- Hi guys.
Okay, back to school is upon us,
and I know for many of us back to school
looks a lot different this year.
It certainly does for me.
So if that sounds familiar and you need hearty breakfasts
that will get everybody through 'til lunch,
these are for you.
Okay, first up.
I'm going to show you how to make some delicious
oat flour pancakes.
So I typically will double the recipe on Sundays,
feed a few to my kids,
and then package the rest up for the freezer.
That way during the week,
all they have to do is microwave the pancakes
and it is a real time saver.
We're going to add two and a quarter cups
of old fashioned oats.
So these are not the quick cooking oats.
You want the old fashion.
You're going to put those in first to the blender
because the blender is going to turn them into a oat flour.
Then for our sweetness, we're not going to use sugar,
we're going to use a ripe banana.
The riper it is, the sweeter it'll be.
And then I also like to add a full date.
If you've never cooked with dates before,
they are the best because they are so sweet,
but it's such a natural sugar
that it's not gonna give you sort of that jittery feeling
that white processed sugar would do.
Just make sure that you remove the pit
'cause you don't want to put this in your blender.
And then I also like to add for sweetness and flavor,
a teaspoon and a half of vanilla extract.
Okay, then we're going to add a cup of milk.
You can use almond milk, you can use soy milk,
you can use cashew milk, any kind of milk of work.
Then we're also two eggs.
In they go.
And then we're going to add two teaspoons of baking powder,
this is going to give us a nice lift on our pancakes,
and a teaspoon of ground cinnamon, and a good pinch of salt.
Okay, then all we have to do is blend this up
for about a minute or so until you get a nice thick batter.
Now I will also say,
the longer you let the batter sit in the blender,
the thicker it's gonna be
because all of that oatmeal just absorbs
all that moisture really quickly.
So if that happens to you and it looks too thick,
just add some more milk and blend it up again,
not a problem.
So I've got my griddle here, heating up,
and then I really like to use coconut oil for the greasing
because I find that it will create really nice color
on your pancakes and won't burn like butter will.
And then we are just going to ladle out our pancakes.
Then once you see little bubbles around the edges,
you can give it a flip.
Okay, before we plate our pancakes,
let me give you two tips.
So this batter is really thick
and it can be hard to clean your blender afterwards.
So just fill it up with warm water,
then add a little bit of soap,
we're gonna put the lid on, and we're going to blend it up.
And see, it just loosens all that goo inside
and will make it so much easier to clean after.
Then after you've cooked all your pancakes,
you can either pop them in the refrigerator
and they'll last four to five days,
or you can freeze them as well.
I like to use these glass containers that are circular
because it just works really well for pancakes.
And then use either a paper napkin or a paper towel,
place it in the container and then wrap them up
two at a time or whatever you think the serving will be.
And then the reason I use the paper towel over wax paper
is that then when it comes time to microwave,
you keep it in the paper towel,
and this will keep them from drying out.
And then all you do is undo it
and put it on the plate, so easy.
So we have our little stack of pancakes here.
You certainly could put a little butter
in between the pancakes.
That would be good.
And then instead of syrup I use honey,
I find that it's just less sweet.
So I do honey and then I do some sliced banana,
and then a few blueberries as well.
Okay, should we dig into them
so I can describe what they taste like?
(humming happily)
Oh, they're so good.
You definitely can feel the hardiness of the oatmeal,
the sweetness of the date,
and the honey brings it all together.
So delicious.
Okay, first breakfast down.
Next, let's get to some eggs.
Okay, breakfast number two.
If you like to have eggs for breakfast,
but are getting in a bit of a rut
with just plain scrambled eggs and toast,
try this instead.
We're going to make breakfast tacos.
So you can get these little corn mini tortillas.
I love them because they're a great portion size for kids.
Put them in a pan and then we're going to get our pan going
at like a medium, low flame, not too hot.
We just want it hot enough to melt our cheese.
So I'm gonna be using
just some plain Monterey Jack cheese.
Then I have two eggs that we're going to lightly scramble.
I think two eggs is a good quantity
because then that way each taco gets an egg.
Normally, I like to add a little heavy cream in my eggs.
If you've never tried that, just try a teaspoon.
But when I'm trying to be healthy during the week,
I don't do it.
So, we're going to be good.
Okay, so our cheese is melted.
This is looking good.
So now I am just going to pop these on a plate
until our eggs are done.
This is my little go-to technique
for making a really nice soft scrambled egg.
First is you've got to get it on a very low flame.
That is secret number one.
Then I have a little bit of butter here in the pan
and we want the butter to melt,
and once it gets to be nice and sizzling,
then we're going to pour our eggs in.
And even though this breakfast is a little bit
more time-consuming than the other,
I'm trying to give you recipes so that every day,
sometimes you have something just a microwave,
sometimes you have something just to assemble.
This is like a mini cook day, okay?
So that you don't get so overwhelmed throughout the week,
but that you still have some things that are nice and fresh
and piping hot, like some delicious eggs.
So then once the eggs start to adhere
to the bottom of the pan, like they're doing now,
then you can go in with your spatula
and just start to kind of move them around.
And this technique of sort of the scrambling
and the swirling will get you the nicest egg curds
that are soft and delicious.
We're going to add a little bit of the scrambled egg
onto each tortilla.
Then instead of salt and pepper,
I actually like to use a little bit of hot sauce
because you have both, basically.
You've got the heat and you've got the saltiness.
This might not go over well with the kids,
but you could do just some plain pico de gallo
or some sort of mild salsa would be good.
And then, I also like to add a little bit of avocado
for that healthy fat, right?
And then I also like to add just a little bit
of torn cilantro as well.
In fact, I make this for all meals.
This is my go-to comfort dish for breakfast,
lunch, and dinner.
So you can try it that way too.
Let's take a little bite, shall we?
This might not be very ladylike, but let's see.
I'll try to be graceful.
Oh, that's good.
Because you have the cheese on the bottom,
the toasty tortilla, the soft scrambled eggs,
the hot sauce, the avocado, the cilantro.
I mean, this will get a pep in your step, right?
How could you not want this for breakfast?
Okay next up, breakfast number three.
So if you or your children
eat cereal for breakfast every morning,
and then you feel like really hungry by 10 or 10:30,
chances are you're just not getting enough nutrients.
So this will be just as sweet, just as delicious,
and just as comforting and like 10 times better for you.
I'm going to show you how to make a delicious
yogurt granola parfait topped with fresh raspberries.
This is so easy during the week
because if you make the granola on the weekend
and it can stay on your countertop for a week,
and then all you have to do is assemble
the yogurt and the fruit for the breakfast.
Okay, so we're gonna start with two egg whites
in a large bowl just like that.
And then for the sweetness,
I'm going to add two teaspoons of honey.
I think the problem with store-bought granola
is that it's so sweet
and it doesn't need to be that way
because we're going to add some dried fruit
and that will make it even sweeter in a natural way.
And then we're also going to add two tablespoons
of brown sugar.
And then we're also going to add two teaspoons
of vanilla extract and believe it or not,
this is sweet enough,
especially when we add the yogurt and the fruit.
You're going to love it.
It's going to be so much better than cereal, trust me.
We're also going to add two cups of old fashioned oats.
It's one of the things I tried to do with these breakfasts
is bring back some of these ingredients
so that you didn't have a big list of things to buy
that you're only using one time.
We're also going to add half a cup of cashews.
I find that kids that don't like nuts,
usually love cashews
because they're really soft and buttery, and raw pistachios.
Then we're just going to fold this together
and you really can use any nuts you like.
I would just keep the quantity about the same.
So, once you feel like all of your oatmeal
is coated with the egg white,
then you can transfer it out onto a baking sheet.
So try to use something that has a rim to it
as far as baking sheets go.
That way when you're baking it and you go to toss it,
it won't toss all over your oven.
Then I added about a half a teaspoon of just vegetable oil.
It will have a tendency of sticking
if you don't add some type of oil.
We're gonna put this in a 375 degree Fahrenheit oven
for seven minutes.
At the seven minute mark,
then we are going to add half a cup of dried cherries.
So I do it halfway through because if we added it now,
they would get so hard by the time the granola is done
that they'd be pretty hard to chew.
So I find by adding them midway,
they'll be chewy, but soft as well.
Then once it's done, it'll look like this.
Then at this stage,
I like to add a third of a cup
of unsweetened shredded coconut.
I think the addition of the coconut
is really delicious in granola.
And then you can toss it about.
As granola cools, it'll dry out as well.
So when it first comes out
it might feel a little bit sticky.
Just give it a few minutes to cool
and then it'll be nice and dry
and you can toss it like this.
And then to store it for the week,
I put it in something like this, see,
and then this is the granola I made yesterday.
I kind of like that it's clear, and my kids,
when they walk in the kitchen, they can see through it.
And they'll take a handful of this
before reaching for the cookies or the popcorn.
Then when it comes time to build the parfait,
watch how easy this is.
I really like to use these little yogurts that come in
these four ounce pots.
So you use one for the bottom,
then you feel a little bit of granola on top,
then add the second pot,
top with a little bit more granola,
then I like to add raspberries.
I'll typically do three or four of those.
And if you have any blueberries leftover
from the pancakes earlier in the week,
you can put a few of those on top too.
How delicious is this?
This will cure any sweet tooth, right?
Okay, now if you're typically
like a juice and toast type person,
you might like this instead
because this'll have a ton more nutrients
and will definitely fill you up 'til lunch.
So what I have here is some toasted whole wheat bread.
And then I'm going to add
about a tablespoon of raw almond butter.
And then we're going to take a half of a banana,
save the other half,
because we're going to use that for our smoothie next.
I also like to add raisins.
I know there are a lot of raisin haters out there.
So if you don't like raisins, you can leave them off.
But I think it adds a nice chew to the toast,
and then we're going to go back
to our shredded unsweetened coconut
that we just used in the granola.
Isn't that delicious?
Okay, so for our smoothie,
we're going to take the other half of that banana
and we're going to pop it into our blender.
And then we're also gonna add a cup of frozen berries.
So this is just strawberries, raspberries,
blackberries, and blueberries.
And these berries are full of antioxidants and low in sugar,
which is why I love to put them in smoothies.
Then we're going to do a cup of coconut water,
which is a great substitution for milk
if you're not doing dairy.
And then we're also going to add one little Mandarin orange
that I've cut in half,
and I'm just going to squeeze in the juice.
And then the secret weapon, in my opinion, to this smoothie,
the thing that really fills you up are the chia seeds.
So if you're not familiar with chia seeds,
they look like this.
They almost look like little poppy seeds,
but they've become really trendy lately,
and you really can find them just about anywhere now
in your grocery store.
Why I like them is because they're full of fiber,
they're full of protein,
and when you put them in a smoothie,
they really fill you up.
So we're going to add one tablespoon of the chia seeds.
All right, let's blend it up.
It's nice and thick
thanks to the banana and the chia seeds.
And this quantity fills up a Mason jar glass perfectly.
Let's give it a try, shall we?
Oh, that's so good.
It's tart and sweet,
but so comforting because of the banana.
It almost tastes like there's yogurt in it.
And then the chia seed
makes it really nice and thick and creamy.
So here you go, this is a great breakfast.
A sort of upgrade to toast and juice
with a ton more nutrients.
All right, so if you've been watching these breakfasts
and you're like, I don't have time for any of that, Beth,
I totally get it.
Then I think this is the breakfast for you,
a bowl of oatmeal.
So my biggest tip when it comes to cooking oatmeal
is don't follow the instructions on the back of the box.
Do this instead.
So what we're going to do is get a cup of water in a pot
and get that to boil.
I also think the secret to oatmeal
is having the right ratio of oats to water.
So in my opinion,
the perfect serving is a cup of water to a cup of oats.
Easy to remember, right?
And now it looks like our water is ready.
It's nice and boiling.
I'm gonna throw in my oats, give it a quick stir,
and that's all you have to do.
You don't have to touch them anymore.
We're gonna put the lid on.
You're gonna turn the flame off.
Very important, turn the flame off
because what's going to happen is the steam
is going to cook our oats perfectly
and you're not gonna have any of that gluiness
that you have with traditional oats
that tell you to cook over the cooktop,
which I think is a bad idea if you ask me.
Okay, let's check on our oats.
Perfect!
See how loose they are?
There's none of that gluiness, they're perfectly cooked.
And let me show you how we're going to top them.
This is literally what I have for breakfast
almost every day.
I just find there is nothing quicker and more filling
than a bowl of oatmeal.
Okay, then you can also add a little bit of butter,
especially if you're not using milk.
So I think a little butter is always good.
Then we're also gonna top with some diced apple,
which is also full of fiber, a little bit of sweetness,
but not overly sweet,
some raisins, you know I love my raisins.
If you don't like raisins, you could add cranberries,
and a little pinch of cinnamon,
which is really great with the apples and raisins
this time of year.
And then for a little bit of sweetness,
just a drizzle of honey.
There, look at that!
So delicious.
I hope that this is helpful,
whether you're going to school, work,
or staying home and doing both.
All right you guys, I'll see you back here next week, bye.