Mmm, Fall Inspirations....

So far, fall has brought a few recipe inspirations to mind that I want to share with you!

First on my list...

Pumpkin Spice Sourdough French Toast with Wheat Germ & Flaxseed
Duuuuude, this stuff is so good!

Start with your usual egg & milk mixture for the french toast. Use real sourdough bread, the kind that's thick & spongy that you can get in the bakery section at the grocery store. Add 1/2 teaspoon or so of vanilla extract to the egg & milk mixture, as well as a couple sprinkles of cinnamon. Let the sourdough bread soak in the mixture on each side for about a minute or so per side. This is the secret. ;) Next, place the soaked bread on your hot skillet (or even better, your hot griddle:), sprinkle each slice with pumpkin pie spice, wheat germ, and flax seeds. I go kind of light with the pumpkin pie spice and heavier with the wheat germ & flax. The clove-y taste in the pumpkin pie spice is a little overpowering to me, so I tend to take it easy in that department, but you can go all out if you wanted!! The next secret... cook the french toast slowly on the griddle, so set your heat lower than you normally do for french toast. You want the thick slices that you thoroughly soaked with the egg mixture to cook through. Since the wet side was up when you first placed the french toast on the griddle the pumpkin spices, wheat germ, and flax stuck to that side better than it will when you flip it. I usually just fancy-up the one side of the toast. When your toasts are done finish them off with some butter and warmed pure maple syrup and you. will. be. in. heaven! Wish I had a picture to share with you... maybe next time! Enjoy these!!



I love using flaxseed because it seems to be the up and coming wonder food in keeping our bodies overall healthy and decreasing our risk from developing sooo many diseases, like diabetes, heart disease, cancers (especially breast, prostate, and colon cancer), and stroke. Flax contains omega-3 fatty acids (good stuff!), lignans (which have plant estrogen and antioxidant properties), and fiber (we all know fiber's good for ya!). Flaxseed has been shown to decrease plaque buildup in your arteries by 75%!! It also lowers your total cholesterol, including lowering your LDL cholesterol (the bad type) and raises your HDL cholesterol (the good type of cholesterol). Flax also decreases the severity of hot flashes in post menopausal women. ;) It is also supposed to be good for diabetics in reducing their HgA1C. Cool! So many good things packed into this tiny little seed! On a side note, you can buy golden or brown whole flax seed and use it just as it is, or grind it in a coffee grinder (which is supposedly the form in which our bodies absorb most of the goodness from the seed). Throw it in everything! Even if your husband is an anti-healthfood-nut like mine, he'll never even know its in there. ;o) Oh, and on another side note, supposedly, just as with soy products, you don't want to supplement too much with flaxseed during pregnancy or while breastfeeding. The lignans in flaxseed contain phytoestrogen, mostly a female hormone, so you don't want to imbalance your hormones while you're prego. ;)

Wheat germ on the other hand, is packed with vitamins & minerals, like folic acid, which women of childbearing age should consume lots of! It also contains a pretty hefty amount of fiber and a decent amount of protein, too. This is an all-around winner in my book! Put it in smoothies, yogurt, breads, muffins, cakes, meatloaf...pretty much anything! I like to sprinkle a couple tablespoons in my oatmeal (as well as flaxseed) with some almonds & berries or raisins. Just adds some extra goodness... ;)

Hope you learned a little somethin'! I know I was pleasantly surprised to read all the beneficial things about these two super foods!