Tag: breakfast

Chewy Date Granola Bars


I love a good snack. One that’s sweet and chewy and wrapped in bakery twine. I’ve wanted to develop a recipe for homemade granola bars for the longest time, but I also wanted them to be somewhat healthy. My latest infatuation with coconut oil helped me bring all the components together (quite literally) – for a sweet and tasty bite. Wrap these chewy guys up in parchment paper, and throw them in your bag for the perfect healthy snack on the go.

Chewy Date Granola Bars

3/4 c white whole wheat flour
3/4 c oats
1/3 c shredded coconut
1/3 c ground flaxseed
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
5 tbsp pure maple syrup
3/4 c brown sugar
4 tbsp solidified coconut oil
1/2 c sliced almonds
8 medjool dates, pitted and roughly chopped

Method:

Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix with your hands to form a dough. Grease an 8″x8″ baking dish with coconut oil and add the mixture, pressing down on it to condense. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, or until browned around the edges. Cool and cut into bars. For a crunchier texture, bake an additional 15-20 minutes.

VARIATION: For no-bake, raw granola bars, you may substitute 3/4 cup oat flour for the whole wheat (just add oats to the food processor and blend until flour consistency).  Toast the nuts and oats in the oven at 350 degrees and set aside to cool. Press ingredients into the baking dish and slice. No baking required.

1 year ago: roasted chickpeas
2 years ago: healthy baked pumpkin oatmeal

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Speculoos Pancakes

If you’ve read this post, you know all about my (not so) little obsession with speculoos cookies right now. My Lotus cookie cinnamon buns with speculoos cream cheese frosting were a huge hit, and I received several emails from readers who made them to rave reviews. After making 2 batches of speculoos chex party mix (recipe coming up soon!) I was running low on my spiced shortcrust biscuit stash, with only about 10 of them left (cookies, not packages…I’m not THAT crazy).

I pulsed the cookies into crumbs, leaving me with just about a half cup of golden delicious speculoos “flour”. It was Sunday morning, and what better way to use it, than in pancakes. The hint of speculoos spice paired so perfectly with butter and maple syrup that my kids kept asking for more. The pancakes were gone before you could say speculoos.

Forgive the load of pictures here, but do you see what I see? Butter. Pure Maple Syrup. Speculoos-scented pillows of fluff. I can drool over these all day.

What am I gonna do now that I’m out of speculoos cookies?!

P.S. If you live under a rock and you STILL don’t know what speculoos is, you can read all about it in this post.

Speculoos Pancakes

1/2 cup speculoos cookie crumbs (from approximately 8 cookies)
1/2 cup flour
2 tsp baking powder
3 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
pinch of cinnamon
1 egg
1 cup milk
2 tbsp butter, melted
butter, for frying

Method:

Pulse speculoos cookies (I used Lotus caramelized biscuits) in a food processor or blender until crumby.

In a bowl, whisk the speculoos cookie crumbs, flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and cinnamon. In a separate bowl, light beat the eggs and add milk and butter, mixing lightly to incorporate. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix together with a fork until the batter is slightly lumpy.

Heat a nonstick skillet and grease lightly with melted butter or oil. Spoon 2-3 tablespoons of batter into the skillet and cook until bubbles appear. Flip the pancake and cook on the other side, until golden. Repeat with remaining batter.

Yields approximately 12 pancakes.

1 year ago: kid-friendly dirty rice
2 years ago: quick, easy & tasty chicken

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Tropical Fruit Smoothie

Technically it’s only been about a week and a half since my last post, but somehow it feels like an eternity. Thankfully, the weather has FINALLY turned around here in Brooklyn, and the sun is starting to peak through the clouds. With the warm weather making it’s entrance, it’s time to lighten up our menu’s and keep things simple and healthy before summer comes around. Smoothie’s are a great start!

Most of the time, I tend to skip breakfast altogether as I don’t have much of an appetite in the morning. With smoothies being ice cold and refreshing, I’m able to get in some nutrients without feeling like I’m filling up too much. This tropical fruit smoothie is one of my favorite blends. It’s just so refreshing!

Some of my other favorite smoothie combinations include:

banana+dates+almond milk + honey
persismmon + yogurt + cinnamon/nutmeg + honey
peaches+oatmeal+vanilla+milk+agave
avocado+raspberries+pomegranate juice
kale+kiwi+banana+orange juice

What are some of your favorites? Share them with me in the comments below!

Tropical Fruit Smoothie

1 large ripe banana
8 strawberries
1/2 cup canned pineapple*
1/2 cup coconut milk
pineapple juice, for consistency

Method:

Add banana, strawberries, pineapple and coconut milk to a blender and puree until smooth. If mixture is too thick, add pineapple juice (from the canned pineapple) until you reach desired consistency.

*Look for canned pineapple in 100% pineapple juice instead of a sweetened syrup.

TIP: Instead of adding ice cubes (which water down your smoothie), use prefrozen leftover bananas or frozen strawberries instead.


1 year ago: pepper steak with plum sauce
2 years ago: sesame linguini with marinated chicken breast

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Blueberry Corn Pancakes


There’s nothing better on a Sunday morning than good old pancakes. OK maybe just one thing: corn cakes. If you like corn bread, like I do, you’ll love these. Blueberries add moisture, tartness and a burst of flavor.

If you want to make the most of summer’s bounty, feel free to add fresh corn into the batter and use the blueberries to make fresh blueberry syrup (easy recipe included below).

Blueberry Corn Pancakes

1/2 c cornmeal
1/2 c flour
1 tbsp baking powder
2 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 c milk
1 egg
2 tbsp melted butter or oil
1 heaping cup fresh blueberries
oil or butter, for frying
maple syrup, for serving

Method:

Combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. In a separate bowl, mix milk, egg and butter. Stir wet mixture into dry, mixing until just incorporated. Add blueberries. Do not overmix, batter should be slightly lumpy. Grease griddle or skillet and heat up. Spoon heaping tablespoons of batter onto the griddle. When browned, flip and crisp on other side. Continue with the rest of the batter. Serve with syrup.

Easy Blueberry Syrup

1 cup blueberries
1/2 c sugar
1/3 c water

Method:

Combine blueberries, sugar and water in a pot and bring to a boil. Crush blueberries with the back of a spoon and simmer until thickened, about 15 minutes.

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Quick & Easy Shakshuka

I absolutely love shakshuka! I couldn’t think of a better breakfast on a Sunday morning, or any morning for that matter. The rich and spicy tomato sauce paired with a runny egg and some fresh hot bread or pita – could it get any better? Now Shakshuka can be a patchke to make, what with the chopping, sauteeing, and fresh tomatoes…I don’t know about you but after a long Shabbos, and an even longer Motzei Shabbos, the last thing I want to do is start cooking, AGAIN (hence the Sunday night meal of leftovers!). But I have simplified this recipe to the easiest 2-ingredient fix (for the most basic) you could think of! Even the tired and weary can whip up a plate of these in no time!

Note: If you are watching your carbs, this is actually a great recipe because it is a whole meal-in-one and it’s very filling! Skip the bread, of course!


Quick & Easy Shakshuka

1/2-1 jar of your favorite marinara sauce
eggs, amount of your choice

optional additions:
chopped vegetables
chillies
salt
freshly ground pepper
red pepper flakes
zaatar spice
cumin
turmeric
feta or other cheese
fresh parsley, for garnish
warm pita or crusty rolls, for serving

How to:

Prepare your marinara sauce (or you can even use salsa!). You can use one that already has chunky vegetables, as I did, otherwise, you can add some chopped vegetables to it. Taste the marinara sauce and add spices, as needed. If you’d like it spicy, add chillies and/or red pepper flakes and other spices of choice. Simmer sauce until it begins to bubble. Check eggs in a cup, taking care not to break the yolk. Gently slide into sauce and simmer until the yolks have set (if you cover the pot, this will take about 5 minutes). Sprinkle eggs with some freshly cracked pepper, and garnish with parsley, if you’d like. Serve with pita or crusty rolls.

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