Everybody loves cornbread; and when this mouthwatering treat is loaded with cheese and flavor but is healthy too, everybody wins.
It was a cold evening and I wanted to warm the house by cooking something in the oven so I decided to make a family favorite, cornbread. Now, since September, when our family went organic/non processed, I had not baked anything. In the past I used the Jiffy corn bread mixes ( is HYDROGENATED LARD, really good for you?) and added extra sugar to make them even sweeter, but now I had to come up with a recipe that would not lead me astray.
The decision was made. I would make savory cornbread instead. I quickly located several recipes online, mentally mixed them in my mind (don't try this at home), changed a few ingredients and ended up with a delicious cheesy treat.
I used organic cornmeal that was pretty pale, so it did not turn out as yellow as most cornbread mixes, and I used whole wheat flour. This made it a little drier and a little heartier, but Organic Valley Cultured Pasture Butter made it all better. I used a raw, organic cheddar cheese ( from grass-fed cows) and one jalapeño pepper. I probably should have used two peppers, because when they cook, a lot of the kick disappears. I only show one pepper in the recipe, but feel free to adjust. Diced red or green bell pepper or onions would be great in this recipe too.
Now when I make cornbread, I find the best way to bake them is in a cast iron skillet. Cast iron makes great cookware not only because it is durable, it also adds iron to your diet, and browns meats perfectly. It holds heat very well too. A cast iron skillet your grandmother owned, can be used by your grandchildren if it is well cared for. A cast iron griddle can be laid across two stove burners and makes fantastic pancakes, burgers, grilled cheese and tuna melts.
One of my readers, Lynn, told me she wanted to get a cast iron skillet like mine, but she did not know how to care for it. Here are the basics of seasoning a skillet. You will never use nonstick again.
First of all, never put a hot skillet on cold water, it might crack. Make sure it is dry when you put it away, or it might rust. I like to store mine upside down in the oven. Never let sit on soapy water for long periods of time or place in the dishwasher. To clean you only need a light washing with soapy water. When you cast iron is seasoned correctly, it is almost non stick and will clean very easily.
A well seasoned skillet needs very little oil and is ready when a few drops of water dance in the pan. If the pan is smoking, your fire is too hot. Cast iron needs to be seasoned every now and then depending on how often you use it, I usually season about once or twice per year. Just take a little bit of oil or lard and rub a thin layer all over the pan, inside and out. Place the pan in the oven at 350 degrees and bake for about thirty minutes. Cool and repeat. I try to do my skillets, Dutch oven, and griddle all at the same time. If food sticks, to the pan, reseason until it is lustrous.
Here are a few items mentioned in this blog. See recipe below.
Healthy Cheesy Jalapeño Cornbread Skillet
1 cup organic cornmeal
1 cup organic whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
3 level teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup organic coconut oil
1 1/8 cup organic buttermilk or whole milk with 1 tablespoon vinegar
1/4 cup honey or pure maple syrup
1 egg beaten ( organic)
1 cup grated cheddar cheese ( grass fed organic)
1or 2 jalapeños finely diced , depending on your taste
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put one teaspoon coconut into 10-inch cast iron skillet and put into oven while it is heating. Mix first four ingredients. Cut in coconut oil until crumbly. Stir in cheese and jalapeño. Beat egg in small bowl, then add milk and honey/maple syrup. Add to dry mixture and mix until wet with big lumps gone. Do not over mix! Let sit for 5 mins. This will let the baking soda start working so it will rise better.
Carefully take skillet out of oven. Be careful not to slash oil, set on a heat proof surface such as your stove top. Pour batter into skillet. Put immediately into oven and bake for 20 mins. Take out, slice, top with Organic Valley Pasture Butter or other pasture butter, Enjoy!
Of course if you don't have organic everything the recipe will still come out fine, it just wont be as healthy!
Dare to go cast iron! Until next time, always make sure the only thing that goes into your mouth is Whole Tasty Food.
The author can be contacted at wholetastyfood@gmail.com
Sometimes when you completely change your diet, you need to overhaul old favorites. This is tough when you crave comfort food and deep inside your head a little voice shouts " But I don't want to change!". Take for instance a tuna fish sandwich on soft wheat bread oozing with mayo, ( my husband) or the same sandwich on white bread and lots of sweet pickle relish. ( Me) Everybody has a favorite. In your mind, you know exactly how it is supposed to taste.
So you trick your brain into eating a much healthier version by making some delicious changes. First of all you add crunch. You can use whatever fresh veggies are on hand. In this recipe, I used green bell pepper, celery, and carrots to this recipe. Radish, raw turnips, or any other crunchy raw vegetable will work, as long as it is tasty raw.
Then you have to give it extra flavor. I added chopped onions. Red onions are preferred, however only white were on hand and they worked well. Green onions are great too and give a pretty green splash to your tuna. I also add pickles, but instead of corn syrup-laden sweet pickle relish, I now add diced crunchy baby dill pickles.
Now about those pickles. When I first went organic and non-processed, I started reading labels. So many items that previously, I took for granted were healthy, had all types of strange ingredients, but pickles were pickled right? Therefore they did not need a bunch of preservatives. People have pickled veggies of all types for hundreds of years and this pickling process is what preserved them. Well at least that is what I thought until I started reading pickle jar labels. Cucumbers are green, so why the heck is there green ( or yellow and blue) dye in modern day pickles. I finally found pickles without dyes or preservatives at an international market, however these little green crunchies came in a can. I had never seen canned pickles, and since it is impossible to see through the can to look before I bought, it took me quite a while until I became brave enough to try them. These crispy little gems were so full of flavor, I went back and bought several more cans.
The next hurdle is the mayonnaise issue. You will find as you read this blog that Best Foods Mayo is my wonderful husband's secret ingredient for all of his best dishes. ( Except spaghetti as far as I know.) This is
one item we really struggle with, since he does not care for the taste of the Spectrum Mayo I use. I often end
up making mixing the tuna and then dividing the mixture into two bowls. Or sometimes instead of mayonnaise, I use a small amount of olive oil with a dash of balsamic vinegar.
Trey prefers his sandwich on sprouted grain bread such as Food For Life Ezekiel bread, but I enjoy slathering it on top of crispy sesame AkMak crackers which are made only with sesame, and stone ground wheat.
Put a few new twists on an old favorite comfort food, and soon you have a healthy meal , which not only tastes off dang hook, it also becomes comfort food for the next generation.
Until next time, remember, make sure your comfort food is Whole Tasty Food!
Here are a few of the products I mentioned. Tuna recipe is below.
Guiltless Tuna Sandwiches
4 small or 2 large cans of tuna
1 stalk celery,diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1/4-1/2 med onion diced fine
1/2 green bell pepper diced
4-6 baby dill pickles diced
1/2 cup Spectrum Olive Oil Mayo ( or to taste) ( may substitute Extra Virgin Olive oil)
Toss all ingredients in a bowl until well combined. Add salt and black pepper to taste.
Spread on AkMak Sesame Wheat crackers or Sprouted Grain Bread. Top with sliced tomato if desired. Enjoy. Serves 4
It rained all last week. For Southern California, that is an awful lot. It was pretty cold too, I know 40 degrees is not cold to some of my readers but it sure made it easy to break out the stock I made. I keep my stock frozen in quart-size freezer bags which are clearly labeled and dated. Soup is so good for you and stock is the perfect base for easy soup. It is a great way to clean out the fridge as well. First I heated my stock. Then I chopped the veggies I found in the refrigerator which needed to be eaten. I found celery, carrot, potato, and onion. I quickly diced it into small pieces which were close to the same size. This will keep them all cooked at the same time. Put the celery, carrot and onion in the broth and simmered for about 30 mins so the flavors would enter the soup.
Then I added some chopped leftover steak and a potato as well as a bit of leftover pasta.When the potato and pasta were done, I salted the soup. I sliced up some whole wheat and sesame barbari bread and slathered it with Organic Valley Pasture butter, which is a cultured butter full of omega 3's and CLA. Basically it is the tastiest butter ever! Dinner was ready.
Soup is so good for you, the ultimate comfort food, and is found in cultures all over the world. People who eat soup often lose weight faster. Not only is it delicious, it is quite easy to make.
Soup can bolster your immune system as well as detoxify your body. It makes you feel so good inside too. A bowl of hot soup can make you feel loved! It can remind you of Grandma's house or a rainy day after school. Soup is nutritious, a perfect food, easy to digest and perfect when you are sick! Soup can make bad day good, and a good day great!
Until next time, remember to enjoy Whole Tasty Food!
Now when I make cornbread, I find the best way to bake them is in a cast iron skillet. Cast iron makes great cookware not only because it is durable, it also adds iron to your diet, and browns meats perfectly. It holds heat very well too. A cast iron skillet your grandmother owned, can be used by your grandchildren if it is well cared for. A cast iron griddle can be laid across two stove burners and makes fantastic pancakes, burgers, grilled cheese and tuna melts.
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