Oat Crepes

I've been trying for years to turn my sister into a morning person. From cross-border shopping trips, to days on the ski hill and even promises of Mcdonald's breakfast, my parents and I have tried them all. Nothing has worked yet. Regardless of our efforts, I have no memories of ever seeing my younger sister before noon on a weekend.

She's really missing out. There's a certain calmness and quietness about mornings that I love. Mornings are always optimistic and full of potential for you to do great things. And coffee just doesn't smell quite as intoxicating at other times of day.

My new tactic is to bring breakfast in bed and hope that the smell is enough to get her up. I know that a whiff and Nutella and bananas would get me up any day.

Oat Crepes
Ever so slightly adapted from 3 Ingredient Oat Flour Crepes
Yield: 7 crepes

• 1 cup oat flour (just process/blend rolled oats)
• 1 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• pinch salt
• Toppings (see below for ideas)

1. Mix all ingredients well
2. Pour 1/4 cup servings of batter right onto a hot pan and tilt the pan around to evenly distribute
3. Flip when the surface looks 'set'
4. cover one half with your toppings of choice and fold over
5. Serve warm

These were so delicious I ended up having four! They're great because there's endless toppings to try and can be either sweet or savory. Here's how my sister and I had ours:

• Nutella and bananas
• Peanut butter and bananas
• Swiss cheese and chopped tomatoes
• Peanut butter and candied cashews
• Egg and cheese
• Scramble an egg and pour directly onto the cooked crepe, sprinkle with shredded cheese

4-minute McMorning sandwich

If I had it my way, I would get to wake up to a large bowl of oatmeal and sit at my kitchen table to read blogs for at least an hour every morning. Unfortunately, the busy life of a college student just doesn't allow for that. My solution? A breakfast sandwich that can be made in 4 minutes (trust me, I've timed it) and to do my blog reading in lecture.

No wonder I'm having so much trouble right now as I attempt to study for my last final exam this year. . .

4-minute McMorning Sandwich
Yield: 1 sandwich

• 1 English muffin
• 1 egg
• ground pepper
• 1/4 tomato
• 1 slice cheddar

Here's how to get it done in 4 minutes:

1. Lightly oil pan and turn on stove
2. Put English muffin into toaster
3. Crack egg into pan
4. Slice tomato as it cooks
5. Flip and turn off stove
6. Assemble sandwich

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal

I'm staring at the Blogger toolbar right now, looking for a button that will allow me to attach a 'smell' to this post. Unfortunately, I don't see one. Quotes, links, pictures, videos, but no smells? That's really doing you all a great disservice since I don't have enough words in my vocabulary to describe the smell of my breakfast this morning.

I had this brilliant idea last night that I would try making oats on the stovetop, I mean, it is Sunday morning, so I thought my breakfast deserved a bit more effort than my usual microwave quick oats I make while still half-asleep on weekdays.

We're in the midst of final exams right now so I planned to wake up at 7:30, do my ab workout, have breakfast, all by 8am. This way, I could get to library and finish up studying for my anatomy exam tomorrow and still have time for baking and my Hot Yoga class . But unfortunately my overly-optimistic self forgot that I don't actually know how to make old-fashioned oats on the stove, so by 8 I was still wondering how often I needed to pause my workout to stir the pot.

This is the part where I would have attached the 'smell' to this post because it is absolutely intoxicating. So please do pretend that I did and breathe in deeply. Doesn't that smell amazing? I know.

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal
Adapted from Stovetop Oatmeal with Whipped Banana
Yield: 1 serving

• 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
• 1 cup water
• pinch salt (don't forget this)
• 1/2 a banana, sort of mashed
• 1/4 cup milk or extra water
• 1 tablespoon peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons roasted chopped walnuts (roasted nuts are about 100 times more delicious than raw, see instructions here)

1. On low heat, mix the oats, salt and 1 cup water. Cook for 4-5minutes
2. Add the banana and cook for 1-2 minutes longer
3. Stir in the extra milk/water, use more or less depending on how thick you like your oatmeal
4. Top with peanut butter and nuts.

Had to take out the rubber spatula, it was that good.

Peanut Butter Banana Stack

Go faster! Because faster is harder, and harder is more fun!. . .now smile.

This is what my spin class instructor was screaming at us at about 8:30 this morning, and after a few times, I was starting to believe it. It's amazing what a dedicated and fun fitness instructor can get you to do, even if it's a Saturday morning. I really have no idea what I'm going to do this summer away from the incredible Rec Centre we have here at school.

I got too excited and inhaled half of it before snapping a picture, I'm sorry.

I wonder sometimes what my life would be like if I had a peanut allergy. I think I would actually starve. The grocery store at school was recently giving out free samples of a soy-based spread meant to replace peanut butter. The store staff were all saying how it taste just like the real thing, so I was really excited to try it once I got home. My excitement was quickly quenched once I tried it, it tasted like soy, in a bad way. Yuck. I am incredibly thankful that my immune system will tolerate the real thing, because that means that I get to enjoy this!


The pancakes are from my favorite pancake recipe and the same ones I used in my Strawberry Shortcake Stacked Pancakes. They have no oil, eggs, or butter but taste like they're full of it, yum. They also freeze well, not that you'll have any left.


Peanut Butter Banana Stack
Adapted from Strawberry Shortcake Stacked Pancakes
Yield: 8-10 pancakes (I got 9 + a baby one)

• 1 cup + 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut (plus a little more for garnish)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (didn't have any)
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice (didn't have any)
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• Pinch salt
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 cup warm water

• Plenty of peanut butter
• 1/2 banana per stack

1. Combine all dry ingredients, and all wet. Whisk the two together.
2. Scoop 1/4 cup of batter onto a heated and greased pan, flip when the edges are set.
3. Layer pancakes with peanut butter and banana slices
4. Sprinkle with extra coconut

Hazelnut Cookie Oatmeal

You know those mornings where you wake up before you need to be up, in a frenzy because you think you missed your alarm ringing and are now horribly late? But then you look at the time and realize that you actually don't need to be up for a while and get to go back to the warm haven that is your bed, calm and relaxed?

I'm sure those moments are pretty awesome but I can't really know for sure. Because the thing is, my body does this weird thing where it makes me terribly hungry right when I wake up, regardless of what I ate the night before. It's a drag, really, but I'm not too upset about it, especially when I have a bowl of this waiting for me. . .

Hazelnut Cookie Oatmeal
Yield: 1 bowl

• 1/3 cup quick oats
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/3 cup water
• pinch salt
• 1 tablespoon cocoa
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons chopped roasted hazelnuts
• 1 cookie, crumbled

1. Mix everything except for the hazelnuts and cookie in a bowl and microwave for 2 minutes
2. Sprinkle with hazelnuts and cookie

Chocolate Banana Overnight Oats

20 years from now I'm going to be one of those mothers who repeats "How do you know you don't like if you don't try it" like a broken record to my kids. Because the truth is, I wouldn't just be saying it to get my kids to eat their vegetables, but because I deep down and truly believe that all things are worth a try.

Mushy Oatmeal. Cold.


Angela at ohsheglows is really fond of it, she even endearingly abbreviates it as VOO (Vegan Overnight Oats) and has plenty of variations of the breakfast food. So. . . Maybe i'm missing out on something and it is actually really tasty.

So I gave it a try.

Chocolate Banana Overnight Oats

Adapted from: Carob Banana Chia VOO

Yield: 1 bowl

• 1/3 cup regular rolled oats (not quick or instant)
• 2/3 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons ground flax seed
• 1 tiny ripe banana, cut into tiny pieces and slightly mashed
• 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon cocoa
• 1 teaspoon sugar

1. Mix it all together the night before and stick in the fridge. Next morning, mix it up a bit and eat it cold.

Here's how it looked the night of:

And the next morning:

The verdict:

I like the texture much better than my usual microwave quick oats, but um, I think I'll give it another try when it's warmer out. In other words, I don't not like it.

Stuffed French Toast

If I was ever in need of another reason to love weekends, it would be that weekends mean that there's plenty of time in the morning to put together decadent breakfasts. I had entirely forgotten how good cream cheese tastes since I quit eating bagels. I realized that bagels are nutritionally nothing more than glorified savoury donuts. In fact, they're worse. So next time you're at a coffee shop, choose the donut, not the bagel.

I digress.

A neat trick I figured out on my own is that if you make your French toast with the lid on the pan, it helps it puff up nicely. Not to mention that when you do lift the lid, your kitchen gets filled with the most addictive scent of brown sugar and cinnamon. Surprisingly, I liked this better without the syrup.

Stuffed French Toast
Yield: 1 serving

• 2 slices bread (I used whole wheat)
• 1-2 tablespoons cream cheese
• 2-3 tablespoons jam
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon (yes, a whole teaspoon)
• icing sugar to dust (optional)

1. Spread cream cheese and jam on the bread to create a sandwich
2. Whisk together the milk, egg, sugar, and cinnamon until well mixed
3. Soak both sides of the sandwich in the egg mixture (If you're using heartier bread like whole wheat, piercing the bread a few times with a fork helps it absorb faster)
4. Fry on a greased skillet with the lid on
5. Dust with icing sugar

Strawberry Shortcake Stacked Pancakes

My two favourite meals of the day are breakfast and dessert. I'm often tempted to eat pancakes for dinner and always scoping out the dessert menu while the waitress is asking whether I'd like an appetizer. I'm sure that's only half bad, after all, breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

My blackberry has been acting up lately and has failed to wake me up 3 out the 4 last mornings. Frustratingly, this means that I missed out on my 8:30 90 minute spin class this morning. And no, I'm not insane for waking up that early on Saturdays to work out. Ok maybe slightly insane, but the resultant endorphin rush and charming middle-aged couple that teach it do help.

Putting that behind me, I decided to whip up these Strawberry Shortcake Stacked Pancakes from ohsheglows. That's right, strawberry shortcake for breakfast! Like I said in a previous post, Angela at ohsheglows is a genius that can make healthy food even more appealing than junk. Did I mention it's all vegan too? Genius indeed.

These were quite a bit of work but were well worth it. The 'soft serve' topping reminds me of summer, regardless of the fact that it's -8C outside right now. I'll definitely be making it by the bowl in the next few months.

The pancakes themselves were also delicious. I loved the addition of shredded coconut and they tasted surprisingly buttery even without the use of any butter, oil, or eggs. I'm still in amazement.

Luckily I did snap a few pictures before I went straight for it.

Already half way there, the party's almost over.

Did anyone catch on to the P90X Ab Ripper X reference there? No? Ok..then.

And then it was all over :(

Strawberry Shortcake Pancakes

Yield: 8 pancakes (I ended up with 9.5)

Recipe here

Note: I didn't have any nutmeg, allspice, maple syrup or coconut milk so I omitted the first two and used cow's milk and honey instead. 

Per 4-ish pancakes (with strawberries and topping):

575 calories | 31g sugar | 21.45g fat | 17g protein (whoa!)

Mocha Oatmeal

My name is Vivian and I am an addict, a caffeine addict. I know this because I felt great yesterday morning and decided to forgo my daily date with my coffee maker. I thought, it couldn't be that bad, I don't feel tired at all. I couldn't be more wrong.

Caffeine withdrawal is not fun. I almost dozed off in Pharm class a couple times and nearly fell off the stool I was sitting on. I was impatient and short with my lab group members and our TA and even skipped out on my workout I was in such a bad mood, which probably wasn't a very good idea.

Maybe it wasn't the caffeine at all, maybe it was the fact that a little thing called Daylight savings took an hour from me without my permission. But regardless, I think it's better to be safe than sorry so I took no chances this morning and decided to caffeinate my oatmeal.

This morning I was lazy and just put some instant coffee into my oatmeal, but what I'd really like to try is to cook my oatmeal in a bit of coffee. It was still delicious, like eating a mocha for breakfast, I mean, it WAS eating a mocha for breakfast and took care of my coffee cravings just swimmingly.

Mocha Oatmeal
Yield: 1 bowl

• 1/3 cup quick oats
• 2/3 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon sugar (maybe more if you like it sweeter)
• 1 tablespoon cocoa
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee

1. Mix everything together and microwave for 2 minutes.

Week 8: Cranberry Orange Scones

Cranberries were on sale a couple weeks ago and I thought they could serve double duty as ingredients for some more scones and perhaps a new smoothie recipe. For some reason, roommate AG forgot what scones were and I realised that I really don't have  better description for them other than: "You know, they're triangular, and flaky, and Starbucks sells them?". Which apparently was not descriptive enough.

I had taken the night off from campaigning in the school elections, which I'll regret if not enough people choose my name on the ballot a week from now. But from my experience of when I was elected as Grade 5 class president, campaigning breaks are okay; especially if they're taken for baking.

Last time I made scones I mentioned that I would like to try them with whole wheat flour if I had had any on hand, and now that I do, whole wheat scones it is!  This recipe is a little different from last time  as I think they ended up too moist. I've also replaced the lemon zest with orange since I didn't have any lemons on hand. Noticing that I didn't have this recipe stored anywhere else but the blog itself, I had to follow the recipe here and noticed that grey text is incredibly hard to read so I've changed it all to black to make all your lives just a bit easier, you're welcome.