breakfast
I’m not sure what it is about apples, but they are a huge part of our lives and culture. From Adam and Eve to Snow White, apples are always around us.
* the apple of my eye * As American as apple pie * the Big Apple * an apple a day keeps the doctor away * one bad apple spoils the whole bunch * an apple for the teacher *
See what I mean? We eat a lot of apples in my house, and everyone has a personal favorite variety. Granny smith, Fuji, Gala, Red Delicious, and Pink Lady. While we eat most of them plain, I have been working them into more and more of our recipes. This one is a treat that I didn’t feel bad about giving to the kids. It’s cool, light, and tastes like an indulgent dessert!
Ingredients: makes 2- 1 cup servings
1 cup applesauce or 2 1/2 apples cored and diced ( 3 ounces of applesauce equals one apple)
1 cup vegan vanilla yogurt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup soy or coconut milk
crushed vegan graham crackers * optional
1 tablespoon agave * optional
Method:
combine all ingredients except graham crackers in blender and mix until smooth. top with graham crackers and additional cinnamon, serve immediately.
I am not really that big on deserts, or sweet breakfast stuff, but I do have kids who adore pancakes. This months Lazy Susan was all about breakfast, and while I was tempted to share my favorite breakfast potatoes, that will have to wait.
So… Here’s my idea ~
carrot cake – guilt + nutrition – some sugar = carrot cake pancakes!
They were a huge hit with one daughter. And my other daughter who doesn’t care for pancakes as much and REALLY doesn’t like cinnamon and nutmeg, let’s just say she ate the carrots. btw- only 99 cents for a big bunch of organic carrots at Sprouts.
Teagan thought the carrots were perfect for hide and peek.
I was able to keep the sugar relatively low, feel free to add more to yours. We try to keep sugar low in our house ( thus my lack of desert posts) and once you added maple syrup or the cream cheese mixture, these pancakes really tasted like carrot cake. The shredded carrots were lightly cooked while retaining their texture making for some really yummy pancakes. And, every time I make these I am wowed by just how light and fluffy they are. (for you vegan pancake doubters, you really need to try these)
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups soy or almond milk
1 egg equivalent of Ener-G (1 1/2 tsp ener-g plus 2 Tbs warm water)
3/4 cup carrots – shredded
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3 tablespoons vegan margarine, melted * I use earth balance*
Method:
1. Sift together all dry ingredients into a large bowl
2. mix together your Ener-G and warm water as directed
3. melt margarine
4. make a well in the dry ingredient bowl and add milk, margarine, vanilla, carrots and ener-g
5. blend just until smooth, do not over-mix
On a heated well greased pan or griddle, pour batter onto pan ( size is your preference, we like smaller kid sized pancakes here)
As bubbles start to appear on the top of the batter, carefully flip with spatula. Cook until both sides are golden brown.
* for the cream cheese topping, I mixed together equal parts toffuti cream cheese with powdered sugar and thinned with soy milk. seriously simple yet delicious.
Keep on clicking through to see Alison of This Homemade Life’s berry breakfast quinoa and the rest of this month’s lazy susan.
As spring has arrived and bikini season is quickly approaching, I am in need of a few lighter smoothie and salad options. Over the next few weeks, I will be adding these to the blog under the category of Spring Shape Up, taking some personal favorites and making them a little lighter. In general, I don’t have to worry about calories as my weight has been stable for awhile, but the prospect of bearing almost all in my adorable new bikini has me noticing I could stand to lose a few pounds. Don’t tell my husband about the new suit, it’s going to be a surprise- lol
This is actually quite a large serving, very filling and satisfying! Use frozen berries if you don’t have fresh, it’ll still taste great.
The light almond milk only has 35 calories per cup and half a cup was plenty. I added the agave for just a little sweetness, but if you leave it out, your calories are even lower!
* and sparkling refers to the taste and photo here, as the berries look sparklie *
Ingredients: calories:
crushed ice 0
1/2 cup ( 4 ounces) blackberries 32
1/2 cup light almond milk 18
1/2 banana 53
1/2 tablespoons agave 30
1/4 cup soy yogurt 52
Total Calories 185 * check your ingredients for accuracy/changes
Method:
place all ingredients into blender and mix well. serve immediately.
Let’s just pretend that I had a late night yesterday and may have overdone the Monday night party.
Let’s also pretend that I was paying for said party this morning.
This leads me to my much needed light yet healthy breakfast, just in case you party hard too. pretend party, of course.
I have written about the benefits of soaking your oatmeal before, but here is additional information if you are interested.
and to keep things simple, I use a stick blender when making 1-2 servings. I have this one by cuisinart and it has worked very well, easier to store and clean than my blender.
Ingredients: per 3/4 cup serving
1/2 cup soaked oatmeal
1/4 cup vegan vanilla yogurt
1/4 cup vegan vanilla ice cream – I used soy dream
2 tablespoons vegan milk – I used soy
1/2 large banana
1 teaspoon agave
dash of cinnamon
Method:
combine all ingredients and mix well, either in a blender or with a stick blender. garnish with banana and/or cinnamon.