September: In this Issue

Special Days and Monthly Celebrations

Grandma really enjoys celebrations and special days; so each month she will share a few ideas that she thinks are interesting.

Good Health Can Be Yummy

Recipes and thoughts on making food taste good and build healthy bodies. Read more…

Pure and Simple News

Research summaries and what it could mean to us.

Making it Happen

Hints and recipes for applying nutrition to everyday life.

Special Days and Monthly Celebrations

Grandma really enjoys celebrations and special days.

Labor Day is September 7th

Best wishes that your work, whatever your work, is a labor of love.

National Grandparents Day

National Grandparents Day is on September 13th this year. Abuelos or grandparents are such an important part of our lives. My grandparents, now gone, have touched my entire life; I strive to continue to tap the heritage they left me and seek their wisdom. Now I’m Dr. Abuela – O.K., Dr. Grandma. I’m studying Spanish a bit and “abuelos” is one more useful vocabulary word. I say, ‘a little progress is better than none’. Attaining goals is like that; take a step, make a commitment, however small, noting that September is also National Self Improvement Month. Maybe a relatively simple commitment could lead to significant progress toward better eating. Read the article Breakfast of Whole Grains – A Worthwhile Decision in the Good Health Can Be Yummy section below.

September is Back to School Month

Why not tie together self-improvement with the new school year? You could set yourself up for succeeding on several fronts simply by deciding to include whole grains in your breakfast each day. This type of goal setting can impact you, your family and friends. Think of it this way. Changing is not so very difficult. It’s not changing that takes so much time and pain when the best part of you really wants to change.

September is National Organic Harvest Month

We couldn’t forget organic harvest month since all of our mixes are made exclusively with 100% organic hard red spring wheat. Much of the wheat harvested in North America is organic, but only a small part is certified organic like Dr. Grandma’s wheat.

Celebrate National Waffle Week: September 6 -12 and International Eat an Apple Day: September 19th.

I truly enjoy eating a fresh apple, but if you want some other ideas for apples, try one of our new recipes, the Autumn-perfect Apple Pie Waffles or the Dr. Grandma’s Morning Glory Muffins in the Making it Happen section below.

World Heart Day; September 27th

Yes, it has been known for quite a few years that consuming whole grains is linked to a lower risk of heart disease, but this new study firmly ties in the hypertension (high blood pressure) and does it with over 30,000 men and for over 18 years. Let’s be kind to our hearts – there’s even a holiday to bring it to our attention. Read Whole Grains, Hypertension, Cardiovascular Disease – a Link in the Pure and Simple News below.

The last day of the month, September 30th is National Women’s Health and Fitness Day.

I so admire the influential women who make things happen, every single day. I believe that we as women can take the lead in many of the health issues that face us as a nation. So often when women make decisions to change, it influences their family, their fellow workers, their friends, and their community. Perhaps share Fall Harvest Muffins, one of the recipes in the Making it Happen Section below or the short article Staying Slim with a High-Carb Diet in the Pure and Simple News section with a friend who shares your interest.

Good Health Can Be Yummy

Recipes and thoughts on making food taste good and build healthy bodies.

Breakfast of Whole Grains – A Worthwhile Decision

Breakfast is ‘easy ‘pickins’ for realizing big benefits. It only takes a little planning and a little work. If you make the decision to be sure to have whole grains at breakfast each and every day, that can be a immense and rewarding step forward in healthy eating. The likelihood of being home at breakfast time is greater than for lunch or dinner. It’s much easier than lunch when you are more likely to be at a restaurant (with no whole grain choices), or at a friend’s home for dinner. The point is that you can take the first step toward increasing your whole grain intake, by just making a commitment to have whole grains for breakfast. You’ll have to do a bit of planning if you’re not presently doing it, but with that little bit of planning, you can reap fairly significant benefits. Of course, you will eventually want to try to increase the choosing of whole grains at other times of the day, but this is the easiest first step.

In the August newsletter there was a list of 18 whole grain breakfast ideas, with ways to serve, and ideas of what to serve with them. The following is a much shorter list; it includes the breakfasts that we usually have at our house all whole grains!

1. Dr. Grandma’s Pancakes – topped with fresh fruit and yogurt

2. Dr. Grandma’s Muffins Your Way – made into one of the recipes in the recipe book or one that I’ve developed and posted in the newsletter.

3. Cold Cereal – Mountain Top Breakfast or Mountain Top Breakfast made into granola, or shredded wheat – served more frequently in the warm months.

4. Hot Cereal – always 100% whole grain, Mountain Top Breakfast, wheat berries, or oatmeal – mostly in the cooler months.

5. Breakfast cake – from Dr. Grandma’s Muffins Your Way mix.

6. Baked donuts – from Dr. Grandma’s Muffins Your Way mix. See the June newsletter for three recipes.

7. Dr. Grandma’s Waffles – not as often as pancakes

8. Frittata with added cooked wheat berries or served with whole-wheat toast. See the August Newsletter for my recipe. Frittata is perfect for fall harvest – sweet peppers, squash, onions and so on.

Pure and Simple News

Research summaries and what it could mean to us.

Whole Grains, Hypertension, Cardiovascular Disease – a Link

The results of a new research study were released online before being printed in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. (ajcn.2009.27460 “Whole Grains and Incident Hypertension in Men” Authors: A.J. Flint, F.B. Hu, R.J. Glynn, M.K. Jensen, M.Franz, L. Sampson, E.B. Rimm – researchers were led by Alan Flint from Harvard School of Public Health.)

The study was conducted for 18 years and involves over 30,000 men who participated in the Healthy Professionals Follow-Up Study indicated that there is a 19 percent lower incidence of hypertension (high blood pressure) in the men with increased intakes of whole grains. High blood pressure is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, the leading cause of death in the U.S.

Yes, there have been studies before that tell of the link between cardiovascular health and the intake of whole grains, but the number of years and the number of participants in this study is impressive. What are we waiting for as a nation? Why are we hanging onto our processed flour ingredients? Yes, I know that the processed flours are very inexpensive; and the management of them is easy – but are easy and cheap the main goals in food choice? Let’s pass the word – nourishing ourselves is important; the intake of whole grains can make a major impact on our lives and the lives of those we love.

Staying Slim with a High-Carb Diet

A Study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, entitled Carbohydrate Intake and Overweight and Obesity among Healthy Adults, looked at the diets of 4,451 healthy Canadians. This will be strange if you’re still hanging onto the Atkins ideas. They found that those who ate the least carbohydrates were the most likely to be obese or overweight, while those who ate more carbohydrates were not only slimmer, but also tended to consume greater quantities of dietary fiber, more fruits and vegetables and less saturated fats.

What’s going on? Could the answer to the question be that fiber found in whole grains, fruits and vegetables does not give us calories? Few people overeat vegetables, fruits and whole grains. These foods, foods loaded with fiber, help us feel satiated, full, satisfied for a longer time than simple carbohydrates (think candy, ice cream, soda pop, cookies, cake, pie, white bread, white noodles, processed cereals, and so on).

Although the low-carbohydrate/high-protein diets facilitate greater short-term weight loss, there is no difference at the end of a year. So if you want to maintain a lower weight in the future, increase your intake of fruits and vegetables and replace your consumption of processed grains with true whole grains.

The U.S. is ahead of every other country in the world in one embarrassing statistic. We have a greater proportion of overweight and obese people – over two-thirds or our population, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The article reminds us that the excess weight has been associated with an increased risk of heart attack, stroke, diabetes, cancer, arthritis and hypertension, and other conditions.

Take a step today – increase your whole grains. Don’t forget that our Muffins Your Way product offer you a way to increase whole grains, fruits and vegetables at the same time. Try Zucchini, Pumpkin, or Carrot – three recipes including vegetables and lots of other recipes with fruits in the recipe booklet. Or try some of our recipes for wheat berry soups and salads. Remember that Good Health Can Be Yummy!

Making it Happen

Hints and recipes for applying nutrition to everyday life.

No-Added Sugar Raspberry Peach Cobbler

This recipe can be served for breakfast, snack or dessert, in good conscience – no added sugar, extra virgin olive oil and 100% whole grains. This recipe is easy and turns out to be so delicious that you can serve it to particular guests. No one will ever guess – unless you tell them when they demur for fear of calories – that it has no-added sugar – fabulous! In addition, if you have friends or family who don’t eat sugar or white flour, they won’t feel cheated by having to abstain from dessert. I served it with a dollop of double churned, no-added sugar, ½ the fat ice cream and a mint leaf. You can also, whip some cream, adding a little Dr. Grandma’s Delight (All-Natural Zero Calorie Sweetener) as a garnish.

Ingredients:

6 cups of thickly sliced peeled peaches, about 3.5 pounds of firm ripe peaches before
skinning and removing the pits.
1 ½ Tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup raspberries (or use an additional pound of peaches)
½ cup of Dr. Grandma’s Delight (sweetener)
3 tablespoons cornstarch
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 packet of Dr. Grandma’s Whole Wheat Muffins Your Way
1 Packet of extra virgin olive oil included in the package
2 eggs
¾ cup water

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325º F.

2. Dip the peaches into a pot of boiling water for about 30 to 60 seconds, depending on the ripeness of the peaches. Transfer the peaches to a bowl of icy cold water. Slip the skins from the peaches. Cut the peaches in half, remove the pits, and cut the peaches into thick wedges. Place the wedges in a bowl and toss with the lemon juice. Add the raspberries, Delight, cornstarch and cinnamon and mix together.

3. Put fruit mixture into a 13 X 9 X 2 inch-baking dish.

4. Mix the Dr. Grandma’s Muffins Your Way mix, the water, eggs, and olive oil together, until just moist.
5. Pour over the peach mixture, as evenly as possible.

6. Put dish over a cookie sheet to catch the drips.

7. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes on the center rack, until the fruit is bubbly and the topping is browned, and a toothpick comes out clean from the topping.

Apple Pie Waffles

Note: If you make the topping first, you know it will be ready for the fresh-off-the-waffle-iron, waffles.

Apple Topping for Waffles (or pancakes, ice cream, or Dr. Grandma’s Shortcake Muffins)

Ingredients:

4 cups cooking apples; peeled and coarsely chopped fresh baking apples like Roma, Rome Beauty, Fuji, Granny Smith, Jonathan, McIntosh, Newton Pippin, Rhode Island Greening, or Winesap.

1/4 cup water

1 to 2 tablespoons Dr. Grandma’s Delight sweetener (to taste)

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon maple flavoring

Directions:

Stir apples, water, and sweetener in a 2-quart saucepan.

Cover and heat to boiling; reduce heat and simmer covered 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until apples are tender. Note: Cook apples while making the waffles.

Drain any excess liquid and stir in cinnamon and maple flavoring.

Get Dr. Grandma’s Pancake & Waffle Mix!

Apple Pie Waffles with Apple Topping

Ingredients:

1 1/3 to 1 1/2 cups water
2 eggs
1 packet of Dr. Grandma’s Pancake and Waffle Mix
1 teaspoon apple pie spice
1 packet of Dr. Grandma’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Included in Package)
2 tablespoons additional oil
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Separate the eggs. Mix the yolks, oil, water and vanilla. Add the packet of waffle mix to the yolk/water mixture. Let stand for 3 or 4 minutes. Whip egg whites until they form peaks. Fold the whites into the waffle mixture. Bake on waffle iron following manufacturer’s directions.

Dr. Grandma’s Morning Glory Muffins

An easy recipe with fruit, vegetable, and whole grains – no added sugar – a hardy moist whole grain muffin perfect for the cooler days of autumn.

Ingredients:

One Package of Dr. Grandma’s Whole Wheat Muffins Your Way (with accompanying extra virgin olive oil packet).

1/2 cup water

Two eggs or ½ cup egg substitute

1 cup grated carrots

1 cup grated baking apple like Fuji, Granny Smith.

Optional: 1 teaspoon orange zest (finely grated orange peel)

3/4 cup broken nuts

1/2 cup raisins

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Get Doctor Grandma’s Muffins Your Way and make Morning Glory Muffins!

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400º F.

Coat muffin pans with vegetable spray.

Mix
Carrots, apples, eggs, olive oil, vanilla, and optional orange zest and water.

Add
One 12.5 ounce packet of Dr. Grandma’s Muffins Your Way Mix, nuts, raisins, and cinnamon.

Stir until just moist (do not over mix).

Fill 12 sprayed muffin tins or paper lined tins.

Optional: Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, if desired.

Bake until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean from the center of the muffin; about 16 to 20 minutes.

Remove from muffin tin to wire rack immediately, before cooling.

Makes 12 muffins. Can be frozen.

Fall Harvest Muffins

Ingredients:

One Package of Dr. Grandma’s Whole Wheat Muffins Your Way (with accompanying extra virgin olive oil packet).

½ cup water

Two eggs or ½ cup egg substitute

1 1/2 cups grated zucchini (or other summer squash)

2 teaspoons orange zest

1 1/2 cup frozen (don’t defrost) or fresh berries (raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, chopped strawberries)

Optional: Cinnamon and sugar for topping

Try Doctor Grandma’s 100% Whole Wheat Muffins Your Way Mix!

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400º F.

Coat muffin pans with vegetable spray.

Mix
Summer squash, berries, olive oil, water, orange zest and eggs.

Add
Muffins Your Way Mix

Stir until just moist (do not over mix).

Fill 12 muffin tins.

Optional: Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar (or sweetener), if desired.

Bake until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean from the center of the muffin; about 14 to 18 minutes.

Remove from muffin tin to wire rack immediately, before cooling.

Makes 12 muffins. Can be frozen.