Browsing Tag

breakfast

Tasty

Gluten Free Banana Bread

January 28, 2015

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I love to meal plan, but sometimes you just don’t get around to using everything… one of biggest issues in the kitchen? Consuming bananas before they turn on me.  Therefore half of my freezer is frozen bananas – which isn’t a great situation for anti-smoothie weather.  But what to do?  Banana bread!

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I enlisted the help of my favorite (and cutest) helpers and got to work some banana bread muffins.  The catch? They are flour, oil and butter free – and no one could tell the difference!

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Gluten Free Banana Bread

recipe via The Well Traveled Wife

  • 2 1/2 cups gluten free old fashioned oats (you can use normal oats if you don’t care about GF)
  • 1 cup plain greek yogurt
  • 2 eggs
  • heaping 1/2 cup sugar (I used coconut sugar – hence the dark color – for a healthier sweetener alt.)
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 ripe bananas
  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
  2. Line muffin tins with liners or non-stick cooking spray.
  3. Place above ingredients into a blender and mix until smooth (it works best to add the oats last, working with a cup at a time).
  4. Pour batter into muffin tins.
  5. Top with chocolate chips (optional)
  6. Bake for 13-15 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

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A few tips:

  • You can fill the muffin tins pretty much up to the top.  They do not rise too much.
  • Do not overcook muffins.  It’s better to under-cook them a bit (they will cook a bit more once removed from the oven) – because they will end up chewy and tough.
  • These are great to make an extra batch and freeze for later.
  • Mixing in hemp seeds and flax seeds could be a nice healthy boost!

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Tasty

Coconut Rose Smoothie

December 3, 2014

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While the cold temperature hardly lends itself to “smoothie” weather, sometimes I just want to mix it up.  When I saw a recipe containing coconut, strawberry and ROSE I knew I needed to put on some gloves and suck it up (no pun intended).

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Coconut Rose Smoothie

  • 1 cup frozen strawberries
  • 1 large frozen banana
  • 1/2 cup coconut milk (organic, full fat)
  • 1/2 cup coconut water
  • 1/4 teaspoon rose water
  • 1-2 handfuls of ice
  • 1 date (chopped)
  1. Add ingredients into a blender and mix until combined.
  2. Garnish with raw shredded coconut and enjoy!

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Tasty

Breakfast Tacos

September 10, 2014

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You know when you discover something and can’t wrap your mind around how you ever lived without it?!  For me, that thing is breakfast tacos.

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I’ve mastered all things Mexican food and have fully embraced them in my morning routine – breakfast burritos, Huevos Rancheros, Jalisco Scrambles … and now I am excited to share my newest breakfast kick – breakfast tacos.

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So simple, so delicious and SO EASY.  All you really need is tortillas and you can get as creative as you wish… here is what we whipped up for brunch this weekend:

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Breakfast Tacos

  • tortillas
  • eggs
  • bacon (could use ham or sausage)
  • shredded cheddar cheese (could use cotija as well)
  • avocado
  • tomatoes, diced (or pico de gallo)
  • black beans (or pinto)
  • cilantro
  • other:
    • potatoes
    • onion, diced
  1. Pan fry bacon in a skillet (I used my cast iron pan) on medium low heat for about 4 minutes per side (keep an eye on them).
  2. Let bacon cool on paper towels and reserve bacon fat.  Cut or crumble into bite sized pieces.
  3. Whisk eggs in a dish (for 2 people I used 6 eggs) and add salt/pepper.
  4. Scramble eggs over low heat in 1 tablespoon of bacon fat and stir in beans to warm up last 2 minutes or so.
  5. Heat up tortillas in microwave for 30 seconds (wrap in wet paper towel).
  6. Top with assorted toppings (cheese, eggs/beans, bacon,  avocado, tomatoes, cilantro) and drizzle with hot sauce of your choice (I’m addicted to the green Tabasco).

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*If you like potatoes and onion I highly recommend baking or sautéing them with the bacon fat as well.

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**I think my favorite thing from Whole Foods is their breakfast meat. Their in-house maple sausage and applewood bacon are AMAZING (and totally worth the splurge).

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The end is near… be sure to enter the Elsie Green Giveaway!!! Just explore the Elsie Green website and see what item(s) you like best and leave a comment on THIS post letting me know which thing(s)! Make sure to follow up with the Rafflecopter widget below 🙂 Good luck!

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Sip

Philz Mint Mojito

June 13, 2014

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A couple of months ago my sister introduced me to my first Philz coffee.  Sadly, I have to make quite a trek to sip on one, so I have resorted to whipping up my own…

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Philz Copycat Mint Mojito

  • Coffee Concentrate
  • Mint Syrup
  • Milk or Cream
  1. I mixed about 8 oz of coffee with 2 tablespoons mint syrup and 2 oz of milk, but it totally comes down to preference – whether you like it sweeter, less concentrated, etc.

For a less “G rated concoction, simply add a shot (or two) of Kahlua and stir – this is Fun Drink Friday after all! 🙂

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I came across this Cold Brew Coffee Concentrate at Trader Joe’s and was excited to find something to take the work out of iced coffees this summer.  If you want to make your own, simply (or not so simply) follow these steps.

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The mint simple syrup is another easy one.  Just mix 1/2 cup of boiling water with 1/2 cup sugar and a large bunch of mint (one whole portion you would buy at the store).  Stir until sugar dissolves and let steep 5-10 minutes or until syrup is very minty tasting… you just don’t want to leave it for a long period of time for fear of it becoming bitter (fyi).

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Once your syrup and concentrate are ready just add milk (coconut milk would be a great non-dairy option), stir and enjoy!

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Party

Spring Brunch

May 19, 2014

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A little late, but I wanted to share some pictures from our Mother’s Day brunch.  I’ve been trying to “eat clean,” so scroll down for my attempt at a “whole food” brunch menu.

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Menu

  • Poached Farm Fresh Eggs
  • Roasted Asparagus
  • Roasted Tomatoes
  • Truffled Mushrooms
  • Avocado Toast on Gluten Free Toast
  • Mixed Berry Salad with Chopped Mint

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Roasted Tomatoes

For the veggies, I simply drizzled them in olive oil, sprinkled with salt and pepper and roasted them at 425 for about 10 minutes (keep an eye on them).  I sliced mushrooms (you can use cremini or regular mushrooms) and sauted them with truffle oil (from Trader Joe’s) until the water released. The eggs were poached (you can use this tutorial) and we sliced avocado over toast (you can mash it, add lemon pepper, drizzle high end olive oil, Maldon sea salt… get crazy!). The berry salad was simply blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries sprinkled with chopped mint.  We paired everything with some yummy champagne (can’t be totally diet centered on a holiday!) and breakfast was served!

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Glasses/Placemats/Serveware/Mom’s Vintage China

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