I've made banana oatmeal pancakes in my blender for years, but I just never got to putting pen to paper, measuring everything out and getting the recipe finalized...until now.  Maybe it took this quarantine to get this out of my head and onto the blog.  These pancakes are a weekend favorite around here and our toddler especially loves them.  They're easy to make ahead of time and keep in the fridge for a reheated, quick breakfast too and you can make these vegan or gluten free by subbing in GF oats and/or using a flax egg instead of regular eggs!

Here's what you'll need:

Ingredients
(makes 10-12 pancakes)

-1 cup vanilla almond milk (you can sub in your choice of milk here)
-2 eggs or flax eggs
-2 ripe bananas
-2 cups oats (sub in GF oats for GF version)
-2 tsp baking powder
-pinch of salt
-1-2 tsp cinnamon

Directions
Heat a skillet on medium heat and coat it with non-stick cooking spray.  In a high powered blender, add the ingredients in the order of the milk, eggs, ripe bananas and then the dry ingredients. Secure the lid and turn the blender on low and then increase speed to medium/high.  Once the batter is formed together, turn off the blender and pour out each pancake onto the heated skillet, approx. 1/3 cup batter at a time.  Allow to cook for approximately 2 minutes on each side.  You will see the edges forming, turning golden and bubbles appearing in the pancake when it's time to flip.  Continue the same on the second side.  Remove from the pan and continue until all of the batter is used.  Serve immediately with butter and maple syrup or store in an air tight container in the fridge for a quick breakfast another day.  Enjoy!

I've got carrot cake on the brain with hints of spring rolling in and Easter around the corner.  Growing up, my mother always loved carrot cake and I couldn't get past the concept of carrots in a cake.  So, I never had it.  It wasn't until the last 10-15 years or so that I took the plunge and ate some really well made carrot cake and was completely blown away by how amazing it was.  To think of all those pieces of wonderful cake I missed for all those years.

One of my all time favorite carrot cake recipes is this recipe here by Mom On Time Out.  It's pretty amazing.  Today, I've made a healthier carrot cake muffin, but I think this recipe may blur the line between a muffin and a cupcake.  We're using whole wheat flour, no refined sugars and the "frosting" is part cream cheese and part plain greek yogurt for a protein punch.

Here's what you'll need:

Ingredients

For the Muffin
- 1 3/4 cups shredded carrots (approximately 4 average size carrots shredded)
-1 x 8 oz can crushed pineapple
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/4 cups milk
- 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
- 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
-1/2 tsp salt
- 1-2 tsp cinnamon
-1/2 tsp nutmeg
-1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut

For the "Frosting"
-4 oz cream cheese at room temperature
- 1/3 cup plain Greek yogurt
- 1/3 cup paleo powdered sugar or your sweetener of choice
-1 tsp vanilla extract

Directions
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and generously grease a muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray.  Combine the shredded carrots, crushed pineapple, vanilla, eggs, milk and Greek yogurt into a large bowl and mix thoroughly.  Add in the dry ingredients of the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg and mix together.  Fold in the shredded coconut.

Scoop approximately 1/3 cup of the batter into each muffin well (you can also use paper liners in the muffin tin if you prefer).  Bake at 350 degrees for 23-25 minutes.  Test to ensure they are done baking by inserting a toothpick or knife into the center of a muffin and it should come out clean.  Allow to cool in the muffin tin for 10 minutes and then transfer to a wire baking rack to finish cooling.

While the muffins cool, prep the frosting by combining the cream cheese and Greek yogurt in the large bowl of a stand mixer or you can use a hand mixer as well.  Mix on low/medium until well mixed together.  Add in the paleo powdered sugar and vanilla and continue to mix until fully mixed together.  Place the frosting in the fridge to chill for approximately 20 minutes.

Once the muffins are cooled and the frosting chilled, top each muffin with some frosting and sprinkle some shredded coconut for a garnish.  Enjoy! (These muffins should be stored in the fridge if they aren't being used all at once).

Is it just me or do you get a little bit nostalgic about cereal? I recently stumbled on boxes of Weetabix at my local grocery store and maybe I haven't been looking but I feel like Weetabix isn't as common in the U.S, but it was a staple in my house growing up between time in Ireland and Canada.  I have clear and vivid memories of early mornings with my Dad before he went to work.  He was an up at dawn kind of guy and I would get up with him before he went to work and he would make me 2 biscuits of Weetabix with warm milk and a sprinkling of sugar before he went off to work in the cold Alberta winters.

So I grabbed a box to have a breakfast I hadn't enjoyed in a very long time and began to think about recipes.  Overnight oats are rightfully popular for their versatility, flavor, nutrition value and convenience for sure so I began to think about a little something different and made some overnight Weetabix.  They are just as simple and easy to make.  Store them in a jar, layer with yogurt and fruit and you can have a healthy, delicious breakfast on the go.

Here's what you'll need to get going:

Ingredients
-2 Weetabix biscuits
-1 TBS chia seeds
-1 TBS flax seeds
-1 TBS peanut butter and more to drizzle
-1 TBS maple syrup
-3/4 cup vanilla almond milk
-1/2 banana (sliced)
-3/4 cup Greek Yogurt ( I used plain but you can substitute your flavor of choice here)
-1 TBS chocolate chips

Directions
Place the 2 Weetabix biscuits, chia seeds, flax seeds and 1 TBS of peanut butter in a jar or container that you can cover and store the cereal in over night.  Pour the almond milk over the mixture and mix together/break up the biscuits with all of the ingredients. Once mixed together, cover and store overnight in the fridge.  In the morning, remove from the fridge and layer with the yogurt and banana slices.  Drizzle some additional peanut butter and sprinkle chocolate chips. Breakfast is done!

Have a great Monday!