Breakfast

I adore nut butter. I was introduced to the classic pb&j while I studied abroad in Austin. When I was backpacking in Australia two Americans suggested having nut butter spread on toast with slices of banana and I’ve never looked back.

Have you ever tried almond butter? It’s a great alternative to peanut butter and it’s actually a little better for you (it contains significantly more fiber, calcium, potassium, iron and manganese than peanut butter, and about half the saturated fat, though a bit more total fat). Plus, don’t you love knowing exactly what’s in here? None of those added ingredients most nut butters have when you buy them commercially, just almonds, a pinch of salt, and a drizzle of oil.

Blend it to the exact consistency that you like and enjoy it with apple slices, on crackers, or do as I do and jazz it up by spreading some on toast and adding a sprinkle more sea salt and a drizzle of honey. I have it this way, along with slices of banana, almost every morning for breakfast. It’s simple and perfect.

Roasted Salted Almond Butter

Ingredients

  • 2 cups / 263 g raw, unsalted almonds
  • 1 tsp fine grain sea salt
  • 1 tsp neutral oil (optional)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 300F/ 150C and put almonds on a large baking sheet in an even layer.
  2. Roast for about 20 minutes, until golden brown, stirring once or twice. Remove and let cool for 5 minutes.
  3. Add almonds to a food processor and blend until smooth. It should take 5-10 minutes depending on your machine. Add a little of the oil as necessary.
  4. Once smooth add the salt and process for another 1-2 mins until to desired consistency. Store in a glass mason jar in the fridge. It’ll keep for about a month.

This granola is everything I love about granola: big chunks of nuts and gooey, chewy dried fruit, alongside smaller, easy-to-chew oats and seeds all bound up in a deep, rich honey coating and toasted to a dark, cinnamon-y perfection.

I don’t know about you but granola is one of my very favourite things to eat for breakfast. I love having a bowl of it with milk and it’s also amazing with yoghurt. Either way I almost always chop a banana on top of it. It provides that sweet kick I often crave first thing in the morning and yet it’s refreshing with milk or yoghurt and eating all those oats and nuts is wonderful. Texturally it’s spot on.

I adore whole almonds in cereal – I often add them to oatmeal or warm spiced breakfast quinoa – I just love the texture and crunch of them whole with their skins. I can’t be messing around with the slivered variety – I just don’t see the point of them. Cranberries are a great flavour to combine with almonds and I also added dried cherries here which work marvelously.

Here’s the very best thing about making granola if you never have – it’s all about delving into the depths of your kitchen cupboards and using up bits and bobs of what you have. What I happened to have surplus of on hand, you see here. So long as you have rolled oats for a base and some kind of nut and dried fruit you’re good to go! Just get inventive.

In terms of texture, you can also play around. I happen to love big chunks of things in my granola – like the whole almonds – but if you don’t then chop everything. Just pick flavours and textures you love and do your thing. Enjoy!

Almond and Cranberry Granola
adapted from Alice Currah

Notes: if you prefer a less chunky granola then be sure to chop the nuts up well. If you’re using those big, juicy organic dried cherries/cranberries then you might want to hold them back and only add them to the mix about half way through baking – otherwise they will be pretty dang crunchy.

Ingredients

  • 3 cups/ 255 grams rolled oats (not the instant kind)
  • 1/2 cup/ 43 grams wheat flakes
  • 1/2 cup/ 72 grams sunflower seeds
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 3/4 cup/ 94 grams almonds (I like to leave half of them whole and roughly chop the rest)
  • 1/4 cup/ 30 grams mix of chopped pecans and whole hazelnuts
  • 3/4 cup/ 113 grams dried cranberries
  • 1/4 cup/ 38 grams dried cherries
  • 1/4 cup/ 56 grams vegetable oil
  • 1/3 cup/ 7.3 grams brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup/ 85 grams honey
  • 2 tablespoons water

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 300F/ 150C.
  2. Combine rolled oats, wheat flakes, sunflower seeds, cinnamon, almonds, pecans, hazelnuts, cranberries, and cherries in a large bowl.
  3. In a separate bowl combine vegetable oil, brown sugar, honey, and water and whisk gently to combine.
  4. Add the honey mixture to the dry ingredients and mix with your hands until all the oats are evenly coated.  Transfer wet granola evenly on to two large cookie sheets lined with parchment paper.
  5. Cook for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
  6. Remove from oven and allow granola to completely cool before serving.  Don’t worry if the granola doesn’t seem super crunchy after coming out of the oven.  It will crisp up once completely cooled. Keeps in a tightly fastened container in a cool, dry place for a few weeks.

Today I wanted to share a healthy, simple lunch idea with you guys: baked quinoa and millet patties. They taste so good inside a warmed pita bread alongside a simple salad with lemony vinaigrette.

I had a very virtuous Sunday this weekend. My plans to spend all day at the May Day Parade were scuppered when it got cancelled due to weather (we’re having April showers in May…) and so I was left with not a single plan for the day.

First, I made up a batch of Warm Breakfast Quinoa for the week. Halo shining, I decided while I was at it I’d prepare some healthy lunches too. This never happens – instead everyday I scramble around my kitchen trying to find something that my co-workers won’t judge me for eating as I rush out of the door (side note: bringing a LOT of cookies to work helps avoid the squinty-eyed weird looks from happening too often; being the Bringer of Baked Goods is a good thing).

I made up half of the recipe below, adapting Heidi Swanson’s original to use millet as well as quinoa and parsley instead of dill (which I hate). They taste excellent with a healthy dash of sriracha sauce and a couple of them would go down a treat at breakfast time with a fried egg and some wilted greens.

Baked Quinoa and Millet Patties
adapted from 101 Cookbooks

Ingredients

  • 1 1/4 cups / 6 oz /170 g cooked quinoa, at room temperature*
  • 1 1/4 cups / 6 oz/ 170 g cooked millet at room temperature*
  • 5 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt
  • 1/3 cup/ .5 oz /15 g finely chopped fresh chives
  • 1/3 cup /.5 oz /15 g finely chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 cup / 1.5 oz /45 g finely chopped kale
  • 1 yellow onion, finely chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 cup / 3.5 oz /100 g bread crumbs, plus more if needed
  • water or a bit of flour, if needed
  • 1/3 cup / .5 oz / 15 g crumbled feta cheese

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400F / 200C.
  2. Combine the quinoa, millet, eggs, and salt in a medium bowl. Stir in the chives, parsley, kale, onion, garlic, and cumin. Stir well.
  3. Add the baking powder and bread crumbs, stir, and let sit for a few minutes so the crumbs can absorb some of the moisture.
  4. Gently stir in the feta.
  5. Form mixture into twelve 1-inch / 2.5cm thick patties with your hands. It seems best to err on the very moist side to avoid a not-overly-dry patty, but you can add more bread crumbs, a bit at a time, to firm up the mixture, if you need to. If the mixture is too dry then add a bit more beaten egg or water to moisten it.
  6. Arrange the patties with a bit of space between each on a Silpat-lined (or greased) baking sheet. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the bottoms are brown. Flip and bake for another 5 minutes.
  7. Enjoy hot, or allow to cool to room temperature on a cooling rack. Makes about a dozen patties.

*To cook a batch of quinoa and millet: Combine 1 cups/ 6 oz/1700 g each of well-rinsed uncooked quinoa and millet with 3 cups / 700 ml water and 1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover, decrease the heat, and simmer for 25 to 30 minutes, until the quinoa and millet mixture is tender and you can see the little quinoa curlicues.