Sue Gregg Breakfasts Cookbook

 

                                            

I enjoy cooking and am especially interested in finding new healthy recipes to prepare for my family, so I was thrilled to have the opportunity to review Sue Gregg’s More Than BREAKFASTS with Blender Batter Baking and Allergy Alternatives ($23). Sue Gregg Cookbooks sells 9 different cookbooks, all devoted to “healthy recipes for healthy home cooking.” In addition, the Sue Gregg Cookbooks website offers extensive information about the benefits of whole foods cooking and numerous recipes to try out.

One thing I like about Breakfasts is the balance of recipes with great information about healthy eating. The recipes use whole grains and healthy fats, and avoid white sugar. Recipe variations are provided for those with allergies to milk, eggs, or gluten. The book is divided into ten topics—planning, milk, cereals, eggs, fruit, shakes and muffins, waffles etc, special, potpourri, and menus. One nice bonus were the label tags that were printed in the book for the reader to cut out and attach to the book to help in locating sections quickly.

Each of the recipe sections begins with nutritional and preparation information, which I found both informative and interesting to read. Each of the major ingredients is discussed. I found this information very helpful in helping me decide which new grains to try for our family’s tastes.  Calorie counts are listed for both ingredients and recipes.

We have made many of the recipes in the past few weeks and have found most of them to be both unique and delicious. Some of our favorite recipes have included:

Blueberry Shake

Scrambled Egg Enchiladas (We made these for a quick dinner one night-Yum!)

Dan’s Milk Yogurt (My daughter thought it was fun to make her own yogurt!)

Crock Pot oatmeal (This one was a failure—the oatmeal burned and was very mushy. Our crock pot must be too hot.)

Cottage pancakes (Delicious! These tasted like Cheese Blintzes.)

Pine-applesauce topping (Easy to prepare. We ate this on top of pancakes.)

Almond Coffee Cake (Very good and moist.)

Blended Oat Pancakes (Also delicious. We like these better than our usual white flour or whole wheat flour pancakes.)

Cowboy Coffee Cake (Very good. Hearty and moist.  Similar to the almond coffee cake. I made it with barley and brown rice and substituted dried cranberries for the dates.)

There are also a lot of hot cereal recipes that I look forward to trying soon.

Most of the recipes incorporate Sue Gregg’s “two-stage process,” which requires soaking the grain for 7-24 hours in order to improve digestion and nutrient absorption. The recipes are usually mixed in a blender. I found that by spending a few minutes in the evening beginning the cooking process, it actually simplified breakfast preparation in the morning, enabling me to put a hot breakfast on the table quickly instead of telling the kids to grab a box of cereal!

Emily helped me prepare many of the recipes. She enjoyed trying new foods and was always eager to try what she had helped to prepare.

I highly recommend Sue Gregg’s Breakfasts. I feel good that my family is eating more nutritious breakfasts now and look forward to continuing this pattern in the future.