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The photo was taken as an afterthought, before I devoured them and thought to myself, "I might want to post this recipe on the blog."  I almost resigned to taking a photo of my children's plates as their servings were quickly disappearing... proof that these were seriously delicious!

I've been trying to incorporate different whole grains into our diet in various ways.  I tried out a turkey bulgar dinner one night and it was a HUGE success (recipe will be posted soon, I promise... I've been trying to archive my recipes and get caught up... a daunting task...)  But then I have to admit that all of them haven't made the "keeper" pile.  The morning I placed a bowl of warm whole wheat couscous made with vanilla almond milk, orange zest and dried cranberries in front of Brendan for breakfast he ate a few bites and asked with mild disgust "why are we eating couscous for breakfast?" In all honesty it was really kind of weird.  So I tossed that one.

But this one?  It's a keeper.  The look on Brendan's face when he took his first bite was priceless... as I've always said, he's my best critic... I'll type up the recipe as it was written but here are the changes that I made.  Keep in mind, it's best to cook the quinoa the night before and let it cool in the fridge. You may want to check it while it's cooking... by about 8 minutes mine was running out of water and on the verge of sticking to the pan, good thing I checked... I added a bit more water and it turned out fine.  I did not have any white whole wheat flour so I split it 1 1/3 all purpose, 1/3 whole wheat... it could have been split with more whole wheat and still be OK.  I cut the butter down to 1 tablespoon and I don't think it made a difference in taste.  Also... I've made pancake recipes that have called for beating the egg whites separately and folding them into the batter.  I've made them omitting that step and adding the whole eggs to the batter and feel that it didn't make much of a difference in taste or texture.  With these I actually beat the whites separately but I'll try it without that step next time.  The recipe says it makes 10 waffles but with my traditional waffle maker I ended up with about 16 of the ones shown above.  Yes, we will be having leftovers and freezing extras.  Especially since Daddy wasn't here to eat any.

Banana Quinoa Waffles
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup quinoa
1 2/3 cups white whole wheat flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 medium)
3 eggs, separated
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 1/2 cups fat free milk

In a small saucepan, bring the water to a boil.  Stir in quinoa.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer 10-12 minutes or until tender and liquid is absorbed.  Remove from heat.  Transfer to a small bowl and chill 1-2 hours or overnight.

Preheat waffle iron according to manufacturer's directions.  In a large bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt.  In a medium bowl, combine quinoa, bananas, egg yolks, butter and milk.  Stir into flour mixture.

In another bowl, beat egg whites until stiff.  Fold them into batter.  Cook batter in waffle iron according to manufacturer's directions.  Top with syrup and fresh fruit.

*Recipe courtesy of Parents magazine*

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I ran across this recipe in a Family Circle magazine and decided to try it out as a healthy after school snack for the kids.  And while Aubrey was, for some reason, slightly turned off by it (she is my picky eater after all...) Brendan declared it his new favorite snack and ate what Aubrey wouldn't.

I dipped a few apple and celery slices myself and have to admit that it was really pretty tasty.

Peanut Butter Dip
6 oz. low-fat vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup reduced fat peanut butter
1/3 cup raisins
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 ribs celery trimmed and cut
2 apples cored and sliced
2 cups small pretzels (we omitted the pretzels to keep it slightly healthier but they would have tasted great!)

In a small serving bowl mix together yogurt, peanut butter, cinnamon and raisins.  Serve with apples, celery and pretzels.

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I hate winter evenings.  I'm not an expert photographer.  I don't even aspire to be one.  But I at least like to TRY to get a good looking photo of the recipes that I post.  The winter evenings leave me with no natural light to speak of and so most photos come out looking slightly unappealing with a yellowish-orange tint to them.  I suppose that means I'll just have to talk this recipe up because you seriously have to try it and I promise you will LOVE it.  I questioned it slightly when I pulled out the recipe. I've never actually cooked bulgur before.  But the recipe was part of a "try new whole grains in your diet" article and I figured... "sure, why not?"

When I called the kids to the table for dinner I wished I had been able to record their reactions.  Brendan (who rarely complains about dinner) sat down and looked at his plate skeptically saying "what IS this?" as Aubrey said "I don't WANT this... I don't LIKE it!" throwing herself to the ground.  I reeled them back in saying "you haven't even tasted it yet... if you take a few bites then I'll get out some tortilla chips and you can eat it with those."  The word "chips" got their attention and they took their first tentative bites.

Brendan's eyes lit up "Mommy, it's so GOOD!" and Aubrey exclaimed "I like it!" and though they momentarily forgot about the promise of chips, I brought them out anyway... I like to keep my word.  The tastes were amazing (and a tortilla chip or two to clean the plate adds a nice touch.)  So don't be turned off by the name or the look because as Brendan has told me time and time again "even if it doesn't look good... it doesn't mean it won't TASTE good!"

Turkey Bulgar Skillet

8 oz lean ground turkey
1 small onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 (16 oz) can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes with mild green chilies
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup frozen corn (I used a whole can, drained, since I didn't have any frozen)
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup uncooked bulgur (I found this in the whole foods/bulk section of Fred Meyer for cheap!)

Topping: 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt or sour cream mixed with 1 Tbsp chopped green onion and 1 Tbsp minced fresh cilantro

In a large nonstick skillet coated in cooking spray, cook turkey and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink.  Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer.

Stir in the beans, tomatoes, water, corn chili powder, cumin, pepper and salt.  Bring to a boil.  Stir in bulgur. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 13-18 minutes or until bulgur is tender.

Remove from heat; let stand 5 minutes.  Fluff with a fork.  Serve on plates or in bowls with a spoonful of "topping" and some tortilla chips.

Original recipe courtesy of taste of home healthy cooking

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