Tag: breakfast

Barley and orange porridge

This was inspired by an Yotam Ottolenghi barley and orange pudding. I thought it had breakfast written all over it, so I played around and made it more breakfast than pudding.  The barley does take a while to cook, so it’s worth making it the day before and then just warming it up in a pan with an additional glug of milk to soften it up again.

This has a much more ‘bitey’ texture than normal oat porridge, in fact it probably isn’t really a porridge at all, but the cooking and serving is similar so I think I can get away with it.

Barley & Orange porridge (makes two portions)

  • 125g pearl barley
  • 700ml coconut milk (or other milk of choice)
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1 vanilla pod
  • One orange
  • Plus toppings of choice

Method

In a saucepan put the barley, sugar, vanilla pod (scrap out the seeds and add these and then add the remaining pod as well), milk and the grated zest of the orange.  Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 50-60 minutes.  Keep checking in case you need to add a bit more milk. The barley should keep some of its bite.

Then either eat straight away and add your toppings, or cool and put in the fridge overnight.  Remember to take out the vanilla pods before eating.

Toppings

Melt a bit of coconut oil (or other oil) into a small pan and add some orange segments and a bit of brown sugar.  Heat for a couple of minutes to soften and caramelise the orange.

Other toppings include:- cacao nibs, chocolate coconut yoghurt (truly lovely with this), sesame seeds work well too.

Nutty Tofu Bowl

This was inspired by a peanut butter mousse that I had recently at a vegan restaurant which was made using coconut cream.  It was wonderful and decadent but too rich for breakfast. So instead of coconut cream I’ve used silken tofu to lower the calorie damage and up the protein.  I’ve also added in fruit and extra nuts to give it more breakfast appeal.  This is really delicious and I bet even a non tofu eating person will be fooled into thinking it’s cream based.  The taste is distinctively nut butter.

Whilst this makes 2-3 portions – I could easily have eaten it all in one go – could make a great pre and post run treat.

Nutty Tofu Bowl

Nutty tofu bowl

  • 300g packet of silken tofu
  • 2 tablespoons peanut butter
  • 2 tablespoons almond butter
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 8-10 dates (5 if medjool)

Whizz all the above together.

You can also whizz in some frozen banana and/or frozen mango to add even more creaminess.

Decorate with more nuts, some sesame seeds and fruit.

 

 

Cinnamon & nutmeg Barley bowl

I rarely get around to using Barley, it just seems to take so long to cook compared with other grains.  But in an effort to experiment more with introducing other grains into breakfast  I pre cooked a batch to eat during the week. This makes it much quicker to use for brekkie – so here is my first barley inspired brekkie bowl.  A great substitute for oats if you fancy something a little different.

Cinnamon & nutmeg Barley Bowl (serves one)

cinnamon barley

  • 100g cooked barley
  • 100ml almond milk
  • 1 teaspoon coconut palm sugar (or brown sugar)
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • Nutmeg – a good grating or 1/2 teaspoon ground
  • 1 tablespoon coconut yoghurt or coconut cream.
  • 1 banana

Put the barley, milk, sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg into a pan and bring to the boil.  Turn it down and add the tablespoon of yoghurt or cream.  Simmer for 3-4 minutes – keep checking it doesn’t run out of liquid and burn.

Just before serving slice a banana and mix it through.  Sprinkle a bit more nutmeg on top.

Blueberry Choc Chioaty

I like using both chia seeds and oats in my overnight soakings, a mix of protein and carbs.  I find the consistency can become a little more solid, much like the old Irish tradition of porridge slabs kept in drawers!  It’s like eating a soft flapjack and I love this consistency especially with some maple syrup and yoghurt spooned on top before eating.  This is another healthy way to have chocolate for breakfast.

Blueberry Choc Chioaty

blueberry chioaty

  • 100g Blueberries
  • 2 tablespoons chia seeds
  • 2 tablespoons oats
  • juice of one orange
  • 1 teaspoon raw cacao powder (if you want a stronger cacao hit then add a bit more)
  • 1 tablespoon cacao nibs

Mix together and put in the fridge overnight.  Top with yoghurt and maple syrup or some chocolate sprinkles!

Coco beet overnight oats

As the weather turns autumnal this is the perfect earthy overnight oats breakfast.  Beetroot is in season and I am currently harvesting a big bunch each week on the allotment.  I’ve tried a few different breakfast dishes with beetroot and I love it.  This has become a favourite because it’s so quick and looks such a lovely shade of red!

I find it’s best if you process the beetroot in a food processor – peel and chop and then process until it looks like couscous (a few seconds).  You can also finely grate it for this dish if you don’t have a food processor.

Coco beet overnight oats (serves one)

Beet coco oats

  • 50g raw beetroot – either processed in a food processor or finely grated
  • 1 tablespoon desiccated coconut
  • 40g oats
  • 1/2 teaspoon cardamom
  • 20g sultanas
  • 1 tablespoon hemp seeds
  • 50g flaked coconut
  • 150ml coconut milk

Layer up the beetroot, coconut, oats, cardamom, sultanas and seeds.  Then add the coconut milk and leave overnight in the fridge.

You can play around with your seeds and dried fruit – personally I love the taste of sultanas with this dish, but dried cranberries, raisins or goji berries would work well.  The hemp seeds give a nice subtle crunch, or you can use pumpkin or sunflower seeds.  Pistachio nuts also go very well with beetroot.  Just layer up as you fancy.  The key ingredients are the beetroot and coconut – the mix of earthiness and sweetness is perfect.

 

 

Turmeric Zing

After a few days of over indulgence this is a perfect low calorie glass of guilt free brekkie. Full of zingy energy combining turmeric, ginger and apple.  You can make this the night before and leave it overnight in the fridge or just whisk it up quickly in the morning. Simple but full of flavour.

Turmeric Zing

  • 100ml coconut or almond milk
  • 1 apple
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
  • nice chunk of fresh ginger (peeled)

Grate half the apple and put this in a small bowl or glass.  Put the coconut milk, rest of the apple, the ginger and turmeric into a blender and blend well. Pour this over the grated apple. Easy!

You can also add a tablespoon of chia seeds to make this a bit more substantial – although it’s still a light dish.  If you add chia seeds then leave overnight or for at least 1/2 an hour after making to enable the chia seeds to soak up some of the juice.

turmeric and chia zing

 

Pineapple Tahini & Coconut Chia Delight

Tahini, coconut and pineapple are a perfect combo. I use tahini a lot for overnight breakfast oats and chia puddings – it really isn’t just for hummus! Frying and coating the pineapple with sesame seeds and coconut mixes all those lovely exotic flavours and it provides the accompanying chia pudding with a bit of texture.

This is a great breakfast for these mixed summer days, when you want something sunny but could do with a bit of warmth too, because let’s face it, August isn’t quite the sunshine month so far.

Pineapple tahini & coconut chia delight (serves one)

  • 100ml coconut milk
  • 1 tablespoon tahini
  • 1 tablespoon chia seeds
  • 120g pineapple – cut into chunks
  • 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
  • 1 tablespoon desiccated coconut
  • 1/2 teaspoon coconut oil

Blend the coconut milk with the tahini and stir through the chia seeds.  Leave for 1/2 hour or overnight.

Melt the coconut oil in a frying pan and fry the pineapple chunks for a couple of minutes.  Then add the sesame seeds and desiccated coconut and toss with the pineapple to coat the pieces.  Continue to fry for a couple more minutes.  Serve on top of the chia pudding.pineapple tahini chia

Gooseberry Chia Fool

I’ve just harvested the last of my gooseberries and this time of year they are definitely at their best, soft and sweet – I’ve been eating them directly from the bush.  This recipe requires no cooking, just blended fresh gooseberries with some maple syrup to add a little more sweetness.  It doesn’t quite replace the delight that is the rich gooseberry fool, but even I would struggle with lots of cream at breakfast time.

Gooseberry Chia Fool (serves one)

Goosberry fool

  • 100g fresh gooseberries
  • 100g natural yoghurt (or coconut yoghurt)
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
  • 2 tablespoons desiccated coconut
  • 2 tablespoons chia seeds
  • Some coconut flakes to top

Blitz the gooseberries, yoghurt and maple syrup in a blender (save a few gooseberries for the topping to make it look pretty).   Put the mixture into a bowl and stir through the coconut and chia seeds.  Leave for an hour or more (I left mine overnight) – to let the chia seeds do their work to thicken the mixture.  Sprinkle the coconut flakes and some gooseberries on top and enjoy.

 

 

Apple, cardamom & pistachio Mug Crumble

I was browsing in a National Trust bookshop a couple of weeks ago and came across a book dedicated to Mug Crumbles – a crumble in a mug!  I was hooked and have been trying out various recipes ever since. I loved the cake in a mug concept, so this is taking it to a ‘slightly’ healthier level and what better for an indulgent brekkie than a crumble.

This is my first own recipe attempt based heavily on some of the book suggestions – just a fabulous way to enjoy fruit and nuts at brekkie.

Apple, cardamom and pistachio Mug Crumble

apple card and pistas crumble

For the filling

  • 2 apples chopped into pieces (I left the skin on)
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • 1 teaspoon caster sugar (other sugar is fine too)

For the crumble

  • 2 tablespoons plain flour
  • 1 tablespoon ground pistachios
  • 1 tablespoon soft brown sugar
  • 15g butter
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
  • pinch of salt

In a large mug, mix together the filling and cover the mug with cling film.  Pierce the cling film a few times.  Microwave for 1.5 – 2 minutes – the fruit should be soft but not really squishy.   The fruit does cook down quite a bit – so there will be room for the crumble on top.

Make the crumble by mixing all the ingredients together in a bowl and then rub in the butter with your fingers to make a soft dough like texture (like a soft crumble mixture).

Put this on top of the filling and cook in the microwave for 1 – 1.5 minutes (you don’t need to cover the mug).

Leave to cool a little before you get stuck in.  Very nice with some yoghurt on top as well.

BuckaRoo Brekkie Loaf

This bread is full of goodness and is a different way to incorporate buckwheat into your diet. The inspiration for this loaf came from a Buckwheat, banana and brazil nut bread recipe by Hanna Sillitoe from her book ‘Radiant’.  I hadn’t thought of using buckwheat in this way before and I was intrigued. My intention was to bake her recipe but I didn’t have any bananas or brazil nuts in the house so I decided to experiment and one thing I do have ALOT of at the moment is rhubarb.   The result is this mix of Buckwheat, Rhubarb, nuts and seeds.

BuckaRoo Brekkie Loaf

buckaroo loaf2

  • 150g Buckwheat groats
  • 1 tablespoon rapeseed oil (or coconut or olive oil)
  •    Pinch Salt
  •   100g pitted dates – chopped
  • 150g mix of nuts and seeds (I used almonds, hazelnuts, pumpkin and sunflower seeds)
  • 2 tablespoons chia seeds
  • 2 tablespoons flax seeds
  • 180g Rhubarb
  •   1 tablespoon coconut palm sugar
  •   100g oats
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup

Method

  • Line a 450g loaf tin with baking paper.
  • Wash the buckwheat and put into a pan with enough water to cover, a pinch of salt and 1 tablespoon of rapeseed oil. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 15 minutes.  Check the water – I needed to add a bit more during cooking to stop it sticking.  Drain off any excess water and leave to cool.
  • Cut the rhubarb into thin sticks (1cm thick and approx. 7cm long – check they fit into your loaf tin width ways) and toss with the coconut palm sugar.
  • In a food processor blitz the dates, nuts and seeds, chia and flax seeds, oats and cinnamon until well combined. Add the buckwheat and maple syrup and blend until combined.  The dough will be dry and coarse but will squish together.
  • Line the bottom of the tin with half the sticks of rhubarb, then add half the bread mixture. Lay the other half of the rhubarb sticks on top. Finally add the rest of the bread mixture and firm down.
  • Bake 180c/350f/Gas 4 for 40 minutes.
  • Leave to cool slightly in the tin before removing and letting it cool completely.

Delicious with almond butter and banana.  Also nice with a dollop of yoghurt on top.