Category Archives: breakfast

Fabulous Real Food Breakfast Ideas

Breakfast, the best way to start your day

For many people breakfast is an afterthought. A cup of coffee and a bagel on the way out the door. Or possibly nothing at all. But it seems that conventional wisdom about breakfast being the most important meal of the day may be true.

Studies show that eating breakfast, and what you eat, impacts your blood sugar. It also tends to have an effect on food choices throughout the rest of your day. Skipping breakfast is not a good idea. After all, when we examine the word, it means breaking the fast. For most of us, it has been at least 10 hours if not more since we last ate. Choosing a bowl of sugar-bomb cereal in milk, or a carbohydrate rich muffin or bagel can have a negative effect on your blood sugar; possibly leading to candy cravings later in the day. You deserve to feel well and you start by supporting your body with a real food breakfast.

What not to eat for breakfast

The cereal aisle at the grocery store is huge and cereal manufacturers would like you to believe their overprocessed, often high sugar, offerings are a healthy choice. Nothing could be further from the truth. While the milk you eat the cereal with may provide a small amount of protein, it's certainly not enough to get your metabolism going. What you are getting is an over-processed, sugary product. While cereal is debatably better than not eating I’m here to tell you that it is not better by much. Your body will still feel the effects metabolically and it will not be supportive of your blood sugar.

Grab-and-go fast food options are another no-no. I have never been a fan of that idea because the food is fatty, over-processed, chemically-laden and very few of these places offer a truly healthy start to your day.

Breakfast bars are another common, highly processed, item put forth as a potentially good idea. Unfortunately, these tend to be candy bars in disguise. So while the front-of-package labeling may try to convince you that this is the perfect portable option, when you read the label you'll see that they are often high in sugar and don't have very much protein.

Good rules to follow

Starting your day the right way is easy. Here are the quick tips you need to know:

First and foremost it is important to start your day with breakfast. Don’t skip.
Eat protein, your body needs to refuel after the “fast” of sleeping.
Get fiber, supportive to your digestive system it also helps sustain you as your blood sugar balances out with this first meal of the day.
Limit sugar. Too much sugar (think cereals, syrups, muffins, etc) will cause a spike in insulin and then your body begins the blood sugar roller-coaster.
Avoid simple carbohydrates (pancakes, toast, boxed cereal) your body will digest them too quickly and they are not supportive of blood sugar stability.

Break away from the box

Because of the excellent marketing job by cereal manufacturers, we often think of breakfast as coming in a box. Or there's an association with certain foods for breakfast like bagels, pancakes, or waffles. But you don’t have to have what is considered “breakfast” food for breakfast if you don’t want to.

It's interesting how many people are fans of breakfast for dinner. But what about having dinner for breakfast instead? Of course, if that's something you're not ready for yet, below are some easy to make, tasty, and nutritious breakfast recipes to start your day.

A Mediterranean style breakfast would include olives and avocados which provide healthy fat, fresh fruit, hard-boiled eggs for protein, cucumber, and tomato salad with olive oil and fresh herbs. While this meal would typically come with bread or pita and either butter or labneh (a thickened yogurt cheese), you can simply skip that or serve the cheese by itself.
Sauteed greens, like kale, collards, or cabbage, with mushrooms, red onion and pine nuts sauteed in coconut oil is a fabulous veggie-rich start to the day. Add protein, either lentils, a chicken breast, or a couple of eggs, and a tablespoon of sauerkraut for a delicious start to the day.
Many people who don't like to eat breakfast find that smoothies can be a good way to start their day. Either by having a smoothie bowl 0r one of these superfood smoothies.
If you're looking for a really easy way to start your day there's always this crockpot breakfast casserole. Let your crockpot do all the work while you're sleeping. You wake up to a healthy breakfast.
If you still really want to have pancakes for breakfast you can bump them up a notch with the tasty recipe below

Banana-Nut Paleo Pancakes

A delicious, protein rich pancake. Great for breakfast or as a snack

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Course Breakfast

Cuisine Paleo

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

2 bananas
2 TBSP (heaping) almond butter
4 large eggs
1 Tbsp butter, divided

Instructions

Blend all ingredients together in a blender
Heat pan and grease with a little butter
Cook pancakes by pouring batter into pan in 1⁄4 cup amounts
When pancake starts to bubble flip and cook the other side
Serve with mashed fruit

Keyword breakfast, paleo, protein

Start with a real food breakfast, it's one of your first steps towards a healthy life.

[expand title="Sources"]

Bauer, LB, et al. A pilot study examining the effects of consuming a high-protein vs normal-protein breakfast on free-living glycemic control in overweight/obese 'breakfast skipping' adolescents. Int J Obes (Lond). 2015 Sep;39(9):1421-4.

Kobayashi, F, et al. Effect of breakfast skipping on diurnal variation of energy metabolism and blood glucose. Obes Res Clin Pract. 2014 May-Jun;8(3):e201-98.

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Reinventing Comfort

by Mirabreakfast, change, grains, habits, health, left overs

When I was a little girl my mother used to make something called rice cereal. My brother and I loved it. Leftover white rice in a bowl of hot milk with a huge dollop of butter and a spoonful of sugar on top. It brings back memories of the small kitchen we had when we were young. Sitting at the table with my brother, legs swinging, enjoying this dish which we viewed as a treat.

When my children were growing up I would make the same dish for them. And they loved it just as much. Even now my 16 year old will assemble a bowl if we have the ingredients at hand (which we often do). It was a great way to use up extra rice — filling, tasty, and warming to the tummy. I even served it on occasion to overnight guests. One such guest, a dear friend from my high-school days, exclaimed about this wonderful breakfast, wanting to know where the recipe came from. My answer? My mom. And probably from her mom. I think it was simply a frugal way to use leftovers. But it sure was, and still is, tasty.

Sometimes you have a day where you want comfort food. This morning was one of those days. As I was assembling, and then happily eating, my bowl of comfort I realized that I have changed the recipe. Modified it to be more in line with my healthier eating habits. But it was still just as comforting, warming and satisfying as it ever was. Reflecting on this I realized that the concept of comfort food is a state of mind. Yes it's a comfort to the tummy and makes us feel good; but part of what makes us feel good is the memories associated with that food. Changing the food doesn't change the comfort level as long as the basic concepts are the same.

So I'm making an offer, what are your comfort foods? What do you eat when you feel the need for that emotional lift? Share the recipe and the concept below. If you'd like (and please ask below) I'm happy to make suggestions to help boost the nutrition or health factor while still helping you get that bowl or plate of comfort you are after. Eating well to be well doesn't mean we can't still have comfort.

Reinventing Comfort

by Mirabreakfast, change, grains, habits, left overs

When I was a little girl my mother used to make something called rice cereal. My brother and I loved it. Leftover white rice in a bowl of hot milk with a huge dollop of butter and a spoonful of sugar on top. When I had children I would make the same dish for them. It was a great way to use up extra rice — filling, tasty, and warming to the tummy. I would even serve it to guests sometimes. One time a friend exclaimed about this wonderful dish, wanting to know where the recipe came from. My answer? My mom. And probably from her mom. I think it was simply a frugal way to use leftovers. But it sure was tasty.

Gluten-free In An Rv

by Miraadditives, breakfast, eggs, family, gluten free, immune system, pantry, recipes, vacation

Increasing numbers of people have food allergies, sensitivities or intolerances these days. There are a lot of theories as to why this is, but the bottom line is that it can make it very difficult for folks to eat outside their home. Maintaining a healthy pantry is critical for these folks, as is an awareness of what to look for when eating on the road.

Now that summer is over and the kids are back in school, it's time to get back to the regular routine while daydreaming of summer vacations. My friend Tina recently shared the story of her family and their ability to take a long-awaited cross-country family vacation. It's wonderful that they were able to achieve this dream, and a definite testament to how much advance preparation they had to do to be able to make this trip a reality.

Traveling gluten-free and dairy-free definitely changes what you do and how you do it. Our family has dreamed of a cross-country trip for years. Those dreams were challenged by the fact that my husband is very sensitive to gluten and dairy… even a crumb or drop can leave him with asthma and GI problems for weeks. We decided that the best way to travel would be to take our kitchen with us and do most of our own cooking. With the help of a friend who lent us their RV we were able to do finally make our dream come true and take this trip.

Starting from CT, going across the northern states, down California, then returning via the southern states and up the eastern coast it was a wonderful adventure. We were so happy our dream could become a reality and we had a great time. However we definitely had to consider how we would feed my gluten and dairy-free husband along the way.

Carefully considering our menus we pre-stocked the kitchen with gluten and dairy-free staples we knew we could have a hard time finding on our travels across the country. Not every area of the country offers a wide range of dietary choices and not every store has things like:

rice/potato pastas
gluten-free pretzels
gluten-free bread crumbs
gluten-free bread
dairy-free buttery spread
gluten-free chicken broths
gluten-free, dairy-free cold cuts
gluten-dairy free brownie mix
gluten-dairy free cake mix (we had some birthdays to celebrate along the way)
corned beef without anything added in (in the midwest a lot of stores only sold corned beef with everything already added in and we couldn't trust it)

Our dinner meals were usually a meat (chicken, steak, pork, burger), sometimes breaded with veggies or a stir-fry with brown rice.

One family favorite is a breakfast that we usually have in the winter before spending the day snowmobiling out in the cold. It's tasty, filling, and an easy on-the-road breakfast.

The Berge's Hash and Eggs

Can of corned beef (plain, no potatoes added)
4 potatoes (or as many as you feel is adequate for the # of people you have), diced
3-4 T. olive oil
1 onion, diced
ground pepper, to taste
onion powder (optional)
eggs (1 or 2 per person)

Put the onion in a frying pan with a 1 T. oil until softened.
Add the potatoes, more oil if needed, and cook until potatoes start getting soft.
Add the corned beef and brown it all (no need to add salt since the corned beef has it already)
Season with pepper and more onion powder if needed

When the hash is browned remove from the pan and set aside
Cook the eggs (we like sunny side up)
Place eggs on top of the hash and serve

It's so delicious and for lunch you can get by with just a piece of fruit and some nuts or other light meal… works great when you're travelling around for the day.

My husband's diet influenced us in other ways as well. We ate “out” at a restaurant only twice during the five weeks we were on the road. Before being seated we would ask our server lots of questions about whether they could accomodate us; if they said they could, we would try it. However there was always that feeling of playing “Russian Roulette” with his GI system since you're never really “sure” that the chef and wait person “get it.”

While we were on the road we would seek out health food stores and would be in heaven if we found a gluten-free bakery or somewhere with treats (we were on vacation after all!). We were surprised to find that out west people do not know what italian ices are. There's a market to be tapped there, for sure!

We talked a lot about how it would be great if there were some quick, healthy drive-thru type places where gluten and dairy free people could find food. Unfortunately it doesn't exist, even the salads are usually tainted with croutons and/or cheese. It was eye opening how much harder it is to travel when you don't fit into the majority.

Travelling with food allergies can be a great experience if you plan ahead on how to find or make foods that work. Yes, it would be nice to be able to eat out a little more often while on vacation (food is half the fun of vacation!) but we were able to manage. The good news is that the States seem to be getting more aware of food allergies and it is definitely easier to find gluten-free and dairy-free foods than it was 10 years ago.

photo courtesy of: Bill Ward's Brickpile

Banana Oat Pancakes

by Mirabaking, breakfast, gluten free, oats, pancake, recipes, vegetarian

Do you love pancakes?

We love pancakes in our house. They are a great, easy to make, healthy, whole-grain breakfast. Throw in some fresh fruit and maybe a little homemade Greek yogurt and it's the perfect meal to start your day…filling, nutritious, blood-sugar balancing, and, most importantly, delicious. Of course, pancakes are also delicious at any time [breakfast for dinner anyone?].

Using whole grains

I love it when I find a recipe that is so perfect it doesn't need anything else. This recipe is one of them. From my King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking book, it's a recipe that is a consistent favorite. I love the fact that it's made from whole grains. Although I make my own oat flour by grinding oat groats you can easily make it at home by placing old fashioned oats in the food processor or blender and blending it until it reaches a fine consistency. If that's more than you are willing to do you can also just buy it, both Arrowhead Mills and Bob's Red Mill sell oat flour or you can get certified gluten-free oat flour from Legacy Valley or Cream Hill Estates.

As a quick side note, because oats tend to be grown near, stored with or transported with other glutinous grains, most specifically wheat, if you're following a gluten-free diet you'll need to make sure you're getting certified gluten-free oats. Certified producers grow and process only oats, guaranteeing that there is no cross-contamination.

This recipe is simple and delicious. One of the things that my family likes so much about it is that the pancakes are very fluffy. You don't realize that these are whole grain oat pancakes they are that light and airy. The bananas combined with the cinnamon and nutmeg make it a delicious way to start your day. I also like having another great recipe that allows me to use up any almost over-ripe bananas.

King Arthur Flour's Banana-Oat Pancakes

2020-02-24 16:50:29

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Ingredients

3 small bananas mashed
2 T. unsalted butter melted (use organic)
1 T. lemon juice
1 T. sugar (I reduce this to 1 t. as the bananas when they are this ripe have a lot of natural sugars)
2 eggs
1 C. oat flour
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. ground nutmeg

Instructions

Stir together the mashed bananas, butter, lemon juice and sugar in a medium bowl.
Beat in the eggs.
Whisk together the oat flour, baking soda, salt and spices in a small bowl.
Form a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients.
Stir the batter just until the dry ingredients are thoroughly moistened.
Check to be sure the batter is thin enough for your pancakes; you may need to add a touch of milk or water (I never do)
Let the batter sit 10 minutes before using.
Heat a nonstick griddle or heavy skillet.
If your surface is not non-stick brush it lightly with vegetable oil.
When the surface is ready spoon batter 1/4 C. at a time into the pan.
Let the pancakes cook on the first side until bubbles begin to for around the edges, 3-4 minutes.
When the pancakes are just beginning to set flip then and let them cook on the second side, about 1 1/2 minutes more.
You can sprinkle toasted walnuts over the batter just before cooking as an extra treat.

By King Arthur Flour

The Ingredient Guru, Mira Dessy https://theingredientguru.com/

Step By Step, Food Changes

by Mirabreakfast, change, questions, substitutions

Meg wrote in with the following, “For me, to truly change my eating habits, I have to go in very small and tasty steps. Once I find a healthier food or drink that I really like, after a few weeks of eating that I don't miss the junk stuff and don't feel deprived.

It would be great to find recipes / meal plans that “step you down” from junk to healthy organic by offering variations from A to B. For example, I've switched my typical breakfast from decaf with halzelnut non-dairy creamer and a cinnamon raisin bagel with cream cheese by first switching to whole wheat toast with a scrape of butter and cinnamon-sugar, then to one slice with the sugar, and finally to one slice of whole wheat bread with a scrape of butter or Nutella and a few spoonfuls of organic yogurt with walnuts.

I'm ready to tackle the (processed) decaf coffee with (chemical) halzelnut-flavored non-dairy creamer. Trouble is I really, really like the flavor and I don't really like the taste of green tea (yet). Can you recommend a healthier breakfast beverage replacement that could be transformed in stages? “

I find that lots of folks really like their coffee and have a hard time giving it up. Part of it is the chemical addiction to caffeine. What's actually more harmful than the caffeine is the flavored non-dairy creamer. With Mono and Diglycerides, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Dipotassium Phosphate, and Sodium Caseinate this is not food. I would say there is nothing wrong with one cup of coffee in the morning to get you started, just use real cream instead. If you want to give up caffeine and switch to decaf that's certainly a good thing to do, but that real cream is going to make it taste a whole lot better. And it goes without saying that organic dairy is best, read this article for more information about that issue. Green tea is certainly a great option, filled with anti-oxidants, but maybe starting with one cup of coffee and then switching to green tea for your other beverage choices (including water, water, water, and herbal teas) is the way to go.

The most important thing to remember about your breakfast menu is that you want to make sure you are getting some good protein, some fiber, and a healthy fat. This will help you make it through the morning with stable blood sugar. When choosing your bread make sure that you are getting WHOLE GRAIN instead of just whole wheat. Unfortunately whole wheat doesn't have all of the parts of the grain, so it's not as healthy. Marketers are aware of how much we look for those key words and so be aware that multi-grain is also not whole grain. For butter, choose a good, organic, butter and you can have more than just a scrape. For your yogurt and walnuts, that's a great choice. Organic full fat yogurt is best. Again, it helps you feel full, gives you the protein that you need and helps you start your morning with a stable blood sugar.

Top Tips For Sequential Eating Or How To Use Leftovers

by Mirabreakfast, left overs, recipes, substitutions

Although I am a fan of leftovers others in the house are less excited by the repetition of certain dishes. Being a big fan of not wasting food, and a new fan of Jonathan Bloom's blog Wasted Food I try to look for creative ways to repackage if you will, the offerings at the dinner table.

One way to do this is to take a moment and plan your menu, seeing what can be re-created from what you have already made. Here are a couple of examples of planning meals so that you are using leftovers for the next meal. I should note, by the way, that my favorite method is to turn dinner foods into breakfast foods as it makes food prep in the morning – a typically hectic time – a little easier.

The best and easiest sequential plan is to roast a chicken. Leftovers can be turned into a different dish, such as a pot pie. And the bones, of course, get turned into a delicious nourishing broth.

Making Tuscan Stew with polenta for dinner typically means there is leftover polenta. I take that polenta, pan fry it, top it with an over easy egg, top that with some homemade mushroom marinara and it becomes breakfast. Since polenta is made with stoneground, or fresh ground, corn meal, it's a delicious way to add some fiber to your morning and help get you off to a good start. Pan frying the polenta gives a nice change to the texture and provides a tasty base to the egg and sauce. And in case you're wondering, the Tuscan Stew by itself is delicious as leftovers and I typically have it for lunch the next day.

One of my favorite dinners is from my Fast Fun Freezer Meals. It's sauteed sausage, onions, and peppers. The leftovers usually get turned into an omelet in the morning. Adding leftover veggies or dinner dishes into omelets, frittatas, or an egg scramble of some kind is a great way to utilize them. All the prep and cooking is done, which makes breakfast cooking a snap.

For dinnertime leftover usage we can get creative by rummaging through the fridge. Soup and/or chili is a great way to incorporate a lot of little-bit leftovers. Adding fresh sauteed onions, a tasty broth or sauce, and making sure the spice combinations go together well (in the case of soup, curry does not pair well with Italian spice, I'm just saying…) you can hide almost anything. Add in a salad and it's a whole new meal.

Last but not least is the shepherd's pie trick; you can hide almost anything under that crust. Taking your leftovers, combining them with added vegetables, if needed, under a mashed potato or sweet potato crust which is then baked in the oven, you've got a new meal that doesn't take a lot of time, saves money (because you're not throwing out ingredients) and keeps everyone from getting bored with the same old leftovers.

Taking a few minutes to plan your meals will save you time and money while still allowing you to provide delicious and nutritious meals for your family.

Banana French Toast

by Mirabaking, breakfast, recipes, substitutions, vegetarian

Banana french toast makes a delicious breakfast. It's a great way to use up that last banana or two that is close to the edge if you don't have any more room in your freezer.

I freeze bananas two different ways. Peeled and stored in a ziplock they are great for throwing in to smoothies. The frozen consistency gives a little “slush” to the smoothie. If I'm going to use them for baking I leave them in their peels. That way when they are thawed you can snip the ends and they “goosh” right out.

But we've had our fill of smoothies and banana-baked goods lately. Not wanting to store the last banana I decided to use it up a different way. When they were little my girls used to make banana milk by blending together a banana, a cup of milk, and a splash of vanilla. I did made some and soaked the bread in it (leaving out the egg) to make banana French toast. It was delicious. A nice delicate banana-y flavor and we didn't even miss the egg at all. You could even make this vegan by using almond or rice milk instead of cow's milk. I topped mine with some orange marmalade and it was fabulous.

So if you need another way to use up some bananas give this a try, I think you'll enjoy it.

photo courtesy of commons.wikimedia.org

Ricotta Pancakes With Honey Glazed Plums

by Mirabreakfast, gluten free, grains, oats, pancake, recipes, vegetarian

Cooking and baking is always an adventure. Inspiration is all around you if you are open to it. There's no real explanation for why or how ideas come together but I can honestly say that frequently it's a matter of "oh gosh there's X in the fridge and I better use it up." Then I make something using that ingredient.

Most of the time I make tried and true recipes, either my own or those from trusted cookbooks. Sometimes the inspiration is something I ate elsewhere that I really liked and have been given the recipe. Other times the recipes find me but I somehow can't help playing with them a little bit.

Recipe inspiration

Such is the case with today's breakfast. The inspiration was a click-through Twitter post that brought me to Almost Bourdain's (AB's) blog, which I just discovered and like a lot. He credits his inspiration for this recipe to Bill Granger, I credit my inspiration to him. It's kind of neat how that works, we're all connected by this idea of ricotta in pancakes but we each put a slightly different twist to it; all of them, I'm sure, very delicious.

Substitute with what you have

My changes came about because I am trying to work more with gluten-free recipes lately. These are for a few people I know who are faced with gluten sensitivity. It's also, as always, inspired by what I have on hand.

AB's version calls for bananas and honeycomb. I didn't have enough bananas but did have plums. I didn't have any honeycomb either (and I miss my friends from CT who used to supply me with it) but I did have honey. Together with some breakfast sausage this made a great meal and is definitely on the repeat again list. I hope you like it too.

Honestly, these were fabulous. I would even consider serving them as a dessert by making the pancakes smaller and putting a dollop of creme fraiche on top with a dusting of cinnamon. Yum!

Ricotta Pancakes with Honey Glazed Plums

Indulge your taste buds with these luxurious ricotta pancakes topped with honey-glazed plums. The creamy texture of ricotta cheese combined with the sweetness of honey-glazed plums creates a decadent breakfast treat.

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Ingredients

For the pancakes:
1 1/3 C. ricotta cheese
3/4 C. buttermilk (for a little tang to offset the honey glazed plums)
4 eggs separated
1/2 C. fresh ground oat flour
1/2 C. fresh ground brown rice flour
1 t. baking powder
1 t. vanilla
pinch salt
For honey-glazed plums:
2 plums
2 T. honey
1/2 t. cinnamon
2 t. butter

Instructions

Pancake instructions:
Beat egg whites until peaks form, set aside
Mix ricotta, egg yolks, vanilla, and buttermilk together until well blended
Mix together flours, baking powder and salt
Gently add flours into ricotta mixture
Gently fold egg whites into mixture until just blended
Grop by 1/4 C. measure into medium hot, greased pan
After 2 minutes flip to cook other side
Instructions for plums:
Cut plums into bite sized pieces
Toss with honey and cinnamon
In a medium-hot pan melt butter
Add plum mixture and stir until plums begin to soften just a little (about 7 minutes)
Serve pancakes with plums on top

Healthy Granola Recipes

by Mirabreakfast, gluten free, nuts, oats, recipes, vegetariangranola, recipe

The kitchen is fragrant with the smells of baking granola right now.

Steve and the kids like to eat it as a bowl of cereal, I prefer it as a garnish on top of a bowl of yogurt and fruit, as an added treat to a bowl of muesli, or as a crumb topping for making muffins.

One of the reasons that I like to make my own granola is because I can control the flavor and the sweetness; I also believe I save money by making my own.

Bear Naked Apple Cinnamon Granola is $4.85 for approximately 3 cups, Kashi Mountain Medley Granola is $4.56 for approximately 3.5 cups and my homemade version comes out at around $3.65 for 6 cups.

Because I want less sugar in my granola it is admittedly less crunchy but we find it to be very flavorful and enjoy it a lot. Taste testings with friends and family shows that they like it too.

The most recent batch is apricot, raisin, walnut, and cinnamon. The kids were very eager to "taste test" it as it came out of the oven, I had to fend them off with my mixing spoon so that it could cool properly.

Great Granola

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Ingredients

3 T. honey
3 T. molasses
1/3 C. oil
4 C. rolled oats
1 C. nuts, chopped
1 C. dried fruit
1/4 C. flax seed, ground
1 t. vanilla
spices, optional (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, etc)

Instructions

In a small pot on the stove mix honey, molasses and oil
Heat until just starting to bubble, stirring to mix well
Place oats in a large ovenproof dish
Pour liquid mixture over oats and stir well to coat evenly
Bake for 10 minutes
Remove from oven, stir well, add nuts and return to oven
Bake for 10 minutes
Remove from oven, stir well, add dried fruit and return to oven
Bake for 10 minutes
Remove from oven, stir well, add flax seeds, vanilla and any spices if desired
Let cool completely before storing in a container
Enjoy!

My friend Christine also shared her chocolate granola recipe. She said it's a big hit with her family, I'm sure it will be for yours as well.

With the addition of ground flax and coconut oil, this recipe provides some great fatty acids (flax seeds have omega-3 while coconut oil has medium-chain fatty acids). These healthy fats help provide satiety, or fullness, which means it helps fill you up. Dark chocolate and cocoa provide antioxidants, especially epicatechin (found also in green tea), which protect against cardiovascular disease.

Chocolate Granola

My friend Christine's recipe

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Ingredients

Mix in crock pot:
7 C. organic old fashioned oats
1/2 C. ground flax
1/4 C. organic brown sugar
1/2 C. shredded coconut
Pinch of sea salt
½ C. raw honey
2 T. maple syrup
¼ C. coconut oil
2 T. cocoa powder

Instructions

Mix well and heat on low all day, stir once in while.
After slightly browned (4-6 hours on low) stir in:
½ C. 70% chocolate or darker, finely chopped
1 C. chopped almonds & walnuts
Cool completely then store in an airtight container

Next recipe is...I was trying to decide what to call this cereal. It's probably somewhere in between granola and muesli.

It's not really granola because it doesn't have the hard, crunchy bits that so many people like in granola (mine is less crunchy mostly because I use less sweet stuff). However, muesli (pronounced moos-lee), isn't baked at all. Rather it's mixed together - flaked grains, nuts, seeds, and dried fruits.

Anyway, "muesola" sounds silly. On the other hand, "gruesli" sounds completely unappetizing. I think I'll stick with calling it granola and leave well enough alone.

Granola

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Ingredients

4 C. flaked grains - oats, quinoa, your preference
1 C. raw, unsalted nuts, chopped - my favorites are pecans or almonds
1/4 C. flax seed, ground
1/4 C. sesame seeds
1/4 C. raw, unsalted sunflower seeds
1/4 C. raw, unsalted pumpkin seeds

Instructions

Mix ingredients together well
Store in an airtight container
If making muesli:
Place 1/3 C. of the mixture into a bowl
Add 2-4 T. of dried fruit
Mix in 2/3 C. milk, yogurt, or apple juice
Cover and place in the fridge overnight
In the morning top with 1/4 apple, grated and spicesYum!
If making granola:
Preheat oven to 350F
Put dry mixture into a large 9 x 13 casserole dish
In a saucepan mix together1/3 C. honey - I prefer raw and local1/3 C. molasses1/3 C. coconut oil
Heat in a small pot until just starting to bubble
Pour mixture over the base recipe, coating evenly
Bake 30 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes to avoid burning
Pull mixture out of the oven and sprinkle with 2 t. vanilla extract, incorporating well
Let mixture cool completely before storing in an airtight container
To serve:
Place 1/3 C. of the mixture into a bowl
Add 2-4 T. dried or fresh fruit
Mix in milk to the desired level
Enjoy!