I will eat them here and there. Say! I will eat them ANYWHERE!

Now Dr. Suess was the first to write about green breakfast food, but since I don't eat green eggs and ham, or regular colored eggs and ham for that matter I figured it was time to write about my own green breakfast.  

After a recent trip to the produce market this weekend I found myself with an abundance of spinach (forgetting that I already had some I bought 2 more bags!).  Now we go through spinach pretty quick here, but this is a little much even for us.  I started adding spinach everywhere...into my morning smoothie, into salads, into dinner pasta dishes.  I set out tonight to make my oatmeal for breakfast tomorrow morning and thought...what the heck.  In honor of earth day coming up this weekend make your breakfast more green!  


Green Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal - Makes 1 Serving

1 apple diced (I leave the skin on b/c I'm lazy)
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup non-dairy milk (i like unsweetened vanilla almond milk)
1/2 cup packed spinach leaves
1 tbsp pure maple syrup
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

In a non-stick sauce pan (you can use the same pot you plan to make the oatmeal in for less dishes), add a small layer of water, place at medium heat, add diced apples and let cook until the apples are tender.  Remove from pan if using the same pan for the oatmeal.




In a blender or food processor, add non-dairy milk and spinach.  Blend until spinach is completely chopped and milk is all kinds of green.


In sauce pan add water, oats, milk mixture, syrup & cinnamon.  Cook on medium heat for 3-5 minutes stirring often.  Once the liquid is absorbed by the oats, add in the apples sprinkle with a little extra cinnamon and ENJOY!


I PROMISE you will not taste the spinach at all.  You are adding in a whole bunch of vitamins and minerals with very few calories.  
This has me thinking...what else can I make green???

If Elvis Was Vegan...

I was thinking about Elvis the other day while reading a great book called "The Pleasure Trap", you should totally read it.  Anyway, the book was talking about Elvis and how he is all about excess.  And even though he died early, I was thinking about him and what would have happened had he remained alive and discovered the benefits of a plant-based diet.  

Everyone knows how much he loved his peanut butter and banana sandwiches.  So when making breakfast on Saturday morning, I channeled my inner King and made what he would probably eat if he was making a plant-based breakfast.

Elvis Pancakes

1 ripe banana

1 tbsp maple syrup

3/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk

1/2 cup water

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp peanut butter or alternative (see note below)

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

Mash banana up with a fork.  Mix with wet ingredients (syrup, milk, water, vanilla, & peanut butter).  Slowly add in dry ingredients and mix to incorporate.  Let batter sit for 5 minutes.

Heat pan or griddle on medium.  Spray with a small amount of cooking spray and ladle 1/4 cup of batter into pan.  Cooking until batter starts to bubble slightly and flip.  Cook until golden brown (these pancakes will be a little thick so make sure to cook until they are cooked inside.  

Serve with syrup, or peanut syrup (recipe below).  Add fresh fruit if you like (berries bananas),I know that Elvis probably wouldn't want to have fresh fruit on his, but he probably should have!  And yes, that is only two pancakes!  They are super thick and delicious!

Notes:

Peanut Butter

A year or so ago a friend of mine told me about Better 'n Peanut Butter.  It is a low calorie, low fat version of peanut butter.  I find it sweeter than peanut butter but it does the trick without a ton of the guilt.  I get it at Trader Joe's but I am told it's available elsewhere.  It is great alternative to peanut butter.  This recipe would be delicious with either but on this particular morning I went with Better 'n Peanut Butter as we were having dinner out that night and needed all the calories I could save up!

Peanut Butter Syrup

1/4 cup Maple Syrup

1 tbsp peanut butter or alternative (see above)

Mix together in a small microwavable bowl and zap for 40 seconds.  Stir and pour on your pancakes!  Yum!