Breakfast

Blueberry and Peach Quinoa Pancakes

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I was inspired to make quinoa pancakes after a very special breakfast with friends sharing and connecting over good food and coffee.  It was part of a weekend fostering relationships and community and fed my soul.  Hearing the struggles and celebrating the triumphs with others is what life is about…it allows us be seen and know we are not alone.  I love tying it all together with some great food.  This recipe brings back those sweet times with friends! I adapted it from a King Author Flour recipe.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of All Purpose Flour

1 cup cooked quinoa

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup almond milk (or regular milk)

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1/4 cup melted coconut oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 fresh peach, diced

1 cup blueberries

Stir together the flour, quinoa, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients whisk until well combined.  Fold in the peaches and blueberries.  Heat a frying pan or griddle over medium heat and lightly grease. Bake on each side until light brown.  Serve with butter and maple syrup and a great cup of coffee!  Enjoy!

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Zucchini Brownies and Peach Smoothie- kid friendly recipes for the summer!

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This summer I have been taking cues from my kids…slowing down, fostering creativity and play, letting go of “perfect” and focusing on present instead.  Recently they revived their old swing set playhouse that was abandoned as they grew older.  They redecorated with comfy pillows, wall hangings and signs and dreamed of cool things they could add like lights and a beaded door.  Even if they don’t get all of their wish list, I think it’s cool they are dreaming and being creative.  But they also love their electronics and screens.  While it’s easy to say no and tell them to just go outside and play like I used to when I was little, I also think we need to embrace what’s in their world now and help them learn moderation and to use their creativity in new ways.  This weekend we had a compromise.  I said they can use their iPads to take pictures and create a guest blog post of something they make in the kitchen.  They could be my guest bloggers!!  Win, win for me.  I’ve been hung up on my photography not being good enough and inspiring and not posting unless I have something I think is relevant to say.  Silly excuses really.  Sharing recipes is something I enjoy and I choose not to because of insecurities or not living up to some made up expectations.  Whatever your passions are, let’s take some cues from the kids and just do it and have fun in the process!!

Here are the posts from my 9 and 10 year old…in their words!!

Peanut Butter Zucchini Brownies

Hi, I’m Alexa. I’m 10 years old and going into 5th grade. I’ve always loved cooking. I also love sports such as, lacrosse and swimming. I used to help my mom cook stuff by just putting the ingredients in the bowl, but now I’m the one cooking stuff and it’s really fun. The first thing I started making was homemade granola bars. Everyone loved them and that’s when my passion for cooking started. We had so many zucchinis in our garden and my mom showed me the recipe for these amazing zucchini brownies. I jazzed the recipe up and added peanut butter. We took these brownies to church and the plate was cleaned off. No one even noticed that there was zucchini in the brownies. I am also a very picky eater and hate chunks and weird tastes in food. These are the complete opposite of that. You can’t even taste the zucchini! They’re AMAZING! Now here’s the recipe!

Ingredients

  • 2 cups chopped zucchini
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil
  • ½ cup plain Greek yogurt
  • 1-1/4 cups sugar
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • ½ cup of peanut butter
  • 2 cups whole wheat flour
  • ½ unsweetened dark cocoa powder
  • 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ¼ c chocolate chips (optional, for topping)
  • ½ chopped pecans (optional, for topping)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9×13 pan. In blender or food processor, puree zucchini, oil, yogurt, sugar, peanut butter and vanilla. Set aside. In large bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Add pureed wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until well incorporated. Pour into greased pan, spread evenly, add any toppings you desire (I added chocolate chips and chopped pecans) and bake for 20-25 minutes until toothpick comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Let cool for at least 5 minutes. Enjoy!!!!

 

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Summer Peach Smoothie

Hi, I’m Elise and, I am 9 years old and I am going into 4th grade.  I decided to make this peach smoothie because I LOVE peaches, they are one of my favorite fruits. I like this smoothie because it is super easy to make. There are only a few ingredients. It is also really good because it is really healthy. I really like to cook. I usually cook with my Grandma because she is at my house a lot. When I grow up, I want to be a baker. People say I’m really good at taking pictures. This drink is a really good summery drink. This smoothie is good for pool parties, appetizers, and just for refreshment. I just made it today and I loved it. I am going to make this drink a lot this summer so all of our peaches will be gone. I don’t like most kinds of smoothies that my mom makes, but this one I really like.

Ingredients

1 peach, peeled and cubed

1/2 frozen banana

4 oz. almond milk

2 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt

3 ice cubes

Blend together and enjoy!!

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Strawberry Baked Oatmeal Muffins

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It’s June, strawberries are out and the weather is warmer!!  Ahh, it’s a nice change of pace from the chilly and rainy spring!  Fresh, local strawberries are my absolute favorite. Since I’m the only person in Lancaster County who does not make strawberry jelly, I love to find different ways to use strawberries to take advantage of their short season.  I made these baked oatmeal muffins on a warm and humid Sunday morning and ate them happily outside with some strawberry and basil infused water ( basically because it was too early for a strawberry basil margarita :-).  I would usually never take the time to make infused water, but today I had a minute and it was great to sit outside and actually enjoy my food and drink using ingredients from the garden.

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For the basil infused water, simply dice strawberries and place basil leaves and strawberries in a jar, add water and ice and enjoy right away or let it infuse for a couple of hours in the refrigerator.

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Ingredients for the Strawberry Baked Oatmeal Muffins

3/4 cup mashed ripe banana

1 egg, beaten

3/4 cup almond milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tablespoon honey (if you like more sweetness, increase the amount)

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

2 cups rolled oats

1 cup diced strawberries

Preheat oven to 350.  Mix all of the ingredients together.  Spoon into 12 muffin cups.  Bake for 22-25 minutes, until firm.  Enjoy!

 

Banana and Blueberry Pancakes

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The past few weeks have been a season of extremes…full schedules, warmer weather, husband traveling, conferences, school play (you name it!) then sickness and cleared schedules, snuggling on the couch, reading 3 books at a time and freezing weather.  I was sick this week and called in from work for the first time I can remember in a long time.  I watched the snow fall all day and didn’t do anything productive.  And my daughter had her tonsils out and we are staying in, watching movies, snuggling on the couch while she recovers.  It’s inevitable that we will be busy with 3 kids, but we try not to let business define us.  And sometimes we are forced to slow down.  I’ll take it and breathe a little.  When I have some downtime I love to cook and experiment with recipes. I am not a huge fan of pancakes, but I do love blueberry pancakes. These pancakes have no added sugar…yes, they taste kind of “healthy” and my kids much prefer my husband’s famous “real” pancakes, but I love them.  Add a little butter and a dash of cinnamon or a little real maple syrup and you won’t miss the “real” pancakes!  These were so good this morning with coffee and a nice sunny window on this frigid day!!

Ingredients:

1 ripe banana, mashed

1 egg, beaten add

1 tsp baking powder

pinch salt

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tablespoon almond butter

1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted

1/4 c. almond milk

1/2 c. rolled oats

1/4 c. whole wheat flour

1/4-1/2 c. blueberries

In a large mixing bowl, mash the bananas add the rest of the ingredients in the bowl and stir until combined.  Make the pancakes on a griddle or frying pan on low heat.  Makes 6 small-medium pancakes.  Instead of blueberries, try chocolate chips and it tastes like banana bread!

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Green Smoothie and Notes for the New Year

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January is usually a time of reflection for me.  I don’t write resolutions or bold new goals, but I take stock of where I am; what is important to me, what I learned the previous year, what I want to accomplish this year.  I try and recalibrate and renew, not start again or rebuild, but build on what I learned already.  Last year was crazy…I could not have anticpated what 2015 brought in my life. It was an incredible time of growth, uncertainty, sacrifice, joy and life.  I learned to follow what really makes my heart race and say yes.

I love to use words to describe the seasons in life….2014 was a year of BRAVE, 2015 became ABLE then REST.  2016 is still REST but also feels like INSPIRE.  I learned how important rest and reflection are in my life and the need to create a rhythm that fosters growth.  That’s my intention for this year and that rhythm will include more self care, time to work on relationships, being present in small moments, time to encourage and inspire and intentional yeses/permission to say no.  For me, self care looks like eating well, exercising daily, tea and a good book, walks outdoors and sitting on park benches.  Taking this time for self care and rest will give me the energy to inspire and be inspired.

 

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Walks in the Winter…

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Small Moments….

 

This smoothie is a great way to start your day and pack in some healthy fruits and vegetables!

Ingredients:

1 cup almond milk or coconut water

1/3 cup pineapple

1/2 pear

1/2 frozen banana

1 cup kale or spinach

Blend in a high powered blender and enjoy!!

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Asparagus and Spinach Frittata

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I am so psyched that spring is here!! It’s been the coldest year ever, like literally.  I saw that on the news.  (I have no idea the details on that or where they were reporting, but in my mind it’s true.) But the roadside markets are open now, there is fresh seasonal produce available, my garden is in, I feel like cooking again…things are getting more right in the wold.  In seasons defined by workloads, projects, school, activities, saving the world (you have to dream big! ;-)) I can always come back to the kitchen, my garden, running with friends, the woods, a good book and feel more centered.  Feeding the soul with these things in life that center me gives me the energy to do the hard stuff.  The projects and goals that seem impossible and big and having faith to just forge on day after day doing my part.  I ran with a friend today for the first time in while.  Just running and having her by my side fed by soul.  I need more feeding of the soul, more faith and trust and less striving and controling.

To me the perfect weekend brunch (or breakfast, lunch or dinner any day of the week for that matter) is anything with eggs.  While we can’t have chickens in our back yard, the next best thing is being able to visit the chickens that lay our eggs.  My youngest and I did that this week and picked up some local asparagus and spinach.  It was a good day!  Right where I needed to be when I thought that life was too big.

 

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Ingredients:

8 eggs

2 Tbsp milk of choice

olive oil

1 bunch of fresh asparagus

1 cup fresh spinach

fresh thyme (or herbs of choice)

grated parasean cheese

salt and pepper

In a broiler-proof pan, cook the asparagus and spinach in olive oil until just tender.  Mix the eggs, milk and cheese and a handful of chopped herbs.  Add the egg mixture to the cooked vegetables and cook a few minutes until firm on medium to medium/low heat (not too high). Then cook under the broiler for 2-4 minutes.  I cooked mine too long, so watch it before it gets too brown (like mine).  But it was still good!!  Grab a book, some coffee, enjoy it outdoors and feed your soul (and your belly!)

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Pumpkin Pecan Protein Smoothie

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A cold smoothie is not the first thing you think of for breakfast on these cold winter days, but I still have pumpkins and winter squash stored and decided to roast one this week for some pumpkin puree.  I’ve been making these smoothies all week, and they are really good!! If you don’t have a pumpkin or real puree to use, use the canned stuff.  It’s still packed with nutrients and this is so easy to make.  The added healthy fat from the pecans make this a satisfying treat for breakfast.

Ingredients:

1/4 cup of whole pecans

1/2 cup of pumpkin puree

1 scoop of protein powder (I use plant based)

1 frozen ripe banana

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 cup almond milk

Blend the almonds in a high powered blender.  Add the rest of the ingredients and blend.  Add the almond milk to desired consistency.  Serve is a glass jar, sit in a sunny spot and enjoy!

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Pumpkin Breakfast Cookies

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I make a variation of these cookies to have on hand all the time.  They are great to grab on the go for breakfast.  A much better option then a packaged granola bar.  These “cookies” have no added sugar, contain fiber and a little fat so you are not hungry right away.  The original recipe I got from the book “Bread and Wine” by Shauna Niequist.  I vary the ingredients, but keep the same basic recipe.  I added pumpkin to these (tis the season!) and made some with blueberries, some with dark chocolate chips and some plain.  My three year old insisted on adding the blueberries as she was snacking on them when we were making these and loves to add anything to the bowl!

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Ingredients:

2 very ripe bananas, mashed

1 cup of pumpkin puree

1/4 cup coconut oil, warmed to liquid

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups rolled oats

2/3 cup ground flax (or almond meal)

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp baking powder

2/3 cup shredded coconut (non sweetened)

1/2 chopped walnuts

dark chocolate chips (optional)

blueberries (optional)

Mix the banana, pumpkin, vanilla and coconut oil in a bowl.  Mix the dry ingredients together and incorporate all of the ingredients. Add the blueberries at the end if you are using them. Sometimes I just throw everything together in one bowl and mix it up and it turns out just fine!  I use an ice cream scooper to scoop them out in even cookies.  Add the chocolate chips to the top or mix them in the batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 14-16 minutes. Let cook and enjoy!  I freeze these for an easy breakfast or snack anytime.

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Maple Pecan Granola and Homemade Greek Yogurt

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I have had several people tell me recently that they make their own greek yogurt.  So I finally got over all of the “heating to this” and “cooling to this” directions and tired it. It was not as difficult as I imagined.  I am blown away by how much better it tastes than the brand name greek yogurt in the stores.  I was never a fan of plain greek yogurt. Even if I added a bunch of fruit,  I inevitably needed to add honey or maple syrup for sweetness and the sugar just added up and it was still too tart for me.  But THIS yogurt tastes good, even with just the addition of a lightly sweetened granola.  If you have the time, try it.  I think once I have a system down, it will not take long at all and I can make this on a regular basis instead of buying greek yogurt.

You can use any milk.  Living here in Lancaster County, I am lucky to have some pretty cool local sources for dairy around.  I bought a brand called Oasis at our local farm market. Oasis farmers work on small, diversified farms where animals roam on healthy pastures and synthetic chemicals are not allowed.  The milk from Oasis farmers comes from grass fed cows and is pasteurized at the lowest possible heat to preserve as many health benefits as possible.   This milk is more expensive than milk in the grocery store, but to make 2 quarts of high quality, tasty greek yogurt still cost effective. You can also use regular milk from the grocery store and that works great too! There are several sites on the internet that explain how to make greek yogurt.  This is how I made it, but there are variations.  Find what works best for you!

Homemade Greek Yogurt

Ingredients:

1 gallon milk (I used whole)

1/2 cup of yogurt with live cultures

Place the milk in a large pot and scald it, stirring often, bringing it up to a temp of 178 degrees.  Remove the pot from the burner and into an ice bath until the temp lowers to 110 degrees. Wisk in the 1/2 cup of yogurt.  Pour into clean jars and place in a cooler wrapped in blankets to maintain the heat and let it sit for at least 6 hours.  I had mine in overnight, about 9 hours.  To make the thick greek yogurt, strain it using layers of cheesecloth (or you can use an old t shirt or pillowcase).  Strain it for 2 hours or until desired consistency.  Place in jars and refrigerate.

There is nothing better to go with your yogurt than granola.  This granola is packed with seeds and nuts and has the perfect amount of sweetness.

Maple Pecan Granola

Ingredients:

3 cups of rolled oats

1 cup ground flax

1 cup of raw sunflower seeds

1 cup of raw pumpkin seeds

1 cup pecans, roughly chopped

1/2 cup hemp seeds

1/2  cup slivered almonds or copped whole almonds

1 cup unsweetened flaked coconut

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

1/2 cup coconut oil, melted

2 teaspoons vanilla

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Mix the ingredients together in a  big bowl.  Place on a baking sheet with sides. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes, stir and bake another 10 minutes until golden brown.  Let the granola cool completely so you will have bigger chunks of granola.  Then place in an airtight container.

Layer the yogurt and granola together for a perfect parfait!! I used blueberries, granola and yogurt and I also tried pumpkin puree, granola and yogurt and pumpkin pie spice for a more seasonal version. Enjoy!

Blueberry Breakfast Cookies (using the almond pulp from making almond milk)

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I never knew that one cup of raw almonds could go such a long way!  In a previous post, I posted how to make homemade almond milk.  It’s so easy!  Just soak a cup of raw almonds overnight, drain the almonds and place in blender with 4 cups of water, a pinch of salt and a pitted dried date (if you don’t have a date, omit it!). Blend until milky and then strain the almond pulp from the milk using a find mesh sieve and cheese cloth or a milk nut bag.  I just bought a nut milk bag (I know, it sounds weird) and it is amazing!!  Totally worth the $6 I spent.  I just bought it off of Amazon, but I’m sure a kitchen store would have it too.  Anyway, it works great.  Here’s what it looks like….

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Once the milk is finished, you are left with about a cup of almond pulp.  I hate to waste it, so I use it in recipes that call for almond meal.  I use it in my granola bars, in a berry crisp and these awesome breakfast cookies!!  This recipe is from the book Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist.  These are so good for a quick breakfast or snack and there is NO added sugar.  Add seasonal berries, dried fruit or use chocolate chips.

Ingredients:

3 large ripe bananas

1/4 cup coconut oil (warmed so it is not solid) or use olive oil

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups of rolled oats

2/3 cup almond meal (I used the almond pulp here)

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

2/3 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

1/2 cup chopped walnuts (or I’ve used slivered almonds)

1/4-1/2 cup blueberries (or chocolate chips)

Mash the bananas and add in coconut oil and vanilla.  Then mix the dry ingredients and combine.  Fold in the berries. I use an ice cream scoop to scoop out balls and place on a parchment lined baking sheet.  Flatten them a bit and bake at 350 degrees for 14-16 minutes.  Then enjoy some right away with your almond milk!

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