6 Ingredient Graham Crackers

I’m finding that one of the hardest parts of adapting to a “real food” lifestyle is that there is no such thing as convenience food. Eating less processed foods means that the majority of what we eat has to be made at home…by me. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoy cooking and providing wholesome food for my family, but sometimes it would be nice to just go to the cabinet and grab a box of some processed, packaged snack food when my kids are telling me they’re hungry for the 427,573,235th time.

Today my son was begging me to buy him animal crackers and there was no way I was going to go to the store to buy them. I started looking through my cracker recipes and realized they all required time to chill, so even if I threw some together they were not going to satisfy his cravings any time soon. So I did what I do best….I called upon my BFF Google to find me something quick, easy and not full of junk. That’s when I stumbled upon a graham cracker recipe on a blog called Feeling Lovesome . I followed the direction and whipped a yummy batch of crackers in about 15 minutes. Score!

Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

 - 2 cups whole wheat flour (I used King Arthur Whole White Wheat)

 - 1 tsp cinnamon

 - 1/2 tsp baking soda

 - 1/2 tsp baking powder

 - 1/2 cup butter, melted

 - 1/2 cup honey

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Mix dry ingredients together, set aside

Mix honey and butter in a separate bowl. Pour over dry ingredients.

 Stir all ingredients until well combined. It kinda looks like stiff, oily peanut butter at this point, but don’t worry the end result is delicious!

Dump mixture onto cookie sheet. Roll flat making sure mixture goes all the way to the edges. If you want the holes in your crackers, poke with a fork.

I’m not sure what size my cookie sheet is, I think it’s a half sheet but I’m not sure.  It’s a bit bigger than a standard jelly roll pan.

Bake at 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Cut crackers as soon as you pull them out of the oven. I used a pastry cutter. I put mine on a cooling rack for a few minutes after I cut them, but I think they’d be fine if you let them cool in the pan.

And the MOST IMPORTANT step….enjoy them! I’m planning on putting some homemade cream cheese frosting and chocolate syrup on a few as dessert tonight!

Information Overload

Over the past few months my husband and I have been learning more about the food supply in the US and more about the chemicals found in many of these foods. I often begin to feel like I’m staring at the sign in the picture above. There is so much information out there and my Type-A personality struggles with taking it all in and figuring out what to do with it.

We’ve adopted a lifestyle of healthier eating, more organic foods less junk, more whole wheat flour vs. white flour, etc. Then I read articles on topics such as sugar potentially being a toxin and grains not being the great for you or something of that nature. It’s overwhelming when try to take it all in and apply it to our family. I’ve tried as much as possible to make most of our food from healthy ingredients, even go so far as to make homemade cheezits and ice cream this weekend, but sometimes I even feel like that is inadequate. I read blogs about “real food” and feel bad that sometimes I like to eat junk. I want to make the best food for my family, feeding them real food without chemical additives, but sometimes miss the days when swinging by Taco Bell to pick up a quick dinner was an option. (Honestly, Taco Bell doesn’t even sound good anymore. It’s the idea of a quick, convenient food that I miss.) On top of all this I live on Maui where sometimes ingredients are hard to find, my kids after school activities keep me busy most afternoons and we’re preparing for a big move in a few months. Sometimes it all just gets overwhelming and I want to cave….until I remember all the chemicals and other crap that I’ll be subjecting my family to if I do.

I’m hoping to take the 10-Day Real Food Pledge after life settles down this summer, but until then I just keep trying to do the best I can. For right now this means reading labels and buying food free of ingredients I can’t pronounce, artificial colors and flavorings, and random crap that I just don’t feel comfortable feeding my family. On the flip side it also means that sometimes dinner comes from a local restaurant, not fast food chains, but not necessarily fresh, organic, chemical-free ingredients. I have to keep reminding myself that the way we eat now is vastly different from how we were eating a year ago and about a million times better than my husband and I used to eat before kids. For now I need to tell myself that doing the best I can is ok, I can’t stress out about every little thing or I’ll go crazy….and nobody wants a crazy mama running around this house!

What about you?  What are some ways that incorporate healthier food into your diet without going crazy? I’d love to hear your stories, tips and suggestions.   I’d also love it if you’s share your recipes.  I’m hoping to get better at this blog thing and share some of the recipes our family enjoys.