safe + healthy manner.  This detox had nothing to do with weight, but it had everything to do with starting fresh and trying to get to the bottom of my digestive issues.  The detox lasted for 9 weeks total, including the period where I was reintroducing foods.  My objective was to be extremely creative in the kitchen and show people that you can still have a lot of fun, even when you are using a very limited list of ingredients.  Some of my favorite recipes were made during this time! Conclusion: gluten is not my friend! 

runner up: pre-toxing

4] My Most Helpful Post

Photography 101 – You’ve Gotta Start Somewhere

[one of my first dSLR photos]

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My photography 101 posts were definitely a crowd pleaser.  I’m a self-taught photographer, and have been photographing for less than 2 years.  These definitely generated the most “helpful” comments!

runner up: Detox Recap – Weeks 7/8 Gluten

5) A Post Whose Success Surprised me

lunch.

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This post was a surprising hit!  Even without a single word, people loved the creativity of this post.  Words are overrated. ;)

6] A Post I Didn’t Think Got the Attention it Deserved

Vanilla Bean Broken Farro

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Seriously.  My favorite hot breakfast.  Ever.  I haven’t tried eating farro [not gluten free] since before my detox, so I’m not sure if I can tolerate it anymore.  But if you’re fine with gluten, you must give this a shot!  The cheapest place I could find farro, was actually at Costco. 

runners up: vanilla bean brown rice, Chris’s Breaded Tempeh, Buckwheat Millet Pizza Crust

7] The Post I’m Most Proud Of

The Buckwheat Bakes

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There isn’t one buckwheat bake post in particular, but I’m talking about the recipe in general.  I’m really proud of this creation and it’s been quite the hit!  There have been countless emails + comments that this recipe has changed peoples’ breakfast routines, people that never knew what buckwheat was or how they could use it, people that had never ground grains into fresh flour before, kids that LOVE eating “cake” for breakfast, people making these for their grandparents, people that have finally found a breakfast that will fill them up, etc.  I receive link-backs every week, from bloggers posting about buckwheat bakes and it excites me every single time.  I’m so very proud of this recipe!

My favorites?

So that concludes my 7 links post.  Okay, more like 17 links post. :)

And now to pass the torch!

  1. Sarah – Peas and Thank You
  2. Heather – Heather Eats Almond Butter
  3. Ashley - (never home)maker
  4. Jessica – Kohler Created
  5. Natalie – The Sweets Life

Off to do round 2 of Body Rock.  Love it!

Ashley