Flourless Tart Cherry Oatmeal Muffins

So on Sunday I went on a giant meal-prep spree! This included an amazing banana bread baked oatmeal that I’ve been eating all week, hard-boiling some eggs, soaking and cooking chickpeas, roasting veggies, making the rice and ground turkey for last night’s burrito bowls, and baking these muffins. Why don’t I make muffins on Sundays anymore? Why?

There is nothing easier than making these muffins. You make these in the blender! You throw everything except the cherries into the blender, run it until it’s smooth, and then stir in the cherries. For those who haven’t check out this loaf I made, you know that I ended up with about a zillion tart cherries and I pitted them and it took forever. And then I gave up and just chucked some of them in the freezer bags with the pits still in. So then I had to take out all the pits when the cherries were still frozen. I’m also on a mission to use up the hilarious number of bananas that are in the freezer, so bananas went in both this and my baked oatmeal this week.

These muffins are dairy-free, since it uses almond milk. They are peanut-free, and can be gluten-free if you use gluten-free oats. There’s also no oil or butter, the only fat is from the almond butter.

This recipe make 12 muffins, like any reasonable muffin recipe does.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups oats
• 1/4 cup almond butter
• 2 bananas
• 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups pitted tart cherries (or your favourite more common normal berry)

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F. Line your muffin tin with paper liners or grease it well.
2. Combine all ingredients, except the cherries in a blender and blend until smooth.
3. Stir in the cherries. Pour into muffin tin and bake 30 minutes or until a toothpick stuck in the middle comes out clean.

Gluten Free Banana Peanut Butter Pancakes

After making these Strawberry Cottage Cheese Pancakes, I had a request for more gluten-free recipes, specifically for pancakes. So here we are! If you have some other weird and wonderful request, send it my way and I’ll figure it out!

Speaking of gluten-free diets, let’s talk about that for a minute. There are people who need to eat a gluten-free for medical reasons and those people need pancake recipes! However, there are tons of diets out there promoting going gluten-free as a weight loss strategy or other nonsense. Going gluten-free might help you lose weight, but that’s more likely to be because you’ve cut out processed gluten-filled foods and made a conscious effort to eat a healthier diet while avoiding gluten. Repeat after me: gluten doesn’t make you fat. But if eating gluten-free makes you feel better for whatever reason, and you’re eating a balanced, healthy diet, then do whatever makes you happy.

Meal prep pro tip: These pancakes can be made ahead of time and reheated for breakfast (or lunch. Or dinner) on busier days. Try making a double or triple batch for get you through the week. These pancakes pack a protein punch (how’s that for alliteration, grade 11 English?) from the egg and Greek yogurt. This recipe makes 2 small servings or 1 really big one.

Ingredients:

• 1 ripe banana
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup non-fat plain Greek yogurt
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup almond flour

1. Mash the banana in a mixing bowl. Add remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly.
2. Spray a skillet with non-stick spray. Dollop the batter into the pan 2 tbsp at a time. Spread the batter into a circle with a spatula or flipper. Cook 2 minutes per side, or until golden brown. Repeat with remaining batter.

Kiwi Matcha Breakfast Shake

Green juices and smoothie are all the rage everywhere you go. And for good reason! Smoothies and breakfast shakes are such an easy way to pack your own specifically happy blend of nutrition into a quick and easy meal. In this recipe, the kiwi brings a bright, fresh, summery flavour. The yogurt and almond milk bring some protein and calcium, and chia seeds and spinach give you iron! Matcha green tea is a great source of antioxidants, but can be bitter, if that’s not your taste. Blending it with the sweetness of kiwi will help take the edge of that.

For those who don’t have time in the morning to make a smoothie, try making it the night before and storing it in a jar or blender bottle. In the morning shake it up and you’re ready to go. Another option is to make the smoothie whenever you have time in large batches. Then pour it into an ice cube tray or two and freeze them. When you want a smoothie, just throw the cubes in a blender and you’re all set!

This recipe makes 1 smoothie.

Ingredients:

• 2 small kiwis, peeled, quartered
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• 2 tsp matcha green tea powder
• 1 cup spinach
• 1/2 cup plain yogurt
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1/2 banana

1. In a blender, or whatever you use to make smoothies, blend all ingredients until smooth.

The Reality of 2 Ingredient Banana Pancakes

As I know I have mentioned before, I am breakfast’s biggest fan. Hence, pancakes. And if you have been anywhere on Pinterest in like the last year, I’m sure you’ve seen something about “2 ingredient banana pancakes”. They’re supposed to be these magical lovely light little things that are free from gluten and sugar and dairy and all that other stuff we’re terrified of. Oh, and they’re low carb and paleo. And the instructions for these little guys are EVERYWHERE!

Up until yesterday morning, I had never made these mythical pancakes. Because combining two eggs with a banana and then frying it sounded gross honestly. But in the name of science and this blog, I figured I should bite the bullet and try it out and see what happened. So I defrosted a frozen banana (this was all I had) and drained out the extra liquid. And then I mushed it up, cracked two eggs into it, and beat the whole thing with an immersion blender to make it nice and smooth and fluffy. And then I heated the pan on medium heat, sprayed some non-stick spray, and started pouring in my pancakes. The first two turned out looking like normal pancakes, but after that the pan got to hot. Not to worry, I turned it back down and managed a few more. They looked like pancakes, they must be the real thing.

Wrong. These are the strange love-child of a crepe and a fruity omelette. They’re little and fluffy and a little bit slimy and taste too eggy to really be pancakes. I really understand the appeal here: they are easy to make, they’re gluten and dairy free for those who need it and those who are on the bandwagon, and one batch has roughly 250 calories (without the syrup). They’re like little kitchen miracles. But if you really want pancakes, just make the pancakes. There are tons of healthy pancake recipes out there, including gluten free and dairy free ones and ones for every other allergy and intolerance in between.

The bottom line? I think these are kinda gross and really not worth the hype. But that’s just me. If you’ve had more success with these, or have a way to make them better, let me know in the comments!

Banana Maple Breakfast Bowl

I have been absolutely awful about posting consistently for the last couple weeks. Things have just been nuts, between work and Crossfit and Community Food Advisor training and getting a cold and everything, I just haven’t had time to come up with anything worth taking pictures of and writing about. For those who don’t know, the Community Food Advisor program is something that’s run in many counties in Ontario, usually through the local health unit. CFAs are volunteers. They usually have a background, or at least a strong interest in food and nutrition. We are trained in food safety, nutrition, cooking, and presentation techniques. We then do presentations, cooking classes, demonstrations, and displays at events and to community groups. If you have an event or group that would benefit from one of our presentations and have an idea what you would like us to talk about, see if there’s a CFA program in your area!

The idea behind this breakfast bowl also comes from CFA training, so this all ties together. I had to do a food log a few weeks ago and noticed I was much lower than I should have been on fruits and veggies. An easy way to start your day right is to add a serving or fruits or veggies to your breakfast. A serving of fruit is equivalent to a medium piece of fruit, 1/2 a cup of chopped fruit, 1/4 cup of dried fruit, or 1/2 cup of 100% fruit juice. Another great thing about this breakfast bowl is that instead of using sweetened yogurt, I used plain low-fat yogurt. By adding your own fruit and sweetener to the yogurt, you are in control of how much sugar is in it, and you know that your’re eating actual pure fruit.

This recipe makes one serving.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt
• 1 medium banana, sliced
• 1 tbsp flax seed
• 1 tbsp pecan pieces
• 2 tbsp wheat bran
• 1 tsp pure maple syrup

1. Layer the ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine. Done and done.

Dairy-Free Berry Smoothie

It’s starting to feel like fall here! I was driving yesterday and the trees are starting to turn colours and it looks gorgeous. That also means I spend a large part of my drives to and from work trying to dodge farm equipment, but what can you do.

So this smoothie is dairy-free. I’ve talked about lactose intolerance here, so I won’t get in to that. Some people feel better from not drinking milk and eating milk products. If your body can tolerate them, there is not reason not to consume them. Your body needs the calcium and vitamin D, whether you’re younger and still building and growing your bones, or whether you’re older and trying to maintain your bone health. Almonds are a good alternative source of calcium, though you won’t get the added vitamin D. A 1/4 cup of whole almonds will contain roughly 10% of the recommended daily amount of calcium, so that’s a good start if you’re avoiding dairy. By throwing both almond milk and almond butter in this smoothie, we’re getting a little bit of calcium to make up for the regular milk I normally add. At Community Food Advisor training last week, we got to sample different alternate milks, so this is all still fresh in my mind. I’d tried almond, rice, and soy milks before, but I got to try hemp milk, goat milk, and kefir. Kefir isn’t necessarily lactose free, but it contains bacteria that help you digest it more easily. Goat milk also doesn’t contain lactose so it’s the traditional option for people looking to avoid lactose. The hemp milk was similar to rice or almond milk, it just had a bit of a ropey taste to it. Like when I chewed on a hemp necklace or something when I was little.

This recipe makes 1 (Magic Bullet sized) serving. The pictures are taken directly in the cup because I was drinking it while running around the house getting ready to head to Crossfit and work.

Ingredients:

• 1 frozen banana, peeled, divided into chunks
• 1/4 cup frozen blackberries
• 1/4 cup frozen strawberries
• 2 tbsp almond butter
• 1 cup almond milk (more if the smoothie is still too thick for your liking, I keep mine pretty thick)

1. Do you really need instructions for a smoothie?
2. Throw all ingredients in a blender/Magic Bullet/Ninja/whatever you choose.
3. Blend until smooth.
4. Drink quickly while running around doing a million other things.

Pumpkin Spice Smoothie

Happy October! In my last post, I mentioned that we’re heading into the season of all things pumpkin. My second post, here, featured pumpkin muffins with white chocolate chips. If you make them, you should know that they come out very sticky and dense. I’m planning on re-working that recipe so stay tuned for that!

The problem with so many pumpkin things (muffins, cake, that ever-popular pumpkin spice latte), is that they are totally loaded up with sugar. This smoothie is an awesome way to get your pumpkin fix without all that nonsense. Being the basic white girl that I am, I like my #PSL as much as the next girl in Hunter boots, but until right now, I’ve never looked up the nutrition info. A Starbucks tall (or medium to the rest of the world) pumpkin spice latte has 380 calories! Seriously! Let’s top that off with a nice big dollop of 14g of fat, and a shot of 50g of sugar just for good measure. We all know that our bodies don’t process liquid calories the same of solid food, so that lovely hot drink is not going to fill you up the same way 380 calories of a sandwich, or salad, or fruit would. So if you need a pumpkin spice latte to feel like it’s fall, have one. But then don’t let it be a thing you drink constantly from now until the New Year. Don’t deprive yourself, but be aware of what you’re consuming!

Pumpkin on it’s own is an awesome food, and another one that I think is pretty underrated. 1 cup of pumpkin has 30 calories, but almost 200% of your daily vitamin A intake. You’ve also got 17% of your daily vitamin C in there to help keep your immune system safe from all those fall sniffles. Make sure when you’re buying canned pumpkin, that it’s pure pumpkin, and not pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin pie filling already has sugar and spices added to it, but we both know you’re already sweet enough and don’t need that.

This recipe makes 1 serving.

Ingredients:

• 1 small frozen banana (peeled)
• 1/3 cup plain low fat yogurt
• 2/3 cup canned pumpkin puree
• 1 tbsp chopped pecans
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• tiny splash vanilla
• 1 cup almond milk (or whatever milk makes you happy)

1. It’s a smoothie, do you really need instructions?
2. Throw everything in your favourite blender/Magic Bullet/Ninja.
3. Blend until smooth.
4. Pour into a glass and top with pecans if you want to feel like you really have your life together.

Saturday Banana Muffins

I feel like I always have over-ripe bananas and never know what to do with them. If they’re not in my fruit bowl, there’s a huge collection going in the freezer. I’ve been trying to use them up, so I decided to make a batch of muffins over the weekend. These turned out amazing, and judging by the fact that I had none left by Sunday night, are very well liked by my recipe guinea pig/boyfriend. Had I managed to save any, they would have been perfect for taking to school for lunch all week!

Ingredients:

• 3 very ripe bananas
• 2 tbsp peanut butter
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1/2 cup oatmeal
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 cup milk
• 3 squares sweet baking chocolate

1. Preheat the oven to 400F.
2. Mash the bananas and combine with the peanut butter and vanilla.
3. Cream in the sugar. Add flour, oatmeal, baking powder, and baking soda and mix until everything’s combined. Add the milk.
4. Chop the squares of baking chocolate into very small chunks. You could also use chocolate chips but I didn’t have any in my cupboard so baking chocolate it was!
5. Grease a muffin tin and scoop batter into the tin.
6. Bake for 15 minutes, or until the edges are browned and a toothpick stuck in a muffin comes out clean.

Rainy Day Banana Loaf

What does one do with three very over ripe bananas on a very disgusting November Saturday? One makes a super awesome banana loaf! We’ve even got some strawberries and mini chocolate chips in there, in case banana loaf isn’t sweet enough on it’s own! I used frozen strawberries that I thawed in the microwave and then mashed with a fork, but you could use fresh ones or big pieces and I’m sure it would turn out fine. The mini chocolate chips melt perfectly and distribute the chocolate in the whole loaf so well! My favourite thing about this was that it was so easy. I just had to mix it up and put it in the pan and then wait. I am so proud of how this loaf turned out, it really is awesome!

Ingredients:

• 3 very very ripe bananas
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup mini chocolate chips
• 1 1/2 cup mashed strawberries

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Mash the bananas in a medium sized mixing bowl. Add in the egg, brown sugar, and vanilla. Mix it until it’s completely combined.
3. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until matter is consistent with no lumps.
4. Stir in strawberries and chocolate chips. Stir to distribute evenly.
5. Lightly grease a loaf pan and pour your batter in.
6. Bake for 50 minutes, or until you can stick a knife in and have it come out clean (except for all the melty chocolate!).

Because this was so easy, I could mix this up, put it in the oven,  and then watch an episode of Band of Brothers while it was baking! It really was perfect for a cold rainy Saturday afternoon.