Over Night Oats: Nut Butter & Chocolate

Overnight Oats: Nut Butter & Chocolate

Who needs a quick, easy, healthy and yummy breakfast idea? Pretty much EVERYONE! A great way to start your day is with oats. They're full of fiber which will leave you feeling full without a huge calorie load. They're also full of essential vitamins and minerals and have been shown to decrease risk of heart disease, diabetes and even cancer. Count me in.

My favorite ways to eat oats in the morning are in waffles, baked oatmeal muffins or in overnight oats. 

It takes less than five minutes to assemble these babies, they're so easy my kids make them! Feel free to use whichever nut butter you like best, I switch between pb and almond but sometimes I'll go for cashew or walnut. My favorite non dairy milk is homemade cashew, but almond would be a great addition. 

You'll need:

2 T cacao

1/2 c nut butter (no oil)

1/2 c cashew milk

1/4 maple syrup

1 t vanilla

Pinch of sea salt

1 T chia seeds

2.5 c oats

Optional add-ins: dark chocolate chips, more seeds or chopped nuts

Mix all ingredients except chia seeds and oats until smooth, then use a spatula to combine oats and seeds until mixed. If the mixture is thick, add in more non-dairy milk. Makes 4 half pints.

Choco-PB Breakfast Cookies

I'm always looking for an easy breakfast for my kids. I usually make double batches of waffles, pancakes or muffins on lazy days but that can get boring.  A few years ago, before we cleaned up our diets, a quick breakfast I would give the kids was a popular, store-bought "breakfast cookie" that I thought looked healthy. I was incredibly wrong. They were full of GMOs, trans fats, artificial colors and flavors, and a whole mess of chemicals. My version of breakfast cookies contain none of that and are made with only 7 ingredients. They're also naturally gluten free. Add the delicious glaze if you feel the need to indulge a bit, they are tasty either way.

Choco-PB Breakfast Cookies

For the cookie

1 c ground oats (can be ground in a food processor, blender or coffee grinder)
1 1/2 c old fashioned oats
1 c nut butter (I used PB)
1/4 c maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt (my favorite is real salt)
3 ripe, smashed bananas 
1/3 c dark chocolate chips 

For the glaze

2 T maple syrup
2 T cacao
1 tsp coconut oil
2 T peanut butter

Preheat your oven to 350F. Mix the wet ingredients with a wooden spoon until combined. Add in the salt, ground and whole oats, stirring until incorporated, then fold in the chocolate chips. Spoon 1/3 c batter onto baking sheet, making large, round cookies, 2-3 inches wide. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned on top. (sometimes I broil them on low for a minute to get a golden color on top) 

Let cool on a wire rack before adding the glaze.

To make the glaze, I used a double broiler, added all of the ingredients to the bowl and whisked until combined. Spoon the mixture into a ziploc bag, snip a tiny corner off the bag for piping, and decorate the cookies in whatever pattern you like.

This recipe makes 10 large cookies.

Tropical Green Smoothie

Iron is essential in keeping our bodies healthy. It strengthens our immune systems, treats insomnia and helps with concentration. It's also a key factor in preventing anemia. What you may not know is that for our bodies to absorb Iron properly, Iron-rich foods (plant based ones, like whole grains, beans and veggies) should be accompanied by Vitamin C rich foods when eaten. When digested together they form a compound that makes the Iron more absorbable. This Tropical Green Smoothie gives you the best of both world.

I recently bought a case of oranges and had planned to juice them all. But then I got to thinking about how Iron needs Vitamin C  to be absorbed and then this smoothie was born. I was very surprised at how tasty it was because I put a lot of spinach in it. But the sweetness of the fruit really mellowed out the bitterness of the greens.

You'll need: 

2 c fresh, baby spinach
2 bananas, fresh or frozen
1 c pineapple, fresh or frozen
1 c freshly squeezed orange juice (I hand-squeezed 3 oranges)

Let's get started!

Blend the orange juice and spinach until smooth. Add in the fruit and blend until creamy. This makes about 3 cups.

Spicy Tempeh Hash

I love a good breakfast. But who doesn't? Growing up in the South, a staple for breakfast was always potatoes, some kind of meat, a bread with gravy and eggs. Sometimes fruit. Now that our family eats plant based, I usually make pancakes with a smoothie for breakfast. I can hide so many healthy ingredients in pancakes! But having the same thing over and over again definitely gets boring. So when I came across this recipe in the Vegetarian Times, I was overjoyed. We don't eat much soy, but every so often I"ll cook with organic tempeh.

I pretty much followed the recipe as written, I just added sage and more paprika, peppers and onions. I also used organic coconut oil instead of canola. I doubled the recipe for our family of 5. I served it with some Ezekeil sprouted toast and fruit and fresh juice. It was a hit. And very easy to make.

Peary Green Smoothie

This is my kids' favorite smoothie… even though it's green! At first, I just told them that the green came from the pears, until they caught me adding spinach in!

Smoothies are a great way to start your day. You literally just drink your vitamins and your meal. They are my go-to breakfast if we are in a hurry or to take along with us. I just pop an Eco Jarz lid on and off we go. And if, at the end of the day, I feel like I haven't had enough nutrients, I'll make a quick smoothie before bed or even as dinner (an extra large one!)

This smoothie is very, very simple. 

You'll need…

1 pear, cored
2 c fresh spinach
1 frozen banana
1/2-1 c nut milk

Blend nut milk and spinach until smooth. Add in the pear and banana, and blend until smooth. Drink up!

Healthy (and clumpy) Granola

Every time I've made granola, it quickly became crumbly and hard to snack on. I wanted it to be used for more than cereal. I wanted it to be more like store bought granola without all of the added processing and ingredients. 

This morning, as I was adding ground flax seeds to my pancake batter, it hit me. Flax "eggs" could bind my granola and make pieces! 

A flax egg looks like this:

Kinda weird, but it works. 

To make the granola, combine all of your favorite ingredients in a large bowl. 

Then add in your flax eggs. 

It won't feel too thick, but will definitely thicken up in the oven. 

Then bake your granola, let cool, and store in an air right jar. 

You'll need ...

3 c rolled oats

1/4 c quinoa

1/2 dried fruit ( I used cranberries)

1/2 c liquid sweetener, like maple syrup, brown rice syrup or coconut nectar

2 flax eggs (1/4 c ground flax seeds mixed with 1/2 c warm water)

1/2 c chopped nuts/seeds

Lets get started!

Preheat your oven to 350*. Mix all ingredients, in a large bowl, until well combined. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and "grease" with coconut oil to prevent the granola from sticking. Spread your granola evenly on the pan. Bake for 25 minutes or until light brown, stirring 1-2 times.