Category Archives: Breakfast Foods

Ridiculously Easy Strawberry FroYo: A Waistline Friendly Dessert (or Breakfast!)

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Strawberry froyo: so easy to make that it’s ridic!

Picture this: it’s a super-hot summer day. The heat hits you like a wall as soon as you step outside. But wait, what’s that in your hand? It’s a scoopful (ok, let’s be realistic, it’s several scoopfuls) of freshly made Strawberry FroYo! And even better, it’s healthy, aka guilt-free! Living the dream, folks!

Recently, I got the ice cream maker attachment to my KitchenAid stand mixer. My husband likes to joke that I have a KitchenAid Kitchen as most of my appliances are KitchenAid (ooh, just had a thought — BHAG goal, a sponsored post with KitchenAid! Plus a giveaway. Now that would be a dream of a post to write! Any KitchenAid marketing staff out there who want to make my dream come true?) but given that I have limited kitchen space, getting an attachment as opposed to another appliance just made sense.

So, I had a new kitchen toy to play with, and it’s the dog days of August. Obviously, the only thing to do was…make ice cream! I’ve posted recipes for my super-yummy No Churn Rum Raisin Ice Cream (OH so good!) and my gluten-free Chunks ‘o Brownie No Churn Ice Cream (I’m drooling just typing that out), but I’ve been trying to develop a healthier ice cream that won’t add to my waistline, while still being yummy. What to do, what to do.

And then I was eating my favourite breakfast one day: homemade yoghurt with homemade strawberry jam. I looked at my breakfast bowl. I looked at my new ice cream maker attachment. And then I dumped my breakfast in the frozen bowl and turned on the paddle. BAM! Strawberry FroYo, yo!

In the time it took me to get dressed for work, my frozen yoghurt was ready. OH. SO. GOOD. Especially to eat happily while walking to work. Mmm…dessert for breakfast!

STRAWBERRY FROYO

  • 1 c. yoghurt (I make my own, using this recipe)
  • 1/4 c. strawberry jam (I make my own, but you do you, boo)

Place yoghurt and strawberry jam in frozen bowl, add paddle, and churn for 20 minutes; or follow instructions for your brand of ice cream maker. And…that’s it! (Told you it was easy!)

Doing its thang: churners gotta churn.

Scoop out, eat it up, and revel in the tartness of the froyo mingling with the sweetness of the strawberries. Ah, summer heaven!

No ice cream maker? You *could* make this without one. You’d just put the ingredients in the freezer in a freezer-safe container, and then stir after the first hour, and every half hour until frozen to your taste. But honestly, that’s a pain in the patootie. This is one of the few recipes that I say you need to have a specific kitchen tool for. If you don’t have an ice cream maker or attachment, I’d suggest making my No Churn Strawberry Ice Cream instead. Not as healthy, but [redacted], it’s tasty!

Next Post: Cake Decorating Basics! I’ve been working on my coursework for the Elite Blog Academy, and this is the result of an assignment a month ago. Learning is fun, but cake is the BEST THING EVER! No, wait that’s chocolate. Ok, I stand corrected: Chocolate Cake: BEST THING EVER!

Linking Up at Meal Plan Monday! And at Full Plate Thursday!

Banoffee Frappe, and How I Beat the Heat

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Oozing caramel and ready to be sipped! (Or, you know, slurped!)

It’s summer and it’s hot outside! Wouldn’t a nice cold coffee drink really hit the spot right now? With a dollop or three of fluffy vanilla-scented whipped cream? And tendrils of creamy caramel sauce swirled throughout? But we need some nutrition, right? So…add in some banana chunks, blend it up, layer it, and call it…BANOFFEE FRAPPE!

Banoffee frappe is my new favourite breakfast! I walk to work and because my default speed is a speed walk, I arrive at work all hot and sweaty, which is just not pleasant. I’ve tried walking more slowly — it doesn’t work. I cannot walk slowly even if I am wearing weights (true story, I’ll tell you another time). I am built to walk fast, so the only solution that I can see is to consume Banoffee Frappes while walking to work. I arrive nicely cool, hepped up on caffeine, and hey, the banana and milk count as breakfast, amirite?

Also, it’s super-easy and super-cheap to make! You could make two of these for the price of an iced capp at Tim Horton’s or 4 of these for the price of a small frilly drink at Starbucks. Personally, I’d rather take those savings over the year and spend it on a vacay, but hey, chacun a son gout, n’est pas? (<– Let’s pretend that I know how to add in the French accent on those words, ok? I’m a speed typist, but not a bilingual one.)

So. Banoffee Frappe! Let’s get it onnnnn!!!! *said in a bad James Brown impersonation sort of way*

BANOFFEE FRAPPE (think more James Brown. Can’t you just hear him say it? “Banoffee Frappeeeeeeee, oh yeah, baby!”)

Frappe

  • 1 banana, frozen in chunks
  • 4 ice cubes of frozen coffee
  • 1/2 c. milk

Whipped Cream

  • 1 c. whipping cream
  • 1/3 c. icing sugar
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Caramel Syrup

  • 3 heaping tbsp. brown sugar
  • 1/4 c. whipping cream
  • 1 tbsp. butter

Sliced banana for garnish and to layer with

1. Make your caramel syrup: heat the whipping cream in a sauce pan over medium high heat until hot but NOT boiling. Stir in brown sugar and butter. Continue stirring over medium heat until sauce thickens and darkens slightly in colour. Set aside to cool.

2. Make your whipped cream: Using a chilled bowl and beater, beat the whipping cream, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract until thick peaks form. Set aside.

3. Make the frappe mixture: in a blender, combine the frozen banana, coffee ice cubes, and milk. Blend until a thick slurry forms.

4. Put it all together: Layer the frappe, whipped cream, caramel syrup, and sliced banana in a tall glass. Best enjoyed in hot weather! Makes one large serving (or two smaller servings), with leftover whipped cream and caramel syrup! (I suggest using the whipped cream and caramel syrup over ice cream. Mmm…ice cream…*drools*…what was I saying?

Er, yes! Make this frappe and beat the heat! Now, how do I get a James Brown ear worm out of my head?

Next Post: Yummy stuff. Maybe No Churn Rum Raisin Ice Cream? Sound good? Let me know what your favourite ice cream flavour is, in the comments!

Linking Up at Meal Plan Monday and Happiness is Homemade!

Vanilla Bean & Granola Meal Replacement Bars Plus Why I Stomped on My Baking

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Crunch, crunch, crunch…and I ate a bunch! (But over several days, obvs!)

Guess what I did last weekend? I made meal replacement bars for my husband! He likes to grab a bar to go for breakfast when he’s in a hurry, but I know there are healthier breakfasts than Slimfast bars (*shudder*), so I finally got him to agree to eat them if I made them!

I used vanilla bean whey protein powder, as well as my homemade granola (using home-dehydrated strawberries instead of dried cranberries), along with the last of the psyllium powder I bought months ago at the behest of my doctor, and added in some ground flax seed too. I used egg whites to increase the stickiness of the ingredients without adding extra sugar (which most granola bar recipes use), plus it increases the protein in the recipe. The combination of fibre and protein should keep him full from breakfast to lunch. And, no preservatives! Winning!

The protein comes from the protein powder, the oats (they have a surprising amount of protein!), the egg whites, and the seeds. Diverse sources of protein, plus some omega fatty acids in the form of flax seeds, combined with lots of plant fibre, means a healthy breakfast that packs a winning punch!

Am so pleased with myself for developing this recipe!

Vanilla Bean & Granola Meal Replacement Bars

  • 4 c. homemade granola
  • 32 g. vanilla bean protein powder (I used a whey based protein, as I don’t digest pea protein well)
  • 1/2 c. ground flax seed
  • 1/2 c. psyllium powder
  • 1/4 c. oat flour (i.e. ground oats)
  • 1/2 c. honey
  • 2 egg whites, lightly whipped
  • 1/4 c. oil

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.

Line a 9×9 baking tray with parchment paper. Pour mixture into lined tray. Place more parchment paper on top, and press an 8×8 tray on top of that. Really press on it (I admit to standing on it on one foot). This smushes the mixture into a compact form, and helps the ingredients bind together so that the bars are less likely to crumble.

Bake in a 325 degree oven for 25-30 minutes, or until lightly golden on top. Let cool in pan. Once cool, remove from pan, place on a cutting board, and cut into bars. Et voila — meal replacement bars!

Rows of crispy, hearty, fruit and seed flecked bars!

I tried to figure out how to eliminate the honey, but all the granola bar recipes I researched use it as a binding agent. I did use a much smaller amount than most recipes, and relied on the flax seed powder, oat flour, and egg whites to bind the ingredients together.

Personally, I’m more of a chocolate than a vanilla person, so had I made them for me, I probably would have dunked them in chocolate, in addition to adding in chocolate chips. I left them out in this recipe, as the DH isn’t a chocolate person (who knew they existed?). If you made these with chocolate chips, let me know what you think!

Next Post: Erm…food. A post about food. Something yummy, at any rate!

Linking Up at Meal Plan Monday!

PB & J Smoothie: Super-Healthy Can Also Be Super-Tasty!

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Peanut Butter and Jam Smoothie — yum-city!

Every now and then I go on a healthy food/nutrient kick! I mean, I love sugar (witness the number of baked goods on this site), but I also love health and being healthy. So I try to balance out my sugar intake with lots of leafy greens, omega fatty acid oils, and dairy and plant protein. However, my requirement for this is that the resultant recipe has to taste great! And I think I’ve hit it out of the park with this recipe for a PB &  J Smoothie!

Who doesn’t like peanut butter and jam? Obviously, you can substitute in different ingredients like sun butter or almond butter, but the fact remains that if you make and drink this smoothie, you’re getting a meal with a fruit, two different types of vegetables, two different types of protein (dairy and plant), as well as a nice helping of fibre and omega fatty acids. I feel healthier already, just typing that!

Enough with the talking, let’s make the smoothie!

Healthy PB & J in Smoothie Form

  • 1/2 c. yoghurt
  • 3 tbsp. strawberry jam
  • 4 ice cubes
  • 1/2 c. frozen kale
  • 1 frozen banana
  • 2 tbsp. peanut butter
  • 1/4 c. pear juice
  • 1 tbsp. dehydrated powdered broccoli (or greens powder)
  • 1 tbsp. ground flax seed
  • 1 tbsp. psyllium powder
 Blend together, and enjoy! (Yup, it’s that easy!)

Looking healthy and ready to be blended!

Being vegetarian, I need to work a bit harder than my husband to get my daily requirement of protein in, and this smoothie is a big help with that. Plus, the fibre content helps with my IBS issues. (TMI? Eh.) I keep frozen bananas and kale in my freezer as a matter of course, and since I always have some homemade fruit jam in the fridge along with some homemade yoghurt and some peanut butter, this smoothie is super-easy and quick to pull together!

Not into all things strawberry? Check out my antioxidant smoothie recipe! More health in tasty, drinkable form!
Next Post: Apple Cinnamon Pancakes and the Birth of a Recipe

Purely Pear Sauce and The Joys of Eating In Bed

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Pear sauce made with Bartlett pears…but pictured with Bosc pears. Because I ate all the Bartletts.

As I type this, I’m eating breakfast in bed. My breakfast? Freshly made pear sauce — fragrant and smooth and delicately-flavoured and just scrumptious! I’m spooning it up straight out of the jar, because I plan on eating the entire thing! Fresh pear sauce is so yummy. It’s just like applesauce, but…pear.

And have I mentioned how easy it is to make? So. Incredibly. Easy.

Pears were on sale this week and last week, so I had the DH buy lots so that I could make lots. I like to stir it into my homemade yoghurt sometimes, to sweeten it slightly, and add some fruit and fibre.

Want to make some yourself? Let’s! Be prepared though, it’s jaw-droppingly easy.

Purely Pear Sauce

Ingredients:

  • a bag of ripe pears

Peel pears, and quarter them. Remove pits and stems. Place in a pan over medium heat. The pears will release enough liquid that they shouldn’t stick to the pan, but be sure to stir it occasionally. Once the pears are mushy and appear to be cooked through, you can either mash them with a potato masher, use a stick blender to blend them in the pot, or blend them in a kitchen blender. And…done!

I know it seems too easy to be true — I was surprised myself. Even the DH didn’t believe the sauce only contained pears; he thought for sure that I had added in sugar. Nope! It’s Purely Pear Sauce!

I like to use ripe Bartlett pears for this sauce, and personally, I leave the skins on so that I get some extra fibre (and then just make sure to blend it extra well at the end). You can use Bosc pears as well (or any pear, really) but it will be a slightly different texture (a tad more grainy) and taste. That said, eh, use what you want! Life is too short to always follow the recipe. Tee hee!

Next Post: I made a great pea soup flavoured with ham bits for the DH. Should I post that? I think so! Or maybe something sweet. Mmm…I sure do love my baked goods!

Linking Up at Meal Plan Monday, and Happiness is Homemade!