Category Archives: Food Blog

Baked souffle Oatmeal with Figs and Pears

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Baked oatmeal is a great way to enjoy a classic breakfast, but this version is guaranteed to knock your socks off!  The soft and fluffy texture of this baked oatmeal souffle is velvety and light. Perfect for this time of year when we are transitioning slowly into fall. It’s also very easy to make!

You could customize this to any flavor you like, if you prefer apples or only pears over figs.  It’s all good. I love the combination of the figs with the cardamom, but you can omit this and just use cinnamon instead.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cup  rolled oats
  • 1 1/2  cups milk of choice
  • 4 Tbsp maple syrup
  • 4 tbsp. Melted butter
  • 1 tsp. Vanilla extract
  • pinch salt
  • 1/4 tsp. Cardamom
  • 1/2 tsp. Cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 tsp. Baking powder
  • 2 eggs, separated
  • 3 figs (ripe but firm), sliced
  • 1 ripe, firm pear, sliced
  • 1 tbsp granulated sugar
  • maple syrup for serving

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F/180 degrees C. Butter a 9-10”/22-25cm. dish and set aside.

Place oatmeal in a large bowl, add salt, baking powder and spices.

In a measuring jug, beat egg yolks and add milk. Stir in vanilla, maple syrup and melted butter. pour this over the dry ingredients and combine with spatula.

In a very clean (and fat free) mixing bowl, add the egg whites and beat on med/high speed with a hand mixer for about 5 minutes, or until stiff peaks form.

Carefully and gently fold the egg whites into the oatmeal until just combined.

Transfer mixture to prepared baking dish/skillet and top with sliced figs and pears in a pretty patern. Sprinkle with a little sugar and bake 25 to 30 minutes or until set,  golden and puffed up.  Once you remove the souffle from the oven it will sink slightly, don’t worry this is perfectly normal. Serve with maple syrup.

Enjoy!

Oatmeal banana breakfast muffins with cookie dough crumble

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Where to start with these Oatmeal Banana breakfast muffins? They are the best, everyone in my family loves them and I can’t seem to bake them fast enough to keep up with the demand. 
As you know I love baked Oatmeal,  but at a certain point you want something else in the morning.  Something even easier, better and more delicious.  Also more suitable for warmer weather.

They are so simple to make, I blend the wet ingredients in the blender, then poor this over the dry ingredients in a large bowl,  give it a stir and scoop into lined muffin tins. Sprinkle with plenty of the topping and bake, that’s it.
The great thing about these Oatmeal banana breakfast muffins is that you can also make these well ahead of time and store them in the freezer. Just pop them in the microwave to re-heat for a bit before serving. I actually microwave them for one minute from frozen, and they are warm and yummy and taste like freshly baked.

I almost forgot to mention the topping, the best part of course. The topping tastes like cookie dough and forms big lumps, just the way I like it and once baked,  has a slight crunch too it. You’ll love it!
These  Oatmeal banana breakfast muffins are also the perfect treat for when that afternoon sweet tooth hits.

Oatmeal banana muffin

Makes 6 jumbo muffins or 8-10 smaller ones.

INGREDIENTS:

Dry:
1.5 c. oat flour
1 c. all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 c. chocolate chips
Pinch of salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
Wet:
1/2 c. Greek yogurt
1/4 cup natural oil
2 ripe bananas, peeled
2 large eggs at room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. stevia extract or 2 tbsp. light brown sugar
2 tbsp. honey

Topping:

3 tbsp. light brown sugar
1/2 c. All purpose flour
2 tbsp.  Natural oil or cold butter

INSTRUCTIONS:

Pre-heat oven to 180C/350F.
In your blender, add all the wet ingredients and blitz until smooth.

Meanwhile add all the dry ingredients to a large bowl,  also the chocolate chips and give everything a good stir.

Pour the smooth batter from the blender over the dry ingredients and stir with a spatula until just combined.
Scoop into lined muffin tins, I use 6 large muffin tins or you can make 8-10 smaller ones. You have to adjust the baking time, see below.

Make the topping by adding all these ingredients to a smaller bowl, and stir to combine. You can use your fingers to crumble the dough. Place a good amount on top of each muffin.

Place the muffins on a rack in the middle of the oven and bake for 25 min for 6 jumbo muffins or 20 min for 8 medium muffins. But since every oven is different,  I advise you to always do the wooden skewer test, when inserted in the middle of the muffin, it should come out just dry, then they are done.

Enjoy!

Healthy Granola Bars, extra protein!

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I’ve said this a million times, but I am a serial-snacker. I need to be able to reach out and grab something no matter where I am, and luckily I always can. I have a lot of recipes for healthy snack as you can see here. I love love bars. They are so perfect for any occasion. To take to work, or to take from the kitchen down the corridor to your home office, like in my case or to give to the kids to take to school. Or even after a gym session.

They are loaded with fibre, healthy fats (hello omega-3) and of course oats! Oats are a true power house and one of the healthiest grains around. Oats are also loaded with important vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. And even contain protein.

The wonderful thing about these bars is that they don’t fall apart, like most healthy bars. And bars that do stick together are usually loaded with sugar (used as glue). The trick here is the egg, it’s perfect and also adds more nutrition. I prefer to use dark chocolate because it contains less sugar, but you can use chocolate chips if you prefer. Also change up fruit and nuts as you please. All of that doesn’t matter and is according to taste. I love apricots because they contain a lot of potassium.

To make this vegan, simply replace egg with a chia egg or flax egg by using one tablespoon of seeds plus three tablespoons water. Let it sit for 10 minutes before mixing in with the rest of the ingredients.



INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1 cup oat flour
• ¼ cup protein powder, I use rice protein
• ¼ cup melted coconut oil
• 1/4 cup almond butter
• 1/3 cup rice syrup, or maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup roughly chopped pecans or nuts of choice.
• 1/4 cup sesame, pumpkin and sunflower seeds
• 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
• ¼ cup chopped dried apricots, and/or raisins
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 x 1/4 cup chopped 78% dark chocolate
• 1 large egg
• 1 – 2 tbsp. water



INSTRUCTIONS:

Pre heat oven to 350 F / 180 C.

Start by making your own oat flour by blending oats in a food processor.

Then in a large non-stick frying pan, toast the nuts gently for a few minutes. Then add the seeds as well and toast for another minute or two. Transfer to a plate to cool.
In a large bowl mix oats, oat flour and protein powder. Stir to combine.

In a small saucepan, gently heat coconut oil, almond butter and rice syrup until soft and combined, add the vanilla and mix. Remove from heat and let cool.

Add the cooled nuts, seeds, coconut flakes, apricots/raisins together with the salt to the bowl with the oats in it. Stir to combine. Also add a quarter cup chopped chocolate and stir through.

Now beat the egg in a small bowl and add to the dry ingredients together with the cooled oil and syrup mixture. Stir to combine.
Once combined well, pick up a small mount and squeeze together in the palm of your hand. If it sticks together well, it’s ready to bake. Otherwise add a tablespoon of water and combine again.

Now place the mixture in a baking tin lined with parchment paper and bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely before cutting into bars. I prefer to let the tin sit in the fridge overnight before cutting.
In a small heat proof bowl microwave the remaining quarter cup chocolate at 10 second intervals until melted. Cut the bars into preferred size and drizzle with the chocolate using a small spoon.
Place in a Tupperware and keep in the fridge for about 6 days. You can also freeze these.

Enjoy!

5 minute Romesco Sauce, cheats version

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Romesco Sauce is a Spanish pepper and tomato based sauce from the region of Cataluña, that dates back to the 15 th century, thanks to Christopher Columbus who brought back the Romesco peppers from his travels in the America’s which are the base for this sauce.
You can find Romesco sauce everywhere in Spain, it’s very popular and can be eaten with everything from just bread to grilled fish, grilled meat or vegetables.

The original version is with dried peppers, almonds, some times hazelnuts as well, bread, garlic etc…
I have come up with a cheats version that can be done in 5 minutes and it is addictively delicious.

INGREDIENTS:

6 tbsp. Olive oil
1 small onion, peeled and chopped fine
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 jar roasted red bell peppers (15 oz. jar / 500 ml), drained
1/4 cup almond butter (the roasted kind)
1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes in olive oil
1/3 cup parsley, roughly a handful
1-2 tsp. red wine vinegar
3/4 tsp. salt
fresh black pepper
1 tsp. smoked paprika (preferably the Spanish kind)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Place the sun dried tomatoes in a bowl and cover with very hot water. Let sit for five minutes then drain.
On medium heat, fry onion and garlic in two tablespoons of oil, until light golden and just soft. Let cool a bit.

In a food processor, add the pepper, the onions and garlic, almond butter, drained sun dried tomatoes, parsley, vinegar, salt, pepper, paprika and the remaining 4 tablespoons of olive oil.
Turn on the food processor and blend until smooth. That’s it!

I use only one teaspoon of vinegar but you can add more depending on how acidic you like it.

The sauce will keep in the refrigerator for about five days in a glass container or jar, but I can assure you, you will be putting it on everything.

Enjoy!