a crunchy kind of morning

Sometimes, you just really need a good handful of granola. I mean, honestly, it's hard to find someone who doesn't like granola. Its sweet, salty, crunchy and simply delicious. It is one of my favorite breakfasts or mid-morning snacks on the go, and one of the things I really miss now that I am gluten free. One of the things that drives me totally bonkers, is when something unnecessarily contains gluten. It totally kills me when something could be gluten free, but for a silly reason it is not. For example, gluten free oats are just as great as regular oats. Actually, they're not only just as great- they're the SAME! I know, it's hard to believe, but it's true. Good old regular oats contain gluten because of cross-contamination, not because the oats themselves contain gluten (some people with Celiac are also intolerant to gluten free oats). So basically, what I'm saying, is that I could be enjoying delicious Quaker oats and instant oatmeal for my breakfasts, but silly cross-contamination is keeping me back.

All of that being said, it is definitely important to be able to get creative with breakfast when eating gluten free. I used to bring packets of instant oatmeal to work and enjoy them while checking my morning emails, but felt stuck after I recognized I had a gluten intolerance. Gone was the easy convenience of grabbing two packs of instant oatmeal to go in the morning --what's a girl to do?! I soon learned that there were other ways to go about satisfying my morning cravings. I bake muffins, eat gf toast with almond butter, and even have found gluten free oats (thank goodness, I missed my morning oatmeal).

Upon finding gf oats, and realizing that I could use them in gf baking, I had a genius idea. I could make granola!! Over joyed, I began to wrack my brain (and the Internet) for ideas and inspiration for making my granola. I remembered a delicious homemade granola that my boyfriend's mom had made awhile back and asked her for the recipe. With a few tweeks, I was able to make the recipe gluten free, and delicious. This stuff is seriously addicting, not to mention a wonderfully healthy breakfast, or snack any time of the day. My boyfriend eats it by the handful, and I promise, he's a harsh critic. I definitely recommend you make some- it is so easy and so delicious. In an air-tight container, this granola will last at least a week and a half to two weeks. If you like more chunks in your granola, add more of the liquid topping (butter, honey, sugar) when you bake. Definitely get creative with this- different nuts, dried fruit, and even chocolate would be delicious in this recipe!

good morning, granola

Good Morning Granola

2 1/2 cups oats (not quick cooking)
1 cup coconut (raw shredded)
1/3 cup toasted sunflower seeds
1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
1/3 cup toasted slivered almonds
2 tbsp butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla

pre-baking

getting toasty

golden, crunchy, delicious.

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees
Spread the oats, coconut, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, and almonds evenly onto a baking dish
Bake the dry ingredients for 20 minutes
In the meantime, over medium-how heat, melt together the butter, brown sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, and honey, adding the vanilla when the other ingredients have melted together
After 20 minutes of baking the dry ingredients, pull out out the baking dish and turn the oven up to 350 degrees
Pour the wet, melted ingredients over the top of the dry ingredients and stir to combine
Return the granola to the oven and bake for 5 minutes, removing to mix, and returning to the oven
Cook for another 5 minutes, remove to mix, and return to the oven
After a last 5 minutes, remove the granola from the oven and allow to cool fully on the baking sheet before removing and storing in an air tight container
enjoy!!

morning glory

I don't know about you, but I am one of those people who goes to sleep with a smile on my face, thinking about the breakfast that I'm going to be eating the next morning. Plain and simple, I love breakfast. All that stuff about breakfast being the most important meal of the day, I totally eat that up (literally). I love cereal, I love oatmeal, I love pancakes, I LOVE eggs. I'd have breakfast multiple meals a day if there weren't so many other yummy foods out there for me to explore. But to put it simply, I just love breakfast. There is something special about those quiet moments of serenity in the morning that I share with my breakfast, enjoying my food before the craziness of whatever lies ahead in my day. For those of you who don't like breakfast, what is that? I just don't get it. I wake up hungry and ready for breakfast, dream of breakfast in my sleep, and could seriously go for some breakfast right now at 10 o'clock at night.

A challenge that I've faced since I started working is still getting in my breakfast, without interfering too much with my work schedule. In college, I used to always eat a bowl of cereal or some waffles with peanut butter (haven't tried it? you must!) before class. Once I started working, I quickly realized that my mornings are a bit more rushed, and I just wasn't always going to have the time to eat a leisurely breakfast at home. It took a bit of getting used to, but I adjusted my morning schedule and now eat as I check my morning emails (the one time a day my office is actually quiet). After adjusting, the next challenge was figuring what to eat for breakfast. I'm a cereal girl at heart, but cereal in the office was just impractical, and so I turned to oatmeal. Let me tell you, it changed my life. Especially in the fall and now winter, I look forward to that steamy cup of oatmeal at 9 in the morning. With this recipe, I was inspired to take the things I loved about oatmeal, and put them into a delicious baked muffin. 

Muffins are another great quick go to breakfast, but a lot of those you can buy on your way to work from the portable coffee and pastry trucks lining the streets are a bit (okay a lot) more cupcake than muffin. And while I am probably the #1 fan in the cupcake club, I try to start off my day with something a little healthier. This muffin has all of the deliciousness of one of those sugary food cart monstrosities (that frankly look like they ate my muffin), honestly maybe more. They are just the right amount of sweet, and the flavors really all come together nicely. I had some fresh blueberries in my fridge, so I used those for half of the recipe, however you certainly do not have to (or you could add in your favorite fruit or nut). And like all of my baking recipes, just substitute regular flour and remove the xanthum gum if you're baking these without worries of eating gf. I hope that these inspire you and give you a wonderful start to your day as well!

Apple Cinnamon Oat Muffins

1 1/4 cups gf flour

3/4 tsp Xanthum gum

1 1/4 cups gf oats

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp nutmeg

1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce (I used cinnamon)

1/4 cup low-fat buttermilk

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

2 tsp water

2 tbsp canola oil

1 large egg, lightly beaten

3/4 cup blueberries (optional- I did half of mine with and half without)

Preheat your oven to 375

Whisk together flour, xanthum gum, oats, baking powder, and baking soda

Once combined, add salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg to the dry ingredients

With your mixer set to low, slowly add in the brown sugar and applesauce

Once combined, add in buttermilk, vinegar, water, and oil, and mix on medium

Scrape down sides, turn mixer onto medium and add in egg and mix until batter is just combined

If you are adding in blueberries (optional), mix in by hand before scooping into the pan, to avoid blueberries bursting!

Once combined, Scoop out into lined muffin pans, sprayed with a bit of cooking spray

Bake for 15 minutes and enjoy!!

ready for the oven...

ready to be eaten!