Lucuma Spice Muffins

I'm back! It's been a looooooong food blogging hiatus, for good reason. I've been busy with my now 9-month old! She is absolutely, positively, scrumptiously adorable and the love of my life, and the past 9 months have been incredible. And incredibly busy, since I've also started a new job. I have still been able to squeeze in some cooking and baking, although not as much as I used to of course. Over the long weekend, baking was on my to-do list, along with using up some of my lucuma powder. And so... along came this sweet but healthy little muffins!

Banana-Strawberry Waffles

I don't know what it is about Sundays, but I almost always wake up wanting pancakes or waffles. ESPECIALLY now that I'm pregnant, if I get something in my mind that I want to eat, I just gotta have it. Today, it was waffles. Thick, fluffy, Belgian waffles, with fresh banana and strawberry. Numnumnum. ;-)

This recipe is simple and easy to throw together on a lazy weekend morning.

Orange Spice Chia Oatmeal

I am on some kind of crazy orange kick here. I've been craving orange like you wouldn't believe and putting it in just about everything- my water (a great refreshing way to start the day!), my farro & kale salad for dinner last night, cookies I made this weekend, and now my oatmeal too.

Healthy Tropical Granola

I'm a cereal girl- I used to prefer cereal to any other meal. Back when I was in college (yes that was 10 years ago), when I'd come home, my mom would ask me what I wanted for dinner, and I'd just shrug and say "cereal." She thought I was joking (or maybe just wouldn't allow it)- but I wasn't. I love cereal. And granola has always been a favorite, with its sweet oats, crunchy clusters, and mix of textures. Granola is also the perfect multi-tasking cereal- breakfast with milk; lunch with yogurt and fruit; snack-time in your hand; mixed with chocolate chips or on top of froyo for dessert.  And luckily, it's so easy to make, and easy to alter the flavors. This "tropical" variation I love, and I included some healthy add-ins too.

Banana Oat & Date Scones

The local bakery in our town makes amazing vegan oat scones. I was thinking of them when I woke up Sunday morning. I love baking on Sunday mornings, so I set out to make some scones this time. I  ended up making a lower fat, banana version that was lighter, and cake-ier than our bakery's - a bit more like a muffin. This is likely, at least partially, because I accidentally ended up leaving out the all-purpose flour that the recipe I was adapting from called for. Oops. I clearly needed coffee. But, the result was still delicious, and possibly even more flavorful than those bakery scones. Cinnamon spice, a hint of  banana, whole wheat goodness, wrapped in maple-dipped oats, and naturally sweetened by dates and raisins.

French Toast TWO!

This is an update from my earlier posted recipe for vegan French Toast with date compote.  Like the last version, I whipped this up in no time, and also used banana. Both recipes are incredibly easy, and trust me, you don't miss the eggs at all. But with this version, you can actually get some "eggy-looking" bits, sans any dairy products at all. This version also adds in a bit more flavor. Soft, sweet, toasty French toast. Simply made, and simply vegan.

AM Green Machine!

I have been having my pumped-up oatmeal consistently for breakfast for a whiiiiillllllleeeeee... but as the weather's getting warmer, I've decided to mix it up a bit. Literally.

This green smoothie is super healthy, and a great way to jump-start the day!

Oatmeal Banana Pancakes

This weekend I wanted my typical oatmeal breakfast in a different form - pancake form! Maybe I was also inspired by Sunday Morning Banana Pancakes ;-) But who doesn't love banana pancakes?!

I made these healthier than your typical flapjack by halving the fat, adding whole grains and oats, and upping the potassium with banana in the batter. I also used maple agave syrup rather than regular-old syrup.

The Real Breakfast of Champions

Nothing fancy here. Just singing the praises of pumped-up oatmeal.

Pumped-Up Oatmeal Ingredients:

Expanded Oatmeal

I learned a few tricks from Chocolate Covered Katie:

• Expanded oatmeal - for a new consistency & taste to oatmeal
• Caramelized banana -for a healthy sweetener

Pretty simple tricks, but useful & nice to change things up a bit! You simply add more water  (~1.5 cups) to the oats prior to cooking, leave in the microwave for some extra time, and then store uncovered overnight to allow the oats to soak up all the liquid. For extra taste, I used 1/4 cup of vanilla almond milk, rather than all water.  I also added some raisins, nuts, and a little sprinkle of cinnamon sugar.

I was a little skeptical that this was going to be some bland weight-loss trick. I'm not into that. While it was a little bit more like porridge mush than full-on oatmeal, I did actually like it- the consistency was new and different. Usually I've found plain oats to taste really boring, but something about adding the extra liquid brings on a new texture that tastes better. Microwaving the banana and using it as a sweetener, too, IS a good trick! Very flavorful & caramel-y.

My tips: I'm going to omit the salt or use only a pinch next time- it tasted too salty for me. While I didn't mind eating the oatmeal cold, next time I think I'll warm it up after adding the banana, since I think it will taste better that way.

A nice change from the usual instant oatmeal! Katie also has some other great oatmeal ideas I'm looking forward to trying.