Let's Talk Breakfast

Happy Thursday!

One more day to go and its the long weekend here in Canada.

Yippee!

First, I have news. I have learned the greatness that is twitter! Yep, edible sound bites is now on twitter. I was skeptical about it at first, but now I'm obsessed. So if you tweet be sure to follow me for healthy tips and great recipes:)

And now onto Food. Mmm...breakfast.

Weekday mornings can be pretty crazy in our house. There's lots of rushing and attempting to apply make-up at the breakfast table while eating as quickly as possible, so we can all get out the door on time. Does this conjure up any hilarious images? Here let me help you with that:

bahahahahahaha. That was such a good episode. My brother and I used to watch The Simpsons all the time after school at my grandparents house. We'd listen for them coming down the hallway and quickly change the channel if we heard them.

Getting back to breakfast, I'm usually the one to make it for everyone and on most days it's oatmeal. Oh who am I kidding, its almost always oatmeal. Rolled oats cook quick enough and are healthy, filling, warm, and comforting. And now that wild blueberries are in season I've been adding them to my oats like there's no tomorrow. I can't get enough! I picked these guys up in Muskoka on the weekend. You have to love the highway summer fruit stands. Local, fresh, and delicious.

PB & Blueberry Banana Oatmeal (serves 3)

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 3 cup water (or 1 1/2 each, water and milk)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp ground flaxseed
• 1 rounded tbsp natural peanut butter
• 1/2 banana, sliced
• 2 tbsp wild blueberries

Method:

1. Mix the oats and cinnamon together and add to water/milk on the stove top. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer, stirring occasionally until desired thickness and consistency. I aim for 5 minutes. Take the pot off the heat and let stand, covered, for 2 minutes
2. Stir in the flax and top with sliced banana, peanut butter, wild blueberries, and more cinnamon.

This was so satisfying. Whenever I have oats I can be certain that it keeps me full for a solid 3 hours. The perfect eat clean breakfast.

How do you like your oats?

Sweet n' Spicy Nuts

Good morning!

Wow we've had some real scorchers here in Ontario this past week. I'm glad to say that the heat wave has finally broken. I'm not really one who loves the humidity. I love hot weather, but I detest humidity and smog in heat wave style. I don't know about you, but I like being able to breath when I go outside and 42* C isn't pleasant. Eep!

There's nothing like a nice refreshing salad on those really hot days. So naturally that's exactly what I'm craving. That and smoothies :)

I found the perfect addition to my salad.

It's sweet. It's spicy...

 It's also the perfect little healthy snack that takes minutes to make.

My dad really loves these too. I can get him to eat salad any day now.

This recipe was adapted from The Eat Clean Diet Cookbook 2.

Sweet n' Spicy Nuts

gluten free, vegan

(servings: 16 x 2 tbsp)

These nuts are a great way to mix up your regular old salad. They are sweet but have a litte kick to them from the cayenne. They also make a great pre workout snack when combined with some apple slices or pear.

Ingredients:

2 cups of your favorite unsalted nuts (I used cashews, almonds, and pecans)

1.5 tbsp organic cane sugar

1 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tbsp molasses

Method:

1. Heat a large non-stick frying pan over medium high heat. Add the nut mix to the hot dry pan, and toast, watching closely and stirring frequently, until they start to brown and smell fragrant, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. In a medium sized bowl mix 1 tbsp cane sugar, sea salt and cayenne. Add the nuts and molasses to the bowl and stir well to combine. (The heat from the nuts will help the seasonings to melt and stick).
3. Add remaining 1/2 tbsp cane sugar and stir again to evenly coat.

Note: These can be store in a sealed air tight container at room temperature.