Home-made and healthy
From healthy nuts and seeds to going light on sugar, snacking on homemade bakes means you can still indulge without sacrificing texture and flavour.
BY baking your own bread, you’re in control of what goes into your it. Research shows fibre helps regulate the body’s use of sugars and has the ability to keep you fuller for longer.
Wholewheat health bread
Ingredients
500 ml (280 g) white bread flour
500 ml (280 g) nutty high bran wheat flour
5 ml bicarbonate of soda
5 ml salt
15 ml light brown sugar
125 ml (75 g) sunflower seeds
500 ml buttermilk
200 ml milk
Method
1 Sift flours, bicarbonate of soda and salt together. Add bran, sugar and sunflower seeds.
2 Whisk buttermilk and milk together. Add to dry ingredients and mix well.
3 Spoon mixture into a greased loaf pan of about 24 cm. Sprinkle with extra seeds.
4 Bake in a preheated oven at 180?C for about one hour. Leave in pan for a few minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
>>>>>
Seed Loaf
Ingredients
500 ml (280 g) white bread or cake wheat flour
5 ml salt
125 ml (20 g) wheat bran flour
80 ml (65 g) light brown sugar
10 g (1 sachet) instant dry yeast
45 ml poppy seeds
45 sunflower seeds
45 ml linseeds
45 ml caraway seeds
About 375 ml lukewarm water
30 ml cooking oil
Method
1 Sift flour and salt together. Add bran, sugar, yeast and seeds.
2 Combine water and oil. Add to dry ingredients and mix well.
3 Spoon mixture into a greased loaf pan or individual small pans. Leave to rise in a warm place for about 15 minutes. Sprinkle with extra seeds.
4 Bake in a preheated oven at 220?C for about 30 minutes or until done. Leave in pan for a few minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
>>>>>
Spinach and cheese muffins
Ingredients
500 g Snowflake Savoury Muffin Easymix
1 extra-large egg
125 ml (½ cup) cooking oil
375 ml (1 ½ cups) milk
150 g spinach
1 ml cayenne pepper
250 ml (100 g) grated Cheddar cheese
Method
1 Steam spinach until wilted. Drain, chop coarsely and set aside.
2 Preheat oven to 180?C. Place Easymix into a mixing bowl. Add cayenne pepper, cheese and spinach.
3 Whisk egg, oil and milk before adding to dry ingredients. Mix lightly with a spoon until just combined. Do not over mix.
4 Spoon mixture into a well-greased muffin pan.
5 Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown. Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.
Other healthy bake tricks
· Go easy on the icing by topping your creations with cottage cheese or a fruit-based icing.
· For fillings, opt for more fruit and vegetables to add sweetness and keep bakes moist.
· Honey packs a sweet punch without needing large quantities – use it to sweeten up your healthy bakes.
· With kilojoule-heavy ingredients, like dried fruit, reduce the amount the recipe calls for by half.
· Swap butter, margarine or vegetable shortening for heart-healthy oils, such as olive oil and canola oil.
* Recipes courtesy of Snowflake.
