Category Archives: Breakfast

Mango Freezing!

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Around this time of year, mangos are on sale and rather than buying a box and trying to eat them before they go bad here is another idea…

Mangos are among the most popular fruits to add to smoothies. They add amazing flavour and texture. I bought a huge box this year and cut them up and froze them. It was cost effective, didn’t take much time and now we have frozen mangos for the next couple months to add to our smoothies. Personally I prefer yellow mangos (they are sweetest) but they are all sorts of mangos available these days.

Hopefully to enjoy them as much as we do!

If you need instruction on how to cut a mango to maximize the amount of fruit you get, watch this little youtube:

Here is my favorite mango breakfast smoothie recipe:
1 handful of frozen mango pieces
1 banana, peeled
1/2 cup frozen peaches or 1/2 cup cut up pineapple
1 cup of coconut milk or coconut water
tsp flax seeds
3 ice cubes

Blend for 1 minute and drink immediately!!

Have a blessed day!

Homemade Rice Milk

Since I am on a kick with making everything from scratch, I decided to try rice milk as well. We go through a lot of rice milk because we do not drink cows milk. A 900mL container of brown rice milk costs $1.87 and I made about 4 times that amount for only $2.00. My husband and I don’t really drink it by the cup, although our kids do, but I find that I consume most of it through baking, cooking, and on cold and warm cereals. I may still purchase some for the kids to drink but will definitely use the homemade stuff in everything else.

The homemade rice milk definitely has a thicker texture to it and you can taste the rice a bit more but I found straining it several times really helped to remove the rice taste. I used brown rice, but you can use whatever kind you like. Again I think that the brown rice adds a stronger taste but it has more protein and fibre than the white rice does so that is why I chose it.  I’d love to hear feedback from anyone who tries it, let me know how it works out for you. Here is how it’s done!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup cooked rice (anykind)

2 cups water

1/2 tbsp maple sugar

1/4 tsp sea salt

Directions:

Place all the ingredients in a high powered blender (I use the Blendtec), secure the lid and select the whole juice cycle. Remove lid and strain through a strainer several times or you can use cheesecloth for a more thorough strain. Transfer into a jug and refrigerate. I usually quadruple the recipe and make a large batch at once. Sometimes some of the rice particle sink to the bottom, I just leave them and try not to shake the jug so that they stay on the bottom, again helps with the taste and texture.

Enjoy!

May you be refreashed and invigorated in your spirit today. May the love of the Father compel you to love yourself, honor your husband and bless your family!!!

Coconut Granola

Here is another recipe that seems to satisfy my obession with coconut:) It is delicious, I eat it with rice milk for breakfast.

Ingredients:

1 cup almonds

1 cup walnut pieces

1 cup pecans

1 cup shredded coconut

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1/2 cup ground flax

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup coconut oil

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup currants, raisins, cranberries (assorted depending on what you like)

Directions:

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl except the currant/raisins and cranberries. spread out mixture on an ungreased baking sheet and bake at 300F for 30-40 minutes or until it has reached your desired “crunchiness”:) Be sure to stir a couple times to avoid burning. Allow to cool for 10 minutes then mix in the raisins. Store in an air tight container, it keep for about 2 weeks.

Enjoy!

Homemade Granola

For all you granola lovers out there, this recipe is for you!! I have been experimenting with it over the past couple months and I finally got it the way I like it. It is crunchy and sweet, AND 100% free of any additive, presevatives and added sugars! It is also fully of protein and fibre. We eat it by the handful and my kids actually LOVE it. (which is a miracle because they are so picky these days) It is also delicious as a breakfast cereal with rice milk. I usually make a double batch each time because it gets used up so quickly. So be blessed and enjoy!

Mercy stirring in the almonds one at a time:)

 1/2 cup quinoa flakes

1/2 cup ground flaxseed or ground almonds

1/4 cup pumpkin seeds

1/2 cup raw cashews

1/2 cup pure maple syrup

1/4 cup walnut or almond oil (purchased at a local health food store)

1/2 cup pecans

1/2 cup almonds

1/2 cup combined raisins, cranberries, and sunflower seeds

Preheat oven to 325 F. Mix the quinoa, flaxseed, pumpkin, cashews, maple syrup and almond oil in a bowl. Spread out on a baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and scrape up the mixture with a spatula. Mix in the almonds, pecans, raisins , cranberries and sunflower seeds and spread out evenly over the pan. Bake for another 10 minutes. Remove from oven and scrape up the granola from bottom of the baking sheet so that is doesn’t stick and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Store in an airtight container.

The Joys of Juicing!!

At the beginning of November we dusted off the old juicer and decided to start using it again on a daily basis. I bought some bulk fruit and veggies; carrots, celery, apples and oranges and started juicing every day with our kids. It has been really fun to allow the kids to help me and to watch them really enjoy the different flavours of juices that we make together.

Their favorite juice is Apple/Orange/Carrot juice, its sweet and filled with goodness (recipe below). I also put 5 drops of children’s probiotics into the juice each day so that they are getting a regular probiotic, as we do not consume yogurt or other dairy products which sometime have probiotics in them.

Juicing provides vital nutrients, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals for our bodies to repair themselves, it also helps strengthen the immune system which is beneficial in these days when flus and other colds run rampant.

  • Juicing unlocking nutrients in raw foods. Fiber is locked into many vegetables and fruits and the potential benefit of the fiber is lost as the digestive system does not unlock it. Juicing releases the fiber’s nutrition so that benefit may be realized.
  • Normally we do not consume peelings, seeds and pits of fruits and vegetables. These parts are a rich source of vital nutrients we normally throw away. A good quality juicer extracts juice from the whole veggie or fruit, including peelings, pits and seeds to provide vitamin and minerals that would otherwise be lost. I have also decided to keep the pulp that our juicer spits out and we make muffins and loafs with the leftovers:)
  • Heat kills live enzymes. A quality juicer minimizes heat in order to preserve the most live enzymes possible.
  • Juice is an excellent snack or meal replacement.
  • Antioxidant effects of juices help detoxify your body and help you eliminate the toxins, fats, preservatives and chemicals that a diet of processed foods leave behind in your body.
  • The most readily digestible or absorbable form of foods, not to mention the most concentrated form, is juice. Juicing makes foods easy to digest and thus, easier for the body to receive maximum benefit from the source food.
  • Making your own juices allows you to make any combination of fruits or vegetables that you choose into juice – and you know what’s in it, unlike produce on the supermarket shelves.

I recieved a Champion Juicer (www.championjuicer.com) for Christmas two years ago and it has been amazing. Check out their website for more details.

Here are a couple of recipes for simple juices.

Apple/Carrot/Orange Juice = 2 apples + 2 oranges + 2 carrots

Apple-Strawberry Drink = 5-6 apples + 1 cup strawberries

Pineapple Drink = 1/3 pinapple + 1 carrot + 1 apple + 1 stalk of celery

Pear Drink = 1 pear + 2 apples + 4 oranges + 1 grapefruit

The possibilities are endless and you can make an combination of fruits and veggies that you like. My kids love apples so in all the juices we always include apples. If you like tomatoes juices you can make them as well to make a natural V8 juice without the added sodium. V8 Juice = 5-6 carrots + 1 beet + 3 tomatoes + 1 bunch of spinach + 1 red bell pepper + 1 celery stalk + pinch of sea salt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Making these juices together has really reminded me of the importance of teaching my children by example. I have been able to explain to them how there are natural sugars in fruits that are good for us rather than the added sugars that we find in juice boxes and such. (We do drink juice boxes, but only as treats) And on another level I have realized that my kids learn more by my actions than by what I say. When I get them involved and we are hands on together it teaches them more than if I just do everything for them. So I encourage you to do things together and let them have the experience. It is definitely more time consuming and messy but I trust that it is worth the investment!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Homemade Oat Scones

This morning the kids and I decided to do a little baking and this is what we came up with. They are Homemade Oat Scones, really tasty and extra delicious with warm apple cider. There are not many ingredients so they are fun for little ones to help with. There is no refined sugar in them and you could replace the egg with egg replacer and the butter with non-dairy butter to make them vegan if you like.

1 1/2 c All-purpose flour (or whole wheat flour – add more rice milk if you use whole wheat flour so the scones don’t get too dry)

2 c Quick cooking rolled oats (not instant)

1/4 c Maples sugar

4 tsp Baking powder

1/2 tsp Sea salt

1/2 c Semi-sweet Chocolate chips

1  Egg, beaten

1/2 c Butter

1/2 c Rice Milk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mix the first 6 ingredients together in a large bowl. Make a well in the center. In another bowl beat egg until frothy. Mix in melted butter and rice milk. Pour into the well in the other bowl and stir until dough is well mixed. Pat into two circles and transfer onto a greased baking sheet. You can make then whatever thickness you would like and if you want you could even make one large circle. Score each top into 8 pie wedges. Bake at 425F for 15 minutes. Split while they are warm and serve with a warm drink:)

“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him” Psalm 34:8.

May you experience the blessing and the refuge of our Lord today!

French Toast Challah Muffins!

Wahoo I have a few minutes today to share this “to-die-for” muffin recipe with you while my kiddos are sleeping. This recipe was given to me by a friend who said it was a Sobey’s recipe. I have modified it a bit to suit what I had at the time and it turned out SO DELICIOUS!!! I had to share this recipe with you because these are absolutely amazing and I think all of you should at least try them! I called it French Toast Challah Muffins because that was the only kind of bread that I had but you can use any whole grain bread as well. I was able to make with with the leftover Challah bread I had last week! They taste amazing, took 5 minutes to prepare, AND my kiddos loved them!

French Toast Challah Muffins

3 eggs
1/2 cup of rice milk
1/3 cup of maple sugar
1 tsp of vanilla
1 tsp of cinammon
10 slices of multi-grain challah cubed
1 cup of frozen berries (we love blueberries)
2 tbsp of maple syrup

In a bowl add the first 5 ingredients.  Add bread and toss until egg is absorbed, then add berries.  Toss and divide into muffin tin (12 lrg) and drizzle with maple syrup.

Bake at 375F for 15-25 minutes.

Serve warm and add more maple syrup as desired!

Challah Bread

I have had many of my readers and friends ask me for this challah recipe so I am going to post it on my blog rather than facebook it or email it out:) This recipe has taken many weeks even months to tweek but I have finally found a recipe that our whole family enjoys.

Challah is a traditional jewish sweet bread, we eat it Friday nights when we celebrate Shabbat as a family. It is delicious and uses all natural ingredients. We also eat it on Saturday mornings as challah french toast and Sunday afternoons as challah grilled cheese!! I hope you enjoy it, I would love to get feedback as to how you liked the bread once you try making it. Let me know!

Challah Bread

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups warm water

1 tbsp active dry yeast

1/2 cups of honey

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

3 eggs (divided)

1 tbsp sea salt

4 cups multigrain all purpose flour (Or you can use whole wheat all purpose flour)

4 cups unbleached white flour

Directions:

In a large bowl mix warm water and yeast. Mix in honey, oil, 2 eggs until well mixed. Stir in flour a cup at a time making sure that it is gradually kneading until the dough becomes smooth not sticky. Sometimes you may need to add more flour if it is still too sticky. Once dough is mixed cover with a damp tea towel and let rise for 1 1/2 hours until dough has doubled in size.  Remove dough from bowl and divide into two equal pieces to make it easier to work with. Knead both balls of dough for 5 minutes each, take one ball and divide it into three more equal size pieces and roll out in long snake like rolls. Pinch the three pieces together at the top and braid, then pinch the bottom pieces as well. Place on a large greased cookie sheet and repeat with the other ball. This recipe make two large loaves. Once the two loaves at done, cover with a damp tea towel and let rise for another hour. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Remove the tea towel from the bread, loaves should have doubled in size again. Beat 1 egg in a glass and use a kitchen brush to paint egg onto the two loaves. Transfer loaves into the oven on the cookie sheet and bake for 30-40 mins. When you take the loaves out they should be completely cooked through. (My test to make sure they are cooked is by knocking on the bread and if it seems to make a hollow sound they should be done.) Remove from the cookie sheets and serve!! This bread is excellent with jam, honey, butter, etc. I usually wrap the leftover loaf/pieces up and put them in the fridge, they will keep for a week or so.

Whole Wheat Scones

2 cups whole wheat flour (or whole wheat all purpose flour)
4 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp granulated maple sugar (you could use honey or maple syrup instead)
3/4 tsp sea salt
3/4 cup rice milk
4 tbsp margarine
Mix together all the dry ingredients, cut in margarine until crumbly. Add rice milk and stir with a fork. Bake at 450F for 12-15 minutes until the scones are light brown. Serve warm  with honey or strawberry jam. We enjoyed these delicious scones tonight with Vanilla Roobios tea. Steep the tea and add honey and rick milk to taste! Mmmmm…
Judah called it “the perfect cup of tea and scones”:)

Healthy Oatmeal Pancakes

In a bowl mix 1 cup of oats (quick or whole) with approximately 1 1/2 cups of rick milk, let sit for 5 minutes. In a seperate bowl mix 1tbsp of extra virgin olive oil with egg replacer, equivalent of 2 eggs (it equates to 2tsp of egg replacer + 4tbsp of water. Beat until frothy. Mix in 1/2 cup of whole wheat all purpose baking flour, 1tsp of baking poweder, 1tbsp granulated maple sugar, and 1/4 tsp of sea salt. Once this is all mixed together mix in the oatmeal and rick milk mixture. Spray the pan with extra virgin olive oil and begin to make the pancake, usually take about 2 minutes to cook on either side. Serve immediately with pure maple syrup or fresh fruit. These are also amazing as leftovers, simply pop them in the toaster and eat!!