Oh, Honestly!

Real Life for Real Moms

#ONENEWFOOD: Whole Wheat Flour

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Last week Kristen and I both had mixed results with our #ONENEWFOODs. She tried snow peas and I tried both kale chips and raspberries. The snow peas and the kale chips did not fare well. The raspberries had mixed success.

This week I needed a win, so I went back to basics. I wouldn’t exactly call my #ONENEWFOOD healthy, but it certainly was healthier than if I had made it the way I usually do.

May I present to you:

Blueberry Muffins with half white flour and half whole wheat flour

Whole Wheat Flour

I went small this week. The recipe called for 2 cups of flour, so I used 1 cup of white flour and 1 cup of whole wheat flour. I also took out a bit of the oil and replaced it with flax.

Samuel liked them

His face says it all.

I didn’t bother telling the kids what I’d done. I just made the muffins and offered them each one when they were done. Those muffins were going like hot cakes. Which coincidentally was the next thing I made.

I make homemade pancakes all the time, so I wasn’t sure if the kids would rebel when the texture was a bit denser. Once again I subbed out half the white flour for whole wheat. And once again, the kids didn’t even notice. So I decided to go again.

We have two peach trees outside (did you know you can grow amazing peaches in Maine?!  I didn’t until Eric planted these trees. Even then I had my doubts. But this is our second year of having hundreds of gorgeous, huge, delicious peaches. It’s amazing.)

Anyway, the kids won’t touch them. Even if I peel them, they don’t like them. But I needed to use up these peaches, so I made peach muffins, once again using half white, half whole wheat flour. The batter was thick and heavy and I thought for sure they were going to be gross. The thought of little squishy bits of peach in the muffins made me shudder, but guess what? Those are some good muffins! And guess what else?? ALL THE KIDS LOVED THEM!

So to recap: 1) My kids didn’t even notice the addition of whole wheat flour. 2) Eli won’t eat blueberries, but he will eat them in muffins. 3) None of the kids will eat peaches, but they will eat them in muffins.

I’m pretty stoked. This week was a #ONENEWFOOD win! I plan to start using higher percentages of whole wheat flour to see what they’ll let me get away with before they notice a difference.

My #ONENEWFOOD Pic (Pick) of the Week (see what I did there?)

http://instagram.com/p/sPdP1JtJol/?modal=true

Michelle tells me that her son Nick doesn’t like mixing foods, yet he was still willing to try these frozen fruit yogurt pops from Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution August challenge. Go Nick!!

Join us

If you haven’t taken the plunge with us, what’s stopping you? We’ll cheer you on every step of the way and you never know what crazy thing your child will end up liking! So try something new, take some pictures, and share your stories. We can’t wait to hear them!

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About Lauren

If you enjoy picture-perfect home decor, perfectly prepared recipes, and perfectly behaved children, you've come to the wrong place. Meet Lauren. She isn't perfect, but she's perfectly real.

Comments

  1. Kristen says

    awesome! I love the gorgeous photo too of the muffins! I want to see the peach muffins too though…don’t leave me hanging! Great job!

    • Lauren says

      Yay, I’m starting to get better at photography (thanks to YOU!). I did take peach pics. I’ll post some on social media.

  2. Jade @ Jonesin' For Taste says

    Yay for a successful change! I remember the challenges of revamping the way we ate to be healthier. Sometimes I thought I would tear my hair out but the longer I do the changes and let the kids know this is the only food they will get to eat the more accepting they have become. They now jump on all sorts of new foods that I would have never expected them to try. So it works!

    • Lauren says

      That’s why I’m so glad I’m doing this with Kristen and that other families are joining in. I know I would cave if it was just me!!

  4. Michelle @ Jamie Oliver At Home says

    Pic/pick – I see what you did there! Lol

    I wonder if telling the kids made any difference. I am on the fence about the “just two bites” part of this #OneNewFood challenge, and your post proved me right. It is like a huge red flag for kids that there is going to be something weird or disgusting about what Mom is about to force me to eat.

    Maybe it is just me, but I think words matter. In my house, if I say “fresh, local, organic” it puts my kids on edge. I just got the contents of our veggie box, and there was a small cantaloupe. Nick normally devours it, so I just tested my theory:

    Handing him a small segment, “Nick, try this fresh, local, organic cantaloupe. It is really sweet.” He took it cautiously, examined the rind (not as green as the store kind, a bit more yellow) scraped a sliver off with his teeth, and put it down. “It’s too cold.” He gave me those pleading eyes…as if to ask silently, you’re not going to make me eat this are you?

    I am preeeettty sure if I had just put a plate of slices in front of him, he would have devoured them and not known the difference. Let’s try it both ways…

      • Lauren says

        We also have strawberries, apples, kiwis (okay, those have never produced fruit, but we still have them!), and we planted pear trees this year. It’s like a fruit salad in our backyard!

    • Lauren says

      I totally agree. When I tell them they have to try two bites, they automatically assume they won’t like it. On the other hand, Eli and Annelise are reluctant to try anything new, so sometimes ‘forcing’ them is the only way to get them to eat it. I’m going to try to do more things like this that are foods we already eat, but modified with healthier ingredients. And when I’m feeling brave, I’ll offer a new veggie 😉

  9. Rachel says

    That is amazing that your kids did not notice a difference! I use whole wheat for most of my recipes. Growing up, I had some siblings that would run if they heard something had whole wheat. Now my mom does not tell them and most of the time they cannot tell the difference!
    Blueberry Muffins are one of our favorites!!
    xoxo Rachel

    • Lauren says

      Yeah, it makes me wonder how many other changes I could get away with without them even realizing. I guess I’ll start trying things out!

  10. Neva @ Retire for the Fun of it says

    This is such a great way to introduce new foods to your family. Many times I didn’t like a food because it sounded so gross, but then I found out it tasted good. Its all in how it’s described. – yummy or eat it or else.

    • Lauren says

      That’s a good point! I think my kids can sense if I think they won’t like something before they even try it. I’ll have to be extra careful about how I present new foods.

  11. Beth Ann says

    Mmm! This would be great for lactation also, because of the flax that you have in there. I love finding delicious recipes that will also help my exclusively breastfed baby get more nomnoms. Hahah Thanks for sharing!

    • Lauren says

      I didn’t know that flax was good for lactation. I’m not breastfeeding anymore, but that’s another good reason to use it!

    • Lauren says

      You do! And I’m glad they weren’t turned off by the heavier texture. We’ve always bought whole wheat bread, so it wasn’t totally new, but I’ve always baked with white flour, so I’m glad they liked it.