Banana Cranberry Breakfast Cookies

This recipe is simple to prepare and your body will be happy being fed such a healthy cookie! Can be enjoyed for breakfast, snack or even dessert. They are packed with protein and fiber and made without sugar or eggs.


Ingredients:

1 cup quick cook steel cut oats (Trader Joe's brand)
¼ cup ground flax seed
¼ cup Tera's whey (vanilla flavor)
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 very ripe bananas
½ cup fruit juice sweetened dried cranberies

To make:

Preheat oven to 350° F. In a bowl mix together oats, flax seed, whey, chia seeds, and cinnamon. In a separate bowl mash bananas. Add the mashed bananas to the flour mixture and stir to combine. Fold in dried cranberries. Using a ¼ size measuring cup, scoop batter onto a parchment or a silpat lined baking sheet. Bake for 15 minutes.

Sweet Potato Feta and Arugula Quiche

I made this quiche last week and had to make it again. It's that good. The crust is simple to make and chock-full of healthy fats from the flax and chia seeds. A piece of this for breakfast will keep your stomach happy and full till it's time for lunch. This recipe is gluten free and vegetarian.

Sweet Potato Feta and Arugula Quiche

Ingredients for the crust:

½ cup plus 1 tablespoon oat flour
¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese
¼ cup ground flax seeds
2 tablespoons chia seeds
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 egg

Ingredients for the filling:

1 small white onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
1 medium sweet potato, diced (about 3 heaping cups)
2 cups packed arugula
5 eggs
⅓ cup feta cheese
1 tablespoon pesto, store-bought or homemade
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
¼ teaspoon red chili flakes

Generous grinds of pepper

To make:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium bowl, mix together oat flour, flax, chia seeds, and parmesan cheese. Create a little well in the flour mixture and add the egg and olive oil. Mix well and let sit for 5 minutes. Form dough into a round disk and place between two sheets of wax paper. Using a rolling pin, flatten out the dough. Carefully remove the sheets of wax paper and place dough into a greased 9-inch pie dish. Press dough into the dish and up the sides. Pierce dough several times with a fork and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside until your filling is ready.

In a large frying pan on medium-high heat, add butter and oil. Once it’s nice and hot, add onions and 1 teaspoon salt. Give it a quick stir and cook for about 1-2 minutes. Add the sweet potato and cook, stirring frequently for 5 minutes. Add Italian seasoning, pepper and red chili flakes. Cook for about 3 more minutes. Add arugula, gently stir and remove pan from heat.

Crack eggs into a bowl. Reserve one of the yolks. Add pesto to the bowl of eggs and whisk for about a minute. Using a pastry brush, spread the reserved egg yolk all over the inside of the crust. Layer half of the sauteed veggie mixture, half of the feta cheese and half of the pesto egg mixture. Follow the same steps with the remaining ingredients. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

Banana Mug Cake

Cake for breakfast... Mug cake that is! This mug cake recipe is simple to whip up and you can feel good about starting your day off with a healthy and protein rich treat breakfast. I shared this recipe on my Instagram but wanted to share it here as well.

Ingredients:

1 banana, half mashed and reserve the other half to slice for topping
2 tablespoons soy milk
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 heaping tablespoon almond butter
1 egg
½ teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons coconut flour
2 tablespoons whey powder
¼ teaspoon baking powder
½ packet of stevia (I use NuNaturals)
Tiny pinch of salt



To make:

 In a bowl, mash half of the banana. Add almond butter, olive oil, soy milk, and almond extract. Mix well to combine. Add in coconut flour, whey powder, baking powder, stevia, and salt. Mix to incorporate batter. Pour into a large greased mug and cook for 2 minutes in the microwave. Top with whatever suits your mood. I topped mine with a dollop of plain greek yogurt, sliced banana, 1 chopped date, drizzle of honey, and hemp seeds.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin-Zucchini-Banana Bread

I've posted quite a few breakfast bread recipes here. That's because they are so easy to whip up and a great way to have breakfast all week. Now that the weather is finally cooling down it's actually starting to feel like Fall. What do we do in Fall? Eat everything pumpkin! I'm not a PSL drinker but I do love everything else pumpkin. Just the other night I made a vegetarian green curry with pumpkin. It was so spicy and delicious. That should be a future post. Having leftover roasted pumpkin from that evening, I mashed it up and turned it into Chocolate Chip Pumpkin-Zucchini-Banana Bread. This bread is really yummy! I like to serve it toasted (so the chocolate melts) with almond butter and sliced banana. It's also a filling fiber rich meal which will keep you going until lunch.

Ingredients:

Dry ingredients
½ cup gluten free oat flour (blended up oats)
½ cup rice flour
¼ cup gluten free oat bran
¼ cup ground flax
¼ cup tapioca starch
¼ cup coconut sugar
2½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon cinnamon
A few dashes of ground ginger
A dash or two of ground cloves

Wet ingredients
1 cup mashed pumpkin (canned pumpkin could also be used.)
1 medium banana, broken into smaller pieces
⅓ cup canola oil
⅓ cup blackstrap molasses
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
¼ cup almond milk
1 egg

Add ins
1 medium zucchini, grated
½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

To make:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, sift together all dry ingredients. Gently mix to combine. In a food processor, blend all of your wet ingredients except for the egg. Once all wet ingredients have been mixed, add your egg and blend for a few seconds. Pour wet ingredients into the dry and mix together until all of the flour blend is saturated. Fold in zucchini and chocolate chips. Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake for 50-55 minutes.

Banana-Plum-Raisin Oatmeal Bake

Last week my mom and I were down in Anaheim. Disneyland used to be the only thing I cared about in the area, but now I have a new stop I must make every time I'm down there. 99 Ranch Market! On a previous trip to Disneyland, my coworker took me to this amazing Asian market on our way home. I was in heaven. We spent over an hour browsing through all the spices, sauces, teas and yummy treats. Once we left I couldn't wait to return. They also have a hot food station, which I was dying to try on my next visit.

 The food didn't disappoint. We got a few snacks to fuel us for shopping. Sugar cane shrimp, pork buns, scallion cakes, and turnip cakes. Everything was so fresh and delicious. I'm a huge Dim Sum fan, so this was perfect! The market is pretty big, so I suggested we start at one end and make our way down each aisle. I had a list of things I wanted to purchase again but also had my eyes open for new items I wanted to try. One item that caught my attention was a coconut spread (Ma Tamis Sa Bao). It's just coconut cream, brown sugar and water. It looks similar to caramel and has the same consistency.

 This stuff is delicious! It's smooth and creamy with a subtle coconut flavor. I read online that it can be substituted for molasses in pecan pie. Now that is something I must do soon. Instead of dessert, I decided to use it in place of maple syrup in an oatmeal breakfast bake. The finished product came out great. It's not too sweet and the flavors of the coconut with cooked bananas are just perfect. This oatmeal bake is gluten free and vegan friendly.

Ingredients:

2¼ cup gluten free oats
1 tablespoon ground flax seeds
1½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
2 bananas, 1 sliced and reserve the other for wet ingredients
1 plum, sliced
½ cup golden raisins
1 can (14oz) light coconut milk
⅓ cup coconut spread
1 teaspoon vanilla

To make:

Preheat oven to 370ºF. In a large bowl, add oats, ground flax, baking powder and salt. Stir to combine. Toss in sliced banana, plum and raisins and set aside. In a food processor, combine coconut milk, coconut spread, the remaining banana and vanilla. Pour wet ingredients into the dry and gently stir to saturate all of the oat mixture. Pour into a greased 8x8 baking dish. Press the mixture down gently with a spatula. Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes. Let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving. I made this the day before and once cooled, I covered it and stored in the fridge. It reheats easily in the microwave or oven and if you'd like an extra kick of protein top with a scoop of cottage cheese or yogurt.

Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Ginger Pear Breakfast Bread

Chocolate Chip Ginger Pear Breakfast Bread, Gluten Free

Ingredients:

Dry

1 cup gluten free oat flour*

¼ cup brown rice flour

¼ cup almond meal

¼ cup potato starch

¼ cup ground flax meal

½ cup coconut sugar

1½ teaspoons baking powder

¾ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon xnathan gum

¼ salt

Wet

1 egg

½ cup almond milk

¼ cup plain Greek yogurt

2 tablespoons canola oil

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 heaping teaspoon fresh grated ginger

Add ins

1 medium pear, diced (1 cup)

½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips.

To make:

Preheat oven to 350º

In a large bowl, sift together all of your dry ingredients and gently mix to incorporate flour blend.

In a separate bowl, combine all wet ingredients and whisk well. 

Pour wet ingredients into dry. 

Mix well to saturate flour blend and then fold in the diced pear and chocolate chips.

Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake for about 40-45 minutes. 

Remove from heat and cool.

*You can purchase oat flour pre-ground at the store or you can make it yourself by adding oats to a food processor and blending them down.

Quinoa Porridge With Caramelized Banana

This is a super easy recipe you can make with leftover cooked quinoa. It's a filling breakfast and an excellent post workout recovery meal. You get your carbs, protein, and sugar (from honey) to help build and repair your muscles.  The sugar from the honey will bring your blood sugar back up. During an intense workout it can drop very low. It can also provide energy for the rest of your day.

Quinoa Porridge With Caramelized Banana

Gluten Free & Refined Sugar Free

Ingredients:

Quinoa Porridge

1 cup cooked quinoa

1/2 cup almond milk (or milk of choice)

2 tablespoon PB2

1 tablespoon honey

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Caramelized Banana 

1 teaspoon butter

1 small banana, sliced

sprinkle of cinnamon

To make:

In a small sauce pan with heat on low, add milk, PB2, honey and cinnamon. 

Whisk well to incorporate.

Add cooked quinoa and gently mix well. 

Continue to stir every few minutes until porridge is hot.

While the porridge is cooking, you can caramelize the banana.

In a small pan, heat on medium, melt butter. 

Add sliced banana and sprinkle of cinnamon. 

Cook for about a minutes on each side.

Transfer porridge to bowl and top with caramelized banana.

Enjoy :)

Chocolate Chip Walnut Banana Bread

Chocolate Chip Walnut Banana Bread

Ingredients:

3/4 cup spelt flour

3/4 cup oat flour

1 cup coconut sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter, at room temperature

 2 eggs

2 ripe bananas mashed, about 1 cup

1/2 cup Greek yogurt

1 cup chopped walnuts

1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

To make:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Butter and flour a loaf pan. I used spelt flour.

In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Using a spatula, gently mix well to incorporate all ingredients. 

Using a hand mixer, blend butter in a medium bowl. 

Add eggs and blend to incorporate.

Lastly, add Greek yogurt and mashed banana. Blend until all ingredients are combined.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix well.

Fold in nuts and chocolate chips and pour into prepared loaf pan.

Bake for 1 hour 10 minutes or until a toothpick/skewer comes out dry.

Leave in pan for 10 minutes, then remove and cool on a wired rack covered with parchment.

This recipe was adapted from one found in a Martha Stewart magazine. Couldn't tell you which one... My mom has a million magazines and is constantly cutting out recipes for me. All I can say is that this bread is delicious!

Cranberry Orange Pan Jam

Thanksgiving and Christmas are right around the corner. My love for recipes with cranberries is so great this time of year. One of my favorites is what we do at work. We top cupcakes with the sugared berries. It's just so pretty with the contrast of the deep berry color and the whiteness of the sugar. Definitely brings on that joyous feeling of winter.

During the summer, I made a few batches of pan jams using stone fruit. I thought it would be great to make a batch using cranberries. I love pan jams because they are so easy to make. Since there is no canning process required, they need to be kept refrigerated. They usually keep for about a week or two in the fridge and up to a year in the freezer.

Cranberry Orange Pan Jam 

Ingredients:

1 12oz bag of cranberries

1 orange - zest and juice

1/2 cup honey

2 tablespoons coconut sugar

2 stevia packets 

(If you don't use stevia, I would suggest adding more coconut sugar since the berries are so tart.)

1oz Grand Marnier (Optional)

To Make:

Rinse cranberries and place in large bowl.

Heat 3 cups water in a pot just until it starts to boil. 

Pour water over cranberries and let sit for 10 minutes.

During this time, zest the orange and set both zest and orange aside. 

You will need the juice from the orange in the next step.

Drain cranberries and place back in the pot along with zest, 

juice from the whole orange, honey, coconut sugar, and stevia. 

Turn heat to medium-high and stir gently to combine all ingredients. 

Continue to stir every few minutes.

After about 5 minutes cranberries will begin to burst. 

Use a wooden spoon or silicon spatula to mash berries down.  

Turn heat slightly lower after 5 more minutes and add 1oz Grand Marnier.

Cook for an additional 5 minutes or until jam looks thick.

Store jam in glass jars in the fridge or freezer. 

This jam makes a great topping for pancakes as well as oatmeal and ice cream. 

Spelt Lemon & Chia Pancakes Topped With Blueberry Honey Compote

Mondays are my Saturdays. After having worked with cupcakes all weekend, you would think the last thing I would want to do is bake or cook. Wrong. I find myself staying awake after I've gone to bed on Sunday nights thinking of what I can create on my days off. As breakfast will be my next meal, pancake recipe ideas tend to float around my head quite a bit. So this morning I got into my kitchen with the intent of making lemon pancakes. The end result was Spelt Lemon and Chia Pancakes with a Blueberry Honey Compote. These pancakes are full of fiber from the flax and chia seeds and made with stevia as the sweetener. The compote is sweetened with honey, and for serving, I drizzled a little more honey on top.

Spelt Lemon and Chia Pancakes with a Blueberry Honey Compote 

Ingredients for Pancakes (makes 6 pancakes)

Dry Ingredients:

1/2 cup spelt flour

2 Tablespoons coconut flour

1 Tablespoon ground flax seed

1 Tablespoon chia seeds

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

2 packets of stevia (I use NuNaturals brand.)

Pinch of salt

Wet Ingredients:

1 egg

3/4 cup almond milk

2 Tablespoons Greek yogurt

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon lemon zest

Juice from 1/2 lemon

1/4 teaspoon lemon extract

How to Prepare:

Preheat large frying pan on stove over low heat.

In a medium-large bowl, sift all of your dry ingredients (expect chia seeds). Once everything is sifted, add chia seeds and mix together till flour mixture is evenly blended.

In another medium size bowl, add all of your wet ingredients and whisk together. 

Add the wet ingredients to dry and mix well till evenly combined. 

Adjust heat on stove to medium-high. Grease frying pan with oil or butter.

Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, scoop pancake batter into pan. 

Cook for about 2-3 minutes on each side. If you are familiar with making pancakes, you will be able to tell when they need to be flipped (when you see bubbles forming around sides.)

Blueberry Honey Compote

1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen).

2 Tablespoons honey

Juice from 1/2 lemon

2 pinches of lemon zest

In a medium size frying pan over medium-high heat, add blueberries, honey, lemon juice and lemon zest.  Mix well.  Turn the heat up to high and let cook, stirring frequently until compote thickens. Cooking time varies depending on how thick you like it.

Orange Chocolate Chip Breakfast Bread

Last Saturday I was at my local health food store. In their house-made gluten free baked goods section I came across orange chocolate chip breakfast bread. I passed it up but once I got home I kicked myself for not getting a piece to have for breakfast the next morning. Instead of going back the next day to satisfy my craving, I decided to attempt to make it myself. It's just so much more fun that way.  The first batch I made came out so good. Baking is an art of its own but gluten free baking is another story.  It's all about having a good and diverse flour blend that lends a similar texture as normal flours do.  I made my second batch yesterday afternoon so I could have a piece for breakfast each morning at work this weekend.

 

Orange Chocolate Chip Breakfast Bread, Gluten Free

Ingredients

Dry Ingredients:

1/2 brown rice flour
1/2 cup white rice flour
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 tapioca flour
1/4 ground flax seed
1 cup coconut sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon vanilla powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients:

1 egg
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup Greek yogurt 2%
1/2 cup almond milk (unsweetened)
1/3 cup olive oil

Additions

Zest from 1 medium orange
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a large bowl, sift together your dry ingredients. Mix well to distribute flour blend evenly.
In a medium bowl, lightly beat one egg. Add in the rest of your wet ingredients and whisk till combined.
Add zest from orange and give another quick stir.
Pour wet ingredients into dry and mix till there are no lumps.
Fold in 1/2 cup chocolate chips.
Pour batter into a greased loaf pan dusted with white rice flour.
Bake for 55-60 minutes.

Carob Cherry Granola, Gluten Free

Carob Cherry Granola, GF


Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups gluten free oats
3 tablespoons sesame seeds
3 tablespoons ground flax seeds
1/4 cup carob powder
3 packets stevia (NuNaturals brand)
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons honey
1/4 cup olive oil
pinch of salt
1/2 cup dried cherries

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
In a large bowl, add oats, sesame seeds, flax seeds, carob powder, and pinch of salt. Mix well to incorporate ingredients evenly.
In a medium bowl, add honey, olive oil, and stevia packets and mix well.
Add the wet ingredients into the dry and toss to coat evenly.
Spread out on greased baking sheet or silpat mat placed on top of baking sheet.
 Bake for 30 minutes, stirring about every 10 minutes.
Once removed from the oven, add 1/2 cup dried cherries.
Let cool completely before storing.

Gluten Free Strawberry Pancakes

Gluten and Refined Sugar Free Strawberry Pancakes Topped with Marinated Strawberries in a Ginger Honey Syrup.



In my last post, I created a recipe for ginger honey syrup to be used in a drink recipe. I still had half a jar left so I thought of what else I could use it in. As a lover of pancakes, it could make a nice alternative to maple syrup. Although the consistency was much thinner I decided to use it as a marinade for chopped strawberries and use that as the topping.
Prep the strawberries before you start on the pancakes so they have time to soak up the flavor of the syrup. 

Marinade:

1 heaping cup of strawberries, chopped.
Place in a shallow dish and pour syrup (see previous post) over to coat the chopped berries.
Set aside until ready to top pancakes.

Ingredients:

Dry Ingredients

1/2 cup sorghum flour
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
1/4 tapioca flour
1/4 ground flax seeds
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon xanthan gum
2 packets stevia (I use NuNaturals brand)
Pinch of salt

Wet Ingredients

1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
1 egg
1 cup almond milk (unsweetened)
1/2 cup Seascape strawberry jam from Sweet Lady Cook (sweetened with honey)

Instructions:

Preheat a large pan on the stove top.
In a medium bowl, add all of your dry ingredients and mix well to combine.
In a larger bowl, beat the egg and whisk in the rest of the wet ingredients.
Add the dry to the wet while continually whisking. Beat until there are no more lumps.
Using a 1/4 cup measuring cup, scoop batter into heated greased pan on medium heat.
Cook for about 2 minutes on each side.

Makes 10 pancakes.
Plate pancakes and top with marinated strawberries. I also topped my pancakes with a scoop of plain Greek yogurt.

Clementine Marmalade Granola, GF

Gluten Free Clementine Marmalade Granola

Ingredients

3 cups gluten free oats

1/4 cup sesame seeds

3 Tbs ground flax seed

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup honey

Generous sprinkling of cinnamon

1/4 clementine marmalade from Sweet Lady Cook 

(I'm sure any orange marmalade would work just fine)

2 packets stevia

1/2 cup golden raisins

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

In a large bowl, combine oats, sesame seeds, ground flax seeds, and cinnamon (to taste.)

Gently stir to incorporate ingredients evenly.

In a medium bowl, mix together honey, olive oil, marmalade and stevia. 

Pour your wet ingredients into the dry and mix well to evenly coat the oat mixture.

Transfer mixture to a parchment or silpat lined baking sheet. Spread out evenly.

Bake for 30-35 minutes stirring about every 10 minutes or so. 

Remove from oven and add raisins.

Let cool completely before transferring to container... or bowl if you want to snack immediately.

Good For You Carrot and Raisin Muffins

It took me quite awhile to perfect my gluten free pancake recipe. Moving on to muffins was a little easier since I had a better knowledge of how these alternative flours work together. Three times is a charm because the last batch I made turned out great. These muffins are free of gluten and refined sugars. I used brown rice syrup and stevia. The raisins add a nice sweet bite but overall these muffins do not have an overly sweet taste. The flax, buckwheat, and oat bran provide a good source of fiber so these muffins will help keep you satisfied throughout the morning. They also contain a good source of protein from the eggs and Greek yogurt.

Ingredients:

Dry ingredients

1/2 cup buckwheat flour

1/2 cup ground flax seed

1/4 cup oat bran

1/4 sorghum flour

2 Tbs tapioca starch

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 pure vanilla powder

4 packets stevia (I use NuNaturals)

Pinch of salt

Wet Ingredients

3/4 cup almond milk

1/2 plain Greek yogurt (used 2%)

2 Tbs grapeseed oil

1 egg

1/4 egg whites

Add-Ins

3/4 cup grated carrot

1/2 cup golden raisins

Directions

Preheat oven to 350℉

In a large bowl, sift together all dry ingredients and gently mix until flour has a uniform color.

In another medium bowl, whisk together all of your wet ingredients.

Pour the wet into the dry and mix well until there are no lumps. 

Add in the carrots and raisins and mix well to distribute evenly.

Scoop into a greased or lined muffin pan and bake for about 20-23 minutes or until done.

Enjoy these muffins on their own or add a little butter (Earth Balance) or jam. I eat one with my eggs in the morning for a little treat.

Happy and healthy eating :)

Gluten Free Banana Cranberry Peanut Butter Granola

It's been quite awhile since I've done anything with this blog but today I have a recipe worth sharing.  Banana Cranberry Peanut Butter Granola. Lately I've been making my own granola. It's so great. I always need something yummy and quick for breakfast or a snack. I must say, I did enjoy a bowl for dinner one night when I was too lazy to cook for myself. The last couple batches I've made have been free of gluten and sugar. In this batch, I'm using a flavored peanut butter which contains some sugar. To omit the sugar, use plain pb and add a little cinnamon. 

I just discovered this local peanut butter last week at the farmers market. They are based out of Ventura, CA and have some interesting flavors.

Gluten Free Banana Cranberry Peanut Butter Granola

Ingredients:

3 cups gluten free oats

2 tablespoons ground flax seed

1/4 cup peanut butter (I used Handsome Carver's cinnamon & honey. This stuff is yummy!)

2 medium bananas mashed

1/4 cup sugar free maple syrup

1 packet of stevia or more to make sweeter

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup dried cranberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F. 

Grease a large baking sheet or use a silpat mat.

In a large bowl combine oats and flax seed.

In a medium bowl mash the two bananas and add in the maple syrup, peanut butter, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla extract, and stevia. 

Mix well to remove any lumps. Add mixture to oats and gently stir to combine.

Evenly spread mixture on baking sheet and bake for 25 minutes. Gently stir and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes.

After granola has been removed from oven, wait about 5 minutes or so to add cranberries. 

It tastes like banana bread. Enjoy :)

Revised Gluten Free Pancakes

 If you are familiar with my Instagram, you know how much I love pancakes. It's almost become a tradition that every Tuesday (which is actually my Sunday) I make myself a batch along with a cappuccino. I just figured out how to use the machine we have at our house. I'm not the best with technology though I've mastered it and I'm now addicted to making myself a triple capp with almond milk.
Anyway, back to the pancakes. For the most part, I like to eat gluten free. I have purchased gluten free pancake mixes in the past and though they tasted yummy, I wasn't too keen on all the ingredients. I'm not in any way bashing these brands but I wanted something more nutrient dense than rice flour and potato starch as the main ingredients. I came across a recipe using garbanzo flour. After some test batches and altering, I ended up with a flour blend that I really like. Its the closest thing to real pancakes for me. I have been practicing for a while now, trying to come up with a good pancake recipe and I'm almost ashamed at what I used to think was tolerable for a gluten free mix.
Below is the recipe. It's free of gluten and sugar. Hopefully you will enjoy these just as much as I do for my "Sunday" brunch. Recipe yields 4 medium-sized pancakes.


Ingredients:

1/4 cup garbanzo/fava flour ( I think plain garbanzo would work just fine.)
2 tablespoons almond meal
1 tablespoon ground flax meal
1 tablespoon sorghum flour (sweet rice flour)
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1-2 packets of stevia depending on how sweet you want them.
1/3 cup water
1 egg separated.

Instructions:

Mix together all dry ingredients in a medium size bowl.
In a smaller bowl combine egg yolk and water. Keep egg white is separate bowl.
Add the egg yolk and water to dry ingredients and mix well.
Whisk the egg white for about a minute and then add to the rest of the mixture. Combine well.
At this stage I usually add blueberries to my batter. You can be creative by adding other fruit or carob/chocolate chips. Or be simple and keep them plain.
In a greased frying pan, add the batter in even scoops. I usually use my 1/4 cup measuring cup.
Cook for a few minutes on each side.
When pancakes are done stack on a plate a top with some more yummy fruit, yogurt, or maple syrup. I use a sugar free maple syrup that's sweetened with xylitol.

Breakfast and Lunch

By far, cooking is one of my favorite things to do.  Today my brother asked me "Are you constantly eating all day? You're always cooking."  His statement may be a bit of an overstatement but I do like to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. It's hard for me to prepare a meal quickly because I like to take the time putting my efforts and focusing on what I'm doing. The kitchen is also a place where I get to experiment and create. Having a job where I get to be in a kitchen is also a plus. I have such a love for my job. I get to learn from an amazing woman and it never really feels like work to me.

Now that we are in a new year, I'm focusing more on my diet. I'm not trying to restrict certain foods, rather I'm trying to pay more attention to healthier foods. I definitely notice that when I eat this way I feel better and I worry less about what I'm eating. For instance, I used to freak out about carbs. Even whole grains like oatmeal, brown rice, and quinoa. I had it in my head that these foods would make me gain weight. I'm starting to notice that when I eat whole grains with a meal I feel more satisfied and I'm less likely to snack between meals or crave sugar, which I've had a big problem with. 

Lately for breakfast I've been making myself oatmeal. This morning I created a yummy concoction I called C's Oatmeal when I posted the photo to instagram. Chia, carob, coconut, and cherry.

I soaked the chia seeds for about 15 minutes prior to topping the oatmeal. I like the softer texture as opposed to the harder crunch. Mixed in with the oatmeal after cooking was a scoop of almond butter to give it more of a creamy consistency and one stevia packet. 

For my lunch today I made a vegan pizza on pita bread. To accompany my pizza I had a spinach salad with added butternut squash and tofu for protein.

For the cheesy aspect of my pizza I mashed up butternut squash and mixed in tahini, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, Braggs liquid aminos, and cayenne. It turned out to be some spicy goodness. I topped the pizza with spinach and sauteed onions, red pepper flakes and pumpkin seeds.

Hello Two Thousand Twelve.

Happy New Year. I have a feeling 2012 is going to be a very special year. This morning I made my own version of oats in a jar. I've never even had the "real" oats in a jar before... I need to try that. With the little bit of peanut butter I had left, I cooked some oatmeal and poured it into the jar along with a packet of stevia, stirring to melt the pb that's always so hard to get out of the bottom of the jar. I added a dollop or two of plain yogurt, chunks of apple that had been steamed with cinnamon oil,  raisins, cinnamon powder, and chopped apple peel. It was delicious and satisfying after a night of sipping wine and champagne.

The last month of 2011 was a hectic one. I'm a little ashamed I didn't do a single post.  Here are some photos of my favorite meals I enjoyed during the month.

Single Serving Quiche

Ever since I made my first quiche last week I have been wanting to make another. It was so yummy. Mondays are my Saturdays so I had time to cook this morning. I didn't feel like making such a large size portion so I decided to make a single serving size in a ramekin. I don't know what it is about the ramekin dishes but I love using them. I need to make a trip to a kitchen supply store and get some more. That might be a bad thing though. I remember getting lost in Peppercorn, a shop in Boulder for at least an hour. I wanted to buy everything but restrained myself. I did leave with an awesome set of 4 mini tart pans. 

Okay, so back to the quiche. I followed the same recipe from memory that I used for making the broccoli cheddar quiche last week. I did scale it down and added ground flax like I said I wanted to. For the crust I used about 1/2 cup almond meal, 1 tablespoon flax, 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil, and 1 tablespoon water. Because I didn't scale this down exactly, the crust was more moist. In the end this was not a bad thing. I baked it for about 15 minutes at 350 degrees. After taking it out to partially cool, I prepared my filling. 1 egg plus egg whites and leftover veggies (kale, yellow squash, and zucchini.)

 The whole quiche took about 30 minutes to bake. Halfway through the baking process I added a special topping. It consisted of 1 teaspoon almond flour, 1 heaping tablespoon chopped pistachios, and 1 teaspoon earth balance. Mix well and sprinkle on top.

The original recipe says you are supposed to wait 30 minutes before eating... I waited about 5. I was hungry! I even took a bite out before photographing it.

PS. Thanks to my mama for the cute hot pad she brought me back from San Francisco.

Hope everyone has a lovely week. My friend Vanessa and I are taking a trip to the pumpkin patch today! So excited it's finally fall and I will be much happier once the weather cools down.