baked oatmeal

I will be the first to admit that baked anything in May, in Texas is absurd.. but we're having a weird spring this year, and right now (as it has been a couple of days a week, for the last few weeks) it's cold and rainy outside. This is the perfect breakfast for days like today.

Otherwise, I'll bake it at nite, and eat it cold throughout the rest of the week. Alternatively, you could heat it up in the microwave, but I don't own a microwave. It's actually pretty good cold! (And convenient if you're like me in the mornings, and can't be bothered to do much of anything because food < extra sleep.)

It's a pretty versatile recipe. You can substitute any kind of nut for the almonds, use whatever milk you'd like (coconut, almond, soy, etc.) and while I've only made it with blueberries and bananas, the fruit combinations are endless.

ingredients: 

1 tsp coconut oil

2 cups toasted oats

1 tbsp. cinnamon

1/4 cup golden flax seed

3/4 cup shredded coconut

3/4 cup chopped almonds

pinch of salt

2 cups milk

2 eggs

1 tbsp. vanilla extract

1/4 - 1/2 cup honey or agave*

1 large banana, sliced

2 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen is fine)

directions: 

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Grease a baking dish with the coconut oil and set aside. In a large bowl, combine all of the dry ingredients. (everything from the oats to the salt) Set aside. In another bowl beat the two eggs, and then stir in the milk, vanilla, and honey. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Add the banana and blueberries and stir to combine everything. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until the oats are golden brown. Allow to cool before serving.

*I don't care for overly sweet breakfasts, so 1/4 of a cup of honey is perfect for me. I use ripe banana so the sweetness from that combined with the berries is just right. However, if you like your oatmeal a little on the sweeter side I would go for the 1/2 cup. 

mango lime chia smoothie

I have another delicious accident to share with you. Today I was making chia pudding when something went wrong. I'm not sure where I messed up, because I've made it before, but I ended up throwing everything in the blender and the end result was a refreshing smoothie.

I used yellow mangoes, because that's what I had on hand, but red mangoes would obviously be fine. And if you like spice, a dash of cayenne takes this to a whole new level.

Enjoy!

ingredients:

1 can coconut milk (13.5 oz.)

1 cup soy milk (any kind of milk will work)

1 lime, zest & juice

1/4 cup chia seeds

3 tbsp. honey or agave

2 mangoes, peeled & chopped

handful of ice

directions:

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Serves 3-4. Refrigerate any excess in a covered jar for 2-3 days.

granola

I've never been a big fan of granola because the store bought kinds are full of fat and sugar. I tried making it at home awhile back, but most of the recipes I found call for the same: tons of sweetener and some kind of oil. I accidentally made this version of granola the other day while attempting to throw together some breakfast bars. The end result was too crumbly and a little too moist to hold the form of a bar, but I decided to keep it anyway. :)

I've been putting it in yogurt and cereal, and it's perfect. The recipe is pretty versatile. You could substitute the almonds for any other kind of nut. Also, the dates could be replaced with another dried fruit like cranberries or raisins. I just happen to prefer the dates because they're a little bit sweeter. However with that being said, this isn't a sweet granola at all.

Enjoy!

ingredients:

1 cup roasted almonds

1 cup toasted oats

1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 small orange, zest & juice

2 cups pitted dates

1 tablespoon vanilla

coconut oil

directions:

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease a baking dish with the coconut oil. (I used a 7.5 x 11 dish.)

Place the almonds in a food processor, and pulse a few times. Add the oats, coconut, orange zest and cinnamon and pulse a few more times (3-4 pulses each time should be sufficient.) Remove contents and place in a large bowl.

Place the juice from the orange, dates and vanilla in the food processor and process until a paste forms.

Add the dry ingredients back to the food processor and pulse a few more times, until the mixture starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl.

Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish, and press down firmly so that the surface is mostly smooth, and it's packed tightly.

Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool completely. When it's cool turn the dish over on top of a cookie sheet (or a lined, flat surface will do) and gently tap until the granola comes out.

Crumble and store in an airtight container.

pineapple ginger quinoa

So you have left over cabbage, carrot, and garlic from the last recipe I posted, right?!

Here's what to do with it:

ingredients:

1 1/2 cups broth

1/2 cup coconut milk

1 cup quinoa

1 bell pepper, chopped

1 carrot, diced

1 small red onion, diced (about 1 cup or so)

2 cups chopped cabbage

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp. ginger, minced

1/2 cup roasted cashews

2 eggs

1/2 cup chopped pineapple

2 tbsp. oil

1 lime

soy sauce

sriracha

directions:

Bring the quinoa, coconut milk, & broth to a boil in a medium pan. Cover, and lower heat to a simmer for 15 minutes, or until the liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat, and leave the lid on.

In a large skillet heat oil, and saute carrots, bell pepper, & onion. Cover and cook for approximately 5 minutes, or until carrots are soft. Add the cabbage, garlic, ginger, & cashews. Saute uncovered for approximately 10 minutes, or until the cabbage is soft and translucent. 

Push the vegetable mix to one side of the pan, and add a little bit more oil. Crack the eggs into that area, and scramble. Add the quinoa and the pineapple, and stir everything together. Remove from heat and stir in the juice of the lime. Add soy and sriracha to taste.

Note: whenever thai basil is in season I add it to this, just before I add the egg.

soba, revisited

I know, I know I've posted two other soba recipes, but this one takes the cake, guys. It's really savory because of the peanut butter, but balanced out by the lime and fresh cilantro... and if you like to spice things up, top it off with some sriracha. It's perfect.

Enjoy!

ingredients:

2 bundles soba noodles*

2 mushrooms (I use bella), chopped

3 cups cabbage, shredded

1 medium carrot, shredded

2 scallions, white bottom parts separated from the tops, both chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup cilantro, chopped

1 lime

3 tbsp. soy sauce

2 tbsp. peanut butter

2 tbsp. oil + a little extra for sauteing the vegetables 

directions:

Heat some oil over medium heat in a large skillet, and add mushrooms and the white parts of the scallions. Cook for a couple of minutes, until the mushrooms start to turn golden. Add carrots, cabbage, & garlic. Saute approximately 5 minutes, until the carrots and cabbage are soft. 

In a small saucepan cook warm the juice from the lime, soy sauce, oil, & peanut butter. Whisking until it's smooth. Set aside.

Cook noodles per the instructions on the package, and strain. Place them in a large mixing bowl, and add the vegetables and sauce. Gently toss to combine, and coat the noodles with the sauce.

*Don't cook more than two bundles of soba at a time. For some reason, even if you use a large pan, it causes them to all clump together and turn to mush.

the best salad, ever

I've been eating this salad almost every day for a few weeks now. It's. So. Good.

The inspiration for it came from this post. But when I made it I didn't have the exact ingredients, so I changed things up by using what I did have. I've also made it using different greens - a spinach/chard/arugula mix works great.

It should be noted that while I'm not an advocate of processed/packaged/bottled anything, the salad dressing below is what makes this salad so perfect. I wouldn't eat it with anything else.

ingredients:

baby kale

1 small granny smith apple, chopped

1 tbsp. red onion, minced

1 tbsp. roasted sunflower seeds

2 tbsp. roasted cashews

handful of dried cranberries

Annie's Organic Shiitake Sesame Dressing

directions:

Place kale on a plate, top with the apple, onion, nuts, seeds & cranberries. Top with dressing.

oatmeal raisin muffins

I've been making these muffins since school started. I don't really have time for lunch, so I wanted something filling that I could take with me for a snack. In the first batch I made I used banana to sweeten them (instead of agave) and they turned moldy after a couple of days, and I also noticed they were making a sizzling noise when I opened the container after about 2 or 3 days, so I've been using agave since. (However, I wouldn't recommend storing them for longer than a week. I have this completely irrational fear that doing so would cause the chia seeds to grow.)

Speaking of chia, I know these are somewhat of an obscure ingredient, so if you don't have access to them, just leave them out.

ingredients:

3 cups oats

1 cup toasted almonds, chopped (or any kind of nut)

1 tbsp. baking powder

2 tbsp chia seeds

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup raisins

1 tbsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

2 cups milk

1/2 cup agave (you could also use honey or maple syrup)

directions:

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a muffin pan with liners or spray with a nonstick spray.

In a large bowl, stir together the oats, almonds, baking powder, chia seeds, & cinnamon. Add milk, raisins, vanila, eggs & agave. Stir until everything is combined. 

Scoop the batter into muffin pan, filling each one to the brim. (These don't really rise much.) Bake for 30 minutes.

Yields 12 muffins.