Clean Eating Whole Grain Cornbread

Makes 16 servings, one slice each 
This is probably one of my boys top 5 favorite things and mine too. Every time I run the breadmaker, they run in as soon as they hear it start and ask if I'm making cornbread. If the answer is yes, there will be much cheering and happy dancing in the Allan household :) If you were previously a box of jiffy cornbread kind of person then this will be a little drier and more crumbly than what you are used to (likely due to the lack of shortening lol) but it is full of flavor and way better for you. Because it is a little crumblier, I like to cut the entire loaf in half and then cut fat slices instead of thin slices. You'll see what I mean in the pic. We almost always make this to eat with Turkey Chili. I've also used it to make cornbread stuffing.

Hot and fresh from the mini loaf pan! You can almost smell it :)

Ingredients: 

• 1 ½ cups whole grain cornmeal (the side of the package must say whole grain corn or whole ground corn or something involving whole, not degerminated or anything. I buy mine at the natural food store in bulk.) 
• 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour (I use King Arthur's White Whole Wheat)
• 2 ½ tsp baking powder 
• 1 tsp salt 
• 3 Tbsp honey 
• 1 ½ cups buttermilk (I NEVER have this so I combine 1 ½ c milk w/ 1 ½ Tbsp lemon juice, let sit 5 minutes then stir) 
• ¼ cup oil (extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, whatever you like) 
• 2 eggs, beaten 
• Optional: For sweet cornbread add ½ cup Sucanat or honey (I always do) 

Breadmaker Instructions: Dump all the liquid ingredients into the pan and then add the dry ingredients. Set the machine to the quickbread setting and push start.

(NOTE: Not all machines have a quickbread setting. This is not the rapid setting for yeast breads, it's a specific setting for quickbreads using baking soda/powder instead of yeast. If your machine doesn't have this setting, mix the ingredients first then dump them in and just run it on the bake setting for about an hour.)

Oven Instructions:

ONE: Buy a cheap used breadmaker on Craigslist. Just kidding... kind of. Preheat oven to 400 (350 if using mini loaf pan or 9" loaf pan). Coat an 8” square pan, 9" loaf pan, or mini loaf pan with non-stick spray.

TWO: Mix flours, baking powder, salt, honey, and sucanat/extra honey (if using) with a wire whisk. In a separate bowl combine wet ingredients and then stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.

THREE: Pour batter into a prepared pan and bake 20-25 minutes for square pan or mini loaf pan or 30 minutes for a 9" loaf pan or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Crockpot Instructions:
ONE: Mix all ingredients as directed in oven instructions. Coat the inside of the crock with cooking spray, dump the batter in, and put the lid on.

TWO: Cook on high for 3-4 hours or until a toothpick comes out clean. If you notice a lot of condensation building up inside the cover, prop it open with a chopstick or similar sized item to vent.

Cut into 16 slices. Freeze leftovers using the flash freeze method or double bagged method to feed your freezer stash. Reheat in the microwave or toaster or thaw in the fridge overnight.

Nutrition Info:
Per slice (sweetened version using sucanat) - 162 Calories (38 Calories from Fat), 4g Fat, 0.7g Saturated Fat, 21mg Cholesterol, 170mg Sodium, 28.7g Total Carbs, 1.2g Dietary Fiber, 10.6g Sugars, 3.6g Protein, 2% DV Vit A, 1% DV Vit C, 7% DV Calcium, 6% DV Iron

Per slice unsweetened - 140 Calories (38 Calories from Fat), 4g Fat, 0.7g Saturated Fat, 21mg Cholesterol, 170mg Sodium, 22.7g Total Carbs, 1.2g Dietary Fiber, 4.6g Sugars, 3.6g Protein, 2% DV Vit A, 1% DV Vit C, 7% DV Calcium, 6% DV Iron

Dump in the liquids

Dump in the dry ingredients

Press start and it magically becomes bread :) I love my breadmaker! This pic also shows what I mean about cutting the loaf down the middle to make short, fat slices instead of wide, skinny slices.

For non-breadmaker, mix together the dry ingredients

Stir in the liquid ingredients. Dump in a pan or crockpot and bake.

I had chili in the crockpot and cornbread in the breadmaker so, instead of spending time in the kitchen, I got to hang out with this little cutie pie :) Life is good.

:)