Breakfast | Whole Grain Buttermilk Pancakes

We do breakfast for dinner at our house at least once a week. 

Buttermilk pancakes are the BEST pancakes hands down. 

(well they come in a close tie next to my pumpkin griddle cakes)

To spice things up a bit for the kiddos we use pancake molds. 

Trust me, when pancakes look this cute - kids can't resist them!

One plate of ABC's - One plate of 123's

And just like that they are all gobbled up!

Whole Grain Buttermilk Pancakes

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/3 cup oats (what ever kind you have on hand)

1/3 cup fine ground yellow cornmeal

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cups buttermilk

2 eggs

2 tablespoons real butter, melted

2 tablespoons molasses

Mix first 7 ingredients in a medium bowl, set aside. In a large bowl whisk buttermilk, eggs, melted butter and molasses. Add dry ingredients; mix just until blended. Heat griddle and brush with butter. Drop 1/4 cup batter onto griddle for each pancake. Cook until brown. Serve with pure maple syrup, almond butter, fruit... what ever your little heart desires. ENJOY!

Did you know you could substitute buttermilk with greek yogurt? I didn't until tonight when I realized we didn't have 2 cups of buttermilk in the fridge. My best friend google told me about the substitute. We swapped a cup of buttermilk for a cup of yogurt. The pancakes turned out fabulous! 

Dessert | Sweet Chia Squares

In the mood for a yummy crunchy peanut buttery cookie type thingy? 

If your mouth said yes, look no further. 

I used crispy brown rice cereal that I purchased at Whole Foods, the box was in the cereal department, it was the 365 brand. My son thought I poured this bowl for him to eat... luckily he didn't eat it all before I could take a picture of it! He sure thought it was funny I was taking a picture of his breakfast.

Brown Rice Syrup reminds me of honey, but the taste is a bit different, almost has a light carmel taste.

Cha cha cha chia!

Who knew chia was more fun to eat than watch grow on a clay head?!

You can read all about the amazing-ness of chia right here go check it out. 

All that chia info will blow your mind and make you want to sink your teeth into the healthy seed.

Sweet Chia Squares

1 cup peanut butter (no added oils or sugar)

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup brown rice syrup

2-3 tablespoons chia seed

4 cups brown rice cereal

1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Mix peanut butter, honey and syrup together. Add in chia seed and rice cereal. 

Press down into a square pan. Top with shredded coconut. Once mixture has set, cut into squares. 

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These bars remind me of rice crispy treats. In my opinion this recipe has too much honey, so I substituted half of the honey with maple syrup and I thought it was much better. It's up to you! Try them out and let me know what you think!

Dessert | Robyn's Peanut Butter Cookies

Robyn's Peanut Butter Cookies
1 1/2 C whole wheat flour (white-wheat is best for baking)
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup butter or coconut oil
1/2 cup peanut butter (organic, peanuts only - no rapeseed or sugar corn syrup)
1 cup Sucanat
*1 egg (organic free range) 
1/2 tsp vanilla


1. In a bowl, beat the butter or coconut oil, then add the peanut butter and Sucanat and continue beating. Add the egg and vanilla to the mixture and beat. Add the dry ingredients and mix well. Shape in 1" balls, place 2" apart and flatten with fork. Bake at 375* for 8 minutes.


*We didnt have any eggs on hand so I used a little trick that my Vegan friend Katrina taught me. In place of an egg use 1 tablespoon ground flaxseed with 3 tablespoons water. Let rest in a bowl for 3 min then add to your recipe. We couldnt taste a difference! Using flaxseeds in place of eggs is a great vegan trick for baking, but you don’t have to be vegan to benefit from this great substitution. Flaxseeds are a nutritional powerhouse and sneaking some into baked goods is an easy way to get some of their wonderful nutrients into your diet.

Breakfast | Cashew Craisin Quinoa

Here's the deal. I usually have a green or pink smoothie for breakfast, but when its 20 degrees outside, sometimes that icy drink doesn't sound too hot - literally. SO what's a cold sleepy girl gotta do? Make a yummy pot of creamy Cinnamon Quinoa! 

For todays breakfast I made Cinnamon Quinoa and topped it off with : sprouts, raw cashews and craisins. One word, YUM. I'm a HUGE fan of raw cashews and craisins it's the perfect duo in my opinion. So try it, because you'll like it!

Cinnamon Quinoa

i love me a yummy cinnamony-mapley warm breakfast and this always hits the spot. 

the quinoa seed usually doubles if not triples in size. 

i store leftovers in the fridge for a quick breakfast or snack. 

2 cups water

1 cup quinoa

2-3 tsp ground cinnamon

1-2 tablespoons maple syrup (can also use honey or agave)

dash of real salt

add all ingredients together except quinoa. when water/cinnamon mixture is boiling add quinoa. cover and let simmer for 15 minutes.