Tag Archives: breakfast

Almond Coconut Banana Bread

banana bread

As much as I love eating leftover dessert cake for breakfast, I sometimes want something a little simpler. When I first stopped eating gluten, banana bread was one of the little things I missed, so I started looking for a reliable gluten-free alternative.

The first time I tried to make a gluten-free banana bread was also the first time I baked with coconut flour. I had no idea how different coconut flour is from other flours. The result was dense, leaden and dried-out mini loaves of banana bread that tasted good but fell far from my ideal.

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A Taste of Summer

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Earlier this summer, I got to spend a weekend at a cottage with three very funny women. There was lots of laughter, wine and good food, and it was a nice break from city living. One of the highlights, foodwise, was a strawberry-rhubarb pie made with homegrown rhubarb. We had it for breakfast our first full day there. What a great way to start the day.

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Breakfast Cheesecake

I am currently developing a recipe for breakfast cheesecake. I know that you can eat any cheesecake for breakfast, but this one is a simple, no-fuss, no-crust cheesecake that’s baked in a bain-marie and scooped into a bowl like custard or pudding. A girl has to eat something for breakfast, right?

Breakfast Cheesecake

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Spring Cleaning

granola
Since going gluten-free, I have found breakfast to be a real challenge. I have never been a toast person, and most store-bought gluten-free bread is really only good for toasting. I also have found my appetite has changed. I don’t crave food the way I used to, and I am often not hungry at all when I wake up. This means I need something easy to eat that is filling and packed with real food.

I recently realized I needed to clean out my pantry, which led to the happy accident of a delicious version of homemade granola. The great thing about home cooking is that you get to put in lots and lots of whatever you like best. I worked off a recipe, but mainly based my amounts of things on what I had on hand.

I ended up with a cereal packed with protein and fibre that is not too sweet. It’s got sesame seeds, almonds, sunflower seeds and unsweetened coconut. Whole quinoa makes a nutty addition to cereal when it’s roasted, so I threw in what I had on hand of that, plus several cups of quinoa flakes. I used up bits of dried fruit I had too: it’s loaded with apple pieces, chopped figs and raisins. It has a touch of vanilla and honey, as well.

The best part is having both a cleaned-out cupboard and tonnes of great cereal waiting for me first thing in the morning.

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Chewy Cheddar Cheese Breads

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I fell in love with these breads long before I stopped eating gluten. I love how simple they are to make. And I love their chewy texture.

I have made versions of them for brunches and they are always a crowd pleaser. And they are so fast to make. The most time-consuming part of the recipe is putting the batter into the muffin tins. The batter can be made ahead and kept in the fridge for up to a week.

The original recipe is for Brazilian-style cheese breads and uses queso fresco. Since I’m not trying to replicate a traditional pão de queijo, I use a variety of other cheeses.

I have made these with feta, Parmesan, chèvre and cheddar. Each type is delicious, but the cheddar are my favourite. They are good eaten both warm and cold, but, let me warn you, they are so addictive that if you start eating them warm, you might find you don’t have any left to find out exactly how they taste at room temperature.

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