Friendly Food Snobs

protein pancakes + divine sundays

IMG_2517

Sundays often start with these gluten-free protein pancakes. Full of oats, egg, cinnamon and fruit they keep us full until lunch.

My dream Sunday starts with these pancakes and ends with a clean house, full fridge from a grocery shop and cup of peppermint tea sipped curled up on the couch. Between those two events, there’s a lot of room to slow down and feel joy.

This recipe has actually been taped to the inside of my kitchen cupboard for years. It even moved into our new house with us. It’s a winner. Hope you enjoy them. Makes four large pancakes or eight small. I serve them with butter, fruit and maple syrup. 

protein pancakes

Ingredients:
1/2 cup oats
1/2 all-purpose flour or gluten-free (I use Bob’s Red Mill Cup for Cup GF)
1 teaspoon each baking powder and baking soda
1 banana mashed
1 egg
2 tablespoons plain yogurt 
1/4 cup almond milk (or your fave milk, dairy works)
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch salt
cinnamon to taste

butter or coconut oil for cooking

Using one large bowl I mix all the wet ingredients, then add the dry in the same bowl and combine with a fork. You can also use a blender. Let batter sit for five minutes for optimal fluffiness. Heat a non stick pan and coat with butter or coconut oil. Using a large spoon scoop pancakes size drops of batter into pan. Flip once you see bubbles. These take a little longer to cook than regular white flour pancakes. 

While I make these one by one, I keep the rest warm in a 200 degree oven. Feel free to add to the wet batter some fresh blueberries or a scoop of plant based protein powder for more protein. Hope you enjoy!

squash pecan muffins for fall

 

squash muffinsFall’s arrived. Sweaters are being yanked out of storage and scarves are back. All I want is cozy.

Muffins made with squash, oats, nuts and coconut oil are perfect for chilly morning with a mug of something hot. Texture is crispy on the top and moist inside. They smell beautiful as they bake and to me, make the house feel warm and cozy. 

You can easily swap out the squash for canned pumpkin puree, or baked sweet potato. You can’t even tell they’re squash, promise. Makes 12.

squash pecan muffins

Ingredients:
1 cup mashed oven roasted acorn squash
3/4 cup all purpose flour or gluten-free flour (I love Bob’s Red Mill)
1 cup oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 and 1/2 teaspoon baking powder (use 2 tsp if using gluten-free flour)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/3 cup almond milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
3/4 cup brown sugar (1/2 cup is delicious too and slightly less sweet)
2 tablespoon canola oil or coconut oil
1 egg

*optional toppings: pepita seeds or more chopped pecans

Squash can be roasted in advance. Slice in half, remove seeds and bake at 375 degrees skin side down with a little water in a casserole dish for 1 hour. (Or use canned pumpkin puree if you want quick and easy!) Once squash cooked and cooled scoop it out and mash it in bowl you’re using for the wet ingredients. You only need one cup. I freeze the rest in a ziploc bag to add to a soup.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine the muffin’s wet ingredients with brown sugar. Combine remaining dry ingredients. Mix together. Spoon into lined or greased muffin tins. Sprinkle with extra nuts or seeds if using. Bake for 22-25 minutes. (This is long, I know, but it needs it.)

Great with almond butter or regular butter for breakfast. Or drizzled with honey for dessert. 

goat cheese eggplant dip + sea salt pita chips



IMG_2481


IMG_2450
IMG_2459Sweet eggplant and roasted garlic mixed with goat cheese, scooped with homemade sea salt pita chips. Think baba ganoush but with an improved texture. The pita chips are better than store bought and I’ve taken to keeping a bag of them in the freezer for this exact recipe. Serves six with leftovers.

goat cheese eggplant dip + sea salt pita chips

Ingredients:
2 small or 1 large eggplant
4 peeled garlic cloves
1 tablespoon tahini
1 teaspoon cumin
150 gram packet goat cheese
4 tablespoons olive oil (divided into 1 each)
salt and pepper to taste
garnish with chopped Italian parsley or toasted sesame seeds

Using a fork, generously poke holes in eggplant and salt. Bake in 400 degree oven for 30 minutes or until soft and dark on both sides. Flip once. Add the garlic cloves to the pan in a foil pouch drizzled with one tablespoon olive oil and pinch salt in the last 10 minutes.

Remove roasted eggplant to stainless steel strainer. Set in sink, sprinkle salt and press down to remove as much liquid as possible. Cool and drain for 20 minutes. Use the stem to pick up the eggplant, scraping as much flesh as possible into a clean bowl. Some pieces of skin are okay and add a smoky flavour. Add remaining ingredients and combine by hand or using a hand blender. Reserve one tablespoon of olive oil to pour on at serving. Let “set” in fridge for an hour. Garnish with chopped parsley or toasted sesame seeds.

sea salt pita chips

Ingredients:
3-4 pitas
salt and black pepper to taste
coarse sea salt to garnish
50 ml olive oil

Using kitchen scissors cut the pita into wedges and place on a cookie sheet. Combine olive oil and salt and pepper in small bowl and brush onto the pita. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes or until crisp. Flip once. These burn easily so keep an eye out. Taste and top with additional sea salt if desired. Chips stay crisp in an air tight container for three days.

nut + date bars

108

141These little bars have no gluten, no baking time, require minimal effort and then they reward you with how loaded with protein and delicious they are. Love these recipes where the healthier version tastes so much better than store bought granola bars. Perfect for travel, lunches or general snacking needs. Use your food processor or a good quality blender. I use my blender on the same setting that crushes ice. Makes 12 bars. Let’s get started.

nut + date bars

Ingredients:
1 cup unsalted almonds
½ cup unsalted pepita seeds
½ unsalted cashews
pinch salt
1 cup unsweetened cranberries
8 medjool dates pits removed
1 heaping tablespoon of room temperature coconut oil

Line an 8 by 8 or 9 by 9 pan with plastic wrap. The edges at the sides will help you lift out the bars. Pulse the almonds first. Add the pepita seeds, cashews and salt to pulse. Lastly blend in the remaining dates, cranberries and coconut oil. Tumble the mixture into the lined pan. Press down. Wrap it up and store in the fridge for 3 hours or overnight. When set, lift out and slice. Store in the fridge for 10 days or freeze for longer.

Experiment with what you have on hand. Raisins, orange zest, chocolate or crystallized ginger chunks would all be lovely additions. I make these as bars. But if there are little (or big) hands at home that want to help, they could easily be rolled into small balls, and then set in the fridge the same way. Thanks to my own mom and sees for this recipe inspiration!

herb corn salad

101

herb corn salad

Ingredients:
1/2 cup packed chopped herbs like basil, parsley and chives
kernels from 3 cooked corn cobs
1/4 cup olive oil
juice of 1/2 lemon
salt and pepper to taste

Combine. Best eaten outside with meat from the BBQ. Serves four.

1 13 14 15 16 17 18

Skip to toolbar