The easiest healthy breakfast recipe.

Now you have no excuses.
If you're interested in a healthy breakfast you can whip up in less than three minutes then read on.

I literally make this breakfast nearly every morning and never get sick of it. There are so many variations possible that you can always make it interesting.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup Rolled Oats
• 1/2 cup boiled kettle water
• 1 small tub Yoghurt.
• 1 teaspoon Cottage Cheese.
• 1 teaspoon of saltanas
• 1 teaspoon ground Cinammon
• 1/2-1 teaspoon of ground Cloves
• Aprox Desert spoon of Gogi Berries and Dark Choc Nibs
• 1 Tablespoon of Blueberries (frozen or fresh)
• 1 Teaspoon Flax seed oil.
• Pinch of mix seeds. ( mine is Pepitas and Sunflower seeds)

1 normal sized bowl. (Do not use a small bowl, or a ramiken as your oats may overflow in the microwave)

Method:

Step One:
Add your Oats to a bowl with the boiled kettle water.
Add your spices and the saltanas and put in the microwave for 1 minute and 30 seconds.

Step Two:
Take out of the microwave and stir through your blueberries and Gogi Berries.

Step Three:
Add a small tub of vanilla yoghurt. I hate greek yoghurt so I use Vaalia as I find it has the least amount of sugar without being full of sweetner!
Add one teaspoon of Cottage Cheese.
Yes... seems strange... Yoghurt has protein in it already... but CC adds just that little bit more and once it's all mixed in you don't even notice it's there.

Step Four:
Add one teaspoon of Flax seed oil.

Step Five:
Mix it up.

Step Six:
Add a sprinkle of your fav seed mix.



These are the mix of Gogi and Cacao Nibs I use.



I have also made this recipe with banana and coconut.

I hope you give this a go... it is SO easy and seriously DELICIOUS.

DIY Pea & Quinoa Fritters

Looking for a quick tasty meal or a yummy snack? Look no further, these Pea and Quinoa Fritters are the perfect addition to your meal plan.
Unfortunately, I cannot take the credit for these delicious morsels, it was Donna Hay (from her book Fresh and Light) from which I found (and slightly altered) the recipe.

Ingredients:
2.5 cups cooked peas
2 cups cooked quinoa
1 eggwhite
2 tbsp rice flour
2 tbsp vegetable oil
sea salt and cracked pepper
extra oil for cooking

Directions:
1. If your peas are uncooked/frozen.
Place your peas in a bowl and cover with boiling water. You can either let them sit, covered, until they defrost/cook or you can chuck them in the microwave for a few minutes (i'm always in a hurry and I prefer the microwave method)

2. While your peas are cooking, place the quinoa (if you don't know how to cook quinoa see the bottom of this post for info), rice flour and vegetable oil in a separate bowl. Also, separate your eggwhite.

3. Once the peas are cooked, mash them up. The consistency of your peas is a personal preference. I like mine pretty mushy and I use a stick mixer to give them a quick mash.

4. Add all the ingredients together.
I get really paranoid that the eggwhite start cooking because of the hot peas, so I usually add that last.

 5. Mix thorougly.

6. Add a little veg oil to a pan and heat to a moderate temperature.

7. Make little patties and place in pan.
I like to scoop out a 1/4 or 1/3 cup full of the mix to make my patties. That way they're all a similar size and shape. Note I squash them with my fingers so they're about 1-2 cm flat when they're in the pan.

8. Cook for around 5 minutes. Check the bottom of them, they're ready when they go crispy brown. 

9. Flip them over and cook for around the same length of time on the other side.

10. Serve.
I'm currently obsessed with mexican food and here I've served them with a homemade spicy salsa. They also go great with a fresh zucchini salad. 

The nitty gritty details:
Serves 4, depending on how hungry you are and what you serve them with.
Approximately 300 calories per serve (they are ALL good calories, ain't nothing unhealthy in these).

This nutritional info has come straight from: Spark People Recipes


How do you cook quinoa?
Quinoa pretty much doubles when you cook it (like rice), and this is how I cook it.
1. Thoroughly rise 1 cup quinoa
2. Place quinoa with 2 cups water in a pot (1 part quinoa, 2 parts water)
3. Add a stock cube (you don't have to do this but I think it really adds great flavour)
4. Heat on high and stir until boiling
5. Reduce to a low heat so its simmering and place a lid on (don't put the lid completely over because the liquid might boil over
6. Cook, stirring every now and then, until the liquid has been absorbed (usually 10 minutes)
7. Once cooked give it another good stir and, if you have time, leave the lid completely covering the pot and let sit for another 10-15 minutes - this allows the quinoa to become really soft and fluffy, I ALWAYS do this now!
That's it, it's soooo easy
xx

DIY Quinoa & Oat Granola

Okay, firstly I know that 'Quinoa & Oat Granola' does not sound particularly appetizing, but I'm not particularly creative and it's all I could come up with, without making a really long name like 'Quinoa, Oat, Cranberry, Date and Maple Granola', or without lying. 
Anyway, I digress, does anyone else seem to get crazy hungry at like 10 am in the morning, only to realise that, alas, lunch is still at least 2 hours away! No longwer do you need to struggle on with those hunger pangs and distracted thoughts, because my granola is super filling, super healthy, super crunchy and super yummy! 
I have been looking for an alternative to your basic fruit and yoghurt, or porridge, or bircher muesli for a while now. Don't get me wrong I freaking love all of the above but I was looking for something different, something you can't buy, but takes 2 seconds to prepare. After scouting the internet and various recipe books I decided that I would have to make my own recipe, merge all the great ideas I had found to create one spectacularly awesome cereal.
Here's what's in it...  
 

Ingredients 

Dry -

1 cup quinoa (rinsed and drained thoroughly)
2 cup rolled oats (not quick oats, the real ones)
0.5 cup shredded coconut (or desiccated)
0.75 cup flaked/slivered almonds
0.5 cup seed mix (sesame, linseed, poppy, sunflower)
0.5 cup chia seed
0.25 cup pecans
1 tsp cinnamon
sprinkle mixed spice
sprinkle powdered ginger

Wet -

4 tbsp maple syrup (real maple syrup)
2 tbsp water
cap vanilla extract

Extra -

drizzle honey
0.5 cup chopped dates
0.5 cup dried cranberries

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celcius.
2. Thoroughly rinse quinoa, drain and allow to dry.
3. Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl.
4. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir well.
5. Spray a piece of baking paper with oil.
6. Spread a thin layer of the mix onto the greased baking paper.
7. Bake for around 30 minutes, stirring once.
8. Add extra ingredients and drizzle with the honey.
9. Bake for an additional 30 minutes.
10. Remove and allow to cool.

Serve with yoghurt or milk (it's great with both!)
Enjoy!

Number of Servings: 12 (0.5 cup per serving)

If you're ever making recipes and need to know the nutritional details, I highly recommend Spark People Recipes, which is what I used. They also have whole heap of healthy tasty recipes.


At first glance this might seem like a high calorie breakfast. But, you have to think about the nutritional benefits you get from this kind of food. Not only that but this granola will keep you full for hours, and it's so yummy and easy! 

Tip: Decrease cooking time if you don't like your granola crunchy
Tip: To make a seriously yummy parfait I have been layering chobani 0% plain yoghurt with the granola and frozen blueberries. Leave to sit for 15 minutes (while you have a shower) and the blueberries will de-frost but still be deliciously cool. Perfect for a hot, summer morning! I also like to prepare a 'green tea with jasmine' tea when I make my breakfast, pop a few ice cubes in it and have a icy drink with my parfait! 

Parfait perfection

DIY SUPER-ORB Recipe

It's true... you can have your chocolate and be healthy too!

Recently I've been finding it hard to grab a quick snack that kills the cravings!

No need to search further as we've found SUPER ORBS.

They are so quick and convenient and you can twist the ingredients to suit your taste buds.

YOU WILL NEED:

Dark Chocolate Powder (***NOT sweetened)

I like this organic powder, it is pretty expensive (AU$15), but you can rest assured that there are no hidden nasties.

Two types of seeds/nuts. I used sunflower/pumpkin/sesame seeds and some extra pepita's (the green ones)

1 cup dates (or any fruit)

1 cup apricots

(I substituted dates and apricots for Gogi berries, unsweetened organic desiccated coconut and a teaspoon of ground chili, which was delicious with the dark chocolate.)

A Food Processor is a must for finely ground ingredients.

2 Scoops of Protein Powder.

I use this Evolve one in vanilla flavour. It is whey based, and is great for people wanting to decrease their body fat but maintain their lean muscle. Plus... it's pretty delicious.

I didn't use the peanut butter in the balls, but you can add it in if you like.

The coconut oil butter is a great alternative for butters/oils... (coconut oil is fantastic for your hair/skin/nails plus it's cane sugar, gluten and dairy free.)

Spices! These three staples are perfect.

YOU WILL ALSO NEED:

Maple syrup. In the pure form and not the maple flavoured syrup.. be careful!

THE STEPS

1. CHOP THOSE DATES and APRICOTS. Don't stress too much about getting them nice and small... the food processor will take care of the finer details.

2. ADD about 2/3 cup of each of your seeds.

You can add as much of as little as you like.. however, if you choose not to use oats, these will be the majority of your balls and you might like to add a little more.

3. ADD 2/3 cup maple syrup.

4. ADD 2 scoops protein powder (the scooper comes with your protein powder.)

5. ADD a heaped dessert spoon of your coconut oil/butter. 

6. Give it a quick stir.

7. Transfer to blender. Whiz it until your ingredients are as fine as possible.

8. Take them out of the blender ADD 1/4 cup of dark chocolate/Maca powder.

9.ADD Spices.

1 tsp cloves.

1 tsp nutmeg.

about 2 tsp ground cinnamon.

10. MIX with hands and ROLL them into small balls.

You can add your chocolate powder gradually so you get the right amount of chocolate for your liking.

It is your choice of sizing.. I like to make mine quite small so I can have 2.. you feel like you're having more... but you're not.

11. Sometimes I like to roll my orbs in some almond meal.

TIP: If your orbs are too dry... add a little maple syrup (be careful not to add too much though) 

12. Put in the fridge to firm up.

They don't need to be perfect... but they are DELICIOUS!

RECAP: For those who don't like to follow a picture recipe.

INGREDIENTS:
2/3 cup of maple syrup.
2/3 cup of two sorts of nuts/seeds.
1 cup dates.
1 cup apricots.
2 scoops of a whey dominant protein powder.
1/4 cup dark chocolate powder. Make sure it is unsweetened and preferably organic.
1 tsp cloves, 1tsp nutmeg and about 2 tsp ground cinnamon.
A dessert spoon of coconut oil butter.

METHOD:

1. CHOP THOSE DATES and APRICOTS.

Don't stress too much about getting them nice and small... the food processor will take care of the finer details.

2. ADD about 2/3 cup of each of your seeds.

You can add as much of as little as you like.. however, if you choose not to use oats, these will be the majority of your balls and you might like to add a little more.

3. ADD 2/3 cup maple syrup.

4. ADD 2 scoops protein powder (the scooper comes with your protein powder.)

5. ADD a heaped dessert spoon of your coconut butter.

6. Give it a quick stir.  

7. Transfer to blender. Whiz it until your ingredients are as fine as possible.

8. Take them out of the blender then

ADD 1/4 cup of dark chocolate/Maca powder.

9. ADD Spices.

1 tsp cloves.

1 tsp nutmeg.

about 2 tsp ground cinnamon.

10. MIX with hands and ROLL them into small balls.

11. PLACE in the fridge to firm up.

12. ENJOY.

This recipe makes about 24 balls. Depending on what size you make them :)

 

**MAKE SURE YOU TRY THE SUBSTITUTED VERSION OF THIS RECIPE*

Substitute apricots and dates for Gogi Berries and Unsweetened, Desiccated Coconut.

Also for good taste and an extra kick for the metabolism add in 1/2 a teaspoon- 1 teaspoon of ground chili.

I got my recipe inspiration from a fellow blogger The Yummy Vegan

I didn't add salt... because I don't think there is any need for extra salt in our lives. There is way too much hidden sodium in everything we eat anyway!

I didn't add oats... I wanted my orb balls to be something I could eat at any time in the day and not only after exercise.

I ended up not adding the Peanut Butter for the same reason.

I only eat High Energy carbs (breads, pasta, rice, oats and potatoes) within 3 hours after I exercise.