Tag: breakfast

Banana Baked Oats

It’s a new week and for many of us the last before our kids are on holiday for a couple weeks. This quote by John F. Kennedy is our motto for the week, “Things do not happen. Things are made to happen.” With a to do list a mile long, it’s important to take time out to plan and figure out what is actually moving you towards your goals. Once you’ve got down on paper, it will be a lot easier to spend your time on productive tasks. 

On the list of things we don’t want you to worry about is your breakfast! This simple and delicious recipe for banana baked oats is a great way to get you powered up for the day.  By baking the oats, you create a different texture than the one you may be used to, almost like a soft chewy cereal bar! By adding flax, chia and nuts, the nutritional value of this breakfast is also greatly increased. Lastly, add any fruits from the Fruitful Day box to make it both aesthetically pleasing and more flavorsome.  Add different fruits the next day for a whole new combo and you won’t get bored.  

Now go out there and smash this week healthy breakfast and all! 

Banana Baked Oats (makes one 23cm x 23cm baked tray)

1 hour

Ingredients for the baked oats

  • 2 cups of rolled oats
  • 2 tbsp ground flax
  • 3 tbsp chia
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp nutmeg
  • ¼ tsp cloves
  • ½ tsp ginger powder
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence
  • 2 cups mashed banana from the Fruitful Day Box
  • 2 tbsp coconut oil
  • 1/3 cup maple syrup or honey (this is optional as bananas are already sweet)
  • 2 cups coconut milk, almond milk or any milk of choice

Ingredients for toppings

  • 1 banana from the Fruitful Day Box
  • any other fruit of choice from the Fruitful Day Box
  • pecan nuts from the Fruitful Day Box

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.

2. In a large bowl, combine the oats, flax, chia, spices and salt. You can grind the flax yourself from whole flax seeds in a coffee grinder.

3. Add the wet ingredients; mashed banana, coconut oil, vanilla essence, maple syrup and coconut/nut milk.

4. Mix all ingredients until well combined.

5. Pour mixture into the baking tray (lined if necessary) and bake for 30 – 35 minutes or until browned on top.

6. While oats are baking, take another baking tray out for the pecans.

7. Coat the pecans in honey and roast for 5 – 8 minutes or until browned. You can put them in alongside the oats.

8. While both the pecans and oats are baking, thinly slice bananas.

9. Place a pan on medium heat, add some butter to the pan and sauté the banana slices by cooking lightly on each side and sprinkling with cinnamon.

10. Once oats are browned, remove from the oven and serve with cream or yoghurt. Top with caramelised banana, caramelised pecans and sliced fruit.

Banana Bread

We can’t believe it’s 2019 already!  We’ll be continuing to share recipes this year, but what we’re even more excited about is that Michelle Harvey, a Nutritional Therapist, is going to guest blog throughout the year and help us to understand how some simple changes to our diet can have a huge impact on our well-being. Look out for her first blog article in the coming 10 days. We think you’re going to love her just as much as we do!

In the meantime, we wanted to share an easy banana bread recipe with you.  This banana bread is a little bit different as it has banana flour in it. You may never heard of banana flour, but it’s actually a great addition to your diet because it’s a prebiotic!  What is a prebiotic you ask?  A prebiotic sets the environment for probiotics to work so it’s important to consume them together. Prebiotics, which are a type of non-digestible fiber compound, can be found in foods like bananas, artichoke, onions, garlic, apple skin, chicory root, beans, and many others.  Although they haven’t gotten the press in recent years that probiotics have, they are actually just as important as they are the fuel that allows probiotics to work. It’s all part of keeping your gut healthy something Michelle will be talking a lot more about throughout the year.

We hope you’ll come back soon to learn more about simple ways to improve your health in 2019.

Banana Bread (makes two loaves 11cm x 22cm)

1 hour

Ingredients

  • 100g coconut sugar
  • 2 ripe bananas from the Fruitful Day Box
  • 50g peanut butter
  • 170g banana flour (you can order on Amazon)
  • 50g oats
  • 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 100g milk or dairy free milk of choice
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • ½ tsp nutmeg
  • 3 free range eggs
  • 100g coconut oil
  • 80g dates

METHOD

  1. Blend dates, bananas and peanut butter
  2. Combine mixture with all remaining ingredients and stir until a consistent texture is achieved
  3. Prepare loaf tin by lining it with greaseproof paper and preheat oven to 160 degrees C.
  4. Pour banana bread mixture into tins and bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
  5. Allow to cool on a rack before removing from the tin to consume.

Granola & Apple Compote Jars

It’s been a while since we posted a recipe on our blog, but we’re back!  This time with a delicious home made granola recipe, which is much better than any store bought granola that often contains added sugar, palm oil and non-gluten free grains. Once the granola is pre-prepared, it is very quick breakfast you can put in a jar and take with you to work or as a post-workout snack.  In our jars, we’ve paired the homemade granola with apple compote and yoghurt, but you can get creative with just about any fruit! This time of year pears are some of our favorites, for instance.

We have some more exciting recipes coming up in the next weeks so keep checking back!

Granola & Apple Compote Jars 

1 hour

INGREDIENTS for the apple compote

  • 4 apples from the Fruitful Day Box
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil

INGREDIENTS for the granola 

  • ½ cup fresh shredded coconut OR dried desiccated
  • ½ cup oats
  • ½ cup walnuts from the Fruitful Day Box
  • ½ cup hazelnuts from the Fruitful Day Box
  • ½ cup peanuts from the Fruitful Day Box
  • ½ cup pumpkin seeds from the Fruitful Day Box  ½ cup sunflower seeds from the Fruitful Day Box
  • 4 tbsp honey OR maple syrup
  • 4 tbsp coconut oil
  • 1 tbsp cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp nutmeg
  • 1 tsp ginger powder
  • ½ cup cranberries from the Fruitful Day Box
  • ½ cup raisins from the Fruitful Day Box

METHOD for the apple compote

  1. Preheat over to 180 degrees C.
  2. Peel apples and chop into quarters.
  3. Place on a baking tray, sprinkle with cinnamon and coconut oil and mix around with your hands.
  4. Bake for 30 – 40 minutes until soft.
  5. Remove from the oven. You can either eat the apples as they are or put in a food processor for a more compote like consistency. Alternatively, you can cut them into smaller pieces at the beginning before roasting for a chunky compote.
  6. To serve, layer the granola, compote and yoghurt into a jar in any order.

Spinach, Blueberry & Banana Pancakes

It’s been a few weeks since we posted our last recipe and with the first day of school around the corner, we wanted to give you some ideas to start the year on a healthy and happy note.

So have you heard of the old wives’ tale that you should eat your colors? Then you’ll love these green pancakes!

Pancakes are traditionally thought of as an unhealthy breakfast, but these are actually gluten free, sugar free, dairy free and paleo. In addition, they are great way to get spinach into what is otherwise a “treat” type meal especially for kids. Continue reading Spinach, Blueberry & Banana Pancakes

Apricot Muffin

If your kids are anything like ours, they’re always asking for muffins, but it’s not easy choosing a healthy recipe that they’ll still like.

Today’s apricot muffins are made with almond and coconut flour making them far more nutritious, but without compromising on taste. Win for mom and dad, win for the kids!

Instead of muffins, you could also bake this as a sweet loaf and enjoy with butter and jam in the morning.  Either way, we’re sure you’re going to love it!

Apricot Muffins  

(makes 9 small muffins)  

Apricot Muffin

45 minutes (including baking time)

INGREDIENTS for the muffins 

  • ½ cup ghee
  • 2 ¼ cups almond flour
  • ½ cup coconut sugar
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 2 large eggs 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 4 apricots from the Fruitful Day box.

METHOD 

Apricot Muffin

  1. Preheat over to 180 degrees C.
  2. Melt ghee in a saucepan or in the microwave and set aside.
  3. Slice or chop apricots and set aside.
  4. In one bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients; almond flour, coconut sugar, baking soda and salt.
  5. In another bowl, mix wet ingredients; melted ghee, eggs and vanilla.
  6. Add the mixtures together along with the sliced apricot and combine until a dough forms.
  7. Grease or line your muffin tray.
  8. Bake for 22 – 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Smoothie Bowl

In Ramadan, we always try to do something special with our discovery boxes to celebrate the Holy Month. For those of you who are customers, we hope that you have been enjoying the extra nuts, seeds, and dried fruits! If you haven’t tried our discovery box yet, this is one of our favorite time of the year not only because of the extras, but also because stone fruit season has just started and that means lots of yummy fruits like cherries, plums, nectarines, and apricots.

Today’s smoothie bowl recipe is perfect for Suhoor or even if you’re not fasting something to keep you going for a little longer.  In particular, coconut and cashews are both packed with healthy fats that help you feel satiated for longer. From your Fruitful Day box you can use your cherries, bananas, and pretty much any nuts and seeds in the box to craft these beautiful bowls of goodness.

 

Until next time and Ramadan Kareem!

Smoothie Bowl

(makes 2 large smoothie bowls)

5 – 10 minutes                                                         

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 frozen bananas from the Fruitful Day Box (this requires you to peel, chop and freeze the bananas the night before)
  • 1 cup frozen sour cherries
  • ¼ cup fresh coconut
  • 2 tbsp cacao powder
  • 2 tbsp cashews
  • ¾ cup coconut milk  

* optional toppings of cacao nibs, granola, berries, bee pollen, edible flowers, coconut chips

From the Fruitful Day Box: dried banana chips, nuts, seeds and dried fruit.

METHOD

  1. Blend all ingredients and pour into a bowl.
  2. Add toppings

* To get the colour variant you see in the photo:

  1. Omit the cacao powder and blend. Pour a little out and set aside.
  2. Add the cacao powder and blend again.
  3. Pour dark smoothie mixture into a bowl and then use the pink smoothie mixture to create patterns on top.

 

Lemon & Grapefruit Curd

With Ramadan fast approaching, we are committed to sharing as many recipes with you as possible.  Whether you’re fasting or not, these recipes are easy to make ahead and fuel you for the day. Today’s recipe is a lemon and grapefruit curd, which is delicious on toast, hot cross buns, or even as a tart filing. Best of all, it is free of any refined sugar!

A word about grapefruit, admittedly it’s not the most popular fruit in our boxes, but it has so many health benefits it’s still important for us to include! To begin with, a grapefruit contains the average adult’s full daily vitamin C requirement. Several studies have also shown numerous other benefits such is helping with weight loss, boosting immunity, and fighting cellulite. We’re pretty sure even if you’re not a grapefruit lover, you’ll love this curd as a healthy alternative to your usual jam.

Come back soon for our Ramadan recipes! One of our favorites is an apricot and orange granola bar free of sugar, corn syrup, wheat or canola oil. Next time you’re in the grocery store check the ingredient list of the granola bars on the shelf and you’ll realize just how much better is to make these on your own.

Lemon & Grapefruit Curd
(makes 1 cup curd)

Lemon & Grapefruit Curd

 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS

  • ¼ cup lemon juice from the Fruitful Day Box
  • ¼ cup grapefruit juice from the Fruitful Day Box
  • ½ cup honey
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 2 eggs
  • Pinch of salt
  • 6 tbsp ghee

METHOD

Lemon & Grapefruit Curd

  1. Place a small amount of water in a saucepan on medium heat. Let the water simmer but not boil.
  2. In a glass bowl mix the lemon juice, grapefruit juice, honey, egg yolks, eggs, salt and ghee. Whisk until combined.
  3. Place the bowl over the saucepan creating a bain-marie.
  4. Continuously stir the mixture until it reaches 76 degrees C. If you don’t have a thermometer just keep stirring until the mixture thickens. This will take up to 10 minutes. It may seem as though it will never thicken, however, at the point where the eggs are cooked it will suddenly thicken and this is when you’ll know it’s ready.
  5. Pour the mixture through a sieve to strain out any lumps and chill.
  6. This curd can be used on toast, hot cross buns, as a tart filling or poured over a vanilla cake.

Overnight Oats

We’ve been a little quiet on our blog as we’ve been busy preparing for Ramadan! We have been working on the most beautiful Ramadan platters that are the perfect hostess gift for Iftar or a healthy dessert option if you’re planning a function at your house. Take a little sneak peak of one of our platters here.

Anyway, with the beauty of the Holy Month around the corner, we were inspired to include a healthy breakfast influenced by the flavors of Ramadan on our blog. Overnight oats with pistachio, rosewater and pitaya stained yoghurt is literally one of the most beautiful recipes we’ve ever featured, but what makes it extra special is that it actually allows you to recycle the skins of your dragon fruit that you might otherwise throw away.

Still not convinced? Well did you know that rosewater actually has a number of health benefits? It can help keep you hydrated, which keeps your skin looking younger plus it’s said to have other anti-aging properties such as reducing wrinkles and tightening pours*. In addition, it’s known to be a mood booster. A recipe that helps you stay beautiful on the inside and the outside! You can’t beat that. 

Overnight Oats with pistachio, rosewater and pitaya stained yoghurt

(makes 2/3 portions)                

Overnight Oats with pistachio, rosewater and pitaya stained yoghurt                                                

30 minutes (not including soaking overnight)

INGREDIENTS

Overnight Oats with pistachio, rosewater and pitaya stained yoghurt

INGREDIENTS for the yoghurt

  • 1 450g tub yoghurt (full fat or dairy free)
  • 1 dragon fruit from the Fruitful Day Box

INGREDIENTS for the rosewater

  • ¼ cup dried rose petals (make sure they are organic and pesticide free)
  • 1 ½ cups water  

INGREDIENTS for the oats

  • 1/3 cup oats
  • 1 cup coconut milk
  • 2 tbsp raisins
  • ½ tsp cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp clove + cardamom + nutmeg
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1-2 tbsp honey or maple syrup (depending on how sweet you want it)
  • 3 tbsp thinly sliced pistachio
  • 1 tbsp rosewater

METHOD for the yoghurt

  1. Wash and peel the skin off the dragon fruit. Eat the fruit or use for smoothies or salads.
  2. Place the skin in a bowl with the yoghurt and mix it around.
  3. Leave overnight to allow the skin time to stain the yoghurt. Stir once or twice while soaking.

METHOD for the rosewater

  1. Place the rose petals and the water in a saucepan and simmer for 10 – 15 minutes or until the colour has faded from the petals. Some water will evaporate so you can add more if the flavour is too intense.
  2. Set aside in the fridge.

METHOD for the oats

  1. Place all ingredients except pistachio and rosewater in a bowl. Allow to soak overnight.
  2. In the morning you may need to add more coconut milk depending on how thick the milk is and what type of oats were used.
  3. Stir in the rosewater.
  4. Garnish with the stained yoghurt and pistachios.

 

*Source: 7 seasons to drink rose water, https://www.mnn.com/health/fitness-well-being/stories/7-reasons-drink-rose-water

Immunity March: Banana Pancakes

Between Happiness Day, Mother’s Day, and end of term, it’s been another busy week here at Fruitful Day HQ! We’re looking forward to spending some extra time with the kids over the next couple of weeks and if we’re perfectly honest getting some extra hours of sleep too. These down periods are hugely important to building our immunity as we give our bodies a change to rest and recharge.

Our banana pancake recipe today is the perfect breakfast for after you’ve gotten your 7-8 hours of sleep!. It is simple, healthy and fun to make with the kids.

Generally speaking pancakes aren’t thought to be a ‘healthy’ breakfast, but by substituting a few key ingredients they are actually good for you without comprising on taste. In this recipe, both flour and milk have been substituted, which are inflammatory and the opposite of immune boosting. In addition, these pancakes include bananas, which are full of nutrients help to support the immune function like iron, zinc, Vitamin A, Vitamin B6, Vitamin C and selenium.

Enjoy your holidays and remember PREVENTION is the key to not getting sick so rest up, eat well, stay hydrated and take time to do things that make you HAPPY.

Banana Pancakes (makes 15 palm sized pancakes)

45 – 50 minutes (If you have a larger pan and can cook several at once it will be faster)  

INGREDIENTS

Immunity March: Banana Pancakes

  • 3 bananas
  • 4 eggs
  • 3 tbsp peanut butter
  • ¾ cup oats
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 2 tbsp cinnamon

 METHOD

Immunity March: Banana Pancakes

  1. Put two non stick pans on medium heat.
  2. Blend all ingredients into a batter.
  3. Add 1 tsp ghee into each pan and pour batter until it spreads out into a palm sized shape in the pan. Note – these pancakes will not hold together like regular flour pancakes so if you make them too big they will break up.
  4. Flip pancake once cooked and cook on the other side.
  5. Continue until all the batter is used.
  6. Serve with yoghurt, coconut cream, fruit, honey, maple, cacao nibs or any topping of choice.

 

 

 

Energy February: Apple Compote & Granola with Yoghurt

Hello February! This month we’re focusing on foods that can help you boost your energy levels and keep you feeling strong and motivated throughout the month of February.  Our first recipe of the month is an yoghurt, apple compote with homemade granola.

Next time you’re eating what you might consider a ‘healthy’ breakfast, take a look at the ingredient list on your yoghurt tub and granola box. It’s likely you’ll find ingredients such as processed sweeteners (corn syrup, fructose), sugar, thickeners (xanthan gum, corn starch), artificial colors and flavors. Even the granola’s marketed as “healthy” will be predominantly grain based and will almost always contain sugar. These ingredients are inflammatory and disruptive to blood sugar levels as well as being generally lacking in nutrients. Putting a large batch of granola together takes less than 30 minutes and can become your breakfast for the week. This granola combined with an organic, live culture and sugar free yoghurt will greatly improve your morning energy levels to take you through to lunch!

Apple Compote & Granola with Yoghurt   (serves 2)

INGREDIENTS

 For the compote

  • 2 apples from the Fruitful Day Box
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • ¼ tsp ginger
  • ¼ tsp all spice
  • ¼ tsp clove powder
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice

 For the granola (makes a batch)

 200g mixed nuts from the Fruitful Day Box

  • 200g gluten free oats
  • 100g pumpkin and sunflower from the Fruitful Day Box
  • 100g desiccated coconut
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 3 tbsp honey
  • 2 tbsp coconut oil
  • 200g mixed raisins, cranberries and dates

 METHOD

 METHOD for the compote 

  1. Preheat the over to 170 degrees C.
  2. Peel, core and chop the apple into large cubes.
  3. Place apple and all other ingredients on a roasting tray and mix together until apples are coated.
  4. Roast for 20 – 30 minutes for until the apples are soft and a little browned.

 METHOD for the granola

  1. Preheat the over to 170 degrees C.
  2. Mix nuts, oats, seeds, coconut and cinnamon together.
  3. Add honey and coconut oil and mixture evenly together.
  4. Bake for 20 – 30 mins, however, turn every 5 minutes to make sure the granola doesn’t burn on one side.
  5. Remove from the oven and stir in the dried fruit.
  6. Leave to cool before serving.

To assemble

  1. Spoon any organic yoghurt or non dairy yoghurt into a bowl. Add compote and granola as desired.
  2. Garnish with any Fruitful Day Fruits, cacao nibs, peanut butter and honey.