banana bread granola parfait

I'm an absolute freak about breakfast. Like a total, legit fuhhh-reeeeeak. You know those people who couldn't care less about breakfast and are like "OOOOH YERRRRRR, I forgot to eat this morning."?? I'm the absolute farthest from that person that you'll ever meet. I go to bed with breakfast on the mind. I wake up with breakfast on the mind. I workout with breakfast on the mind. It's like some sort of disease I have. OOHHHH WEEEE-AAAALLLL. 

Even though I love it, doesn't mean I get bored though. As we all know, I have the attention span of an ADHD ant, so I need to switch it up quite often. I kind of go through spurts with my breakfasts. One week all I want is oatmeal. The next is smoothies. Sometimes eggs. Toast with peanut butter, banana, honey, and cinnamon. Toast with smashed avocado and fried eggs. I love it all. Espeshhhh granola. My favorite way to eat it is with yogurt, but then I realized that dang dairy is what makes my skin get all wonky-tonk. I didn't totally give up dairy because herrroooo, it's one of my favorite foods ever. But I still eat yogurt about once a week to prevent me from opening the fridge and downing a whole container of it. It could happen. 

Anywho, this parfait is pretty dang simple. Banana bread granola- which totally tastes like banana bread. Ironic, no? It's sweet, chewy, and chunky. Mehhh jam. Layered with plain yogurt and sliced 'nerrnerrs. Now you've got yourself a banana-rama-licious breakfast! Rejoice. DISCLOSURE- Usually when I eat granola and yogurt, I just throw it in a bowl with some fruit. It's never layered and pretty like you see herrrrrr. In fact. After I finished the pictures, I just dumped it in a container to eat for breakfast the next morning. HEHHH. Classy. Oh, P.S. Combining the granola, yogurt, and banana in a bowl and letting it sit in the fridge overnight… NOT a bad idea. Like my beloved overnight oats but with a little more chew to it. Noms. 

banana bread granola 

2 c. oats

1/3 c. granulated sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/3 c. mashed banana

1/4 c. honey 

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 tbsp. coconut oil

1 c. banana chips

1/2 c. chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350ºF and grease or line a baking sheet; set aside. In a large bowl, stir all ingredients except banana chips and nuts until evenly combined. Pour onto prepared baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes stirring about 3-4 times until golden brown. Add in banana chips and nuts and transfer to an airtight container or jar. 

Parfait: 

1/2 c. granola

1 large banana, sliced

1/2 c. plain yogurt

In a small bowl or glass, layer half the granola on the bottom of the glass, half the banana, half the yogurt and repeat. 

stuff 'n things {no. 4}

// my new favorite lunch- dark rye crackers, smashed avocado, sea salt, and hard boiled egg. AMEN. 

// I'm a total rain-freak. Unlike some people who think it's depressing, rain only feeds my energy. Considering the fact that we hardly had a rainy season last year {darn you, desert.}, I got so excited when I heard rain outside. And then it ended likeeeee 5 minutes later. I felt so let down. 

// Ya know what's the worst? Having the serious URGE to bake, but then you don't have the ingredients to make what you want. I want to shoot something. 

// these easy stick buns with bacon… What theeeeeeeeee.
// Apple pie pancakes. Because there's no such thing as too many pancakes. 
// these fig orange and almond scones. YERRRM. I wish I could find figs here, goshdanggit.
// caramel chocolate slices… The fact that they're good for you makes me want them like 10098888x more.
// coconut angel food cake with greek yogurt frosting. LOOKS SO GOOD and floooooofy.
// OMGAWWWWSH- the cuteness.
// more pancakes. Ahhh, mehh lyyyyfe. 
// Literally was drooling over these pretzels. Like full on, drool forming little pools in the cheeks. Gross, sorry.
// ultimate raw vegan ice cream sandwiches. HOW ARE THESE HEALTHY, WHAT?
// Homemade peanut butter chips? BOOM! That was my mind. Being buhhh-looown. 
// Must we sift this flour? Loving this Baking 101 series from Joy!
// this post all on eating well and in moderation. Spot on. PLUS… A chocolate chip cookie recipe. Moderation, guyzzzz.
// brownie belgian waffles. WUHHHHHT.

strawberry muffin bread

I've hardly had any time to EAT lately let alone bake something presentable, jot down recipes, take pictures, and post it on the interwebs. But hey! I did it. At first I thought this bread was gonna be a legit fail. At least looks-wise. I mean, I'm all for "Beauty is what's on the inside" and whatnot, but when it comes to food blogging, I don't care how it tastes, it's gotta look dang good. When I first looked into the oven, the batter was overflowing, forming weird little wrinkles and craters in the bread. Some would say it's ugly. I say to heck with ugly, I think it's attractive {in a I WANT TO EAT YOU kind of way.} It's now summer in these regions, and I've got jumbo, fresh, juicy strawberries up the wazoo!!! What is a wazoo anyway?? Well I got strawberries up it. And I loveeeeee it. Since finding strawberries at the grocery store isn't like finding bars of gold {or costing about that much.} anymore, I thought I'd start some berry bakin'. Fresh strawberry bread? Uh yes. The sweet, fruity, vanilla-y aromas that were lingering about like little berry fairies in the kitchen was enough to make me swoon. And salivate. Sure it looks ugly, but y'all. It tastes fresh and wonderful and just slightly sweet.

strawberry muffin bread

2 large eggs

1 c. plain yogurt

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/3 c. maple syrup

6 tbsp. granulated sugar {1/4 c. + 2 tbsp.}

1/2 c. oat flour

1/4 c. gluten free oats

1 1/4 c. gluten free cake flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 c. roughly chopped strawberries {about 10-12 strawberries}

Preheat oven to 350ºF and grease a loaf pan; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk eggs, yogurt, vanilla, maple syrup, and sugar. Add flours, oats, baking powder, and baking soda. Stir until smooth. Fold in strawberries and mix until evenly combined. Pour into prepared loaf pan. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

maple flax cashew butter granola

I am seriously so easily excited, it's kinda odd but a good thing nonetheless. It doesn't take much to perk me up. AT. ALL. Bring me a cup of coffee without asking and we'll be BFFs. Text me in the morning and I'll love you forever. Give me a bar of 70% dark chocolate and I'll dance with endless jubilee. Come over with a tub of ice cream and a chick flick and I'm the happiest camper that ever roamed the lands. I'm not even gonna tell you how excited I got when I was home alone this morning and found Friends was on. Three episodes even! Boomcachowpoooow. Oh and when I found coconut oil at the store? Pretty sure my week was made. Almost two years living in a place where food trends never see the light of day sort of does weird things to a {already weird} person. 

I just got done saying how easy I am to please, but when I found the coconut oil I was thinking "NOOOOOW I just need to find nut butter other than peanut butter." Sure enough, when we were out of town yesterday, scanning the isles of the grocery store for anything awesome or American that we can't find in our little town, I found cashew butter. I'm not even going to tell you how much it cost. Let's just say my dad told me "Merry Christmas!". Which means I probably shouldn't be eating it out of the jar with a spoon like I dooooooes. ANYWAYS. I got really psyched. Last week, coconut oil, and now cashew butter? Winning at life. *fist bump, yo*  Guys, that stuff is fan-freaking-tastic. I want to cover anything and everything with cashew butter. Including my face. MMMM. 

While I'm thinking of ways to use my precious cashew buttahhh other than eating it with a spoon or smothering it on toast, I figured I'd start with granola. Because granola basically is the best breakfast food eeeeeever. I've started making my granola in smaller batches recently because I basically have no self control and if there's an overabundance of the stuff sitting on the counter, I think it my duty to shove it down my face hole. If only granola-eating was an actual paying job, I'd totally be loaded. And then I'd go back and clear off that shelf of fancy-pantsy cashew butter. 

maple flax cashew butter granola

1 1/2 c. quick cooking oats

1/3 c. puffed brown rice cereal

2 tbsp. coconut oil

3 tbsp. cashew butter

3 tbsp. organic maple syrup

1/4 c. flax seeds

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375ºF and line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients until evenly combined. Pour onto prepared baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven occasionally {about ever 5-6 minutes}, stirring the granola around so that it doesn't burn. Let cool before removing to a jar or plastic container to store. Serve with milk or yogurt and fruit or by itself for an afternoon munchie!

stuff 'n things {no. 3}

// Coconut oil. Finally. Found it. EEEEEEEEEYYYOO.

// I'm so weird. On Mondays, I typically ease into the week {my excuse for doing hardly any school.} and then jam on Fridays. It makes me feel good. 

// Made healthy brownies last night. Ate three this morning. Living the life. 

// You're gonna think I'm crazy- which may or may not be true- when I say this… I stayed up late last night, for three freaking hours untangling yarn. YES. THREE HOURS. That's one 8th of my day. Spent untangling yarn because goshdangit, knots are not okay with me. It was during those strenuous hours that I started questioning my sanity or my lack there of. Told you. Crazy. 

// Due to the yarn-untangling extravaganza, I woke up this morning really under-slept. Exhibit A) I grabbed my sunglasses instead of my prescription glasses and then nearly ran into a wall. Whoa, that was weird. 

//  I'd like to strongly suggest making pancakes in your sweatpants and chowing down while watching Friends tomorrow morn. Happy weekend! 

Links 'n stuff. 

// whole wheat apple & orange marmalade cake.
// galette with berries- GOR.GEOUS.
// brown butter baked doughnuts.
// mini strawberry galettes.
// maple walnut steel cut oatmeal with yogurt, peaches, and chia seeds. Love oatmeal!
// chocolate chip layer cake.
// pumpkin chocolate ice cream sandwiches for the awkward transition from summer to fall. .
// chocolate baked doughnuts. 
// these double dark chocolate cookies look perfect for coffee-dunking. AMEN.
// strawberry pistachio no bake tarts. So beautiful!

salted dark chocolate almond coconut oil cookies

 So the other day while grocery shopping, my brother made this weird face as we trotted on by the health food section {i.e. a little 3 foot shelf full of gluten free flours, molasses, and xylitol. that's aboooout all. } and exclaimed with a questionable tone, "COOOOOconut oil?" I was all like "WHAAAA FOOOO!" I've been wanting to use coconut oil for um ever since I saw it making appearances in healthy recipes all over the interwebulars. So when my brosophegus spotted it I totally freaked out. Likeeeeeeeeee full on freaked. Did a little jig? Sang a little bit? Made a fool out of myself in front of the entire population of the grocery store? Why yes. Indeed I did. No shame.

Immediately my mind went all the places. Cookies. Muffins. Blondies. Cake. Where the heck am I supposed to start experimenting? There's no telling when I'll quit. Or if I ever will.  After discovering that replacing butter with coconut oil seriously didn't change the flavor or texture of cookies, there's no turning back now. I've gone to the dark side. Errr actually, the light side! These cookies kinda blew my mind. Ya know when you try to healthify cookie recipes and use yogurt or banana instead of butter? Things don't go right. Things get cakey and weird and not like how cookies should be. Cookies that are more like muffins are just not okay. BUUU-HUUUUUT. No butter here. And no muffin-y cookies. Mind bloooooooooown.I've been really wanting something to dunk in my morning cup of coffee and pretty sure these cookies couldn't be any better for the job. Nothing wrong with starting out the day with some chocolate! The fact that they're healthy and actually taste like normal cookies makes me super excited. No guilt and no surprise breakouts due to dairy!! 

salted dark chocolate almond coconut oil cookies

1/2 c. coconut oil
1/2 c. dark brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. wholewheat flour
1 c. oat four
1/2 c. quick cooking oats
1 tsp. sea salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 c. dark chocolate chunks/chips
1/2 c. raw almonds, roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 350ºF and grease/line a baking sheet; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk coconut oil, eggs, sugar, and vanilla. Mix in flours, oats, salt, and baking powder. Stir until just combined. Fold in almonds and chocolate chunks. Scoop dough onto prepared baking sheet and bake for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool before removing to a wire rack. Recipe yields about 15 cookies.

mini peanut butter banana bread pancakes

For some reason, I'm really really really craving SUMMER. Actually, no not some reason. I have a few. For one, it's getting sunny and warm and bright in good 'ol Nam. And to me, that means SUMMER. With my school, I feel like I'm totally running out of steam and kinda half-butting it, if ya know what I mean. I don't really have any consistent time off since the school schedule here is kinda wonky. And since I have no life, it's kinda like I have nothing else better to do. But I'm really feeling like I need a break. A 3 month one. PLEASE. The only solution? SUMMER. I also want to stuff my face with only corn, strawberries, popsicles, and avocado. Dear, SUMMER, I want you. 

So I think you get my gist, I really want summer. What does this have to do with pancakes? Nothing. I just wanted to tell someone about my problems, know what I mean, jelly bean? Sorry I called you jelly bean. I do know for a fact, however, that whatever my problem… Pancakes will solve it. And so will peanut butter. Aside from the obvious chocolate and peanut butter {or my personal favorite: peanut butter and spoon.}, banana and peanut butter are basically soul mates- destined for great things. Like my pie hole. Errr pancake hole. These pancakes are super simple, and taste like banana bread! Peanut butter banana bread that is. Oh also I should mention. I'm totally that weirdo who really strongly dislikes my pancakes sweet. I like them really plain SO there's no added sweetener in this recipe aside from the natural sweetness that the mashed bananas bring. If you're not too fond of the idea, add in a tablespoon or two of honey, maple syrup, stevia, or sugar.

mini peanut butter banana bread pancakes

2 eggs

1/2 c. mashed banana {about 2 small bananas}

3 tbsp. plain yogurt

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 tbsp. creamy peanut butter

1/4 c. oat flour

2 tbsp. wholewheat flour 

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. baking powder

In a small bowl, whisk all ingredients until combined. Place a greased frying pan over high heat. Scoop batter by two-tablespooonfuls onto greased pan. Let cook for about 2 minutes and flip to the other side until golden brown. Serve warm with extra peanut butter, sliced banana, or maple syrup.