Bread Machine Pretzel Bites

Note: These were very yummy. A good "dip in mustard" pretzel. Instead of forming into a pretzel shape, we cut them in 1-1.5" pieces. I thought it was going to be a lot of work to boil them and then bake; but it wasn't a big deal at all.

I'm sorry the pics aren't the best- they were taken on the fly with my cell. Trust me, they were delicious!

From the Blog Dine & Dish

Recipe: Homemade Pretzel Bites for the Bread Machine (from All Recipes.com)

• 1 1/8 cups water (70 to 80 degrees F)

• 3 cups all-purpose flour

• 3 tablespoons brown sugar

• 1 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast

• 2 quarts water

• 1/2 cup baking soda

• coarse salt

• melted butter – not in the original recipe, but a must for mall food pretzel like experience

1. In bread machine pan, place the first four ingredients in order suggested by manufacturer. Select dough setting (check dough after 5 minutes of mixing; add 1 to 2 tablespoons water or flour if needed).

1. When cycle is completed, turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough into eight balls. Roll each into a 20-in. rope; form into pretzel shape. In a saucepan, bring water and baking soda to a boil. Drop pretzels into boiling water, two at a time; boil for 10-15 seconds. Remove with a slotted spoon; drain on paper towels.

1. Place pretzels on greased baking sheets. Bake at 425 degrees F for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Brush with melted butter. Sprinkle with salt.

King Arthur Brand

King Arthur Brand flours are good to go. They do have malted barley flour in them, but I was told by the company that it not corn derived. I was so happy to hear this, as I love me some King Arthur flour.......it's always fun to not have to change:)

That said, the son-son and I had a pretzel baking night. We tried 3 different recipes, figuring that at least one would come out edible. It turns out that we LOVED all three and will be adding them to our recipe collection. We used some melted Olivio Coconut Spread brushed on the tops, and King Arthur flour.

When a recipe calls for oil, I usually use coconut oil when possible. In these recipes, it was used to oil the counter. Normally I'd use olive oil, but figured that was too strong of a flavor for this and so I used canola oil. I'm still unsure of canola oil as I've heard things about how it isn't good for health reasons; but I'm not completely convinced. I just use it sparingly and as a last resort. Word to the wise- "vegetable" oil is most often corn or soybean oil.

Machine Bread Pretzel Bites

Easy Homemade Pretzels

Chewy Pretzel Bites

Butter

We found an awesome product, Olivio Coconut Spread, to use as a butter replacement. I've gotten used to it and have actually grown quite fond of the taste. It has a buttery mouthfeel and is kind of sweet. It melts like the real stuff and is fantastic on toast, especially with a bit of cinnamon sprinkled on top.

Even my husband likes it, and he doesn't like the taste of coconut.

"Soy" sauce

This is spendy, so it's one of the items that I tend to only use in recipes that the whole family will eat- or he uses it on rice himself. For the rest of the family, we still use Bragg's Liquid Aminos. We find this at Whole Foods. Careful with it- the first one we bought exploded on the WF cashier when he bumped it on the counter (glad it happened in the store where they replaced it, rather than at home).

http://www.coconutsecret.com/aminos2.html

I like to wait to find it for $5.99 on sale and buy a few at a time so I have it on hand.

Ketchup, catsup, call it what you will

Right now, we're using Meijer Organics ketchup. It does have vinegar, and I have no idea if the vinegar they're using is corn derived as I haven't called on it yet. I haven't noticed any reactions, but then maybe I haven't been observant enough- you never know.

I did call about the regular Meijer ketchup, labelled "no high fructose corn syrup". It does have "natural flavors" and those ARE corn derived according to Mr. Storm. He said that this is so it can be gluten free- which is fantastic, if you're gluten free.

I've been thinking about making my own, but haven't gotten around to it yet. Anyone have a recipe they'd like to share?

Vitamins and supplements

While I'm not a big fan of fructose in a vitamin or supplement, I'm willing to overlook it since it's nearly impossible to find products that fit our needs. Here's what my kids take: Nature's Plus Source of Life Animal Parade Children's Chewable Multi-Vitamin & Mineral Supplement with Whole Food Concentrate (or more simply "pews" as my 2 year old calls them). I called and the lovely Diane was able to answer my question with no problem, telling me that it is a common inquiry. Personally I'd put it right on the packaging or the website, but I guess I'm not in charge ;)

I'm going to be spammy here for a minute. We get most of our vitamins and supplements from Vitacost and iherb.com (referral code HOB764). I've ordered many many times from both of these companies. I've never had a problem with either of them- they ship fast (and free, with a minimum order which I find is often easy to reach) and everything is well packaged.

Actually I take that back. My most recent order with Vitacost included 4 things of Organic Better than Boullion (2 beef, 2 chicken- I was told the maltodextrin for the organic- NOT the others- is not corn derived)......one of the beef flavor came with no safety seal, and this particular company doesn't have a seal under the cap as a backup measure. I called Vitacost- they apologized profusely, told me to toss the one without the seal, and shipped me a new one at no cost (I called Friday, the replacement arrived Monday).

I f you use my link for Vitacost, you'll get $10 (and so will I!) and if you use my referral code HOB764 at iherb.com you'll get a free $5 and I'll get a percentage, which I'm always grateful for.

 As an aside- I will be linking a LOT of products. This is so you can see what I'm talking about, product-wise. I do not receive compensation for this. If at any time I will benefit from a link, I'll be honest with you and tell you (like I did above). I hate reading blogs that sound like a self promoting infomercial, and I don't want to be one of those ;)

 Back to supplements.....another that they take is DDS Plus Probiotics by UAS Laboratories.

 Yet another is fish oil from Childlife, in strawberry flavor. Neither of the kids really loves it- but it's fish oil so I'm just happy that I can get them to take it (they're not "allowed" to have the Animal Parades until they take it- yes, my poor deprived children think taking the chewable vitamins is a treat).

Treating the sickies is a whole new beast

My son woke up with a dry hacking cough and couldn't get back to sleep. We tried lemon water and honey, and it just wasn't cutting it. I ended up giving him a sucker (Yummy Earth Organic Lollipops) because I didn't want him to choke on a cough drop since he was coughing so hard and was in bed.

My kids are rarely sick, and when they are I do natural remedies whenever possible (the only medication any of them has ever had was when I had to give him Benedryl after the original soy incident ). When looking through medications, I can see that even homeopathic remedies are no longer "safe", as they are often cornstarch pellets.

This morning, I called Ricola to find out if they were safe. I was told that their "starch syrup" is corn based. 

Please remember to check the ingredients on everything, every time you buy it. Something that was safe last time may not be safe this time- companies change their ingredients and formulations all the time without warning.

Please don't trust me on things. Use this blog as a jumping off point to do your own research. What I've been told may not be fact, or maybe it was true when I was told and won't be true tomorrow.

Things that are safe:

Honey...Don't Cough- this is 100% pure buckwheat honey in individual packets

Bee M.D. Organic Honey Throat Drops by BestSweet, Honey Lemon flavor- organic brown rice syrup, organic eucalyptus oil, organic evaporated cane juice, organic flavors*, organic honey. I was told by Miss Rita at BestSweet that there is no corn nor corn derivatives in this product or the other flavor.

I'm waiting on a reply from:

Whole Foods 365 Everyday Value Cough Ease for Kids Homeopathic Cough Syrup- citric acid*, honey, purified water, sodium benzoate, sucrose*. This also states that it contains 0.001% alcohol which I'm also questioning, as alcohol is often corn derived. I will update when/if I get a reply.