Healthified Pancakes

I have been a pancake fan forever and I will take them any which way you give them to me.

Over the last few years though it has been a mini-mission of mine to pimp my pancakes so they pack a nutritional punch, while still being light and delicious. There have been numerous incarnations of healthier pancakes in my kitchen. But with this one I think I’ve have hit the jackpot.

The only sweetner is banana so you can happily give them to little people, and they are easily made gluten free with the addition of gluten free posts. They come together quick smart and I can report that they were devoured by the G also (hence that half pancake on top).

Perfect Healthified Pancakes (makes 6 smallish pancakes)

Ingredients 
1/4 cup oats
1/4 cup buckwheat flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1/2 banana
2(ish) tbsp milk (I used almond)
1 tsp vanilla

Method
1. First up pop your dry ingredients (oats, buckwheat flour and baking powder) into your food processor and whiz them up so the oats break down a bit- they don’t have to be super fine.
2. Add everything else and whiz again.
3. Heat your pan, add a little coconut oil (or another greasing agent) and cook 2 pancakes at a time. I could have got more but it makes flipping tricky.
4. You know the drill, when bubbles start popping on the surface of your pancake flip that sucker.

Now you can enjoy these babies however you choose, but it would be remiss of me not to mention how I ate mine… As peanut butter and raspberry sandwiches. Get. On. Board. You absolutely won’t regret it!

Over the weekend 1

I had one of those moments on Saturday morning, where I was just stoked with where we live. I had enjoyed my favourite chai, finished the grocery shopping,  visited a new local organic grocer – Aunt Maggie’s- where I was able to refill my Grateful Harvest Kombucha bottle (win!), and was on my way to a new little donut place that is only open between 8am and 3pm on Friday and Saturday, when it just occurred to me that I love Brunswick. And I am so very happy that we don’t have to leave this little hood (that’s a post for another day).

The Brunswick Foodstore does THE best soy chais.

Aunt Maggie’s has opened up right near where I do the grocery shopping. Organic, whole foods heaven.

Ginger Kombucha. Be still my heart.

I went with… the OG Glaze, Lime Brûlée, Coffee glaze with chocolate crumb and passionfruit curd filling, and the Raspberry glaze with raspberry and white chocolate crumble. I have been dreaming of donuts for a couple of weeks now, but not just any donut, I wanted a Doughnut Plant donut. When I saw photos of the All Day Donut numbers in instagram during the week I thought I might have found an alternative to Doughnut Plant. Unfortunately, they didn’t quite live up to my expectations. The donut themselves were plain and relied on the glaze and filling for flavour, they were also a little dense for my liking. But I’m glad I tried it. Next weekend I might have to go in search of Doughboys…

My productive Saturday continued once I arrived home- at 9.30am!- and whipped up some raw chocolate bliss balls (recipe coming soon) and pumpkin soup (recipe here).

The rest of the day was spent attempting to do an essay that was due on Sunday. I got about 200 words in before my brain pretty much shut down and I knew nothing else was getting done.

Small Block is, and may always be, my favourite breakfast place. The staff are lovely and know that the BF and I both want English Breakfast tea before we sit down and the bacon is second to none. I am really looking forward to having a runny egg yolk once baby arrives…

Once breakfast was done it was time to get back to essay writing… instead I did two loads of laundry and baked some banana-blueberry muffins (another recipe I will get to you soon). I never feel the need to do laundry as much as when I have homework to do. I almost folded everything too, but resisted- which yes means there is a pile of clean clothes on our living room floor (no need for photos of that).

I have decided that I think I prefer exams to essays. There is something comforting about having a answer that is either right, or it’s not. Essays are all about how you argue, and maybe I’m just not that good at arguing… at least it’s now done and submitted.

What did you with your weekend?

A long weekend

Like everyone else on the planet, I love a long weekend. There is something so delightful about getting to Sunday night and realising that you don’t have to be in the office the following morning. Bliss. Serious bliss.

This weekend we down here in Australia (apparently with the exception of Perth for some reason) celebrated the Queen’s Birthday. Even though the actual Queen’s Birthday is not in June. It’s weird. But I will not object to a day at home.

It wasn’t a terrible eventful weekend but it was lovely nonetheless… here are a few photos of this and that…

I remembered to order the homemade lemonade at The Local Burger Co. on Friday night. Tangy, delicious and super cute!

Small Block. Our breakfast venue of choice.

A little East Brunswick street art.

It was a perfect day to walk home in the sun.

And any day is perfect for baking. These two loaves- raspberry, white chocolate and coconut on the left, and banana and milk chocolate on the right- went off to a friend who is a new mama six week olds don’t leave a whole lot of time for anything aside from feeding and nappy changing…

I’ve been meaning to try Loving Earth caramel for ages… it was pretty impressive.

Sunday breakfast. There is cheese, avocado, mushrooms and ham in that puppy. I’m a sucker for a quesadilla.

For some reason the grocer near my work has stopped stocking the ginger number… why, oh why!? It’s the best one!

PERFECT AVOCADO. This went into yet another quesadilla…

For the month of June I decided I’d take on an Instagram yoga challenge. The one I picked is Mermaid Yogis. This is days 7, 8 and 9. There was also a 45 minute flow on Yogaglo. I am really enjoying yoga at the moment. White tshirts seem to make me look particularly pregnant… the bump is even poking out on the top left!

Vegetable fritter mix. The only thing I dislike about making fritter mix is that you need to squeeze out the liquid from your veggies. No matter how much I squeeze there is always juice in the bottom of the bowl. Why? I tried to compensate with quinoa flour, I think it went pretty well. I’m already looking forward to chowing down on these puppies with avocado, and tuna for lunch. Yum.

Today I have also managed to knock off a lecture on carbohydrates. It’s nice to have started subjects that are more nutrition focused rather than the general biology and chemistry. I’m looking forward to getting into more of the nitty-gritty of nutrition.

And that’s it. The weekend is pretty much done. And as much as I do not want to go into the office tomorrow, at least I know it’s only for 4 days and then we’re back to the weekend again.

Enjoy your week!

 

 

Three Bags Full

A break from breakfast tradition.

Three Bags Full is in Abbottsford, and on the one occasion I visited before the place was jammed with people and there was a line for a table. Only in Melbourne do we line up for brunch. Melburnians take brunch seriously.

This time around however we arrived a little after 8am- thanks to dropping the car off for a service bright and early- we had our pick of the tables.

We started off with a tea for two. English Breakfast for him. Calmer Sutra chai for me. 
Delicious.
Although much of the menu sounds delicious I find Three Bags Full one of these places- that seem to be popping up a lot now- that make things a little too fancy. When it comes to breakfast I tend to go for things that are simple and tasty. Lunch and dinner can be more “interesting” but breakfast is for the classics, in my opinion.

After a few sweeps of the menu I went with the sautéed mushrooms, which would ordinarily come with goat’s cheese, but things of that nature are on hold until September, disappointing.

When it arrived… holy cow that’s a whole lotta mushrooms! They were really tasty, super mushroom-y with the sweetness from the shallots. But halfway through I was struggling. It was just. So. Much. Mushroom. Half a serve of the ‘shrooms with a nice egg would have done with trick.

We were in and out in about half an hour, we are nothing if not efficient in our breakfast pursuits.

If you’re in the Abbottsford area, check out Three Bags Full, just make sure you get there early!

 

Three Bags Full
Corner Nicholson St and Mollison St, Abbottsford
www.threebagsfullcafe.com.au

Snaps from the weekend

This weekend just past was a four day one for me. Tuesday was Melbourne Cup Day, one of the perks of living in Melbourne, and I took the Monday too. I love having no alarm to wake me up for four days in a row, it’s lovely.  Saturday started with a walk around the hood. Followed by an amazing soy chai.  One of my favourite breakfasts. 

Gluten and sugar free Banana-coconut muffins. They were so light and fluffy. The following day they were dry and kind of horrible. Better luck next time. We did something a little different with the nachos on Sunday… There is a heap of shredded beef hiding under all that corn chip-salsa-cheesy goodness. And naturally you can’t have nachos without sour cream and guacamole (my speciality). 

I spotted this guy across the road from my gym. 

Juicing! The BF bought us a new juicer about a week ago. It’s amazing. I will have to show it off at some point. Then there was baking. Double chocolate donuts with salted caramel drizzle (recipe here).  Another soy chai and my other favourite breakfast.

Not a bad weekend I think…

Sydney

Last weekend I visited the Harbour City to see some friends.

I was supposed to be there on Friday night, however thanks to Tiger Air and a last minute cancellation I arrived at 8.30 on Saturday morning… just in time for breakfast. This was quite possibly the best almond milk chai I have had the pleasure of drinking. Then there was the green eggs and bacon (and feta and roquette – which on the menu was listed as rockets).

Once breakfast was done it was time to shop. It’s been ages since I had a shopping expedition, and we headed straight to the city centre.This was the view on the way… Sydney’s quite pretty. Mid shopping snack (lunch). Fro-yo is my splurge food, I can’t go past it. Dinner was Mexican… what else?Steak fajitas and chicken tacos. They were pretty tasty, but I’ll be honest, I wanted to go here because of the name alone. Sunday saw us crossing an impressive bridge, Anzac bridge to be precise. We were on our way to Paddington for brunch, which ended up being lunch after an hour and a half drive- apparently you can’t go everywhere you want when the Sydney Marathon is on, whoops! After breakfast we found a park with a view.

Not bad Sydney, not bad.

ANZAC Day

It’s ANZAC Day here is Australia, which aside from remembering our past, and acknowledging our present men and women making sacrifices for our country, means we get a day off. In my opinion a mid week day off is almost better than a Friday or a Monday. It breaks up the monotonous 5 day week and makes it a wee bit more palatable. 

As most days do this one started with breakfast. There was no chai tea, so I settled for an English Breakfast. The only problem with English Breakfast is that it makes me want to add sugar. 

Rancheros. It’s been a while, but they were incredible as always. 

See. (almost) Clean plate.

Next up I had a cake to finish. A vanilla-rainbow-marble number covered in luxurious chocolate buttercream. I had intended to put a little 6 on top, seeing as the recipient is turning 6, however it didn’t turn out…

Sprinkles all over instead.

After picking at both the left over cake and icing (damn sugar and it’s silky sweet lure, sometimes I just give in), it was time for a workout. 

As part of the Tone It Up Bikini Series the Sunkissed Abs workout was on the agenda. I added the Love Your Booty routine too. I followed it all with a refreshing green smoothie (similar to this one, but not exactly the same, they rarely turn out exactly the same, it’s so easy to tweak!)

And right now I should be doing homework… but instead I am sitting on the couch watching Sherlock Holmes (the first Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law movie).

I’m not sure what the rest of the day will hold, what I do know is that the BF is going to create an amazing salmon dinner. I’ve not actually had fresh salmon before, I’m not much of a fishy-fish fan but I am very much looking forward to what he comes up with.

Happy ANZAC day!

Play with your food: Blueberry and vanilla protein overnight oats

I am officially not a coeliac. This wonderful news for a number of reasons; the largest of which is that I can now enjoy baguettes, pizza, pasta and countless pastry treats while on the Euro-Gypsy-Adventure. Another, less monumental reason is that I can now have overnight oats without potentially causing harm to my digestive system. Hurrah!

The craze that is overnight oats has been floating around on pinterest and instagram for a while now. Me being set in my breakfast eating ways had resisted the temptation… until yesterday that is when the lure of hearty oats, fruit and all the other bits and pieces became too much for me.  This happened in my kitchen last night. I looked at a few recipes before embarking on my own creation, but gave them very little thought ones things were being spirknled, tossed and poured into my jar. All of my ingredients went it, I screwed on the lid, and into the fridge it went.

I will admit I was skeptical. I had no idea how it was going to turn out. And I didn’t exactly feel relief when I cracked the jar open. Not the most attractive of breakfasts is it?Once I dug in it was a little better… oh hello there blueberries!

The little jar of goodness was CRAZY FILLING. I actually had to take a break part of the way through and sip on some hot water. I finished it though, don’t you worry.

My verdict on overnight oats? AMAZING! They were tasty and filling and even after a few hours my belly is still pleasantly full. What more can you ask for!?

Blueberry vanilla protein overnight oats

Ingredients (this is just what I used, you could mix it up however you please)
50g fibre cleanse muesli
1 scoop vanilla Sunwarrior protein
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1 tbsp chia seeds
1 tbsp flaxmeal
1 cup almond milk
1 tsp maca powder
Seeds and nuts as you please

Method
1. Start off by combining your almond milk, protein and maca powder, shake them up in whatever you’ve got handy.
2. Take half your museli (or oats of choice) and dump them into the bottom of your jar, add to this half a tablespoon of both the chia seeds and flaxmeal, mix them all around.
3. Pour in half of your almond milk mixture and give it a stir. I didn’t stir it particularly well and there were a couple of unsoaked chunks today.
4. Blueberries next, throw them on in, I didn’t bother defrosting them seeing as a night in the fridge was going to do that for me.
5. In goes your remaining museli, chia seeds, flaxmeal and milk. Give it another stir as best you can with the blueberries all up in there.
6. Sprinkle your toppers, I went with sunflower and sesame seeds, and pepitas.
7. Seal it up and refrigerate overnight.
8. Crack it open in the morning and devour! I am already thinking about what to add next time… cinnamon and shredded coconut are definitely on the list.

My (long) weekend in photos

Protein pancake and apple breakfast.  Friday kitchen experiments. Nest cookies and cashew raspberry fudge. After which I found an impressive while hair! Not quite 31 and already on my way to salt and pepper. Saturday morning.  Lunch and more baking.  On Sunday we went farm visiting. Of the four dogs we met Lilly the three legged bitza was by far the coolest. Then there was Willy the 55 year old (!) cockie. And my personal favourite, Barney the goat.  Monday breakfast. AH-MAY-ZING. Poached eggs on sourdough with baba-ganoush, and tomato, avocado and spring onion salsa. Good lord. I only wish I could have eaten all of it. I’ll put it out there, this may be my new favourite breakfast…

And now, though I should be doing homework, I am snuggled on the couch re-watching season 2 of Game of Thrones in preparation for the new season tonight.

A weekend of breakfasts

One thing that may already be clear about me is that I love breakfast. It is hands down my favourite meal of the day.

During the week it can sometimes be difficult to make my breakfast as grand as I believe it deserves to be- this morning for example I ate a protein pancake and blueberries while sitting in traffic after a swim (upgraded to the 50m pool!) On the weekend though breakfast can be the event it should be.

On Saturday I enjoyed corn fritters with bacon and avocado salsa with three good friends on a balcony in South Yarra.

On Sunday it was off to Small Block (yes, again) with the BF. I cannot go past their soy chai tea… brewed in the soy milk, as you can see. Perfect.

And for the eating part of the morning I opted for the house-made beans with Meredith feta, GF toast and mushrooms. The BF got his usual.