Let them eat cake... or in this case bread!

I LOVE bread! Honestly, I love bread in almost any form possible.  Wheat bread, yum! Baguettes, yum! Rolls, yum! Bagels, yum! You get the hint.  Take bread, add more yummy ingredients, and remove some of the processed stuff and I'm drooling!

Today's adventure in the kitchen was making a banana raspberry bread without so much sugar.  While I will ALWAYS eat chocolate, because seriously who could give that up, I want to limit my refined sugar intake.  I have to stay, it smells and tastes delicious.  It's not a light and airy as those boxed quick breads but I think it's much better for you.

I started with three very ripe bananas and 1 1/2 cups of frozen raspberries.  You can use fresh raspberries, I just prefer how the frozen ones mash.  While mashing those I put just under 3 cups of old-fashioned oats in my blender and turned it on
low for several minutes.  I also subbed honey for the brown sugar and unsweetened applesauce for the eggs.  After adding all the ingredients to one bowl, I mixed them up and added them to the bread pan.  Baked it at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes and now have a bread I wish I didn't have to share.

Chocolate Raspberry Banana Oatmeal Bread

Ingredients

3 cups of old-fashioned oats

3 very ripe bananas

1 1/2 cups raspberries

1 1/2 teaspoons baking power

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon honey

1/2 cup apple sauce

1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9x5 loaf pan.  

Make oat flour but placing 3 cups of oats in blender and blending until it resembles flour.  While the oats are blending mash the bananas and raspberries in a medium to large mixing bowl.  

To the banana and raspberry mash add 2 cups of the oat flour (there will be a little extra which you can put aside for another use) and all other ingredients.  Mix well and add to the loaf pan.  Does anyone really want to mix all the wet ingredients in one bowl, all the dry ingredients in another, and blend slowly if they don't have to?  Plus, who wants more than 1 dirty bowl to wash?

Bake for 35-40 minutes and done! Now let it cool.  Seriously, this step sucks but is a must if you don't want it to get stuck to the bottom of the pan, burn your fingers, or burn your mouth.

Eat, Drink, and be Merry!

The ten days we spent in England and France were simply amazing! There were so many things to see, do, and of course taste.  My favorite thing was probably the food. Between the street vendors, the bakeries, picnicking, and the amazing restaurants my taste buds were rejoicing! There were dishes that with a single bite hugged you and made you feel at home as well as some that the blend of flavors danced across your tongue with every bite.  Every dining experience was different and most were amazing.

Enjoying his first
 cask beer

When we landed in London we didn't have anything planned besides what train we were catching to head to Paris, to have lunch in London, and dinner in Paris.  We got of the tube, explored a bit, and stopped into a cute little pub for a pint of cask beer and some fish and chips.  While it was okay it wasn't great.That evening after settling into our flat we walked around Montmartre, Paris and walked into a restaurant when we started to get hungry.  Again, the food wasn't awful, it just wasn't good.  The service was rushed and cold and it wasn't at all what I was expecting.  I thought the dining experience in France was supposed to be slow paced, enjoying your food, wine, and company of those with you not fast paced and pushing you out the door before you even swallowed the last sip of wine.  This was when we decided no more just walking into restaurants in touristy areas.  We would do a little homework if you will before picking out the next restaurant.

Bakery breakfast at
Jardin des Halles

That night we found a little bakery with rave reviews to try out the next morning, it was Boulangerie Julien a Paris.  The croissants and quiche were divine.   The croissant melted in your mouth and had such a light, airy, and buttery taste.  It didn't need anything with it, it tasted wonderful.  The quiche was just as tasty with each of it's ingredients blending perfectly.  We ordered our croissants and quiche and walked a couple blocks to Jardin des Halles and enjoyed our breakfast. Even the baguette was delicious all on it's own. They had sandwiches that were also wonderful! We enjoyed a couple of those during our time in Paris too.


Almost as good as the bakeries were the street vendors that sell crepes.  Mmm, my favorite were the banana and Nutella crepes.  Just watching them spread out the batter, then spread on the Nutella, and slice the banana made my mouth water.  The Nutella was always so warm and melted and the banana was never cold but also not hot.  They have it down to a science.  I enjoyed the first one so much that I "forgot" to share it until there was only one or two bites left, oops!

While our first day was off to a shaky start dining wise the rest of our time was filled with wonderful foods! I highly recommend doing a little research to find some great bakeries but also enjoy a little spontaneity. We popped into a couple other small bakeries and were never disappointed but the baguettes at Boulangerie Julien a Paris were my favorite.  We randomly selected where to stop for crepes and while they weren't all the same they were all good but some made me feel warm and at home.

For the love of oats!

I don't know what it is but I love oats... I love oatmeal, overnight oats, oats with a twist, oatmeal cookies, granola bars, granola, and even my favorite veggie burger has oats in it.  In my never ending goal to eat as little processed food as possible I decided to experiment with making my own granola.  I'm not a big cereal lover but I love having a bowl of granola with milk or even dry granola as a snack.

About 10 months ago a friend shared a recipe with me for homemade granola bars and I thought, "Wahoo! These will be great!" Then I saw how much brown sugar I needed to add along with honey, maple syrup, and other items that would sweeten them naturally.  I figured I would just skip the butter and brown sugar and they would be fine.  Ha! I modified them a little too much (I also put way less honey because I'm not a fan of the taste of honey) and while it was darn tasty it was not a granola bar.  There was no way whatever that was was holding the granola bar shape but it was pretty good granola just not quite perfect for me.

Last week I decided to try my hand again at making my own granola and started a hunt for a great granola recipe.  I found a few that seemed like they would be tasty and they all had mixed reviews.  I decided to take what I liked about the recipes I saw as well as what I liked about the granola bar recipe I tried and get a little creative and the end result was perfectly sweet but not to sweet and easy to make granola.

I started with pure maple syrup, honey, vanilla extract, and safflower oil.  After I whisked those ingredients together I added in the old-fashioned oats, chopped walnuts, chopped almonds, and unsalted peanut butter.  I lined a baking sheet with parchment paper and then spread out the granola mixture.  I baked it for 15 minutes then added in the dried cranberries and baked for an additional 10 minutes.

This recipe would be great with sunflower seeds, any type of nut, and different dried fruit mix-ins.  Next time I think I will add some mini chocolate chips to satisfy my sweet tooth. Seriously, this granola took all of 10 minutes to prep and put in to containers after it cooked. I love that not only was it tasty but it was easy and quick.

For the Love of Oats Granola

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp Oil (I used safflower)
• 1/3 cup Maple Syrup
• 2 tbsp Honey
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract
• 3 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup Walnuts- chopped
• 1/2 cup Almonds- chopped
• 1/3 cup unsalted, smooth peanut butter
• 1/3-1/2 cup dried cranberries
• Any other add-ins you might like

Directions

• In a large bowl whisk together the oil, maple syrup, honey, and vanilla extract.
• Add all remaining ingredients except the dried cranberries, combine, and spread into a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
• Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 15 minutes.
• Take out of the oven, mix in dried cranberries, and return to the oven for 10 additional minutes.
• Let cool and enjoy! 

Overnight Oats With a Twist

For my morning snack I almost always eat an overnight oatmeal cup that I have added fresh berries too but not anymore.  I will still have overnight oats but not daily anymore because right now I am addicted to my overnight oats with a twist.  I found a recipe for breakfast cookies which I will just say are not cookies by any stretch of the imagination.  If you need to eat it with a spoon it's probably not a cookie! I liked the general idea of it so off to the "test kitchen" I went.

The overnight oats with a twist are simple.  I made a batch of 6 (or 12, haha) for the week for the two of us on Sunday and store them in the little 4 ounce mason jars.  Each mason jar ends up having 1/3 cup of oats, 1/2 a banana, 1/6 of a cup of unsweetened apple sauce, and 1 teaspoon of peanut butter (I use Teddie's smooth, no salt added) plus any other add-ins you might want.

I tried different amounts of each ingredient, unsweetened apple sauce, almond milk, coconut milk, and water and what I listed about was my favorite blend.  I simply put all the ingredients in a bowl, mash the banana, and mix it all together.  It is simple but is oh so good and I love that it is naturally sweet while having carbs, fruit, and protein.

I have added chocolate chips to it (peanut butter, banana, and chocolate, yes please!) and also tried berries, while both were good this recipe really doesn't *need* anything.  It is really good on it's own.  I hope you enjoy it too! If you try it let me know what you thought.

Enjoy!

Overnight Oats With a Twist

Ingredients

1/3 cup of old-fashioned oats

1/2 a banana

1/6 cup unsweetened apple sauce

1 teaspoon unsalted peanut butter (I use Teddie's smooth, no salt added)

Directions

Mash the banana in a bowl, add in the three other ingredients, and mix until well blended.  Then add the mixture to a small container that can be covered (I use 4 oz mason jars) and refrigerate overnight.  

A dairy free and not so sweet twist on sweet potato casserole

I will first confess that I really love sweet potatoes but have never tried sweet potato casserole.  A couple weeks ago I asked what I could bring to a family Christmas party and I was asked to bring sweet potato casserole.  "Hmm, okay.  Off to Pinterest I go," I thought.  After reading a few recipes and one from my favorite vegan blog I decided to blend a couple recipes together but stick a little truer to the vegan blog recipe.

My first attempt at making the sweet potato casserole was a hit with the family but I wasn't very thrilled.  Even though I used less sugar and maple syrup than called for it was still too sweet and that sweetness overpowered the sweet potatoes.  My second attempt for Christmas dinner was much more to my liking.

So here is the link to the vegan sweet potato casserole I used as a guide This ain't your Grandma's Sweet Potato Casserole .  She calls for vegan butter and while Kai and I limit our dairy we would rather use a small amount of butter than something full of chemicals, soy, or other artificial ingredients.  I will play around with different flours next time but this time we just used all-purpose flour because I didn't think oat flour would have the right taste and texture we were looking for.

I made this with 3lbs of sweet potatoes instead of just 4 large potatoes and thankfully I had my trusty prep cook, Kai to wash and dice all the potatoes for me.  After washed and diced I dumped them in a pan, covered them with water, and cooked them until tender.  I then mashed the potatoes with 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter, added 2 tablespoons of maple syrup, 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract, a little bit of salt, a teaspoon of nutmeg, and a teaspoon of cinnamon.

After mashing the potatoes and blending all the ingredients I transferred it to a stone casserole dish.  In a small bowl I combined  1/4 cup of unsalted butter, 1/3 cup brown sugar, and 1/3 cup of flour and spread on top of the sweet potato casserole and then baked in the oven for 45 minutes.

Sweet Potato Casserole

Filling

• 3 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and cooked
• 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter
• 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract 
• 2 tablespoons of pure maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon of fine grain sea salt
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon 

Topping

• 1/4 cup of unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup flour

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. Peel and boil the sweet potatoes until tender.  I always chop my potatoes before cooking them. 
3. Mash the sweet potatoes with the butter and then add in vanilla, maple syrup, and spices. 
4. Pour into a casserole dish.
5. Combine the three topping ingredients and then sprinkle on top of the casserole.
6. Bake for approximately 45 minutes. 

Perfect Pancakes and a little bit of R&R

The last month has been absolutely crazy, between the holidays and moving there hasn't been much time to just do nothing.  Then this past Sunday Kai and I decided to just have a lazy morning and make a big breakfast.  He wanted pancakes and I hate how heavy they always feel in my stomach.  I love them but they just sit in my stomach for most of the day and make me feel uncomfortably full.

I wanted to try and find a way to make my pancake recipe become a little "lighter."  I had been playing around with cake flour in some of my cookie recipes and figured why not try it out with pancakes, after all the word cake is already in the title.  What resulted was a wonderfully light, fluffy, delicious but not so heavy pancake and I am in love.  L-O-V-E, love... I LOVE these pancakes.  This French Toast lover might just be converted into a pancake lover after all.

So I took my normal pancake recipe, added a little extra baking powder, and instead of using all all-purpose flour I used half all-purpose flour and half cake flour.  I started to get a little nervous that I might have used too much cake flour because the batter was really fluffy and even pouring it into the pan seemed like it might be a little too "light" but 50-50 on the flours just might be the perfect blend.

Perfect Pancakes (makes 8-9 pancakes)

1 egg

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup cake flour

3/4 cup milk

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tbs and 1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt (optional... I never add it)

1. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and let sit for a few minutes.

2. Heat a large skillet over medium heat and coat with olive oil.  Pour 1/4 cupfuls of batter onto the skillet and cook until bubbles appear on the surface.  Flip with a spatula and cook until browned on the other side. 

** I always double the recipe and freeze the leftovers.  They freeze well and then I have a quick breakfast or snack during the week.  

Overnight Oats

Anyone who has been on Pinterest or social media has probably seen  the oatmeal in mason jars craze.  I really liked the idea since I actually really like eating oatmeal for breakfast or morning snack, have been trying to reduce my sugar intake, and wanted something I could make ahead of time so I could just grab it and go.  I tried 5 different recipes for before I finally blended a few recipes and created my own "perfect" overnight oats.

The first batch was baked and they were okay.  They tasted better if I ate it as soon as it came of the oven and topped it with a huge glob of peanut butter.  Once they sat or were reheated they turned into a substance comparable to paste though.  The second recipe seriously lacked flavor and I don't care how healthy it is for me, if it tastes blah I am not eating it.  The third, forth, and fifth recipes all lacked luster, flavor, and an enjoyable texture.  There were little things I liked about each so after 5 failed attempts I started to experiment with my own recipe.

I start with 2 cups of old-fashioned oats, 1 cup of unsweetened organic applesauce, 1 1/2 cups of water, 1 tablespoon of ground flax seed, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, and 1/2 teaspoon of nutmeg.  After I mix those ingredients together the recipe changes each week.  This week we added in dried cranberries and dark chocolate chips but some of our other favorites are blueberries and strawberries, blueberries and cranberries, and cranberries and pears.

After the first set of ingredients and add ins have been mixed together I portion it out into 1/2 cup mason jars for me and 1 cup mason jars for him, cover the jars, place in the fridge, and for the rest of the week we have breakfast or our morning snack ready to go.  I like to warm them up for 20-30 seconds in the microwave or in a pan of boiling water but he likes to eat them cold.  Either way though, they taste good, there is no added sugar, and they are quick and easy to make.

Overnight Oats

2 cups old-fashioned oats

1 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 1/2 cups water

1 tablespoon ground flax seed

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Add ins of your preference

Mix all ingredients together and portion into individual cups.  Cover and store in the fridge overnight or until ready to eat.