Tag Archives: breakfast

skip the boxed stuff: homemade chocolate & pumpkin spice granola

March 25, 2013 by natasha

I loooove me some granola!

I love it with yogurt {all varieties but especially sheep, goat, and greek}, granola with almond, hemp or coconut milk or a handful for a snack when I’m on the go.

What I don’t like, is buying boxed granola that often contains too many ingredients for my liking {added sugars and such} and costs too much money.

I am so happy to share this recipe with you and hope that you will take a few minutes to whip up your own batch so you can see just how easy it is. You can play around with ingredients and the amounts of each ingredient. Please, use whatever you might have in your kitchen and have some fun with it!

Chocolate, Pumpkin Spice Granola 

granola

Ingredients:

  • 4 cups oats {whole, rolled oats}
  • 1/2 cup hemp seeds
  • 1/4 cup chia seeds
  • 1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds
  • 1/4 cup raw walnuts
  • 1/4 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 1/4 cup cacao nibs
  • 1/8 cup ground flaxseeds
  • approximately 1/2 cup coconut oil
  • approximately 1/2 cup agave nectar, although that isn’t my favourite choice. I usually prefer maple syrup, or honey.
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon + for this batch I used about 1 tsp of Pumpkin Spice that I had in my pantry

Method:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Portion coconut oil into a small glass bowl and set on top of the oven. As the oven warms up this will liquify your coco oil.
  3. Add all of your dry ingredients except the raisins {or any other dried fruit} in a medium sized bowl. 
  4. Drizzle your sweetener {maple syrup, agave, honey, etc.} + coconut oil on the mixture. Stir well to combine.
  5. Grease a baking pan with a bit of coconut oil then add the mixture to the pan. Bake for approximately 30-40 minutes. Don’t burn this beauty mixture, but you want to keep it in their long enough to  dehydrate it.
  6. Once it is cooked to your liking and lightly browned, remove from the oven. Add in your raisins {or any other dried fruit of choice} and let cool.
  7. When it is cooled, add to a glass container or mason jar and store at room temperature.

close up granola

A big shout out to all you fabulous women who have put yourself out there vowing to become more authentic! WOWZA! I am so moved reading all of your responses and know that whoever wins the gorgeous Tiny Devotions AUTHENTICITY MALA is absolutely deserving.

You still have a couple days left to enter this giveaway so make sure to head over HERE to let me know how you are will start living more authentically, right now. 

Have an amazing Monday friends.

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beat the breakfast blues

February 25, 2013 by natasha

It’s Monday morning. You wake up well rested, enjoy the sunrise, take time to sit down and sip some tea while you savour a beautiful and healthy breakfast, get the kids ready and off to school effortlessly and you get to out the door to work {on time}.

Snap out of it!

That was {clearly} just a dream…

Sadly for most of us, mornings are crazy-town busy! And yes, I’ve done it too. Stay in bed those extra 10 minutes only to awake frazzled, stressed, and pressed for time. Although I wish we could all strive for a morning a bit more like the first scenario, I want to help make your mornings a bit easier by taking the guess work out of breakfast.

Here are 5 HEALTHY BREAKFAST options that are filled with quality protein, fats and carbohydrates to nourish your hot bod and beautiful brain. 

1. Open Faced Avo Sandwich

This takes minutes to make and will leave you feeling satisfied. Toast your favourite gluten free or sprouted grain bread of choice {I love Ezekiel 4:9 products}. Half, peel and pit your avocado scooping the flesh of this beauty fruit onto your toast. Mash with a fork and top with a sprinkle of sea salt, black pepper and a little squeeze of lime or lemon is joyous! I topped this sandwich with some sun dried tomatoes too, but this is optional.

avo + sun dried tomatoes snack

2. Green Smoothie

This is great for the family on the go. The best part is that you can blend this baby up the night before making it effortless to nourish your body the next day. Try to store it in a glass jar like a mason jar that is air tight to preserve as many of the nutrients as possible and keep it fresh! It’s impossible to get bored of smoothies  since you can change up your ingredients every day. Here are a few of my favourite smoothie concoctions that I have already shared on the blog….

Tip: Always try to add some veggies such as greens {spinach, kale, romaine}, cucumber, celery or even a greens powder to boost the healthy-factor in your cup of green goodness.

blended greens june 20

3. Yogurt & Granola

There are so many ways to make this healthy and satisfying bowl of breakfast goodness. Here are a few of my favourite ingredients to use:

  • Yogurt: Sheep, Goat, Greek, Organic/Local/Full-Fat Dairy or any Dairy alternative
  • Homemade or store bought {watch the sugar content!} muesli OR granola.
  • Fruit of your choice: This will depend on the season but I love a bit of banana, blueberries, strawberries or raspberries
  • 1 tbsp Chia Seeds
  • 2 tbsp Goji Berries
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • Drizzle of natural sweetener: Honey OR maple syrup

photo copy 2

4. Warm Breakfast Bowl 

This is one of my fall and winter breakfast staples. It’s easy to prep and you can change your ingredients almost every day. I like to top my beautiful breakfast bowl of oats with seasonal fruits, nuts, seeds or any other superfoods you have on hand. Here are some ingredients I like to include.

  • Oats {PLEASE buy whole rolled oats and cook in water with a bit of sea salt. It takes only a couple minutes on the stove and is a much healthier and tastier option than quick oats or anything you put in the microwave}
  • Fruit – again seasonal and organic is always best when possible OR frozen organic is my choice in the winter months
  • Nuts & Seeds: Chia, Flax, Almonds, Walnuts, Cashews, etc.
  • Milk or Dairy free option: Almond, Rice, Oat, Organic/Full-Fat Dairy, Coconut
  • Dried fruit: Dates, Raisins, Goji Berries, Apricots, Figs
  • Cinnamon
  • Natural Sweetener: Raw Honey OR Maple Syrup

oat groats

5. PB & Honey

This is so sweet and savoury that it’s hard to believe that this is a healthy breakfast {or snack} option. Toast some bread of your choice and slather with almond butter. Drizzle some raw honey, add about 1 Tbsp of hemp seeds on each piece of bread and then slice up your banana and layer on top. Finish up with a generous dash of cinnamon too. Voila! Healthy fats and protein that will help stabilize blood sugar levels and give you sustained energy and brain power to get through your busy day.

post workout

Some other honourable mentions for really really quick choices when you are heading out the door are: Apple with almond butter, sprouted grain OR gluten free bread {toasted} slathered with coconut oil, hard boiled egg and a slice of gluten free bread {toasted} with coconut oil OR butter, and some fresh cut up fruit and a handful of raw nuts.

Okay, there you have it! I hope you feel equipped and motivated to make some healthy choices to start your day!

Happy Monday friends :)

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