A Week of Steph-Style Breakfasts!

Guess what!?!

You: What!?!

I love breakfast!

You: *rolls eyes because that is the most obvious thing, I mean have I even read this blog??

Anywho- I do. I love it, I love it, I love it and if I could only eat breakfast foods I would. Although the things I have for breakfast wouldn't really be considered your typical breakfast foods/ meal types... but still!

So, scrolling through the many food pics on my phone recently I decided that because I took pics of my- very delicious- breakfasts for the entire school week (public hol on Monday.. so starting Tuesday) that I would share what a typical week of breakfasts looks like for a Steph with a raging appetite and love for desserts- Steph- style!!

Ready for some inspo for your spoon to fill with and your tummy to adore? Of course you are!

Tuesday:

Don't you love back to school/ work Tuesdays. You're already there. Wednesday is tomorrow- that's half the week done. It's practically Friday already! (Ok, maybe I'm getting a bit ahead of myself!)

Anyway- this brekky was super delicious, nutritious, filled with ALL the good stuff! I call it, Choc Oat Truffles with a side of deliciously creamy Strawberry  Banana Fro-yo:

The truffles were simply some oats, Cinnamon, chia seeds and wholemeal cheerios mixed together and then rubbed together with some warmed choc nut super spread and almond milk- popped in freezer for 30 mins to cool.

To make the fro-yo simply whiz together in a small food processor 1 chopped, frozen banana, a handful of frozen strawberries and half a cup of greek yoghurt (or omit the yoghurt altogether and simply make strawberry banana ice cream!)

Super delicious, filling and an awesome way to start your day!

Nom.

Wednesday:

See? Wednesday already! And for today's ultimate brekky...

An almost empty jar of delicious crunchy peanut butter filled with warm cherry cheesecake oats (You can find the recipe here).

There's nothing like a warm, filling deliciously sweet and yet tart jar of oats with the best 'surprise' (I totally planned it that way!) at the bottom:

Thursday:

One of my current favs (I know it's popped up on the blog quite a lot too... similar to the time I went through that smoothie bowl obsession :)

The only difference between this and a smoothie bowl.. well I guess you can see. They're separate! You see, for some reason now I prefer to have the warm, fudgey and crispy outside granola on it's own and then wash it down with a cool, creamy, thick smoothie:

In the mix today was mixed nut butter granola (3/4 cup oats, spoon of oat bran, cinnamon and warmed mixed nut and seed spread with almond milk rubbed in and then baked at 180 degrees celsius for 15 mins- until golden brown and crispy on top) with my much loved creamy dreamy smoothie- this one had added frozen zucchini chunks and kale as well as spinach- get those veggies in!:

Friday:

Hello Friday, how I love the! And how I also love PANCAKES!!!

These bad boys were spelt/ rye flour, cinnamon, baking powder, oats, chopped dates and almond milk with a splash of water- whisked until smooth. Popped onto a heated non-stick pan with some oil and cooked/ flipped until golden brown on the outside (and extremely delicious on the inside!)

Topped with the mixed nut and seeds spread mentioned above- so good!
Hello warm caramel-y dates: (happy with that addition :D)

On the side? A big cup of banana fro-yo (1 large frozen banana whazzed up with some greek yoghurt until smooth and deliciously creamy (again, feel free to omit the greek yoghurt for some creamy dreamy banana ice cream!):

And the only way to eat them?

As pancake tacos!

And that's my week of breakfasts! Happy, happy days!

In all honesty I probably ensure I have as much time/ patience available as I give myself on weekends because making, preparing and enjoying my breakfasts is something I truly value in the mornings and something I try to give myself quite a bit of time for each morning (whether that be by making my lunch the night before or getting up a little earlier, or doing an extremely high intensity, yet quite short workout before... breakfast gets priority!). Not going to lie, though. Those Friday morning pancakes did involve some side reading of my human bio text book for an upcoming test that day and a review of my debate I was also giving that day! But still- I enjoyed it! :D

I hope you got some inspiration from these brekky's and are fired up and excited to make your own delicious creations in the kitchen. I literally love going to bed because I know that in the crazy short time when you close your eyes and then they open again, it will be brekky! It's like a time machine!!

What about you?
Are you a more sweet/ savoury brekky person? I tried savoury, I gave it a good ol' shot, but in the end I just love my dessert-like breakfasts far too much!
What did you have for breakfast today?
If you could only eat one breakfast for the rest of your life what would it be? I think I would go with my beloved banana peanut butter toastie... but then that would mean no oats!! Ahhhh!!

I hope you all have a great week, filled with love and laughter and delicious foods because as always; eat something delicious!! Bye for now friendly friends! :D

The Coconut Granola Bowl Recreation!

I had a craving.

'Hi Steph.'- but no you don't understand, this wasn't just a simple craving for chocolates or lollies, or in my case potatoes.

No, this was a craving for a specific dish I've enjoyed on a couple of occasions in the past few months that I woke up one day and just knew I had to re-create.

What is this magical dish you ask? Why it is the House Paleo Muesli from Voyage Kitchen (an awesomely urban/ hipster joint with funky meal options and awesome vegan/ paleo/ gluten free etc. options too!)

So I woke up with the purpose of producing a deliciously fruity, nutty, coconutt-y granola (set in the freezer) on top of some dollops of plain greek yoghurt, banana slices scattered throughout with a side saucer of almond milk to drizzle on top (just like they give you at the restaurant!)

And so I did.

Steph's Raw Coconut Granola Bowl!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup rolled oats
Small handful chopped, mixed, dried fruit
Small handful chopped, mixed, raw nuts
1 heaped tablespoon coconut butter (tutorial here/ can be  bought at certain supermarkets)
1/4 cup almond milk/ other milk of choice
Optional- cinnamon (recommend!)
1 sliced banana
1 cup greek yoghurt/ yoghurt of choice- non-dairy etc.
Extra almond milk to serve

Method:
1. Line a plate with baking paper.
2. Place coconut butter and 1/4 cup almond milk in a small bowl and microwave for 30 seconds (making sure it doesn't boil over- alternately heat on stove until warmed and combined)
3. Combine oats, nuts, dried fruits and cinnamon in a bowl and add warm/ hot coconut micture to bowl. Stir to combine
4. Scatter onto plate and pop in freezer for at least 15 minutes to chill and set.

5. Retrieve yoghurt and banana

6. Dollop in yoghurt to bottom of bowl, follow with some delicious granola, banana slices, granola, banana slices etc. Until you get a pretty bowl of absolute deliciousness!

7. Pour over some almond milk and enjoy!

This was without a doubt one of the tastiest brekky's I've had in a long while and truly hit. the. spot in terms of my craving for Voyage's House Paleo Muesli!

Natural sweet, delightfully coconut-y and filling to boot! This is truly a breakfast of champions that does not taste like it is healthy!!

But being filled with all the fibre, nutrients and minerals of wholegrain oats, dired fruits, nuts, coconut, natural yoghurt and banana- where can you go wrong?

I enjoyed this breakfast thoroughly and would highly recommend trying it out if you're after a home-made restaurant style brekky that truly satisfies (without needing to contain eggs, bacon and sausages!)

Sometimes the lighter option turns out to be the most filling, nutritious and delicious meal of them all (especially with a few tweaks from Steph's muesli recipe!)

Grab your bowl, grab a spoon and dig in! (Or else I'll just have to do it for you!!)

Yum.


Your turn:
What's one dish you could really go for right now from a restaurant?
Do you ever try to re-create your favourite restaurant/ cafe meals at home?
Sweet or savoury breakfasts? I think I have and always will be a sweet brekky person. I have tried savoury brekky's in the past but they just don't do it for me. I guess I'm a desserts first kind of person! ;)

I hope you all have a lovely day/ week, smile lots and... eat something dlicious!! Bye for now friendly friends!! :D

An Oat Bar Recipe... Without Oats!!

Hi friends, happy whatever day of the week it is because I'm too frazzled to even remember!

But thankfully, I have enough brain power to type up a recipe (probably not to create one, what with hot elements and cooking etc.- so lucky for me I cooked this up on the weekend!!) and so get ready because...

This 'granola bar' recipe is oat free, sugar free, wheat free, dairy free, ancient grain filled, extremely delicious, filling, protein filled and quite simple to prep together for a make-ahead brekkie/ snack!

The majority of my make-ahead, convenient recipes are as a result of me requiring a make-ahead breakfast to grab running out the door for a few hours later.. and this recipe is no different!

I had a pre-brekky of plain greek yoghurt mixed with frozen banana slices (so yum!) an then grabbed my frozen granola bar wrapped in foil to enjoy approximately 3-4 hours later for second breakfast!

 Pic

Now, I'm not usually a fan of eating plain quinoa or plain buckwheat on their own, like my usual obsession with plain brown rice. Instead I seem to cook them into delicious, sweet breakfast (enter rich chocolate buckwheat 'porridge'.)

So when I needed a bake and then freeze-ahead recipe (ok, it didn't have to be bake, but the chocolate fudge brownie was getting a little old- though still so, so tasty!!) but wasn't really feeling the oats (I think I'd had oats about every day for the past week!) so instead I rummaged through my pantry shelf and pulled out some quinoa and buckwheat groats. Let's cook!

Quinoa and Buckwheat, nutty, cinnamon-y, coconut-y 'granola' bars!
Ingredients:
2 heaped tablespoons quinoa
2 heaped tablespoons buckwheat groats (add more if you're a hungry beast like me!)
1 cup almond milk
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
sprinkle of chia seeds
small handful chopped mixed raw nuts
2 dates, chopped
1- 2 teaspoons coconut oil

Method:
1. Preaheat oven to 180 degrees celsius, line a mini loaf tin with baking paper (or alternately line a ramekin)

2. Rinse quinoa and place in saucepan with buckwheat, cinnamon and  almond milk in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally until absorbed (add some extra water if liquid absorbs and quinoa and buckwheat are still crunchy!)

3. Stir in chia seeds, nuts and dates
4. Pour into mini loaf tin or ramekin, flatten with a spoon/ hands and place in oven for 20-30 mins until golden brown

5. Leave to cool and then cover in foil/ gladwrap and pop in the freezer overnight or until whenever required.

And this is me enjoying my oat-free granola bar during my break at work:

 NOM :)

It may not look like the most vibrantly coloured meal- but boy did it taste good and leave me energised and full for hours!!

All in all, this is such a great, healthy, filling, nutrient dense recipe that I reckon all of you should make when you're in a time-jam and need some awesome food to positively fly through your day!

Your turn:
Are you a fan of granola bars?
Do you make your own homemade versions? What do you put in yours?
Favourite way to use quinoa/ buckwheat?? I'm keen for some more ideas!!

Alrighty! I hope you all have a fabulous rest of your day/ week, nourish your body, love your body! Smile lots, love more and as always; Eat something delicious!! Bye for now friends! :D

Choc Magic Shell- HEALTHIFIED!

What is magic exactly?

Is it the illusions people can create whereby a quick slight of hand fools the entire room?

Or is it the indescribably, unanswerable miracles that happen in the world?

Is it that feeling you get when you simply cannot come up with an answer for what your eyes are witnessing?

For me, magic is all those things and more! I've always been astounded by magicians and magic tricks and whenever someone shows me one I usually end up standing on my feet screaming at them to tell me how they did it!!

But there have been other times that I've experienced magic as a child and one of the memories that bring back happy vibes and good nostalgio include scooping out a bowl of vanilla ice cream and topping it with something that can be describe as nothing else but magic:

Simply pouring some of this on ice cold scoops of ice cream, resulting in the wizardry ways of the Mr Whippy Van's choc covered ice cream:

So needless to say, I have in fact experienced true, undeniable magic :).

But what's a girl to do when she doesn't necessarily want to ingest ice cream that will leave her stomach in stabbing pains or a 'magic' chocolate shell with more words she can't pronounce in the ingredients list than is respectable?

Well, she goes straight ahead and makes her very own version!

Presenting Choc Coated Ice-cream; Steph-style!!

As you may have guessed I whizzed up a good ol' frozen banana (with some plain greek yoghurt- absolutely optional- I just wanted more ice cream!!) to make my version of vanilla ice cream...

But how did I make that rock hard, perfectly chocolate-y choc top topping?

Magic!!

I'm just kidding, I have the recipe for you- have no fear!

Choc Magic Shell (Awesome-ly healthy version!)

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon coconut butter/ coconut oil (coconut oil gives a harder stting choc top- coconut butter is more fudgey
1 teaspoon raw cacao powder
1/2- 1 teaspoon agave syrup or any other syrup you desire (for added sweetness, I didn't add any because I love dark bitter tastes)
2 tablespoons almond milk

Method:
1. Whiz together 1 large frozen banana in a food processor until smooth and creamy (scraping down sides occasionally) and place in a bowl in the freezer until required

2.Place the coconut butter/ oil, agave syrup and almond milk in a small saucepan over medium heat and stir until melted together.
3. Stir in the cacao powder until smooth, silky and combined

4. Leave to cool slightly, then remove banana ice cream from freezer and drizzle magic shell over top (feel free to scatter over some chopped nuts or granola etc.for added crunch!)- immediately return to freezer for 10-15 minutes to harden

5. Remove form freezer and ENJOY!!

Yes, your childhood magic has returned back to your lives and this time you can have it for breakfast!

Happy Days!!

Eaten here with a delicious plate of coconut butter truffles- some topped with the leftover magic shell!! (leftovers are never a negative! :D)

And now, a quick photo-story of the beautiful breakfast that was:

:D

Your turn:
What do you consider to be magic?
Favourite childhood memory that feels magical?
Were you as amazed by magic shell as I was??

I hope you try this recipe out and enjoy some awesome magic back into your life! Have a fabulous rest of your day, enjoy the company of those around you and SMIIILLLEEE! Also, eat something delicious- but you already knew that! ;) Bye for now friendly friends! :D