Crepes, oh I'm going there

Well, I guess I've found another breakfast that I'm liking. See, when you put your mind to something, you can accomplish anything. (or however that saying goes...)

I've always liked crepes. Really, I have. But I usually like them for dinner and I like to put things like eggs, or meats and cheeses etc in them. However, this morning when I was going through my wake up ritual of checking emails, Facebook etc, I found this recipe, and they gave me the great idea of yogurt as the "cream", and fresh fruit as the filling. I have tons of peaches left to can tomorrow, and bananas that are turning. The light went on!

These babies turned out great!!! You could taste the vanilla in them so it gave a sweet flavor without adding sugar to my fruit.

First thing though, get it through your mind that crepes are not hard to cook. Really! Stop rolling your eyes! Use a non stick pan, and add a tad bit of cooking spray (I use an olive oil pump so I don't add all those extra chemicals to my food) then pour a small amount in the middle of that already hot non stick pan. Swirl it around so it makes a circle and then just let it cook. You'll know when its getting done when the edges start pulling away from the pan. then using a silicone spatula, just flip! cook till it has color then its done...now just do that about 20 more times. I'm not going to lie, once you get to the bottom of the batter, you'll be praying there is no more batter left!

I got this recipe from Super Healthy Kids. For the most part I've been happy with what recipes I've tried from this group of fine folks. Without further ado:

Whole Wheat Crepes

3 Eggs
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup milk
3/4 cup water
1 T honey
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1 T butter

Put all ingredients in blender (I use my blendtec) and mix well. Let stand for 10 min, then blend again.

Spray a small non stick pan with cooking spray.

Angle pan and pour enough batter on one side to thinly and evenly cover the pan. Very quickly swirl the batter around to cover the pan in one thin layer.

Once the crepe is golden brown on one side, carefully flip it over without tearing the crepe.

Cook another minute on the other side until it is golden.

Serve with yogurt and berries, strawberries or a savory chicken filling.

Thats all there is to it! During the 10 min of waiting, I cut up my peaches and bananas. The kids didn't give me any guff about eating today. My oldest is always scared to try things she hasn't but after she tried a bite, she kept saying, "this is soo good!"

much love,

Annisa

Blueberry Bliss

I'm not in love with breakfast. There, I said it. Its never been high on my "to do" list. Its also not on any of my bucket lists...yes I have more than one bucket list. But I digress.....

I've been trying a few new breakfast options the last month or so, and I've come across three, yes three, that I'd make again. Today was one of those successes! I made what are called Blueberry Breakfast bars, although, "bars" is a loose term. This turned out more like a cake. (which is a bonus right?? I've always wanted an excuse to eat cake for breakfast.)

I found this recipe from Blendtec
ages ago and tucked it away in the abyss that I call my recipe box. Box meaning the literal term of BOX. I'm not talking about our mothers mothers recipe boxes, I'm talking about a box that I recycled from something I got in the mail. Although, I did go through it the other day and cleaned it all up and started copying recipes from paper to recipe cards...and now we are back to how I found this recipe. wow. don't ever have children, your brain goes all to them, and yet I'm still left wondering how they often choose the wrong choice if they are so darn smart from my brain....oh well....

This breakfast cake is pretty good. I really didn't change anything about the recipe which is hard for me. This is CLEAN, Blueberry-y, and has great stuff in it that you can't even taste...yeah, I just went there. Shall we get started??

1 ripe banana
2 large eggs
1/3 C greek yogurt (I used vanilla flavored)
1/2 C applesauce (I use no sugar added)
2 T coconut oil melted
2/3 C brown sugar packed
1 tsp vanilla

Mix in a blender or with hand beaters until smooth.

Add to above mixture:
1 1/4 C whole wheat flour
3/4 C oats
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon (I put more like 3/4 tsp just cause)
2/3 C pecans (thus the hidden items in this cake. I can't get my husband to eat really any kind of nut unless I hide it...it is perfectly hidden in this recipe)

Blend until incorporated. This is where my cake comes in. The picture of the recipe I took it from looked like a granola bar. I must have over ground mine cause mine was a batter. They said you could use this as a granola too, but they lied. There ain't no way you can get a granola from this.

After it is blended or mixed to your preference, fold in:
1 C fresh blueberries
(I didn't have fresh but I always have frozen. I let one cup frozen thaw in my fridge overnight and just used them and a tiny bit of juice the next morning. I found honestly no difference.

Put batter into a greased 9X13 pan. Add 1/4 cup granola to the top of the cake.

Bake at 350 degrees for 25-35 min depending on your oven. A toothpick should come out clean when done.

Don't get me wrong, this isn't the kind of cake you'd want to serve for dessert unless you added some frosting or glaze or something...it is a breakfast item. I prepared the cake and popped it into the oven and showered while it baked. This is good warm or cooled off for a mid morning snack...which is how I ate mine. (you know, warm AND as a mid morning snack.)

Much love,

Annisa

Granola: as delicious and basic as you can get

I'm a huge granola fan...like huge. I've tried several ways, several oils (yeah, I know), and until about two and a half years ago, I wasn't able to find a "healthy" granola that I loved. A couple friends of mine have a great clean/vegan/dairy free/gluten free blog that I love, and this recipe (HONEY GRANOLA) came from them. The blog is called green shakes and giggles and I DARE you to try out their blog and then tell me they aren't funny and yummy recipes. I dare you.......

Anyway, I got this recipe from them and Its been my go to granola recipe since then. I usually add some craisins or chocolate chips depending on my mood. Its great in yogurt, which is how I eat it mostly, but add some chocolate chips and its great for hiking.

HOWEVER....the husband doesn't LOVE the recipe. He likes it, and eats it and tolerates it, but he says he can "taste all the health" in it....yeah, I don't know what that means either. haha So I've had to search and search to find another recipe without vegetable oil...and I'm happy to report, I FOUND ONE! Its delicious, and has only 5 ingredients. You all have these ingredients, I'm sure of it!

This recipe came from Shape magazine

Peanut Butter Granola

2 Tbs Peanut Butter
2 Tbs Honey
1/4 teasp vanilla
1/4 teasp cinnamon
1 C Oats
add ins:
chocolate chips

Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees. Put Peanut Butter and Honey in microwave safe bowl. Warm long enough to combine honey and Peanut butter. Once combined, add in vanilla and cinnamon. Mix in the Oats and stir well to combine. Spread out on silicone mat and bake for 10 min. At the 10 min mark, stir granola. Bake for 10 more min. Take out of oven, and let sit till warm to the touch, then add chocolate chips or leave out if you don't want them in, then eat! I store mine in an airtight container.

Enjoy!!

much love,

Annisa

An Oatmeal a day

As I sit here with my littles this morning, after a long weekend at grandmas, I'm thinking about all that I have to do. I have 50 lbs of peaches that need canned sitting on my counter, countless fruit flys to send "home", and laundry up to my nose. But right now, this very second, I'm eating one of the best overnight Refrigerator Oatmeals I've had in awhile. I always love my go to banana peanut butter oatmeal from The Yummy Life...I won't lie that where I get most my overnight oatmeal recipes from, or I use her base and add a few different ingredients depending on what I have on hand.

Last night we pulled back into our home at 9:30 PM, frantically got the kids in bed, and the truck unloaded. It was then 10:00 and I knew I was going to have "a day" the next morning with two appts coming before noon. Baking muffins just wasn't an option, and I always have frozen pancakes or waffles on hand, but I just wasn't feeling it. I had very few ingredients, so I opted for an easy and quick peach overnight oatmeal....cause remember, I have 50 freakin pounds of peaches on my counter! haha

Here is the recipe (with my changes) for a delicious fresh peach overnight oatmeal:

1 cup milk (any kind, but if you use sweetened almond, it will make it sweeter)
1 cup greek yogurt (I used vanilla, but there is a peach one that would probably be really great)
1/2 tsp of vanilla (recipe called for 1/4 tsp)
2 T honey
2 cups non instant oats

You can then add in any fruits/nuts/etc that you want. This recipe I opted for

1 LARGE fresh peach cut into chunks
3 T chia seeds

Other add ins:
nuts such as chopped almonds, walnuts, pecans cashews
frozen fruit
fresh fruit
wheat germ

Put the milk, yogurt, vanilla, honey, oatmeal, and any non fruit add ins (especially chia seeds) in a ball jar (or any container that will fit all your ingredients. stir first with a spoon to get things mixed around, then put on a lid and shake baby shake! Open jar and add in addt add ins and mix carefully till they are all incorporated. Place in fridge overnight and eat in the morning.

We have enjoyed refrigerator oatmeal in summer and in winter...and I won't lie, I've made it and put it in a cooler for breakfast when we have gone camping!

I hope you enjoy this...there are many variations, so look around.

much love,

Annisa