Posted on

Banana Pumpkin Breakfast bars

I had some leftover pumpkin puree in my fridge and it’s still pumpkin season so I decided to experiment with my breakfast bars! They are hearty and filling, a great weekday breakfast when you’re in a hurry. I like to make a batch on Sunday night and they’ll last us (family of 3) for at least 3-4 mornings. The recipe below gives you just a hint of sweetness, so you can definitely adjust that if you want something a bit sweeter.

Total Prep Time: 30 minutes

Serves 10-12

Ingredients:

3 Large, very ripe bananas

2 cups Pumpkin puree

5 cups Quick oats

1 cup Milk

1/3 cup Honey or Maple syrup

1 tbsp Vanilla extract

2 tbsp Cinnamon

1/2 tsp All spice

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. In a large mixing bowl, mash the bananas. Add all of the other ingredients and mix well.

Grease a 9×13 glass baking dish. Pour mix into the dish and spread out until even. Bake until top is browned and dry – 20-25 minutes depending on oven. Let cool and bars will firm up. Cut into bars and enjoy warm or cold!

Choose your own adventure:

As mentioned, add extra honey or maple syrup if you want them on the sweeter side.

This is already a riff on the original recipe, so you start to see the possibilities. I have also made versions with bits of apple and once with plum. All have been a hit in our house, especially with my 3 year old!

Dial up the cinnamon and all spice if you want it more pumpkin pie-ish.

Posted on

Banana Peach Breakfast Bars

This is a family favourite that makes a perfect weekday breakfast when you’re hurrying to get everyone out the door. It’s super easy to make, healthy, and surprisingly filling. I haven’t posted in quite awhile because there has been a lot going on but with peach season coming to an end soon, I’ve made this a couple times this month and needed to share it!

Total Prep Time: 30 minutes

Serves 8-10

Ingredients:

4             Large, very ripe bananas

3             Ripe peaches, diced

4 cups    Quick oats

1 cup      Milk

1 tbsp     Cinnamon

1 tbsp     Vanilla Extract

4 tbsp     Honey

3 tbsp     Cashew butter

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F. In a large mixing bowl, mash the bananas. Add all of the other ingredients and mix well.

Grease a 9×13 glass baking dish. Pour mix into the dish and spread out until even. Bake for 20-25 minutes depending on oven. Let cool and bars will firm up. Cut into bars and enjoy warm or cold!

Choose your own adventure:

Use any nut butter you prefer but I would stick to “nut only” options so you aren’t adding unnecessary sugar.

It’s peach season so I added peaches, but any other fruit would work that goes with banana. Maybe strawberry or blueberry?

Dial the honey up or down to your desired sweetness. I’ve also used vanilla agave before for some added flavour.

The ratios can be tricky on this one. If there is too much fruit, the bars might not firm up completely. In that case, just grab a fork and enjoy!

Posted on

Cheesy Eggs Florentine

I love going out for brunch and my usual go-to is Eggs Florentine. When cooking at home, there is no way I’m going to take the time to make a proper hollandaise sauce! This is my twist on the classic for a quicker, healthier version.

Total Prep Time: 20 minutes

Serves 1

Ingredients:

1             English muffin, toasted

2             Eggs

1 cup      Spinach, tightly packed

2 slices   Tomato

1/3 cup   Cheddar cheese, grated

Salt & pepper

Directions:

Blanch the spinach in boiling water and then pat dry in a paper towel. Be careful not to overcook the spinach – it only takes a couple of minutes. (Another option is to wilt the spinach in the microwave – 90 sec with a dash of water and a lid with one corner open to let steam escape should do it)

Bring water to a low simmer in a small saucepan to poach your eggs. I use poaching pods but you can also go for it the ‘real’ way (How to poach an egg). Depending on how runny you like your eggs, they should cook for 3-5 minutes.

Evenly distribute the wilted spinach on the two toasted english muffin halves. Then continue layering with tomato and an egg on each half. Sprinkle with the cheddar cheese and season with salt and pepper as desired. The trick is to coordinate so that everything is ready at the same time so that nothing gets cold.

Choose your own adventure:

Switch up the veggies if you don’t actually want the ‘Florentine’ in Eggs Florentine. Another great option would be to spread mashed avocado on the english muffin and then layer with sauteed mushrooms before the eggs and cheese. You could also try frying the tomato slices and seasoning them with garlic powder and oregano.

I’ve tried havarti instead of cheddar and that worked well. A spicy cheese like a jalapeno monterey jack would be good too.

A little hot sauce or sriracha never hurt anything.

Posted on

Banana Pancakes with Peaches

Peach season is just wrapping up in Ontario so I wanted to enjoy some one last time. If you haven’t tried the ‘banana & egg pancakes’ trend yet, you need to fix that asap! This is my late-summer take on the healthier pancake – I hope you enjoy it!

Total Prep Time: 30 minutes

Serves 3-4

Ingredients:

4             Bananas

4             Eggs

2 tsp       Cinnamon

2 tsp       Vanilla extract

2 tsp       Agave syrup or Honey

1 cup       Quick oats

1/2 cup   Natural Peanut Butter

2-3           Peaches, cut into wedges

1 tbsp      Butter

Maple syrup

Directions:

Mash the bananas in a large mixing bowl. Add the eggs, 1 tsp cinnamon, vanilla, and agave syrup, and stir until well mixed. Add the oats and peanut butter, and stir again until well mixed. Set aside until griddle is warmed up to medium-high heat.

Melt the butter in a frying pan at medium heat. Add the peaches and the remaining cinnamon. Stir occasionally as the peaches cook for 8-10 minutes.

While the peaches are cooking, you can start scooping the pancake batter onto the griddle (or large frying pan) as you would with normal pancake mix. Pour about 1/4 cup of batter per pancake and space pancakes an inch apart. They will be thick because of the oats and won’t spread too much. Flip when bottom has browned and pancakes have started to set. They are ready once the other side is browned.

Serve the pancakes immediately, topped with maple syrup and the peaches.

Choose your own adventure:

You can use regular peanut butter if you don’t have natural. In that case, I would omit the agave as you won’t need the extra sweetness. You could also experiment with other nut butters. These have turned out really well cashew butter.

Use whatever fruit is in season as a topping. In June/July, I do sliced strawberries. In the winter, add some chocolate chips to the batter and top with sliced banana. When it starts to cool off in the fall, I’ll swap the peaches for apples.

Posted on

Mango Avocado Toast

This is my favourite brunch in the summer. Not only is it very quick and easy to make, but it’s a great balance of being surprisingly light, yet satisfying. The avocado and mango pair perfectly with the heat of the salsa.

Total Prep Time: 15 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients:

4          Large slices of grainy bread

1          Avocado

1          Mango

8          Eggs

Green Salsa

Salt, Pepper & Cayenne

Butter

Directions:

Lightly toast bread.

Dice avocado and mango, and combine in bowl. Season to taste with salt, pepper and cayenne (very little is needed). Spoon mixture evenly onto toast.

Melt butter in frying pan and crack eggs into pan. Depending on the size of your pan, you may only be able to fit 4 eggs at a time. Fry until egg whites are cooked but yolk is still runny.

Place 2 eggs on each piece of toast and top with green salsa.

Choose your own adventure:

Try different types of bread. I prefer the grainy kind, but rye is also nice.

Play with the spice level. Go for an extra spicy salsa (Mango & Jalapeno would go nicely) or crank up the cayenne.