Chocolate, Coconut & Raspberry Overnight Oats | A make ahead breakfast recipe

HAPPY NEW YEAR, I know I'm a little late to the party, but sometimes I find myself rebelling against expect expectations.

Expectations that I should write a gift guide or a special holiday post, that I should write a year in review post or share with the world some reasonably attainable new years resolution. I actually enjoy reading those posts, but one of the things I've realized in the past year, is that I want to be able to write about what I want, when I want without the societal pressure to perform as a blogger.

When I try and conform to whatever it is that my mind thinks a blogger should be, writing becomes work and although many people consider their blog a job, and for a while I thought I might too, for now,I want my blog to be a place for solace and peace and relaxation.

If you follow me on Instagram, you know, I have been very slowly under taking the #100happydays challenge and it was pointed out to me very early on, that FOOD and my children have been the primary focal point. Combined with many requests to share my recipes, today, I'm going to do just that.

I LOVE breakfast; I get up early every day so that before I leave for work at 6:30am I have time to eat a nutritious and filling breakfast and feed my family the same. I am a huge fan of eggs, either on toast or in a tortilla and I regularly eat them multiple days a week.

But sometimes, its nice to change things up and when I posted the photo above of some chocolate coconut and raspberry overnight oats I had made, I discovered I wasn't the only one who wanted a creamy, delicious and quick breakfast on hand.  I've refined the recipe a little bit since I first made it and actually prefer to use the smaller 250ml jars rather than the large 500ml ones seen in the photo above and the recipe below makes five 250ml jars which means if you don't share you will have enough for your entire work week. 

Chocolate, Coconut & Raspberry Overnight Oats

(gluten-free, nut-free, soy-free)

yield: five 250ml jars

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups plain yogurt
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup + 5 Tbsp shredded, unsweetened coconut
• 1/4 cup (raw) cocoa powder
• 3 Tbsp chia seeds
• 3 Tbsp pure maple syrup
• 1-1/4 cup gluten-free rolled oats
• 1 cup frozen raspberries

Directions:

• Mix together everything except the oats, frozen raspberries and 5 Tbsp of coconut. 
• Once well blended, add in the oats and still until combined. The mix will seem a little loose and runny.
• Spoon yogurt mix into jars until they are approximately 1/3 full.
• Divide frozen berries among the jars, sprinkling 1 tbsp of coconut on top of the berries in each jar.
• Spoon remaining yogurt mix over the berries and coconut, dividing evenly among jars.
• Refrigerate a minimum of 3 hours.
• Enjoy the deliciousness!

Note: Feel free to mix up the ingredients and add-ins to suit your tastes and of course what you have on hand.

Quinoa Curry Soup | A gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, nut-free recipe

Although making the decision to accept a job in Kamloops, has thrown our entire life into a tailspin of the unknown, it also seems to have brought me some peace. I know this is true, because I've been cooking.

The day after I accepted the job, I baked cookies and yesterday as I chopped, stirred and simmered while listening to the words of Mackelmore I found a sense of serenity in the process that I haven't felt in ages. And this, despite the fact that I was creating food, to take with me, when I leave my family behind, albeit temporarily.

This soup is delightful. It's only slightly adapted from Janet and Greta Podleski's Multigutawnski soup and despite the presence of a slightly curry flavour, quinoa and apples my husband loves it, as does everyone whom I've ever fed it to. This soup is flavourful but not overwhelming, light but filling and the smell is delectable.

After over four years of cooking for children, I tend to chop my vegetables small so that its easy to eat, and in this particular case I don't find it has any negative effect on texture. The quinoa, chicken and apples add complexity; there's no need to worry about cutting all your veggies around the same size. I actually cut my celery as small as possible because the hubs dislikes it, but I know it adds a lot of flavour that I don't want to lose out on.

Quinoa Curry Soup

(Slightly Adapted from The Looneyspoons Collection by Janet and Greta Podleski)
gluten-free, dairy-free, soy-free, nut-free

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 cup finely chopped celery
• 1 cup diced onions
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 lb of boneless, skinless chicken thighs (approx 6)
• 1.5 tsp grated ginger
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• 4 cups chicken stock
• 1- 540ml can diced tomatoes (I like Alymers accents, olive oil and garlic)
• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 large apple peeled and chopped
• 1 - 400ml can coconut milk*

Directions:

1. Heat oil over medium-high heat, and sautee vegetables and garlic until tender and softened. About 6 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, thinly slice (approximately 5mm) the chicken thighs lengthwise. You should end up with strips of chicken thigh.
3. Add chicken to the softened vegetables and cook until the chicken is no longer pink.
4. Add ginger and spices and cook until fragrant and the chicken, vegetables are well coated. (2-3 minutes)
5. Add chicken broth, tomatoes, quinoa, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
6. Add chopped apple and simmer 5 more minutes, until the apple is tender but not mushy.
7. Add coconut milk and simmer 1 more minute.
8. ENJOY!

*The original recipe calls for 3/4 cup of light coconut milk, so feel free to reduce the amount or fat content to your liking, but I use a whole can of regular coconut milk.

Summer Blueberry Cake | gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, soy-free recipe

I love blueberries and so do my boys. Fortunately, blueberries grow best in bog environments and Richmond, where we live, happens to be primarily bog so in the summertime, blueberries are bountiful. We eat blueberries in just about any form, but the fresh local berries are the absolute best. They're delicious, healthy and packed with antioxidants, I really don't see a downside.

When I saw this pin on Pinterest for buttermilk, blueberry breakfast cake, I knew I had to have it. I grabbed some blueberries out of the fridge, my janet & greta gluten-free flour mix and got to work creating a gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free version.

It turned out beautifully, spongy, soft and sweet with a hint of lemon to brighten the flavour of the blueberries. To me, it tastes like summer and as an added bonus, it travels well and would be great in parent and kid lunchboxes alike.

I prefer to use coconut oil in my recipes, but because of the summer heat it was already in its liquid form. Fortunately after I popped the coconut oil in the freezer for about 5 minutes it had partially harded and I was able to use my kitchen-aid mixer to create a smooth, creamy texture suitable for creaming with sugar.

Summer Blueberry Cake

(gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, soy-free)

Adapted from Alexandra Cooks

Ingredients:

• 2 cups blueberries
• 2 cups of gluten-free flour mix*
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp xantham gum**
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1 cup of sugar
• zest of one lemon
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1 tbsp sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350F, grease a 9" square cake pan.
2. In a small bowl, combine blueberries with 1/4 cup of gluten-free flour mix. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl whisk together the remaining gluten-free flour mix, baking powder, salt and xantham gum. Set aside.
4. Blend coconut oil until creamy, blend in the sugar.
5. Add eggs to the sugar mixture, one at a time, until well blended. Stir in the vanilla.
6. Starting with the dry ingredients, alternately add the dry mix and the coconut milk to the wet ingredients, mixing well between each addition.
7. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the berries, then spread the mixture into the prepared pan. The batter will be thick.
8. Sprinkle the cake with 1 tbsp of sugar, bake for 35 minutes until the top begins to golden and a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out clean.
9. Cool, in the pan, at least 15 minutes.
10. Enjoy!

*I used the janet and greta gluten-free flour mix, recipe below.

**If your gluten-free flour mix does not contain xantham gum, add 1/2 tsp instead of 1/4.

Janet and Greta's
Gluten-Free Flour Mix

The Looneyspoons Collection by Janet and Greta Podleski

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sorghum flour
• 2 cups potato starch
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 cup brown rice flour
• 1 tbsp xantham gum

Directions:

1. Place all the ingredients in a large ziploc bag, bowl or container.
2. Blend well.

2010 Ultimate Blog Party

When I first started seeing this Ultimate Blog Party 2010, I didn't totally get it, but now that its happening I want in on the fun.  I enjoy a good party, though in truth I'm not so great at throwing them.  But there is one part of having people over that I absolutley love; the baking.  I love that I get guilt-free time to bake and to cook and to create something that people will truly enjoy.

The Momma Stuff Blog Party will be gluten-free, since that's my dietary restriction!  Although I can tolerate milk to some degree, the boy can't, so that means we're also going to have some dairy-free treats as well.

I absolutely love Erin McKenna's, of BabyCakes Bakery, Allergen-Free Brownies.  They are cakelike, but when you use the mini chocolate chips and they just scatter throughout the brownie, they are just heavenly!  Not to mention bite-sized and perfect for little hands.  You don't taste the coffee in the batter at all, I always use decaf.


Did you know that you can whip coconut cream up, for a dairy-free alternative?  Buy yourself a can coconut cream with the highest fat content you can find.  That means your going to have more of the "cream" and less of the "water".  You want these two to be well seperated, so let the can to sit for a few hours if you just brought it home from the store.

Coconut Whipped Cream:

1. Open 1 can of high fat coconut cream.
2. Pour the "coconut water" out and scoop the cream into your mixer.
3. Mix the cream until it starts to whip up.
4. Add 1/2 tsp vanilla (optional) and 2 tbsp powdered sugar (optional)
5. Continue mixing until the whip cream has peaks.  

The whipped cream with thicken up when in the fridge, this would be amazing as the layers of a cake.

And since we can't have only sweet treats at our party, here's a super easy appy that only takes moments to prepare.  Someone brought it to my baby shower, I made it at the boy's birthday party and I know I'll be making it many more times.

Shrimp & Cucumber Appy:

1. Wash cucumber and slice into rounds.
2. Spread herb and garlic cream cheese on each piece.
3. Place 2-3 small shrimp (the ones you would use for shrimp salad) on top of each round.
4. Serve & Enjoy.

I almost forgot, I'd love to win:

• INTL 8 - Mary Hess Designs
• INTL 5 - Whimsical Websites
• INTL 11 - Simply Fabulous