Friendly Food Snobs

breakfast

baked oatmeal bars

Oatmeal, cinnamon, bananas and berries. Humble, and so satisfying. I’ve been devouring these oatmeal bars after being up in the night with our four month old son Oscar. (Oats are great for nursing!) These bars are simple to make and I’ve even served them as a make-ahead breakfast for overnight guests.  Recipe makes 10 servings, but you can easily half it. I’ve also packaged and frozen these individually and they still taste delicious.

baked oatmeal bars

Ingredients:
4 ripe bananas cut into slices
2 cups thawed and drained frozen blueberries or mixed berries (can also use fresh)
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 cups large flake oats
1/2 cup roughly chopped walnuts
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups milk
2 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla
coconut oil for greasing baking dish

Heat oven to 350 degrees and generously grease a 9 x 13 (or similar size) baking dish with coconut oil. Layer the bananas, then half of the berries. Bake for 20 minutes. In a separate bowl mix the oats, salt, cinnamon and baking powder. Pour over the bananas, gently pressing down with your hands. Then combine the milk, maple syrup, eggs and vanilla and pour over the oats and bananas. Sprinkle remaining berries and walnuts on top and bake for 35-40 minutes until top is golden brown. Let cool, slice into desired slices and enjoy!

blueberry buckle

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blueberry buckle

Two pints of fresh blueberries plus lemon zest go into this cake. It’s so delicious it got half eaten by Neil and my Dad before I could shoot it! Truth be told, I had a big slice too. The recipe was a childhood favourite of Neil’s that his stepmother Liz used to make every summer when local blueberries were in season. So I give you photos of a half eaten cake that was so good it couldn’t sit on the counter untouched any longer. The recipe feeds at least 8. And it’s wonderful with a side of vanilla ice cream or whipped cream. If you use frozen blueberries (acceptable for sure) just thaw them for a minute in the microwave and then drain the juice. 

blueberry buckle

Ingredients for the cake:
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup soft butter
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup milk (I use almond milk)
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp vanilla
2 pints fresh blueberries (or 2 cups frozen, see note above about thawing)

Ingredients for the crumble topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup soft butter
1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon

First prepare the cake. Heat your oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour, baking powder, salt and spices. Then using a spatula cream the butter with the sugar and then add the remaining wet ingredients. Combine wet with dry and stir in the blueberries.

Mix the crumble topping ingredients in a separate bowl with a fork until it looks like small pebbles. Grease a 9 inch pie plate or 8 inch spring form pan. Pour into greased dish and top with crumble. Bake 350 degrees about 40 minutes until a knife inserted comes out clean. Be sure to place a cookie sheet under the dish when baking. Sometimes those sneaky blueberries can really expand. Enjoy as dessert or in the morning with coffee.

wild blueberry earl grey granola


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earl gray granolaearl gray granolaIt’s spring in Toronto. Days are longer, nights are shorter and the tulips and birds are making their appearance. This time of year has me wanting a refreshing, but satisfying breakfast.

Tea and homemade granola (my mango coconut granola post here) are two of my favourite things. So when Alokozay Tea asked me to create a recipe with their loose leaf earl grey tea, breakfast granola was the first thing that came to mind. I sipped this classic tea as I made the granola and what’s not to love about a food product that’s delicious and can be delivered to your door after easily ordering online? Earl grey tea traditionally has great floral and citrus notes so adding dried wild blueberries and lemon juice to the granola keeps it light tasting and extremely addictive. This recipe made enough for six generous servings over yogurt at home, plus two portions I gifted away to friends. Keeps well once completely cooled in an air tight container for two weeks, or freezes well.

wild blueberry earl grey granola

Ingredients:
5 tbsp brewed Alokozay Earl Grey Loose Leaf tea
1/2 cup coconut oil (melted)
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 and 2/3 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1/2 cup chopped almonds or sunflower seeds
1 tsp cinnamon
pinch salt
juice of half a small lemon
1 cup dried wild blueberries

Brew 1 heaping tablespoon of loose leaf earl grey tea to 2/3 cup of water. Mix wet ingredients and add to dry. (Leave out the blueberries.) Pour into a glass baking dish and bake on the middle rack at 300 degrees for 35-40 minutes. (A dark metal pan can quickly burn granola, so use glass if you can, if all you have on hand is metal then reduce the heat to 250 degrees.) Stir every 10 minutes. Remove from oven and toss in the dried wild blueberries. Let cool before storing. Delicious with plain yogurt or as a breakfast cereal. Enjoy!

Ps. Want a coupon for Alokozay Tea, Friendly Food Snobs? Check out this link. Alokozay Tea is available for purchase at Metro, Bulk Barn and Food Basics and Adonis.

sweet potato smoothie

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I heard stories about a sweet potato smoothie. Cautious, yet optimistic I decided to try it out for myself. With this recipe I was hooked. Think less sweet potato-y, and more creamy and delicious smoothie. Perfect for cold winter mornings when you want the benefits of a smoothie, but need a break from the green ones. Enjoy!

sweet potato smoothie

Ingredients:
1 large sweet potato (boiled or steamed and peeled)
1 banana
2 medjool dates
1 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch nutmeg
1 cup water
1/4 cup almond milk
1 scoop protein powder (I like sprouted brown rice)
I boil the sweet potato the night before and peel it cold in the morning. Combine all ingredients in blender. Makes two beautiful servings.

protein pancakes + divine sundays

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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!

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