Raspberry Mango Muffins

These muffins make me smile.  They are moist, fruity, healthy and delicious.  The greek yogurt base adds a protein punch that will keep you fuller, longer.  They are a spin off of my strawberry lemon poppyseed muffins, and dare I say it, I might like them even better!  It might be the white chocolate chips that get all melty.  The raspberry greek yogurt gives just a hint of raspberry flavor without being overpowering.  Pretty much a perfect little breakfast.

Raspberry Mango Muffins
servings: 12 muffins

Ingredients

• 1 c all purpose flour
• 3/4 c whole wheat pastry flour
• 3/4 c sugar
• 1 t baking powder
• 3/4 t baking soda
• 1/4 t salt
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 6 t canola oil
• 1 6 oz container raspberry greek yogurt
• 2 ripe mangoes, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 c white chocolate chips

Directions

-Preheat oven to 375 degrees

-Mix flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl

-Mix sugar, egg, canola oil, vanilla and yogurt in a bowl

-Add wet to dry, stirring until just combined

-Stir in mango and white chocolate chips

-Scoop into muffin pan that's been sprayed with cooking spray (I used an ice cream scoop to do this)

-Bake 20 minutes, until top is golden brown

-Enjoy!!!

Almond Poppyseed Protein Pancakes

Say goodbye to boring pancakes.  These little gems are packed with protein, probiotics, and whole grains.  They are so easy to make that you could even make them for a weekday breakfast.  I can't get over how moist and fluffy they are, especially considering the very short ingredient list.

They are made with almond greek yogurt, but if you can't find that flavor, you could easily use plain greek yogurt and add 1/4 t almond extract.  If you can find that flavor, it's divine.  I was a bit skeptical at first but I found myself trying to scrape every last bit from the inside of the yogurt cup after I had made these.

Anderson Erickson, you are geniuses.

Also, if you can't find poppy seeds at your grocery store, try the customer service counter.  I know weird.  I searched and searched in the spice aisle.  I went to the health food section.  Nothing.  Finally I just asked someone and they directed me to customer service.  I asked for the poppy seeds and the lady there took out a small container for me from a locked drawer, and I paid her the 69 cents.  Apparently they had a serious issue with people stealing them?  Strange.  Maybe I'm just naive, but I can't for the life of me understand why someone would want to steal poppy seeds.

Back to pancakes.  Make these.  You won't regret it.

Almond Poppyseed Protein Pancakes

(serves 2)

Ingredients - 

• 1 6 oz container greek yogurt (almond flavored, or plain with 1/4 t almond extract)
• 1 c old fashioned oats
• 1 T chia seeds
• 3/4 c milk (I used vanilla unsweetened almond milk but whatever you have will work)
• 6 drops stevia extract (or 1 T sugar)
• 1/2 T poppy seeds

Directions - 

-Heat skillet over medium heat

-Add yogurt, oats, chia seeds, milk, stevia to blender

-Blend until well combined

-Stir in poppy seeds

-Pour onto hot skillet that's been sprayed with cooking spray

-Cook 3-4 minutes on each side, until golden brown

-Serve with a pat of butter, maple syrup and chopped strawberries (or whatever you like on your pancakes)

Overnight oats

I finally did it.  I finally set my alarm clock across the room so I physically have to get out of bed to shut it off.  For the past 3 weeks straight I've been rolling over and turning it off in my sleep and waking up 20 minutes later.  Whoops.  This little predicament was definitely not helping my breakfast situation.

So I took charge.  Alarm across the room.  And what do you know, it worked.  Yesterday I got up at 6, not 6:20.  I had time to do my hair, makeup, and eat breakfast.  Not in the car.

The last part is thanks to overnight oats.  There's lots of versions of these floating around the blogosphere, but this is my favorite.  I prefer my oats be chewy, with a little texture, not runny.  If you don't know what ON Oats are, you are in for a treat.  They are oats that you mix up the night before, put in the fridge, and eat cold the next morning.  There is no stove top or cooking involved.  

The secret behind this magic, chia seeds!  You could try to make these without the chia, but I don't think the texture will be the same.  The chia is the ingredient that breaks down the oats and creates a wonderfully creamy texture.  

If you're scared of cold oats, don't be.  Especially in the summer, cold oats are wonderful.  It's almost, almost, like eating ice cream.  

Overnight Oats

(makes 2 servings)

Ingredients - 

• 1 c old fashioned oats
• 1 container vanilla greek yogurt
• 1 T chia seeds
• 1/2 c milk (I used vanilla almond milk)
• 1 t honey
• pinch of cinnamon (optional)

Directions - 

-Mix everything up in bowl

-Cover with plastic wrap and place in fridge overnight

-In the morning, remove oats, stir in additional milk if desired

nice and chewy, just how I like it!

-Eat up!

I layered mine in a pretty little dish with sliced banana, peanut butter and cinnamon.  It was delicious.  I love that I can enjoy one of my favorite breakfasts on a weekday with pretty much no effort.

You could easily change up the flavor of this by using flavored greek yogurt, stirring in some cocoa powder, or adding different toppings.  

As much as I love eating toast in the car, this is much better.  After all, breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

Question of the day - 

Have you tried overnight oats?

No Yeast Banana Cinnamon Rolls

This morning when I woke up I knew that I wanted cinnamon rolls.  I'm often pretty indecisive when it comes to meals, but not today.  Unfortunately for me, I did not have time to knead the dough, wait for it to rise, punch it down, wait again, roll it out, bake it...  We would be having cinnamon rolls for dinner at that rate.

Lucky for me, I found this recipe last week and decided it would be the perfect opportunity to give the technique a try.  I didn't want to follow the recipe exactly because I also had a craving for bananas (side note - running makes me crave bananas, extra potassium...)  So I adapted the recipe to include bananas, crossed my fingers, and it worked!

They turned out perfect.  Doughy, full of cinnamon and brown sugar, with just a little hint of banana.  I may never bake them with yeast again!

No Yeast Banana Cinnamon Rolls
(adapted from Krissy's Creations) makes 8 cinnamon rolls

Ingredients - 

• 2 2/3 c all purpose flour
• 2 T sugar
• 1 1/4 t baking powder
• 1/2 t baking soda
• 1/4 t sea salt
• 4 T melted butter
• 1 1/2 mashed bananas (a little over a cup)
• 1 c milk
• 3 T brown sugar
• 1 T cinnamon
• 2 T melted butter

(for the glaze)

• 1 1/4 c powdered sugar
• 1/3 c brown sugar
• 3 T softened butter
• 1 1/2 T milk
• 1 t vanilla

Directions - 

-Preheat oven to 425 degrees

-Mix together dry ingredients (through salt) in bowl of stand mixer

-Switch to dough hook attachment, add bananas, milk and 4 T melted butter

-Mix on low for 2-3 minutes until a ball of dough has formed and it is clearing the sides of the mixer

-If it is too wet, add additional flour 1 T at a time until you get the right consistency 

it should look something like this

-Sprinkle flour on a clean counter and roll your dough out into a rectangle, 1/4" thick

-Spread 2 T melted butter over dough

-Sprinkle with cinnamon and brown sugar

-Starting on one of the short ends, roll the dough up tightly

-Use a sharp knife to slice the log into 8 rolls, you want to use a sawing motion and cut gently so you don't smoosh it down

-Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet

-Bake 10-12 minutes until they just start to get golden on the outside

-While you're waiting you can either a. clean up your mess

or b. make some coffee  (B wins, duh!)

-After rolls are done, take them out from the oven 

-Combine all glaze ingredients in a bowl using a fork or knife - nothing fancy here

-Drizzle over cinnamon rolls when they are almost all the way cooled (otherwise it will just melt right off)

Breakfast is served.  Perfect cinnamon rolls in under an hour.  And nobody will be able to tell the difference!!!!

And if you're anything like me, you save your middle for last.  It's the best part!

Vanilla latte green monster

Have you heard of the green monster movement?  If not, you should really get on board.  Adding spinach to your smoothie is a great way to boost nutrition without changing the flavor at all.  I swear, you can't taste it!!!  Sometimes the color can be a little gross looking (especially if you're adding green spinach to a strawberry smoothie), but if you can get beyond that you're golden.

This green monster features leftover coffee and vanilla protein powder to create a smoothie that tastes just like a cross between a vanilla latte and a frappucino.  Do you ever have little smidgens of coffee in the bottom of your pot that just don't fit into your cup?  Or worse yet, you make coffee but run out the door without your travel mug of liquid energy?  (Please tell me I'm not the only one this happens to).  Here is my solution to avoid wasting your liquid gold.  Pour it into ice cube trays and freeze it.  Once frozen, just remove it from the trays and blend it into a smoothie!

Vanilla Latte Green Monster


Ingredients

• tray of frozen coffee cubes (or 2 T instant coffee powder like Via)
• 1 frozen banana
• 1 c vanilla unsweetened almond milk (or milk of your choice)
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
• pinch of xanthan gum to thicken (optional)

Directions
-Blend until smooth and creamy, adjust liquid as necessary
-Drink up!

Mocha steel cut oats

I love weekends.  They're the best!  Last night my classmates all came over and we hit up some little dive taco joints - we called it a taco crawl.  Unfortunately we discovered that none of the little dives served margaritas with their authentic Mexican food.  That was a little disappointing, but nothing some amazing burritos, tacos, and Coronas couldn't fix.  Since Josh and I moved here in November, we had yet to eat anywhere besides picking up Casey's pizza from the gas station.  That's all changed now.  We found one place that seriously has the best burritos I've ever had.  It was very authentic, and a little hole in the wall.  And when I say authentic, they had things like Tripe tacos, beef tongue, and beef cheek on the menu!  We're not quite ready to experience those things yet, but the shredded beef and chicken were fantastic.  We plan on going back sooner rather than later.

After such an exciting night of mexican and some nasty storms in the area, I decided it would be a good idea to mix my coffee into my oats this morning.  Give me a little extra jolt of caffeine (because I really need that ;) ).  These lovely oats were born.  Yes, it is perfectly acceptable to eat chocolate for breakfast too.  Dark chocolate has antioxidants after all...

Mocha Steel Cut Oats
(serves 2)

Ingredients -

• 3/4 c steel cut oats
• 3/4 c milk (I used vanilla unsweetened almond milk)
• 2/3 c coffee (leftover from yesterday)
• 1/8 c instant coffee granules
• 1/8 c cocoa powder
• 1 banana
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 1 T chia seeds
• sweetener to taste (Vanilla Stevia drops)
• toppings: peanut butter, chocolate chips

Directions -


-Mix oats, milk, and coffee in a pot over medium heat

-Slice banana very thinly
-After oats come to a boil stir in instant coffee and cocoa powder
-When oats start to "gurgle", whisk in banana, vanilla extract, and chia seeds until banana "melts" and oats are light and fluffy

-After your oats are thoroughly whipped, let cook 1-2 more minutes until desired thickness is reached, stir in sweetener (I used about 10 drops of liquid vanilla stevia)
-Serve with a little peanut butter and chocolate chips if desired

Enjoy!

Josh ended up stirring some milk into his to make them runny and he said it was good that way.  This is my standard way of making steel cut oats, minus the coffee and cocoa powder.  The sliced banana sweetens the oats naturally, and makes them light and fluffy when combined with the chia seeds.

strawberry lemon poppyseed muffins

Sorry for the muffin tease before friends.  I couldn't wait to share these with you.  These muffins are so good I couldn't resist biting into a piping hot one from the oven and burning my mouth.  It was totally worth it.  Then Josh decided that they smelled so good that he grabbed the burning muffin from my hand and ate the rest of it before I even had a chance to blink.  Muffin stealer! 

Every time I type the word "muffin" I think of this youtube video. 

I promise you there is no blood in these muffins.  Though there is a secret ingredient - greek yogurt.  Shhhhh - don't tell!  It makes the muffins super moist and also gives a normal carb-filled breakfast some extra nutrition. 

These muffins will be the perfect addition to your easter brunch this weekend. 

Strawberry Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

Ingredients

• 1 c all purpose flour
• 3/4 c whole wheat pastry flour
• 3/4 c sugar
• 1 t baking powder
• 3/4 t baking soda
• 1/4 t salt
• 1 T lemon zest
• 1 egg
• 2 T lemon juice
• 6 t melted butter, or canola oil
• 1 cup lemon greek yogurt
• 1 T poppyseeds
• 6 ripe strawberries

Directions

-Mix flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest in a large mixing bowl
-Mix sugar, egg, lemon juice, melted butter and yogurt in a bowl

-Add wet to dry and mix until just combined, this will be a dryer consistency, like cookie dough almost, it's okay
-Mash strawberries with a fork, add the berries and poppyseeds to the muffin batter and stir to combine

-Bake at 375 degrees 20-22 minutes, until tester comes out clean

either spray your muffin tin, or use liners, either will work

Enjoy your weekends!!!!

Mango 'nana white chocolate breakfast bars

Breakfast is an ongoing issue in my house.  It's not that I don't like breakfast foods, I just don't generally have time to prepare and sit down to eat a meal.  It's usually consumed as I'm straightening my hair, applying mascara, or while driving to school (I'm a good driver, don't worry).  The fact is, there just aren't enough hours in the day to be a grad student, get a good night's sleep, and sit down for 3 meals.  Multi tasking people.  That's where it's at.

To remedy this issue (and prevent myself from eating cold pizza in the car) I've started making things in the beginning of the week that I can grab and go for the next few days.  Usually it's something like granola bars, muffins, quick bread, or scrambled egg "muffins".  I live for the weekends when I can make a pot of steel cut oats, or pancakes. 

Last night as I pulled out my ingredients to make granola bars I decided to try something new.  I'm all about my usual peanut butter, pumpkin, cinnamon or chocolate, but buried in my fruit drawer I saw a mango.  Could I put mango in granola bars?  You bet your bottom I could!  These granola bars are absolutely divine.  The whole grains, protein and healthy fats will keep you full for at least a few hours - which is key for me!  They also make a great snack.

Mango 'nana white chocolate breakfast bars

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 c rolled oats
• 1/2 c spelt flour (or any flour of your choice - but spelt is great!)
• 1/2 t baking powder
• 1/4 t salt
• 1 T chia seeds
• 1 scoop (1/8 c) vanilla protein powder
• 1 banana (mashed)
• 1/2  vanilla extract
• 1/2 c brown sugar
• 1/2 c milk
• 1 mango, cut into small bite size pieces
• 1/3 c white chocolate chips

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Mix dry ingredients (oats through protein powder) in a large bowl
• Mix wet ingredients (banana through milk) in a small bowl
• Add wet to dry and mix well.  I used a wooden spoon.  It takes a little muscle to get everything incorporated, but you want a very thick batter to make the granola bars. 
• Stir in mango chunks and white chocolate
• Spread into 8x8 inch pan that's been sprayed with non stick cooking spray
• Bake 20 minutes
• Cool, and cut into 9 squares

This spur of the moment baking adventure turned into the best "run out the door" breakfast I've had in a long time.  If you like coconut (I don't, sorry) that would probably be a good addition to these bars.  If you don't they are perfect as is.  Enjoy with your very large thermos of coffee!

Question of the day -


What's your favorite breakfast on the go?

sunday funday and {vegan} french toast

Hello friends.  I hope you all are having a great relaxing weekend.  Over here in our neck of the woods we spent the morning fixing up the outside of our house that the previous tenants hadn't touched ever.  One side doesn't get much sun, so the dirt is really hard and it's completely overgrown.  We're going to have to tackle that later with larger tools than a hand trowel.  We were able to plant some bulbs in front and some potted flowers and herbs.  Once we can tackle the harder spots we're going to try to do some vegetables too.  It's so nice to have an actual yard that we can work with, and not just an apartment balcony.  (I'll probably regret that statement when we have to start mowing the grass every week).

Anyhow, I made this riff of french toast yesterday when I was in the mood for something a little different than my usual oatmeal.  My mom will probably be upset with me that I ruined what is normally her signature breakfast (sorry Mom).  Sidenote: Momma T makes the best french toast ever!  It's full of butter and sugar and cinnamon and all kinds of wonderfulness.  I however, can never recreate her french toast (she says the secret is in my grandma's ancient skillet) so rather than have second rate french toast, I just made something completely different.  This version of french toast does not use the normal egg and milk to dip the bread in.  Instead it uses one of my all time favorite ingredients - bananas!  The end flavor has just a slight banana-ness to it, but it isn't at all overwhelming.  All in all, it wasn't momma's, but it was delicious.

{Vegan} french toast


Ingredients

• 1 medium sized banana (mine was previously frozen and dethawed)
• 1/4 c powdered peanut butter (PB2) (optional, but highly recommended)
• 1/8 c chia seeds
• 1 c milk of your choice (I used almond milk)
• 4 slices bread
• 1 t vanilla extract

a homemade vanilla latte also always a good idea

Directions

• Thaw your banana (if necessary) and mash it in a shallow bowl
• Add the rest of the ingredients to mashed banana and whisk until well combined.  The mixture should form a thin batter.  Add more milk if necessary

• Dip each piece of bread into the batter and cover completely, use a fork to scrape any "clumps" of banana/chia seed off that may have formed

• Place coated bread on hot skillet that has been sprayed with cooking spray (medium heat)

• Cook 3-4 minutes on each side.  The banana will start to caramelize and the chia seeds will start to toast.
• Serve with a pad of butter/margarine and maple syrup

• Dig in!!!!

I love how the banana gets a little caramelized, the chia seeds get nice and toasty, and there is a slight hint to peanut butter flavor.  What a great way to start your weekend (or random Tuesday :)  )

Question of the day:

What's your favorite breakfast from growing up?