Pumpkin Banana Bread

I'm beginning to think I have a bit of an obsession with banana bread. I was too scared to check just how many variations I've posted over the years but I know I've never made a Pumpkin Banana Bread before!

We bought a whole pumpkin last weekend for just $2 and we enjoyed it roasted last night, mashed for lunch today and now baked into a cake. There will also be pumpkin soup made in a few days when it cools down again after a few days of unseasonably hot weather.

Mr Fussy 4yo loves cinnamon and was willing to taste some pumpkin roasted with cinnamon last night (it got a screwed up face) but even he couldn't resist this Pumpkin Banana Bread still warm from the oven and spread with lots of butter. It was the perfect afternoon tea for the kidlets and I can vouch for the fact that it is just as good if not better toasted the next day.

The original recipe had 1/2 cup honey AND 1/2 cup sugar which I replaced with just 1/2 cup rice malt syrup and an extra banana and it definitely sweet enough for us. You may want to increase it a little.

This was incredibly moist, lightly spiced and absolutely delicious. We will be making it again!

Gotta love hidden veggies!

Pumpkin Banana Bread
adapted from allrecipes

3 ripe bananas, mashed
2 large eggs
1/3 cup olive oil
1 1/3 cups pumpkin puree
1/2 cup rice malt syrup
2 1/2 cups plain flour
1 ts baking powder
1 ts baking soda
1/2 ts salt
2 ts cinnamon
1/4 ts nutmeg
1/4 ts cloves

Preheat oven to 175 degrees C / 350 degrees F. Grease and line a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.

In a large bowl, stir together the mashed banana, eggs, oil, pumpkin and syrup. In another bowl combine the dry ingredients and then stir these into the banana mixture until just combined (don't over-mix).

Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes (mine took 50 - it was huge!) or until the top springs back when touched and a skewer comes out clean.

Cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Serve warm or cold. Suitable to freeze.

TMX - place bananas, eggs, oil, pumpkin and syrup into the mixing bowl and blend for 10 seconds / speed 6. Add remainder of ingredients and blend 6 seconds / speed 6. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and proceed with baking instructions above.

Blueberry English Muffins (SRC)

Hooray it's Secret Recipe Club time! For those who don't know SRC is a group of dedicated cooks and bakers who are assigned a blog in secret each month from which to choose a recipe and blog about on the same day.

This month I was delighted to be assigned Karen's Kitchen Stories and I had a wonderful time this month on Karen's blog. Karen is a little bit obsessed with bread and has baked some amazing things which had my mouth watering like Braided Lemon Bread with Blackberries, Pain au Chocolat and Strawberry Danish. Yum! She claims to not be an expert at either baking or photography but her recipe index and stunning photos beg to differ!

I also love baking bread (although I am nowhere near as accomplished as Karen) so I decided to choose a bread for SRC and settled on her Cherry English Muffins. Mine ended up being blueberry muffins though as I couldn't find any dried cherries.

Making English muffins has been on my to-do list for years but I've never quite gotten around to it. Part of the reason is that English muffin/crumpet rings just aren't available here in Australia. I know because I've looked in every kitchenware shop I've come across and searched online to no avail. Actually that's not quite true as I found a set of 4 on Ebay that would ship from the US for more than $30! Um, no.

I decided that I wasn't going to let that defeat me and came up with an alternative - I used the rings from my mini spring-form pans instead! I could only fit 3 rings in the pan at a time and the 3 batches each took about 20 minutes to cook so this is definitely not a quick bake, but it does make a great weekend project and we got to enjoy some delicious muffins for afternoon tea. I got 9 largish muffins from this mixture and between the 5 of us they lasted all of, oh, 15 minutes. Seriously!

There's definitely no comparison between these and the shop-bought ones - they were sensational! They may have taken ages to make but it was totally worth it. I'm really pleased I persevered and finally made them. Thanks to Karen for the inspiration!

Blueberry English Muffins
Very slightly adapted from Karen's Kitchen Stories

2 tsp rice malt syrup (or honey)
1 tbs olive oil
1 1/2 cups lukewarm milk (I used homemade almond and coconut milk)
340 g (12 oz) bread flour
3/4 tsp salt
2 tsp instant dried yeast
1/2 cup dried blueberries
1/4 tsp bicarb soda (baking soda)
3 tbs warm water
Corn meal or semolina flour for dusting

Mix the syrup, oil, milk, flour, salt and yeast in a large bowl with a large spoon. Mix together for a few minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Immediately cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 to 4 days.

Remove the bowl from the fridge about 2 hours before you will be making the muffins.

When you are ready to make the muffins, mix the baking soda with the water. Sprinkle the cherries over the dough and then gently fold the water, soda and cherries into the dough. Leave to rest for 10 minutes.

Heat a heavy based frying pan or griddle over medium heat (150 C / 300 F for an electric griddle).

Spray the griddle, muffin rings and a 1/3 cup measure with spray oil and then dust the inside of the rings with cornmeal. Pour 1/3 cup of dough into each ring (no more than 2/3 full). Sprinkle cornmeal over each muffin once you've filled all of the rings.

Cook for at least 12 minutes, until the bottoms are golden brown and then flip the muffins in their rings and cook for another 12 minutes or until you are sure they are cooked through and springy to the touch.

Cool the muffins in their rings for 2 minutes, then remove the rings and cool them on their edges for at least 30 minutes to prevent shrinking.

Thanks Karen! I really enjoyed my month visiting Karen's Kitchen Stories. 

An InLinkz Link-up

Marinated Chicken Burger with Fountain Good Choice Sauces

I gave up sugar in September 2012 after reading Sweet Poison by David Gillespie and then stumbling across Sarah Wilson's I Quit Sugar program. While I don't remember the exact date I do remember jumping up and clearing out the pantry and being horrified at the amount of sugar that was hiding in our everyday products. I thought we were eating quite healthily but the bags of stuff I threw away said otherwise!

One group of products that didn't survive the great cull of 2012 were condiments. I knew that some sauces were quite sweet but I was astounded that our tomato sauce was over 25% sugar, the BBQ sauce around 40% and the sweet chilli contained a whopping 60%! I know you don't use much at a time but if I was going to be eating something so packed with sugar I would have rather had a chocolate bar or bowl of ice cream!

While I make most things from scratch these days, especially since buying our Thermomix, I have never really made any sauces.  I just didn't think I would be able to make a version that the kids would really like and I didn't think we would get through a whole batch before it went off.

So I was delighted to receive a pack of Fountain Good Choice Sauces to review thanks to Product Talk by Nuffnang. All the sauces are free of both sugar and gluten and the pack included a squeezy bottle each of tomato and barbeque sauces, and glass bottles of sweet chilli, hot chilli and soy sauces. Instead of sugar the sauces are all sweetened with Natvia which is an alternative sweetener using stevia.

We had a BBQ at Oscar's birthday party last weekend and I knew this would be perhaps the greatest test for the Good Choice Tomato and BBQ sauces. Would the kids be able to taste the difference? Would the adults notice the labels on the bottles? Well, I can say that both sauces got the thumbs up from all our big and little taste testers, every sausage got eaten and there was not a single complaint!!

As for the other sauces I decided the best test for them would be a burger. I mean, it's not a real burger unless there's sauce dripping from your chin! I came up with this simple marinated chicken burger and it was SO good: lick-your-fingers-to-savour-every-last-bit good. I was surprised how spicy the sweet chilli sauce was (in a good way) but the hot one was too hot for me. In fact you can tell just how much we like the sweet chilli sauce as by the time I got around to taking the photo of the bottles it was half empty!

Marinated Chicken Burger

For the marinade:
6 chicken thigh fillets
2 tbs Fountain Good Choice Soy Sauce
1 tbs Fountain Good Choice Tomato Sauce
1 tbs Fountain Good Choice Sweet Chilli Sauce
1 crushed clove of garlic

Place all ingredients into a large ziplock bag. Seal the bag, removing as much air as possible. Massage the sauces into the chicken pieces until well covered and then leave to marinate in the fridge for at least a 2 hours. The chicken pieces can be fried, grilled or barbecued until cooked through. I baked mine at 200 degrees C for approximately 20 minutes (make sure you check they are cooked through). Cover the chicken pieces with foil and leave to rest for 10 minutes while you prepare the burgers.

For the burger:
6 hamburger buns
1 avocado
2 tomatoes
lettuce
2 grated carrots
Fountain Good Choice Sweet Chilli or Hot Chilli Sauce

Assemble your burgers with your favourite salad ingredients, place a piece of chicken on top and drizzle over some sweet or hot chilli sauce to taste.

So. Would I buy these for myself? Yes but I'd still use them in moderation. There's not too much research into stevia yet and I've gotten my kids out of the habit of smothering everything in sauce so for us these sauces would still be a 'sometimes' food.  That being said I do love that this range is available and for anyone who wants to switch to something healthier but is worried the kids would reject it, try these!  The full range is available at Woolworths both in store and online.

*This is NOT a sponsored post. I received product for review and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Oscar turns 6!

My big boy turned 6 yesterday. I can hardly believe it! There has been much excitement over the past month or so as we planned his party, wrote invitations and decided on a birthday cake. His party was held at a local park on Saturday afternoon and despite the threatening weather it turned into a wonderful day. The party went off without a hitch and we had 14 kids plus siblings and parents. We had John from Crazy Party come to run some crazy games for the kids which was lots of fun followed by some food and of course birthday cake. It really was one of the easiest parties we've had. I was a little concerned about how the lack of junk food would go with the kids but no one seemed to notice (or at least they didn't say anything to me!).

Rainbow fruit skewers

Apricot Balls and Nut-free Chocolate Bliss Balls

The food was really simple - some rainbow fruit skewers with watermelon, pineapple, kiwi fruit, green and red grapes and blueberries, a huge bowl of popcorn, some plain salted chips, apricot balls and nut free chocolate bliss balls, sausages, bread and sauce. We had bottles of water for the kids for after their activities and some mineral water for the adults.

Smarties Cake!

The one exception to our no-junk party was the cake. I made a double layer fudgy chocolate cake covered with vanilla buttercream icing and smarties. It went down a treat and got lots of ooohs and aaaahs at the table. I thought it would be big enough to feed everyone but my first few slices were too big so we got down to some thin slivers of cake at the end and every crumb got eaten. I guess that's a sign of a good cake!

We also didn't have a traditional party bag because I'm really not a fan of the cheap plastic stuff and all the lollies that usually go with it. Instead we had a lucky dip and as each child was leaving they got to choose something. I found lots of great stuff like giant playing cards, stamp sets, packs of textas and crayons, figurines and sticker packs all for $2. The kids loved being able to choose and unwrap something to take home and I didn't hear any complaints. 

Then yesterday was Oscar's actual birthday and we had family around for an afternoon tea of birthday cake and dinner of lasagna, salad, garlic bread and dairy-free chocolate ice cream (all chosen by the birthday boy).

Oscar was very keen on having a number 6 cake but he was happy to leave the decorations to me. I decided that given how much he loves school, writing and reading that he would like a school themed cake and I was right! I made a simple butter cake with vanilla butter cream icing and decorated with some fondant shapes. Cake decorating is really not my strong point and while they do look amateurish I was pretty happy with how they turned out. I made a book, open notepad, ruler, (wonky) pencil and a little apple. We even found some candles that looked like crayons! Oscar loved his cake and everyone had seconds.

All in all it was a brilliant birthday for him, he was surrounded by friends and family, ate some great food and received lots of great presents. Can't ask for more than that!

2 ingredient Apricot Balls

We are coming to the end of 2 weeks school holidays here and it has been action packed! Between sleepovers, trips to the park and the movies and play dates with friends there hasn't been too much down time. And to top it all off we have Oscar's 6th birthday party tomorrow! I will write a separate post about the party and all the happenings on his actual birthday but for now I thought I would share one of the recipes I am making for the party.

We are expecting 14 kids plus parents and sibilings (maybe 40 people all up) but are keeping the food very simple. I remember loving apricot slice as a kid but I do remember it being very sweet and I recently checked the packet and yep, LOADS of sugar!

Luckily The Organised Housewife came to the rescue with these simple apricot balls which have just 2 ingredients and take all of a minute to whip up. I found they had to be squeezed into balls rather than rolled but they held together beautifully and were certainly firm enough even without being refrigerated.

My kids loved these and I loved how simple they were. Perhaps the easiest party food ever!

2 Ingredient Apricot Balls
Recipe from The Organised Housewife

200g dried apricots
200g desiccated coconut

Place apricots and coconut into the food processor and blitz until well combined and sticky, about 90 seconds. In the thermomix process on speed 10 40-50 seconds.

Squeeze into balls and store in the fridge.

Makes approx 18 (depending how big or small you make them!)

Chocolate Custard Tart and our Easter wrap-up

Every Easter for the past few years my goal for our family has been to cut back on commercial chocolate, indulge in a healthier way and make some great family memories instead of gorging on sugar.

In our house the Easter Bunny always brings winter pyjamas, a CD and 1 chocolate (this year it was a Lindt dark chocolate bunny). We do an Easter egg hunt using small plastic eggs that each have one of those little fluffy chickens inside and then once they've found them all they get a prize (this year they each got a pre-printed canvas set with paint and brushes which kept them busy for a few hours). In spite of our efforts to cut back on junk both the big boys still had stomach aches at the end of the day so we had a bit of a chat about how junk food can taste good but still make your body feel yucky.

We had a delicious lunch of roast lamb and vegetables and I made this fabulous chocolate custard tart for dessert. I found it on Alexx Stuart's blog and if you haven't heard of her then head on over and check out her amazing real food recipes and low-tox living ideas.

This tart is creamy, chocolatey and indulgent but won't leave you with a stomach ache! It's also easily grain and dairy free and totally decadent. I had all the ingredients in the pantry already except the chocolate so it was really easy to whip up and also very easy to eat!

I've just included the Thermomix instructions but Alexx's recipe includes non-Thermomix instructions as well so you can check out the link below.

This really was one of the best things I've made in a long time and we will definitely be making again for another special occasion!

Chocolate Custard Tart
Recipe from Alexx Stuart

Base:
1 1/4 cups (120g) tapioca flour
1/3 cup (30g) almond meal
2 heaped tbs (20g) coconut flour
1/2 cup (45g) buckwheat or sorghum flour
160g butter (or solid coconut oil to be dairy free) (VERY COLD)
1 egg
2ts vanilla extract
2 tbs rice malt syrup (or honey/maple syrup to be grain free)
2 tbs raw cacao

Filling:
400ml coconut cream (I used Ayam brand)
100ml water
2 whole eggs
1 egg yolk
2 tbs arrowroot flour
1 tbs gelatin
5 tbs rice malt syrup (or honey/maple syrup to be grain free)
1 ts vanilla extract
120g very dark chocolate (Lindt 85% is good, grated or finely chopped

To make the base:
Place the flours and cacao into the thermomix (3 secs/ sp 5) to aerate and combine. Add the chilled fat and pulse until it has disappeared (TMX 3 secs / sp 6). Whisk together the egg, vanilla and syrup and slowly add 2/3 of this mixture to the dry ingredients. If it clumps you don't need to add anymore, or you may need the whole lot.

Use a spatula to remove the dough (it will be very wet) onto plastic wrap, shape into a disc and place in the fridge for 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F fan-forced or 200C/400F non-fan-forced. Grease a 23 cm loose-bottomed tart pan with coconut oil and dust with a little extra sorghum flour. Set aside.

Dust the dough with some extra flour and then roll it out in between 2 sheets of baking paper. Remove the top sheet, flip the dough and lay it over the prepared tart pan. Remove the second sheet of baking paper and press the pastry into the tin. It will be soft, sticky and a little temperamental. If it breaks or there are holes just patch them with a blob of dough. Trim the excess and then blind bake (covered with baking paper and filled with beans or rice) for 10 minutes. Remove the baking rice and bake for a further 15-20 minutes or until it is a deep brown (not black!).

Set aside. Start the filling as soon as you remove the the blind baking rice/beans to get the timing right - hot filling needs to go into a hot pastry shell, cold filling into a cold pastry shell (that tip is courtesy of the great Maggie Beer).

To make the filling:
Place all ingredients except the gelatin and chocolate into the thermomix and cook for 7 mins/90 deg/sp 4. Add the gelatin at the end for 5 secs / sp 6. Then the chocolate for 20 secs / sp 7.

Pour into the baked pastry shell and chill until firm. Decorate with grated chocolate and serve with berries. Serves 10.

Coconut Bread

Move over banana bread there's a new kid in town!

When this coconut bread popped up in my facebook feed from Smitten Kitchen I had no idea it would lead me back to a blog I used to read religiously (The Wednesday Chef) and from there to renowned Aussie chef Bill Granger who is famous for this recipe.

We've been on a real coconut kick lately and eat it in some form every day be it coconut milk on my muesli, coconut flour in some muffins or coconut oil in a stir fry.  This bread is a celebration of coconut and while I knew my husband wouldn't be particularly keen, the rest of us would love it and I was not disappointed.

I did make a few substitutions (of course) but I think I have stayed pretty true to the original recipe. It makes a huge (10 x 5) loaf which is pretty tasty warm from the oven but is absolutely sensational toasted and spread with lots of butter and a drizzle of syrup.

I was intending on serving a slice of this topped with homemade mango sorbet for my mother in law's birthday but in the end we had a piece of this for afternoon tea and saved the mango sorbet for a few days later when we weren't quite so full from our dinner of takeaway Chinese food.

It is the perfect breakfast or brunch bread and is really substantial without being too heavy. I loved it.

If you like coconut and are getting sick of the same old banana bread, this is the one for you!

I chose to use the recipe from the Australian Women's Weekly just so I wouldn't have to do any of the conversions.

Coconut Bread
Slightly adapted from AWW

1 1/2 cups plain flour
1 cup wholemeal plain flour
2 ts baking powder
2 ts cinnamon
150g shredded coconut (I used coconut flakes which I blitzed in the food processor to make finer)
300ml milk (I used almond and coconut milk)
2 eggs
1 ts vanilla
1/2 cup rice malt syrup
75 g melted butter
pinch salt

Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius. Grease and line a large loaf tin (mine was 10 x 5 even though the original said 8.5 x 5) and set aside.

Place the dry ingredients into a large bowl and stir together. Make a well in the middle.

Place the liquid ingredients into a large and whisk well.

Pour the wet ingredients into the well and mix until only just combined. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and leave for 5 minutes before turning out of the tin. Serve warm or slice and freeze to be thawed and toasted later.

Serves 10-12.

Lemon Diva Cupcakes

I have a confession to make. I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I became completely hooked on I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here! I think I watched every episode and was cheering for the fabulous Chrissie Swan to win (she came third). I was also cheering when Julie Goodwin arrived as an intruder because she was fabulous on MasterChef and I have her cookbooks. During the show Julie made her Lemon Diva Cupcakes so guess what I couldn't resist making the next day?

There is a reason these have become famous - they are completely delicious! I haven't made cupcakes for ages and it's been even longer since I used a piping bag. My piping skills are atrocious but the taste more than made up for that.

If you like lemon you will love these cupcakes! I made a few changes to the recipe like using rice malt syrup instead of sugar in the cupcakes and dextrose in the icing but other than that it is as per the original.

Perfect for afternoon tea. Make them!!

Lemon Diva Cupcakes
Found online here

Cupcakes:
100g butter, softened
1/2 cup rice malt syrup
1 ts vanilla extract
zest of 3 lemons
1 1/2 cups self-raising flour
1/2 cup milk (I used homemade almond and coconut milk)

Icing:
125 g unsalted butter, softened
2 cups dextrose
1 1/2 tbs lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 160 degrees C fan-forced. Line a 12-hole muffin pan with paper cases. Using a stand mixer or electric beaters, beat together the butter, syrup, lemon zest and vanilla until light and creamy.

Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Alternately fold through the flour and milk in two batches. Spoon the mixture evenly into the paper cases.

Bake for around 20 minutes or until golden brown and the centre springs back when touched. Place on a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.

To make the icing, beat the butter until light and creamy using electric beaters. Add the dextrose a little at a time, beating constantly. Add half the lemon juice and beat well. Add the remaining lemon juice a little at a time. Pipe the icing onto the cooled cupcakes (Julie recommends a 1cm fluted nozzle which I don’t have).

Garlic Smashed Potatoes (SRC)

 

Secret Recipe Club time! This month I was assigned Confessions of a Cooking Diva by Julie. I had a great time looking through Julie's blog this month and I especially liked all her menu planning posts and the way she bases her meals around different themes. We plan and shop fortnightly (which I know doesn't work for everyone) but tend to base our meals around the kids' activities and having enough leftovers for hubby's lunch. I really should do a menu-planning post of my own one of these days!

Anyway there were lots of yummy recipes to chose from and I have her Slowcooker Chicken Drumsticks, Baked Banana Bread Oatmeal and these Baked Eggs all bookmarked to try soon but in the end I couldn't go past these Garlic Smashed Potatoes. I mean, Julie is from Idaho after all!

We have a roast dinner probably every second Sunday and I am always on the lookout for different and interesting sides. We've had potatoes lots of ways but never smashed despite seeing variations of them all over the place.

These are such a simple yet delicious way to cook potatoes. Crispy and crunchy on the outside, fluffy in the middle and seasoned beautifully with garlic. We had them with roast chicken, roast beetroot and green beans tossed in lemon and olive oil. It was a seriously good dinner. Unfortunately the day I chose to make all this was ridiculously hot and we all sweltered with the oven on for a few hours (sorry to all of you in the Northern Hemisphere who are dealing with endless snow - here it is a seemingly endless summer!).

Garlic Smashed Potatoes
Recipe from Confessions of a Cooking Diva

1-2 potatoes per person
2 tbs olive oil
2-3 ts minced garlic
salt and pepper to taste

Boil the potatoes in lightly salted water until just tender, approximately 10-15 minutes. Remove from the water and cool for 15 minutes. While they are cooling, preheat the oven to 190 C/375 F degrees. Grease a baking dish and set aside.

Place the potatoes in the baking dish and using a fork or potato masher gently squash each potato. Mix together the oil and garlic, drizzle this mixture over the potatoes, sprinkle with salt and pepper and bake for around 20 minutes or until crisp and golden brown.

Serve warm or hot.

Thanks for a great recipe Julie! This has become our new favourite way to have potatoes :)

An InLinkz Link-up

Sweet Potato Brownies

The idea of hiding veggies isn't new but I must admit I am becoming more and more intrigued by just what you can get away with hiding! I have a very fussy 4 year old and we have struggled with expanding his range of foods. We've been through feeding therapy with a speech pathologist and occupational therapist which helped a little but his palate is still extremely limited and he is not at all open to trying new things. So while we still put veggies on his plate at dinner time the only time they actually pass his lips is if they are hidden in something else.

Chocolate is the ideal medium for hiding veggies not only because kids love it but it's taste and colour are great at disguising them. These chocolate and zucchini muffins have been a continued success but our new favourites are these Sweet Potato Brownies. There are 2 small sweet potatoes hidden here which along with the coconut oil, eggs, almond meal and raw cacao make them not only a really substantial snack but also a really nutrient dense one.

My boys all loved these. In the words of my 5 year old 'Mum please make these again and DON"T CHANGE A THING.' Hilarious!

These are richly chocolatey like all good brownies and even have a little crunch around the edges but the interior is very soft. I sliced these when they were still a bit warm and it was a bit messy as you can see. We kept the rest in the fridge and it was equally delicious cold but it sliced much more cleanly.

Sweet Potato Brownies
Adapted from this and this

1 medium sweet potato (3 cups grated)
2 ts vanilla extract
2 eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup liquid coconut oil or olive oil
1/2 cup raw cacao
1/2 cup rice malt syrup
1/2 cup almond meal with 1 tbs coconut flour mixed in
1 ts baking powder
1 ts bicarbonate soda

Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Grease and line an 8 inch square brownie pan and set aside.

Finely grate the sweet potato (and place in the food processor along with the vanilla, eggs and oil. Mix well. Add the dry ingredients and pulse until just combined.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for approx 35 minutes or until  just set and firm to the touch in the middle. Allow to cool completely in the pan before slicing.

Store in the fridge. Makes 16 serves.

My favourite chocolate granola

With a big boy in grade 1 this year and another in kindy, I've realised just how important breakfast is to their mood and energy levels. I can pick the day they didn't eat properly by their behaviour at the end of the day! The more filling and protein packed their breakfast, the better the day goes (for everyone!).

My kindy boy Charlie loves a smoothie for breakfast most days and while the fruit and the flavour varies it always includes oats, chia seeds, coconut oil, something green and a big spoonful of NutraOrganics Thriving Protein (affiliate link).

Oscar on the other hand loves quinoa porridge or scrambled eggs most of the time but having a standby like some ready prepared granola is another great alternative for him.

I've posted some granola / toasted muesli recipes before but I just had to post this one because it is hands-down my favourite one yet! Sweet, nutty, chocolate-y and equally good for dessert as for breakfast. My husband has a sprinkle of this on his yoghurt at work most days. It is a great alternative to porridge and about a million times more nutritious and filling than any cereal out of a box.

As with all recipes like this you are limited only by your imagination. If you don't like something or just don't have any feel free to substitute for something else.

The bowl above was my dinner - a generous 1/2 cup of granola with homemade almond and coconut milk and a scattering of frozen raspberries. 

If you've never tried buckwheat before you should definitely give it a go! It's crunchy, nuttiness goes perfectly here. If you use honey or maple syrup instead of the rice malt syrup it will also be 100% grain free. The 1/2 cup of sweetener is a little on the high side for us but could be increased or cut back depending on your taste.

My Favourite Chocolate Granola
Recipe by me
Makes lots!

3 cups raw mixed nuts (I used ABC nuts - almonds, brazils and cashews)
3 cups coconut flakes
1/2 cup linseeds
1/2 cup raw buckwheat
1/4 cup chia seeds
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/4 cup raw cacao
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup rice malt syrup (or honey or maple syrup)
2 ts cinnamon
1/2 ts Himalayan salt

Preheat oven to 140 degrees C. Line a large baking tray with foil and set aside.

Roughly chop the nuts by hand or in a food processor. Place the nuts in a very large bowl and add all remaining ingredients. Mix until well combined.

Bake for approximately 1 hour, checking and stirring every 15 minutes, or until the granola is as dark and crunchy as you prefer. Make sure you keep a close eye on it!

Allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container for a few weeks to a month.