Green Options

Of the adjectives used to describe gluten-free baked goods, the word “fluffy” rarely makes the cut.   Heavy,  solid, crumbly, dry — yes, any and all of those. Those of us living sans gluten have gotten used to the slice-and-toast routine when it comes to wheatless breads.  Fresh-out-of-the-oven-fluffy has all but vanished from our vocabulary. These fruit-sweetened beauties, though, change all of that.

For starters, the batter actually rose above and beyond the baking tin’s edge.  When’s the last time you remember anything gluten-free doing that? These muffins even manage to disguise shredded fruits and vegetables without coming anywhere near the dreaded dense description.

Goodbye flat, vaguely muffin-shaped globules.  It’s time to move on.

Vegetarian breakfasts are easy: Greek yogurt sprinkled with granola, scrambled eggs, pancakes, French toast… The list goes on forever.  While I wouldn’t say that vegan breakfasts, on the other hand, are challenging, its certainly a good opportunity to think outside the box.  Unless of course, you don’t mind cereal with soymilk every morning for the rest of eternity.  Me?  No thanks.  Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, and don’t think I let being vegan get in the way of that.  Here are some of my favorite vegan breakfast ideas that are filling, nutritious, and keep me away from the cold cereal.

Editor’s note: The following post was originally published on Green and Clean Mom. “Green & Clean Mom can inspire you to try a little harder, be a catalyst for change and to offer you some new tips and news on how to be the green, sexy and sassy mom…I know you are!”

Back to school time means, healthy breakfasts are a must but there isn’t much time to make that happen. We’ve heard it over and over, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. This may be the case but I don’t believe every child or person is the “breakfast type”. Personally, I just want some coffee and maybe a piece of toast. I’m just not hungry or in the mood to eat in the morning. My husband loves breakfast food, my son nibbles and my daughter devourers her food and wants breakfast the minutes she wakes up.  Every person is different but that doesn’t change the fact that we all should eat something healthy to start our day.  With very little time in the morning how can parents have a healthy and nutritious meal and not rely on the frozen waffles and sugary cereal?

Here are my back to school, start the day off healthy tips:

1.  Make a breakfast casserole the night before and pop it in the oven.  I make quiches and call them breakfast pies, my son thinks he’s eating something special.   It is packed with protein and I’m controlling the ingredients (organic eggs, whole grain breads, organic milk, fresh broccoli, organic chicken or hormone free sausage).

If you’ve ever seen an episode of the canceled Nickelodeon show Invader Zim, you’ll undoubtedly know that Zim’s robotic pet, GIR, loves waffles.  He always seems to be cooking up a batch of them at the most inopportune moments.  As my fridge never seems to be without a ready-to-go bowl of waffle batter, I can definitely relate to GIR’s waffle obsession.

But unlike GIR, who has only a vague idea of what he’s put in the batter (What’s in ‘em?” Zim asks in one episode.  “There’s waffle in ‘em,” GIR responds), I can vouch for every single corn-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, wheat-free ingredient.  Plus, the recipe is so versatile, you can practically customize the waffle to your morning mood.

My girls love themselves some pancakes, but there is something that I just cannot handle about standing at the stove for half an hour flipping pancakes first thing in the morning. It’s like I can feel my life passing me by while I stand there, flipping and flipping and flipping.

Instead of flipping and flipping and flipping these days, now I bake my girls these pancake muffin cuties–they’re pancakes, baked in the oven instead of on the griddle, and they’re delicious, portable, and amenable to the same yummy variety of toppings that makes pancakes so awesome.

Here’s how I make them:

What do you like in your oatmeal? Today I like thin sliced almonds and dried cherries, blueberries, cranberries, golden raisins and a twirl of honey (shown below). This tastes delicious with my black-cherry tea.

Depending on your current breakfast cereal buying, I’d be willing to bet you’ll save between half and three-quarters of your current spending, and get a breakfast granola that’s tailored to your own preferences.

Granted, winter squash isn’t typical breakfast fare. But when you’re in need of a creative new way to use that pile of butternut, acorn or any other varietal, try this out-of-the box quiche.

For quiche newbies, this is an ideal, simple recipe to start with since there is no crust. Plus it is an easy recipe to experiment with as pretty much any type of winter squash will work, including pumpkin. I’ll often steam several cleaned and cut-up squash at once, puree in the food processor and freeze in one-cup allotments in plastic bags, making for easy meal prep.

Recipe after the jump . . .

I usually feed my children oatmeal and hot chocolate for breakfast, but on occasion, organic cold cereal is a quick solution on a rushed morning.  We have tried Envirokidz organic cereal, and my favorite flavor is the gluten-free Gorilla Munch.  Nature’s Path has just introduced two new flavors of Envirokidz: Leapin’ Lemurs and Penguin Puffs.

The Story Behind Nature’s Path

The story behind Nature’s Path is kind of interesting. In 1971, Arran Stephens and a business partner opened LifeStream, Canada’s first large organic supermarket.  This store quickly expanded into a natural food line founded on the principle of “wholesome foods grown and processed in harmony with nature”.  Ten years later, an awkward partnership led to the sale of the company to Kraft/Philip Morris.  In 1985, Arran and his wife Ratana started Nature’s Path, which quickly grew to the point that they built the first third-party certified organic cereal plant in the world in BC.  Arran and Ratana were even able to purchase Lifestream back from Kraft, something you don’t usually hear of happening when giant corporations buy out smaller health food companies.

Parenting is a juggling act.

We’re trying to balance our kids’ needs and our own time, our budget and our health, our relationships, our jobs, and our sanity.

It’s not simple.

It’s not really hard, either, but there are some tips and tricks to keeping your parenting fun, healthy, and inexpensive. Feeding your little people on a budget can be challenging, and making time to prepare whole foods seems impossible for parents on the go.

When we were oh, so young and unattached, with no dependents, and the robust health of youth, we could eat pizza and ice cream every day, live on coffee and granola bars, go out to eat for lunch and dinner, or let the pantry stay empty for weeks.

Then along comes baby. Big change. We now need to make sure the fridge is full and the cupboards are stocked. And we don’t want to feed our children junky stuff, no matter how cheap it is. We are what we eat, the saying goes, and our children learn about food by watching us shop for, prepare, and eat the family meals.

My day never begins with a leisurely breakfast in bed. Likely because my spouse is not a morning person, and the only other morning person around is under four, and she wakes me up daily before seven. However, the Kiddo makes some tasty scrambled eggs as long as I do the stove part and raw egg part. And, I have my hopes up for the years to come.

In the meantime, I will share a few favorite breakfast dishes that you moms could, say, print out, circle in great big red ink, and leave out on the counter just before hanging the “Do Not Disturb Until 9:30, or My Breakfast is Ready” sign on the bedroom door. I will live vicariously through you.

Best French Toast Ever, Shirred Eggs, and Breakfast Panini recipes after the jump.