My kids’ current favorite meal? Breakfast. And one of their most requested items – of course – is pancakes. I love that this version is easy enough for them to help with!
These pancakes mix up in the blender and then are baked in a sheet pan – which makes them super quick, and super easy – and, as a bonus, the whole family can sit down to warm pancakes at the same time!
Continue readingA few weeks ago, one of my friends hosted a freezer-friendly breakfast food swap. Everyone made up a big batch of something and we split them all up so everyone went home with a stock of grab-and-go breakfasts for their freezer. It was pretty genius.
It also introduced us to breakfast cookies. And now that we’ve been introduced, we’re here for the breakfast cookies.
Alright guys, I’m going to admit it: I’m obsessed with cinnamon rolls.
They are just such a satisfying project for me. I love getting the rolls cut perfectly and then watching them puff up as they rise. And the smell? Amazing.
And now that I’ve perfected my favorite recipe, I’m loving trying variations. This variation is my favorite to date. I mean, how do you beat a mash up of cinnamon rolls and banana bread?
Continue readingOne of my local grocery stores does a special meal-of-the-week. For a fairly heavy discount, you get a meal for four that’s easy to prepare. And often, they come with dinner.
Which is why, nearly every night when we sit down to eat, my kids now ask, “does this come with dessert?”
Banana bread is not new to the blog. In fact, I’ve already blogged nine different versions of banana bread or muffins.
Why another one, then? This one was just that good.
Note: I received complimentary product for this post. All opinions are my own.
New, inventive recipes are always fun – but sometimes you just want a classic. We love banana bread around here. Add in lots of chocolate, and you’ve got a treat that barely lasts 24 hours.
Lots of other chocolate goodness this way, too! —>
Chocolate Banana Bread
(from Chelsea’s Messy Apron)
Makes 1 loaf
1/3 cup old fashioned oats
1 large egg + 1 egg yolk
1/2 cup vanilla Greek yogurt
1/2 cup coconut oil, measured melted and cooled slightly
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup white sugar
1 cup mashed bananas, approx. 2-3 bananas
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup white whole wheat flour or plain white
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup chocolate chips dark chocolate chips for healthier
1/4 cup miniature chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a loaf pan.
Run the oats through a blender or food processor until the consistency of flour.
In a large bowl, whisk together the egg and yolk. Whisk in the yogurt and coconut oil. Whisk in the vanilla and sugar. Stir in the mashed banana.
To the same bowl, add the oat flour, salt, baking soda, flour, cocoa powder, and chocolate chips. Mix until just combined.
Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake for an hour, until a knife inserted comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool before removing from the pan.
The kids’ nap schedules have been wonky lately, so I’ve been getting some solo time with Julie while big brother naps – which means she’s been getting some kitchen projects of her own. Our favorite has become blender muffins.
The idea behind blender muffins is that you just dump all the ingredients in to mix, then pour into the muffin pan. It’s super quick and easy and only takes about five minutes – which is about her attention span.
The payoff is a great, healthy snack or an easy breakfast!
Kids can:
Adults will need to:
Blender Banana Muffins
(from Baked in Arizona)
Makes 24 Mini Muffins
1 cup peanut butter
2 medium sized ripe bananas
2 eggs
½ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
2 Tbsp. honey
Dash of vanilla, optional
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and grease a mini muffin pan. Set aside.
Combine all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Pour into muffin wells.
Bake 8-9 minutes.
Today, I’m kicking off a series of kid-friendly recipes – ones they’ll be able to help make and like to eat. I generally get a lot of questions about how I incorporate Jake into the cooking process. There’s nothing really earth-shattering about my approach: I just let him jump in wherever he can. Yes, it’s sometimes a mess. Yes, we have plenty of over-mixed muffins. But, he’s learning – and that’s important.
These mini muffins are a great place to start if you want to get your kids involved in the kitchen. They’re super simple and come together quickly. These definitely ebb on the healthier side of muffins – if your little one has a big sweet tooth, try mixing in 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips.
Kids can:
Adults will need to:
Sweet Potato Banana Muffins
(from The Lean Green Bean)
Makes 1 dozen mini muffins
1/2 cup cooked, mashed sweet potatoes
1/2 cup mashed bananas
1/4 cup peanut butter
2 eggs
1/4 tsp. cinnamon
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray a mini-muffin pan with non-stick spray and set aside.
Mix all ingredients together until well combined. Divide evenly between muffin wells.
Bake for 18 minutes.
Disclosure: I received products from Barlean’s free as part of #RecipeMakeover week. All opinions are my own.
While I’m pretty decent at whipping up a healthy dinner when need be, my baking projects are decidedly different. Tackling a makeover of one of my most-frequently-baked items – banana bread – seemed like the perfect challenge.
As I was working on this recipe, I turned to products from #RecipeMakeover sponsor, Barlean’s. Their Butter Flavored Coconut Oil can be subbed 1:1 for butter – so that was a great place to start. Roasting the bananas brought out some more natural sugars, and using Barlean’s Digestive Blend punched up the flavor while adding some good-for-you stuff to the bread (it’s a mix of ground flaxseed, chia seed, quinoa, unsweetened shredded coconut, and a pumpkin blend that is remeniscint of pumpkin spice!) My added sweetener here was a local cranberry honey (fun fact: New Jersey is the 3rd biggest cranberry producing state in the US!) – I Iiked the flavor it added, but if you don’t have this available any honey would be great in this recipe.
The result? A banana bread that was really good – and much better for you than my usual go-to loaf.
Cranberry Honey Banana Bread
(a Kate’s Recipe Box original)
Makes 1 loaf
4 medium bananas
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup Barlean’s Digestive Blend
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
Pinch of ginger
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup melted Barlean’s Butter Flavored Coconut Oil
1/2 cup Cranberry Honey (or regular honey)
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Line a baking sheet with foil. Prick the banana peels with a fork, place them on the baking sheet, and roast for 15 minutes. Remove to cool.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, Barlean’s Digestive Blend, baking soda, cinnamon, and ginger.
In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, Barlean’s Butter Flavored Coconut Oil, and honey until well combined. Mash bananas and add to the wet ingredients – stir until well combined.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until the everything is just moistened.
Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan. Bake for 40-50 minutes, until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.