Love it - cake for breakfast

It's the new year and I've been trying different recipes. I made a quinoa breakfast cake (although more like a bread) this evening and it's unbelievably good! I told Boo if she went to bed without any issues tonight she could have "cake" in the morning. She was pretty excited about it so I hope she'll like it. I modified it slightly by leaving out the brown sugar and increased the agave to 1/2 cups. Believe me, it's plenty sweet. I also added a mix of craisins and raisins and left out the coconut because I am not a fan of grated coconut. This is a keeper!

Boo's breakfast cookie

Boo has to be at school by 8 so we usually wake up early enough so she can have a bowl of oatmeal with bananas but sometimes we run late. On the rushed days I still want her to have a nutritious breakfast so I came up with this breakfast cookie and she loves it. I have made mommy guilt-free cookies and crazy-good monkey bites which are good for the mornings but they are moist so bits tend to stick to her fingers. I also wanted something hardier with more added goodness. We all agree it's a winner. By the way, it's gluten-free, dairy free, and egg free!


Boo's Breakfast Cookie

Preheat oven to 375 F. In a large bowl, mix together (first 6 ingredients are all Bob's Red Mill products - all gluten free):

1 cup Bob's Red Mill all-purpose gluten free baking flour (or your own GF version)
3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/4 tapioca flour/starch
1 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt

In a separate bowl, mix together:

1/4 cup oil (smart balance, coconut oil, canola, etc)
1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce
2 tsp almond or vanilla extract
2 TB blackstrap molasses
1 1/2 cups Erewhon Gluten Free Crispy Brown Rice cereal

In separate small bowl, mix together (egg replacement):

5 TB flax seed meal
6 TB water

Pour "egg" mixture and wet ingredients into large bowl and mix together very well. If it's looking really dry, add 2 TB almond milk or your favorite dairy free "milk".

Next add these to the large bowl and mix well:

3/4 cup roughly chopped unsalted nuts (I used a mix of raw walnuts and cashews)
1/2 cup craisins
10 pitted dates, chopped
1 medium carrot finely shred



Spray cookie sheets with cooking spray. I made big cookies so they were about 100 grams (use ice cream scooper). Round them into a ball then place on cookie sheet and press down. They don't spread out so you don't want them too thick or thin. Mine are about 1/2" thick. Bake for 15 minutes. Place cookies on a wire rack to cool. They have a really good texture and aren't very crumbly which is great because who wants (more) crumbs in their car?

These freeze nicely. They're a little too big for Boo but that's okay with me because she gives me what's left and of course, I can't waste it - hee hee! These are also great as to go snacks. I used to always have kids' cliff bars to give her but I don't have to anymore.

I LOVE this granola!!!

I typically have a smoothie every morning but need a little something between it and lunch. I wanted a change from eggs so I made a batch of Altered Plates' granola but modified it a bit to make it gluten free. I made it once before and it came out yummy but oatmeal (even the gluten free kind - bummer) and I just don't get along so this time I replaced it with crispy brown rice cereal. I like it better with the rice because of the crispy texture it adds plus it isn't as heavy as the version with oatmeal.

Ingredients:
3 cups Erewhon's gluten free crispy brown rice cereal
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup corn flour
3/4 cup coconut powder or finely shredded
3/4 cup roughly chopped almonds
1/2 cup roughly chopped cashews
1/2 cup roughtly chopped pecans
3/4 cup roughly chopped walnuts
7 teaspoons sesame seeds
1/2 cup flax meal
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds or pepitas
1/4 hulled hemp seeds
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cardamom
1/3 cup coconut oil
1 cup agave nectar
1 tablespoon vanilla

add-ins for the post-baking mix:
1 cup chopped dried dates

Follow baking directions from Altered Plates' recipe but change the cooking time to the following: Bake 15 minutes, mix then rotate pans, bake another 10 minutes, mix then rotate pans and cook another 5 minutes. Thus total baking time = 30 minutes. It might be better the first time you make this to bake for 15 minutes then mix and rotate every 5 minutes since ovens differ and you don't want to burn the granola. The cooking time must've changed because I replaced the oatmeal with crispy rice cereal.

I love eating this with chopped apples, bananas, and almond milk. I felt lazy this morning so just had granola with almond milk and it was just as yummy. Give this one a try - it is absolutely delicious!

Poached eggs with smoked salmon

We had a fun family day today and we started it off with this experiment: a gluten-free eggs benedict. It turned out really yummy and was easy to make. Instead of english muffins, I shredded potatoes, zucchini, and carrots then sauteed them in a little olive oil and salt. I placed it on the plate topping it with smoked salmon and poached eggs then surrounded it all with spinach sauteed in olive oil and lemon juice. I didn't want to make hollandaise sauce from scratch so I took some mayo whisked in lemon juice and some smart balance butter. It was more liquid in consistency than hollandaise but it was still tasty. This is definitely something I will make again and again. I think I'm going to make it again tomorrow morning! This was my first time poaching eggs and I learned how by watching this video clip via YouTube. Don't you just love the Internet? Remember the "old" days when you had to go to the library or buy a book to learn such things? Now it's just a click away.