Oat and Blueberry Muffins

Power breakfast in cup cake form – Muffins with Oats and Blueberries

I love my lazy weekend breakfasts. But when I have a whole day of dinner party cooking  ahead of me, even I just want something quick and convenient. These oat muffins can be made days ahead and are the perfect instant breakfast: porridge in a cup cake liner.

On top of that they are incredibly healthy (granted, that is except for the sugar).

By the way, these muffins also make a fabulous little thank you gift. They have all the charm of home-baking without the guilt you should feel for stuffing your friends and family with butter and white flour….

Ingredients
( recipe hardly altered from the blog “skinnytastes‘)
makes 12 muffins

135g (1 1/2) cups oats
240ml (1 cup) unsweetened almond milk (or skim milk)
100ml 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce (I use this easy home-made freezer apple sauce)
100g 1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp agave (or sugar, honey)
2 egg whites
1 tbsp oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
60g (1/2 cup) whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
150g (1 cup) blueberries (defrost if using frozen)

 

Recipe

1. If using your own freezer apple sauce: blend defrosted apples in food processor until smooth. Remove into a medium size bowl. No need to clean the food processor.
2. Place oats in food processor and pulse a few times. Add milk and for 30 min.
3. Preheat oven to 200C (400F). Line a muffin tin with liners.
4. Combine apple sauce, brown sugar, agave, vanilla, egg whites, oil and mix well.
5. In a separate  bowl combine flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and whisk to combine.
6. Add the oats to the apple sauce mix and blend well.
7. Add in the dry ingredients and mix until just incorporated.
8.  Fold in blueberries.
9. Spoon into the muffin tin and bake for 25 – 35 minutes or until a skewer come out clean.
10. Allow the muffins to cool (if you are as impatient as me and try eating them warm, half of the muffin will stick to the liner.)
11. The muffins are fine for at least four days if kept in the fridge.

 

Quinoa Breakfast

Comfort food at its best: Healthy, tasty, easy Quinoa Breakfast Bowl

During the week I do not eat breakfast. Yes, yes I know this is not a very healthy habit, but I do my best to make up for it in the weekend. Usually I will have healthy pancakes or vegetable-loaded frittatas, but last weekend I felt like trying something new.

I had some left-over  quinoa in the fridge. I thought would try adding some of the ingredients I used for the Overnight Fridge Oatmeal that I enjoyed so much.

The result was amazing! I had Quinoa for breakfast three days running with slight variations. This also means that the below is not really a recipe, more like a menu that you can use to assemble your perfect bowl of Quinoa.

 

Ingredients & Recipe

The recipe is simple: just pick the ingredients you would like and combine them.

1. Base:
1 cup of cooked quinoa (use left-over Quinoa that was cooked in water or cook the Quinoa in almond milk…adding spices)
(or use a mix of quinoa and millet for example)

2. Creaminess:                
a splash – ¼ cup of almond milk (cold or warm – I prefer cold)
3 tbsp creamy yoghurt of quark (omit if the milk is warm)

3.Texture:
1 tsp chia seeds (allow the chia some time to plump up)
½ tsp flax seed
(try adding dried cherries or raisins)
(or add some nuts)

4. Flavour:
Vanilla Essence (cinnamon, ginger, lemon zest)

5. Sweetness:
½ tsp stevia (or maple syrup or honey)

6. Fruit:
fresh or defrosted blueberries (or raspberries)
(blueberries go well with sliced banana)

7. Topping:
a few crumbled walnuts (almonds, toasted chia seeds)

Quinoa Beet Verrine with Smoked Salmon

Beautiful amuse bouch: Quinoa Beet Verrine with Smoked Salmon

Beautiful looking, healthy (well, if you omit the cream), and very tasty Quinoa and Beet Verrine with Smoked Salmon. I stumbled across this recipe because I was looking for baby shower foods. This amuse turned out not only to be pretty and pink, it is a great combination of flavours and textures. I will certainly make it again.

The topping of pink whipped cream makes this amuse look gorgeous and adds a beautiful smooth texture. So if you are preparing this dish for a dinner party do add it. But this dish also tastes fabulous without the cream (my lunch the day after the party). If you then also omit the salmon, the quinoa “salad” makes a fabulous side for roast chicken (my dinner a couple nights later).

 

Ingredients
(Hardly adapted from the blog ‘La Tartine Gourmand’)
12-14 amuse bouche or 4 for lunch

200g (7 oz) red beets
6 slices (150g) smoked salmon
150ml (2/3 cup) whipping cream
200g (7 oz  / 1/2 cup) quinoa
3 tbsp chives
2 tbsp parsley
1 spring onion
1/2 tsp horseradish, grated  (I used some from a jar) (DE: Meerrettich, NL: mierikswortel)
Juice of 1 lemon (about 4 tbsp)
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper
Optional: a few sprigs of chives for decoration

 

Recipe

1. Pre-heat the oven to 190C (375F).
2. Wash the beets. Place them in an aluminium foil parcel. Add a splash of olive oil. Close the parcel tightly. Cook the beets (20-) 60 minutes until they are tender. (The cooking time depends on the size and age of the beets.)
3. Allow the beets to cool and remove the skins (wear gloves).

1. Puree half the beets with 1 tbsp of the chives until very smooth. Season with salt and pepper.
2. If using a siphon: add the cream to the beets. Strain through a sieve and pour into the siphon. Refrigerate horizontally for a minimum of two hours.
3. If using a piping bag: whip the cream until stiff. Fold in the beet puree. Spoon into piping bag.(If you are making this dish ahead then prepare the cream not too long before serving.)

1. Cook the quinoa in salted water. Allow to cool.
2. Cut the remaining beets into very small dices. (Wear gloves).
3. Chop spring onion, parsley and 1 tbsp chives.
4. Mix lemon juice, oil, salt and pepper.
5. Combine beets, herbs and dressing with quinoa.
6. Refrigerate until you are ready to assemble the dish (can be made day ahead.)

1. Cut the smoked salmon into thin slivers.
2. Chop remaining 1 tbsp chives. Add to the salmon.
3. Season with horseradish, salt and pepper. (Can be prepared a few hours or if necessary even a day ahead.)

1. Top quinoa with salmon and then pipe on the beet cream.
2. Decorate with chives.

 

Tips & Variations

• Leave off the cream for a healthier dish and serve for lunch
• Serve the quinoa without cream and salmon as a side dish for supper

Serve with

Other pink foods for a baby shower:

• Quick Pink Salmon Mousse
• Pretty in Pink: Devilled Eggs
• Beet Bread – Shockingly Pink
• Raspberry Chicken
• Beet Hummus
• Mini Meatballs – Plain or Pink
• Raspberry Yoghurt

Oat Breakfast Straight From the Fridge

Decadent tasting yet so healthy oat and berry breakfast

What a discovery for a weekday breakfast: no effort, good for you and oh so tasty.

A while back I had a couple extremely early mornings. It was for a great cause as it was all about getting my renovation project finished. But by mid morning I was both starving and still too sleepy to actually cook breakfast – especially with workmen all over the place. I needed to find a no fuss dish that I could prepare the night before – I discovered the idea of over-night-fridge-oats on the busy mommy blog.

Just to prepare you: when I took the first bite I was taken aback a little  – it tasted so… “wholesome” but by about the third mouth-full I was smitten: velvety smooth creaminess….. with the bite of oats….and all of it freshened up by bursts of blueberry.  I ended up making this dish three days in a row (which also included a weekend morning without any rush at all).

 

Ingredients
(for the original recipe in cups and ounces visit the busy mommy blog)
Serves 2

75g oats
120 yoghurt (I love using Total 0% Greek Yoghurt, but really any creamy yoghurt will do)
1 tsp vanilla aroma
200g frozen blueberries (do not substitute for fresh – you need the juices of the frozen berries)
45ml apple juice
optional: ¼ tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp ground flaxseed
to serve: agave syrup or honey

Recipe

1. Mix all the ingredients in a tupperware container with a lid.
2. Keep in the fridge overnight.
3. Serve cold topped with agave syrup or honey (and if you have some: fresh blueberries and raspberries)

 

Tips & Variations
Consider some of the following

• use vanilla yoghurt
• use (rice) milk instead of apple juice
• sprinkle with almonds

Oat and Egg White Pancakes

One of my go-to meals: wholesome and wonderfull hearty oat pancakes

As lusciously sunny as the onset of spring has been, the mornings can still be crisp and chilly.  Perfect for having one of my favourite breakfast dishes: Oat pancakes with egg whites and cottage cheese (fabulous with a side of Apple Raspberry Sauce).

This is not one of these fluffy types of pancakes (that leave you starving an hour later). These pancakes are full of flavour, hearty, substantial … and healthy.

I discovered this fabulous recipe on the below blog and only tweaked it a little (I used less egg white and added baking powder)
 http://www.thehealthyhousewife.com/2010/07/post-run-pancakes/

 

Ingredients
makes 1 serving of about 8 small pancakes

60g (1 cup) of fine oats
3 egg whites (the original recipe has 6)
110g (1 cup) cottage cheese
1 tbsp lemon zest
1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt

Recipe

1. Combine all the ingredients in a blender and process until you have a smooth batter.
2. Heat a frying pan and make about 8 small pancakes. Cook on both sides.

Serve with
Because the pancakes are rather hearty I would suggest serving something fruity and juicy on the side: 

• Blueberry sauce (you can also pour the batter into the frying pan and then drop a few (frozen) blueberries into the batter).
• Raspberry apple sauce
• Maple syrup & cottage cheese
  

  Did I mention these lovely oat pancakes are high in fiber and protein...