Monthly Archives: April 2013

Banana Oat Breakfast Bites with Cranberries & Walnuts

Posted in Breakfast, Vegan Baking by

One of my favourite things to whip up are these easy to make Banana Oat Breakfast Bites!!! Many people make similar cookie versions to this recipe but the great thing is that everyone can make it their own way using ingredients that work for them. The great thing about this recipe is that you can tailor it to your own tastes and preferences! I find that they are a great idea for a fast breakfast when you’re in a hurry which really saves time. Have them with a healthy green smoothie and your good to go! I always have organic bananas on hand as well as oats so this recipe is made very often in my home. I also add dried sulfate free cranberries and walnuts sometimes too. The recipe I’m posting will be this version. 🙂 My kids like my vegan chocolate chip version best of course but then they are a treat and no longer a super healthy breakfast bite! LOL  You can also make them into cookies if you want but I like making mine smaller so that’s why I call them “bites”. I find that they are the perfect size to pop into a little container and pack them into a lunchbox or throw into a purse. They are a great on the go healthy snack. I always make sure I have healthy snacks in my purse because I’m vegan and it’s not always easy to find healthy vegan snacks on the go. Hey non vegans you should definitely be trying to bring healthy homemade snacks with you so you’re not tempted to buy sugary & fat filled treats while your on the run too!

 

 

Banana Oat Breakfast Bites with Cranberries & walnuts

Healthy Breakfast Bites

Healthy Breakfast Bites

 

Ingredients:

  • 2 regular sized Bananas
  • 1 TBSP Cinnamon
  • 2 cups Oats
  • 1  1/2 tsp. pure Vanilla extract
  • 1 TBSP Sulfate free Cranberries
  • Handful of chopped Walnuts

 

Method:

  1. In a medium-sized bowl mash both bananas with a fork really well.
  2. Add the vanilla and mix.
  3. Throw in the 2 cups of Oats and the 1 TBSP of Cinnamon. Combine well.
  4. Now you can go ahead and add the cranberries and walnuts. Give it another good mix.
  5. Shape into small round balls and place on a lined cookie sheet. Flatten the balls down slightly with the back of a teaspoon.
  6. Pop them into the oven for 10 minutes. If you want to make them bigger or into cookies then they will bake between 12-14 minutes.
  7. After removing them from the oven let them cool down on the pan. Transfer them to an airtight container once they have cooled off.

 

 

Other Versions of my Banana Oat Breakfast Bites:

 

Vegan Chip: My kids favourite version has 1/3 cup vegan chocolate chips thrown into the banana and oat mixture. They are such a tasty treat!

Plain Banana & Oat: I also make these banana bites without adding any dry fruit and nuts and they turn out great as well. Simple and super fast!

Protein Boost: I also make a version of these breakfast bites with peanut or almond butter added to the oat mixture! YUM! Just add 2 TBSP nut butter to your mixture. Be sure to combine it well  I bake them 10-12 minutes depending on their size. *I omit the cinnamon, chopped nuts and dried fruit for this version.*

Coconut & Almond: Toss in a handful of chopped almonds as your nut for these banana bites and instead of adding the cinnamon I throw in 1 TBSP of shredded coconut in it’s place.

 

*ENJOY your yummy & fast to make Banana Breakfast Bites! Have fun with them and try out different combinations to suit your needs*

 

*Makes 12-15 Banana Bites depending on their size*

My Coconut Rice Pudding

Posted in Vegan Baking by

I adore rice pudding so once in a while I seriously crave some! I used to make my rice pudding using only almond or soya milk but once I tried making it with some coconut milk I revamped my recipe. Oh my gosh the coconut milk adds such a lovely flavor! This is my idea of feel good comfort food especially during the cold winter months. This recipe is actually my 8 year old’s favourite one and she get’s super excited when she sees that it’s cooking away on the stove top. It’s funny how such simple things can make a kids day! 🙂

Coconut Rice Pudding

Coconut Rice Pudding

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup Arborio rice
  • 1 can of Coconut Rice Pudding
  • 4 cups Almond Milk or just use the coconut milk can and fill it twice
  • Cinnamon
  • 1 tsp pure Vanilla
  • Pure Maple Syrup (I only add 1 TBSP)

Method

  1. In a medium-sized pot add the can coconut milk and almond milk. Bring to boil at medium heat. Keep an eye on your pot because in the blink of an eye it will boil over and create a crazy mess on your stove top!
  2. When the milk is boiling add the rice, vanilla and desired cinnamon. Mix well. Bring the heat down to low or a simmering heat.
  3. Boil for 45 minutes – 1 Hour. Stir often throughout so the rice doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot.
  4. I like adding the maple syrup during the last 10-15 minutes of cooking and then mix well.
  5. Transfer to serving bowls and sprinkle a little cinnamon on top before serving.
  • I haven’t put in a certain amount of cinnamon because I add A TON into my rice pudding. Everyone’s taste is different so you can add what ever amount you think is best.
  • I added 1 TBSP of Maple Syrup to my pot of rice pudding. You can add more if you like your pudding sweeter! I prefer adding only 1 TBSP and then if people want it sweeter then a little more can be added to only their serving.

 

NOTE:

* It seems that I live with some MAJOR Sweet Toothed people! They said they prefer when the rice pudding is sweeter! They added between 1 tsp and 1 tbsp to their bowls of pudding!

 

 

That’s it! It’s crazy easy and so incredibly yummy!!!  So ENJOY!

Banana Vegan Chip Muffins

Posted in Breakfast, Vegan Baking by

My kids LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Banana Vegan Chip Muffins!!! I have many recipes that I use but this recipe is their favourite one! It’s very fast to make and they taste super yummy and moist. It’s loaded with ground flax seeds (flaxmeal) and even my very picky 6-year-old gives these muffins the thumbs up. By the way she doesn’t even like bananas and eats these muffins! I make these muffins and almost all my baking period with brown rice flour. It has many health benefits such as its rich in fiber, manganese, selenium, zinc, calcium and B vitamins. I also add healthy oats to these muffins but it would work with wheat germ as well. These muffins are made so often that when we don’t have them the kids ask me “mommy where are the muffins???” LOL  I’ve also made them without the vegan chocolate chips and they are still super good! I add in the chips to make the kids happy! I do however sometimes only add in 1/4 cup of them instead of the 1/3 cup and they actually notice! Then they ask me why there are less vegan chips in the batch of muffins when that happens. Sheesh!  This is why I put 1/3 cup in the recipe below! I also added a picture of them cooling off on the wire baking rack but sadly it’s not the greatest picture. Oh well you get the idea …

Yummy Banana Vegan Chip Muffins!

Yummy Banana Vegan Chip Muffins!

 

 

Banana Vegan Chip Muffins

 

Ingredients:

  • 3 Bananas, mashed
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil or oil of choice
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 3 TBSP ground flax (flaxmeal)
  • 6 TBSP water
  • 1/2 cup oats or wheat germ
  • 1/4 cup sucanat sugar or other sugar of choice
  • 1 cup brown rice flour
  • 2 tsp aluminum free baking powder
  • 3/4 cup almond milk (I use unsweetened)
  • 1/3 cup vegan chocolate chips

Tools:

  • 2 muffin tins
  • paper muffin liners
  • 2 medium-sized bowls

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 F
  2. Place 3 TBSP of flaxmeal in a small bowl add add the 6 TBSP water to it. Mix well and set aside for a few minutes.
  3. With a fork mash 3 ripe bananas in a medium-sized bowl.
  4. add 1 tsp vanilla, 1/4 cup oil and 1/4 cup sugar to banana mixture. You can add more sugar if you like sweeter muffins but I think 1/4 cup is enough for us.
  5. In another medium-sized bowl add the 3/4 cup brown rice flour and oats.
  6. Add the baking powder to the flour mixture and combine well.
  7. Add the flaxmeal mixture into the wet ingredients and mix well.
  8. Next add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Now add the 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk. Combine.
  9. Toss in the vegan chips  and give it another mix.
  10. Line 1  12 muffin baking tin with paper liners and fill them half way for medium-sized muffins. Grab another muffin tin and place 4 more paper liners in it. Fill those suckers up too! You could also just do 12 larger muffins and bake them for 25-27 minutes. We prefer medium-sized muffins however.
  11. Pop them into a 400 F oven for 23-25 minutes.
  • Once they are baked I let them cool off inside the tins for about 5 minutes. Then I transfer them to a wire baking rack and let them cool completely before placing them into a air tight container.

*Makes 16 medium-sized muffins or 12 large muffins*

Enjoy! 🙂