Whole Wheat Skillet Focaccia Bread

I love making Focaccia because it's the low-maintenance girlfriend of the bread world. It's delicious, adapts to suit pretty much any topping you like, and only takes about an hour to make from start to finish. We're pretty hard core about sodium in our house so I didn't add any to the dough, but if you'd like a little hint of salt with your bread, feel free to sprinkle a small amount of Kosher Salt on top before baking.

Whole Wheat Skillet Focaccia Bread
Serves 4-6

1 cup warm water (between 105-110 degrees F)
2 tsp active dry yeast
1 1/2 tbsp honey
2 1/2 tbsp olive or avocado oil, plus more for greasing pan
1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp dried crushed rosemary
1 tsp dried onion flakes

Preheat oven to 200 degrees, and grease the inside of a 12" cast iron skillet with oil.

In a medium bowl, combine water, yeast, and honey. Let sit for 5 minutes until yeast is dissolved and the surface is bubbly.

In a separate bowl, combine flours and seasonings. Stir to combine.

To the yeast mixture, add the oil. Stir in half the flour mixture, and once combined, stir in the remaining half. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, continue roughly stirring the dough for about 5 minutes, or until it becomes smooth and isn't sticking to the sides of the bowl as much. You can also turn it out onto the counter and knead by hand, but focaccia is meant to be a soft, slightly sticky dough, and it's easy to add too much flour if you knead by hand.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and roll into a roughly 12" circle. It doesn't have to be perfect, because you can work it a little to make it fit once you place it in the skillet. Cover with a damp towel, and place in the oven for 20 minutes to proof.

Remove from oven, and increase the temperature to 400 degree. Using your fingers, or the floured end of a wooden spoon, press small dents into the top of the bread. Sprinkle the top liberally with oil, and whatever seasonings you desire (I usually top it with a little more dried rosemary and some dried onion flakes).

Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown on top. Let cool for 2-3 minutes, and then remove from skillet to a cooling rack.

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Dried Fruit & Seed Muesli Buns

Ray absolutely loves the Protein Bistro Boxes at Starbucks, and they're honestly one of the few healthy/low sodium options we can find for him when it comes to eating out. But at $6 a pop, they aren't the most budget friendly option. He especially loves the little muesli buns inside them, but when we looked up the company that makes them (thinking that buying bags straight from them would be more affordable), we discovered it was $5 for a bag of 8 tiny buns (which would last all of 2 days in our house). So we went searching for a comparable recipe on the internet, and found this one by Sweet Phi. I modified it to our needs, removing the salt and upping the oats, dried fruit, and seeds. They're a great little grab & go snack for any time of day, and they freeze really well! If you have access to a Whole Foods or Fresh Thyme, it's *much* cheaper to buy the dried fruit & seeds from the bulk bins than purchasing pre-packaged ones at a regular store. I spent about $20 on the dried fruit and nuts at Fresh Thyme, and have only used half my stash after 4 batches of these buns - I'm thinking I'll be able to get 8-9 batches out of $20 worth of ingredients, so it's well worth the money!

Ingredients
Makes 21-24 rounds

1 1/2 cups warm water
1 packet instant yeast 
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/3 cup dried apricots, diced
1/3 cup dried apples, diced
1/3 cup dried currants
1/3 cup unsalted sunflower seeds
1/4 cup flax seeds

Instructions
Combine warm water, yeast, honey, and oats in a large bowl, stir once or twice, and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes until the mixture is foamy on top.

Slowly stir in the flours, and mix until dough just begins to form. You can do this with a stand mixer with a dough attachment set on low, or by hand (which is what I do). 

Add in the chopped dried fruit and seeds, and stir a few times. 

Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead for 5-8 minutes, until the fruit and seeds have been incorporated evenly into the dough. 

Put the dough ball into an oiled bowl, cover with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap, and allow to rise for an hour.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface, and shape it into a large rectangle. Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, cut the dough into 21-24 squares.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper, take each dough square in hand, tuck the corners under to round them out, and place on baking sheet. When all the dough squares have been made into rounds, cover the baking sheets with plastic wrap (spray it with cooking spray first to keep the dough from sticking to it), and allow to rise for another hour.

Preheat oven to 375. Remove plastic wrap from the baking sheets, and bake the bread rounds for 15 minutes, or until the bottoms are slightly golden. Remove from oven and let cool on racks before eating or storing. (To freeze, let cool and place in Gallon Freezer bags. To defrost, allow them to come to room temperate on the counter, or microwave for 30 seconds).

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Heart-Healthy Honey Almond Granola

My husband looooves the Bear Naked Honey Almond granola, and it's one of the only kinds we've found that has zero sodium. It's also one of the few brands that isn't LOADED with sugar (which is the other thing to watch out for with granola). But the ways he mows through the stuff, we couldn't afford to keep shelling out $3.99 per tiny bag. So naturally, I did what I do - dove into the internet, read through a dozen or more recipes, and came up with a healthier hodgepodge recipe of my own.

I'd made granola before, but it was always pretty unhealthy, albeit delicious. This one contains no sodium, is as low on sugar as I felt I could go, and has a short ingredient list, which is always a win in my book. In fact, it comes together so quickly,  I can stir up a batch and pop it in the oven while the kids are trapped eating breakfast in their high chairs 😂

If you like granola, I highly recommend making your own. It's one of those things that tastes *infinitely* better when it's homemade. I wish I'd started doing it sooner not only for the financial savings, but the improved taste.

Heart Healthy Honey Almond Granola 

4 cups rolled oats

1/4 flax seeds

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ginger

1 cup whole almonds

1/2 cup oil of your choice (I use avocado oil, but plain old Canola works too!)

1/3 cup honey (if you like it sweeter, you can go up to 1/2 cup)

3/4 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350, and line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper (once granola cools, it sticks to the pan like a BEAR if you don't). 

In separate bowls, stir together dry ingredients and wet ingredients. Pour wet ingredients over the dry and toss thoroughly to combine. 

Bake for 25 minutes (or until lightly browned), stirring the granola once halfway through to ensure even browning

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