Strawberry Pecan Baked Donuts

Strawberry Pecan Baked Donuts

Everybody loves donuts.  Especially my kids.  But obviously I want them to grow up strong and healthy, so donuts are not on our everyday menu.  But with this easy recipe, they can be! I had a large container of raw pecans that I had bought in bulk, so they weren't as expensive as pecans can sometimes be, but this recipe can easily be made using any type of nut, or nut butter if you don't have a food processor to make your own.  You could also substitute out the whole wheat flour for a gluten free variety, or use a vegan source of milk plus vinegar instead of the buttermilk.  The options are endless, but the results will be the same. Simple, easy to make, delicious and nutritious breakfast treats (or snacks) that your kids are sure to love.  As you can see by some of the photos, I did put a little Nutella on top of some of the donuts, but it is totally not necessary in my opinion.  Just something fun for a special Sunday breakfast.

Cinnamon Oatmeal Pecan Muffins

Cinnamon Oatmeal Pecan Muffins

This is my version of a cinnamon roll transformed into a healthy muffin.  No, it is not dripping with sugary glaze or melted butter, but it is smells just as good and tastes almost as delicious.  I doubled the amount of cinnamon I usually use in baked goods, and honestly think I may add even more next time so that it is definitely the predominant flavor.  There are a considerable amount of pecans as well so you get a couple of them in each bite which adds a robust richness. The oats and whole wheat flour provide fiber and protein, and the only sweetener is honey (could use brown sugar or maple syrup if you prefer).  It was very easy to throw together and made a delicious and healthy Saturday morning breakfast for me and my family.

Chocolate Pecan Pie Crust

Chocolate Pecan Pie Crust

Everyone knows that pastry is not very good for you.  Even when I have used whole wheat flour, the predominant ingredient is either vegetable shortening or butter.  I wanted to make my delicious dark chocolate protein pudding into a pie for Thanksgiving this year, and so I knew I had to come up with a healthy and high protein crust to go along with it.  So what did I use?  Nuts!!  You could easily use walnuts as well, as I had intended to do, but I found packages of pecans already ground up at the grocery store near my in laws' house in Canada where I was at the time and figured pecans would probably taste even better.  The combination of nuts, coconut oil, cocoa powder and a little sugar is a perfect compliment to the creamy chocolate filling.  Although at first I thought the crust was too crumbly, once the pudding is placed inside and soaks into the crust a bit, the slices definitely held together just fine. Unfortunately the availability of ingredients in Canada was slightly different than I am used to, so I had to change up my recipe a little and it did not come out as good as it has when at home.  But I plan to make my regular protein pudding again this Christmas and will certainly update with more photos once I do.

Mashed Maple Pecan Sweet Potatoes

Mashed Maple Pecan Sweet Potatoes

Every Thanksgiving table needs sweet potatoes and mine was definitely not lacking this year.  I know the traditional "casserole" is some sort of overly sweet concoction with marshmallows on top, and in the name of health, this is obviously not that.  It is better.  Creamy, naturally sweet and full flavored mashed sweet potatoes are topped with a crunchy pecan topping and heated to perfection.  You will not miss the marshmallows at all, I promise!!

Oatmeal On the Go

Oatmeal Bars

Who doesn’t like a sweet warm bowl of oatmeal on a cold morning?  It fills you up, warms you from the inside out and is usually a nutritionally sound option (so long as you don’t add a lot of additional sugar).  A favorite sweetener in our house is mashed up bananas, or frozen berries, mixed into cooked oatmeal and topped with a little cinnamon and chopped walnuts.  Unfortunately the most nutrient dense oatmeal choices are the ones that take the longest to prepare (steel cut) and sometimes trying to cook even regular oats quickly in the morning doesn’t turn out so well.  And although I have tried the trick of par boiling oats the night before, I also find that cumbersome, and to be honest, oatmeal is always best when freshly cooked.  One simple solution?  Oatmeal bars and cookies made to go!!  You can prepare the dry mixture the day before, although these recipes literally take minutes to throw together, and then bake them quickly in the morning.  I even think they taste good the next day, and the day after that, so long as they are stored tightly in the fridge and reheated a bit before eating.  The ingredients are interchangeable depending on what types of dried fruits and nuts you prefer or have on hand.  The following are some of my favorites...  and they are literally as healthy as a bowl of oatmeal... on the go!!

Happy Breakfast Baking!!