Sunshine Granola: Welcome Back to my life granola!

My mornings are sweet and precious.  They are quiet and filled with coffee and devotions.  This is a special time of heartfelt prayer and conversation with my Heavenly Father. It is my time to focus before the world wakes up and fills my day with busy, but, sweet chaos.  

When I transition from my devotion time to breakfast, I struggle with my food options. When I started the AIP diet, I was disappointed by the breakfast choices.  They included the weirdest combinations of meat and vegetables.  None of the options went well with my sweet coffee morning bliss. So, I started researching ingredients that were AIP compliant and came up with a granola that is grain free and fits my life perfectly.  This scrumptious granola is great over fruit in the morning, as cereal with coconut milk,  or as a snack while hiking, kayaking, traveling, or even binge watching a Netflix show. 

The ingredients are simple.  Coconut is the main ingredient.  You can use any size of flakes you want.  Our local Walmart carries this organic brand for a super great price.  

Our local Natural Grocers stores sells these larger flakes in their bulk department for a super great price. 

So...... start with the coconut and mix it with maple syrup and your favorite dried fruit.  I use tart cherries because they help calm inflammation. 

Mix the ingredients well and place in a 9 X 13 pan lined with parchment paper.  

Place in the oven on 350 degrees and stir every 5 minutes until crisp and golden.

I have found that I can store this granola in a Rubbermaid container for a couple of weeks. Enjoy :) 

Sunshine Granola (AIP friendly)

2 cups of shredded coconut

1/4 cup of maple syrup

1/2 cup of tart cherries or your favorite dried fruit

• Mix all ingredients together 
• Place in a 9 X 13 pan that is lined with parchment paper
• Bake at 350 degrees
• Stir every 5 minutes until golden brown and crisp
• Store in airtight container for 2 weeks

Sweet Potato Fritatta: My son's surprise visit

I just love it when the kids stop by.  My youngest son lives in the same town as us so we see him more than we do the others.  He just happened to pop in around breakfast time a couple of weeks ago. Generally when he stops by in the morning for breakfast I will make Dutch Baby, which is a delightful dense Dutch pancake.  It is made with a whole lot of butter and sugar and most definitely causes inflammation.  However, on this particular morning, we broke tradition and chose healthier. We were all so glad we did because this was not only good for us but it was DELICIOUS!  And..... we didn't have that sluggish can't get anything done the rest of the day feeling. You know what I mean :) 

The sweet potatoes, onions and peppers all calm inflammation.  You can enjoy this meal and know that you are fueling your body and fighting harmful inflammation all at the same time.  

First off, peel and cut sweet potatoes into 1/2 inch pieces.  This is not as easy as peeling russets so be prepared for a little extra work.

Drizzle some oil into a pan.  I've been using avocado oil lately.  It holds up to high heat better than olive oil. And.....of course it has those wonderful Omega 3's.

When the oil heats up, place the sweet potatoes in the pan. Saute over medium just until they begin to soften.

Add diced onion and sweet red, yellow or orange peppers.  This is a good time to add a little salt and pepper.  Saute these until they begin to caramelize and and are tender and cooked. 

This is how they should look when cooked.

Whisk eggs and milk together. 

 (When it's just me I use egg whites only to keep inflammatory egg yolk out of the recipe).

Pour egg mixture over the sweet potato mixture in the pan.  Grind a little salt and pepper over the top.

Turn the heat down to medium low and cover.  Let cook until the egg is firmed up and cooked through.  

When done, sprinkle Parmesan or Mozzarella cheese over the top and let melt.  Then dig in and enjoy.

Sweet Potato Frittata

1 large sweet potato, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1 small onion, diced

4 small sweet peppers, diced

8 eggs

1/8 cup of milk

Parmesan or Mozzarella cheese

salt

pepper

Drizzle oil in a pan over medium heat.  Add the sweet potatoes and saute for about 15 minutes, stirring often.  Cook until they just begin to soften.  Add onions and peppers.  If you need to, add a little more oil,  Saute all together until they are browned and caramelized. 

Whisk together eggs and milk.  Pour over the sweet potato mixture.  Sprinkle a little salt and pepper over the top.  Cover and let cook 5-7 minutes over medium low heat until egg mixture is cooked through.  

Sprinkle the cheese over the top and let melt.  

Serves 4

Stuffed French Toast for Company

One thing about me that I may not have mentioned yet..... I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE having company.  This summer we haven't had nearly the amount of guests that we usually have, however, the last couple of weeks we have had company and it has been awesome.

One thing that can be a challenge for me is cooking for my guests.  I want to stay true to the food I need, yet make sure I am making food that others will enjoy as well.  Breakfast is my greatest challenge because I feel bad offering either granola with yogurt and fruit, or oatmeal every morning.   I feel like when company is here it is special and breakfast should reflect that feeling. 

I went through my old recipe box and found a card for Stuffed French Toast.  When my kids were young I would make this on Thanksgiving morning. With a little tweaking of the ingredients, I made this for our company and ended up with a delicious and special breakfast that I could eat guilt free.  I switched the white bread out for Daves Killer Bread which has Omega 3's....yay!  The other thing I did was used Greek Yogurt Cream Cheese instead of regular cream cheese.  I found this product at Walmart and it has live cultures and much less fat.  The brand is Green Mountain Farms.  I also used only half the egg yolks and replaced them with egg whites.

It's great to know that even with diet restrictions, entertaining and dining can be so rewarding :)

Stuffed French Toast

12 slices bread (no crust) cubed
2 - 8 oz packages Greek Yogurt Cream Cheese, cubed
6 eggs
6 egg whites
2 cups non-fat milk
1/3 c pure maple syrup

Put eggs in a bowl and whisk.  Then add milk and syrup.  Set aside.

Put half the bread in bottom of  a 9x13 pan.  Then put cream cheese as next layer.  Top with the rest of the bread.  Pour the liquid mixture over the top.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. 

Bake at 375 for 45 minutes.  Serve with fresh fruit :)

Steel-cut Crockpot Oats: Waking up to steel-cut oatmeal in the morning!

Now that the weather is chilly, well cold would be a better word, I love to enjoy a hot comforing breakfast in the morning.  Oatmeal is that morning comfort food for me and I used to frequently cook regular oats on a cold morning.  That is, until I tried steel-cut oats. 

A couple of winters ago, my friends Steve and Shari came for a visit and offered to cook breakfast.  The night before, we had gone to Huckleberries Natural Market, which is always a fun place to browse and shop.  They carefully selected the ingredients, which included steel-cut oats and organic raisins.  Watching Shari in the morning, I was a bit skeptical, but when I tasted the oats and felt the gooey yet crunchy texture, I was forever hooked. 

Since that day, I have cooked these oats only on occasion.  They take so long that usually my husband and I are not patient enough to wait for our breakfast.  So, after some digging, I stumbled upon a few different ideas to make breakfast a breeze in the morning.  My favorite was the thought of putting the steel-cut oats in the crock pot.  I have tweaked the recipe and created a yummy reason to hop out of bed on a cold morning.  Of course I have added some anti-inflammatory touches :)

Steel-cut Crock Pot Oats

1 cup steel-cut oats
4 cups water
1/2 cup non-fat milk
Flax meal
Pure Maple Syrup
Cran raisins or raisins

Mix the oats, water and milk in a slow cooker.  Set on low heat for 8 hours.  Start this before you go to bed and you will wake up to a healthy, warm, and comforting breakfast.  Add 1 teaspoon of flax meal and 1 tablespoon of pure maple syrup plus some raisins to complete the perfect bowl of oatmeal.  By the way, plain ole raisins are extremely high in anti-inflammatory properties and can help calm morning inflammation. 

*Many people love to add brown sugar and butter, but remember those both cause inflammation in the body.