No-cook oats

Looking for a quick breakfast idea? 

This No-Cook Oats recipe, like most of my recipes, is a formula that allows you to substitute almost every ingredient that the recipe calls for. You may soak the oats overnight or prep it first thing when you wake up in the morning. Let it sit for half an hour and by the time you are showered and dressed and ready to go, so are the oats. 

Seriously, this is so easy and versatile there is no reason to skip breakfast or spend $8 for a latte and chocolate croissant every morning!

Here is the formula:

• 1/2 cup uncooked rolled oats

• 1/3 cup unsweetened yogurt (dairy or coconut)

• 2/3 cup milk (dairy or nut)

• 1 tablespoon chia seeds (or ground flaxseeds, hemp seeds)

• fruit (banana, berries, any fresh fruit in season or frozen)

• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)

• honey or maple syrup to taste (optional)

• chopped nuts (any kind, optional)

To do it the no recipe way, mix rolled oats with any combination of milk and yogurt in a large bowl or mason jar, add in a chopped ripe banana to sweeten it. Throw in chia, flax or hemp seeds and more fruit if you have them on hand. Mix well, cover and let it sit in the fridge for half an hour or overnight. (Use frozen fruit ONLY if you are soaking the oaks overnight.) When you are ready to eat the oats, stir in more milk if you desire a thinner consistency, throw in some chopped nuts and sweeten it with maple syrup or a drizzle of honey if necessary.

Buckwheat - the forgotten gluten-free whole grain

If you are not of Russian or East European descent, you probably won't be eating buckwheat groats as intact kernels on a regular basis. I usually rotate quinoa, millet, brown and purple rice as my favorite whole grain options. Although I love the taste of buckwheat flour-based pancakes and soba noodles, buckwheat groats are mostly forgotten and tucked away in my kitchen pantry.

A few weeks ago, my dear friend Sveta from the Ukraine came to visit. She taught me two ways to cook this gluten-free, super nutritious whole grain! Like quinoa, it cooks very quickly. What you see in the picture is kasha, or toasted buckwheat. You can have it with any salads, savory dishes or as an alternative to oatmeal as a breakfast porridge.

METHOD 1 (the mushier option):

• Rinse 1 cup of buckwheat and drain well.
• Put 3 cups of water in a saucepan and bring it to boil.
• Add rinsed buckwheat, a pinch of salt and boil in medium heat for 16 minutes. (Do not lower the heat.  Sveta insists it's 16 minutes exactly! Stir once or twice to make sure the grains are not stuck to the bottom of the pan.)

METHOD 2 (the grainier option):

• Rinse 1 cup of buckwheat and drain well.
• Put buckwheat in a saucepan, with 1 1/2 cups of cold water and a pinch of salt, then bring it to boil.
• Turn off heat. Cover and let it sit for 30 minutes.

Morning Millet Porridge

You can make porridge from any breakfast grain. Lately I have been obsessing with millet porridge. It is more neutral than quinoa and breaks up the monotony of daily oatmeal.

How to cook millet:

1. In a large saucepan, toast 1 cup of millet over medium heat for 4-5 minutes or until they turn into a rich golden brown and become fragrant.
2. Add 2 cups of water and a pinch of salt. Stir. Increase heat to high and bring water to a boil.
3. Reduce heat to low and let it simmer for 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat. Let it sit covered for a few minutes. Fluff and serve.
4. Save leftovers for morning millet porridge.

How to make millet porridge:

1. In a saucepan combine 1 cup of cooked millet, 1 chopped banana, 1 cup of almond milk or water. Bring it to boil and turn the heat to low.
2. Add a pinch of cinnamon. Allow it to simmer for 5-10 minutes. Stir frequently.
3. When done, top with a few slices of apple or pear, a sprinkle of coconut flakes and your favorite chopped nuts and seeds.

Overnight Oat Jars

Looking for the best rush-out-the-door summer breakfast? Try these make ahead oatmeal jars. As a fan of batch cooking, I assemble a few at a time so during the hectic moments in the morning, all you need to do is to open the fridge door and grab a jar. You can even eat it while you are dressing, on your way to work or when you are settled at your desk. Leftovers make a good afternoon snack!

A lot of my recipes are really formulas that you can customize to your liking. This is how it goes.

Choose an unsweetened, plain yogurt, coconut yogurt, cow or goat milk kefir. My favorite brands these days are Anita's Coconut Yogurt, Green Valley Organics lactose free kefir and Redwood Hill Farm goat milk kefir. I want to emphasize PLAIN and UNSWEETENED because most yogurt products out there contain 15-30 grams of sugar easily per 8 oz. serving.

Mix together 6 oz. of yogurt / kefir of your choice with 1/3 cup of rolled oats and 1 tsp. of chia seeds. Kefir tends to be runny but if you are using a yogurt that is too thick, add a little nut milk to create your desired consistency. Taste the mixture for sweetness.  Add a handful of shredded coconut and / or 1/2 tsp. of maple syrup / honey if necessary.

Put half the yogurt / oats mixture into the jar. Layer with mixed berries and chopped nuts. Repeat 1 more time.

Close the jar and refrigerate overnight or up to 3 or 4 nights.

Mix well and enjoy a no fuss breakfast the next morning!

Guilt and Grain Free Banana Bread

I never got into baking because I cringe every time a recipe calls for sugar, 1/4 cup, 1/2 cup at a time. My hand is frozen and wouldn't pour the crystals into the batter.

I am finally learning to make treats with no "added" sugar. This banana bread is sweetened only by dates and well....bananas. I think it is absolutely delicious. But I don't like too much sweet to start with. If you are used to loads of sweets, your taste buds might require more to feel satisfied. If you start cutting down your sugar consumption, you might in time be sensitive enough to taste the subtle sweetness of this bread.

Wet Ingredients:

• 5 Medjool dates (pitted)
• 5 Tbl. warm water
• 3 very ripe large bananas
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 3 eggs

Dry Ingredients:

• 2 cups almond flour
• 1 Tbl. coconut flour
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt

Unsweetened coconut flakes for garnish

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and line a bread pan with parchment paper.
2. In a food processor, combine dates with warm water (make sure dates are pitted). Process until you have a nice date paste. Add bananas, vanilla and process until just combined.
3. Add coconut oils and eggs. Process until evenly distributed.
4. In a large bowl, put in almond flour, coconut flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.
5. Combine processed wet ingredients with dry ingredients.
6. Pour batter into the bread pan and sprinkle coconut flakes on top for garnish.
7. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until edges have browned and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Cut and serve.

Home made oat bars

If you are just as fed up as I am with most energy bars out there due to their extremely high sugar contents, I urge you to try these simple oat bars. No added sugar whatsoever and only a fraction of the sweetness. Trust me, you can train your taste buds to tolerate less sugar by consuming less. Eventually you will desire less, without the need to call upon your willpower.

Mix all dry ingredients in a bowl:

• 4 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
• 2 Tbs ground flax seed
• 1 1 /2 cups of raisins and pumpkin seed mix OR slivered almonds and raw cacao nibs (try mixing in chocolate chips if you want to lure your kids into eating them)

In a blender or food processor, mix 1/2 cup of almond milk with 4 large, ripe bananas.

Combine the dry ingredients with the banana mix. Press into an oiled 12x9 baking dish and bake at 350 degrees F for about 30 minutes.

When cool, slice them into bars. Although they are crunchier straight out of the oven, I store them in the fridge as a go-to snack for the whole family for as long as they last.

Protein Powerhouse Smoothie

Before you throw in that protein power, think nuts and seeds! You get a rich protein shake with all the good fats and oils, without any processed ingredients.

Ingredients:

• Fruits - a mix of frozen berries, goji berries and half a banana
• Nuts - cashews (but why not almonds, walnuts or pistachios?)
• Seeds - a mix of pumpkin, chia, ground flax (try hemp, sesame)
• Liquid - home-made almond milk (you can use any nut milk, quinoa milk, anyone?)
• A tsp of coconut oil
• The secret ingredient - a sprinkle of organic cacao powder
• Honey for extra sweetness

Be creative! Have fun with it!

Hands down, best green smoothie ever

Don't be intimidated by the multitude of ingredients I use in this healthy morning smoothie. If you pre-wash the greens in bulk, have all the seeds lined up in mason jars at the right place, you can create a liquid breakfast that contains a microcosm of nutrients in less than 5 minutes.

• 4 green veggies -  kale (3 stalks), spinach (a handful), cucumber (1/3), celery (1 stalk).
• Avocado (1/3) and banana (1/2) - two essential ingredients that iron out the fibrous texture of the greens and make the smoothie "smooth".
• 4 super add-ons - chia seeds, ground flax seeds, raw pumpkin seeds, maca powder.
• Unsweetened coconut water (or water).
• Small spoonful of honey for sweetness.

If you start your day with a bright note, everything else falls into place. (Well...more or less!)

A super food smoothie, or is it a dessert?

This a an adaptation of raw foodist ​David Wolfe's super food smoothie. I adapted and shaved off about 10 ingredients out of the 16+ from the original recipe, including a bunch of Andean herbs and Chinese medicinal tonics. I guess the result is a less super food smoothie but still jam-packed with nutrients and anti-oxidants that is filling enough to be a meal, yet tastes unbelievably like a dessert, especially if you are a chocolate fan!

Step 1:​

A good blender. I don't have a Vitamix, but meet this little guy - ​Nutribullet. It is an excellent alternative if you don't want to spend over $100 for a blender. I used it to make almond milk this morning and it was fabulous!

Step 2:​

A base liquid. I am using the almond milk I just  I made. You don't have to do this! Wolfe suggests water, coconut water, any nut milk or tea concoction you prefer.

Step 3:​

Add chocolate and berries. According to Wolfe, cacao is the number 1 anti-oxidant. Cacao and berries together is like the marriage of a power couple whose union multiplies the anti-oxidizing, anti-inflammatory superpower of each other. I am using raw cacao powder, a mix of frozen berries and unwanted strawberry stems from my daughter's breakfast. I recently discovered the Chinese berries I grew up with, my mom gives me bags and bags of each time I go back to Hong Kong, are the Goji berries (fructus lycii)  everyone raves about these days. So I am also throwing those in!

Step 4:​

A dash of coconut oil to add body and hold it all together. Almond butter is also a good binding agent.

Step 5:​

A half to a teaspoon of maca - a high altitude crop from the Andes that is often compared to the Chinese ginseng. It is supposed to be an adaptogen, a herb that increases the body's ability to adapt to stress and changing situations. It regulates endocrine health and ​gives you the energy boost that coffee does without the caffeine. You can also sprinkle it on cereals, as I was told by a native Peruvian.

Step 6:​

Add honey as a sweetener.​

​Enjoy! Play with the proportion of the ingredients. Mine is not too thick, not too sweet, just the way I like it!