Tag Archives: breakfast

Gluten-Free Breakfast Bars

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When it comes to health/snack/energy bars, the Englishman and I have our staples.  Me Like Bars, Larabar, and Health Warrior Chia Bars can always be found in our pantry.  The Englishman has had some early mornings at work recently, and I wanted to create a bar for him to take on the road for the mornings he doesn’t have time to sit down at home and have breakfast.  Enter these gluten-free breakfast bars.

gluten freebreakfast bars

This recipe is part of the 2015 cookbook challenge, and is brought to you by Thug Kitchen.  I’ll admit I tweaked the recipe a bit (I used honey instead of maple syrup so it’s NOT vegan), but the base of quinoa and oats remained the same.  We happen to have an abundance of quinoa in our house at the moment so this recipe worked out perfectly.

The great thing about these bars is you can customize them to your preferences.  Don’t like raisins?  Swap in dried cranberries.  Almonds not your thing?  Try pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds.  I do recommend keeping in the chocolate chips because chocolate is just awesome.

If you are looking for something quick to throw together and have on hand for the week, then this recipe is for you.  Chances are you already have all the ingredients in your house.

gluten free breakfast bars

Gluten-Free Breakfast Bars (adapted from Thug Kitchen)

Ingredients:

2 cups rolled gluten-free oats

1 cup quinoa

1/4 cup raisins

1/4 cup slivered almonds

2 tbsp shredded coconut

2 tbsp chocolate chips

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup peanut butter (I used the Bee’s Knees)

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup honey

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350F.  Line a baking dish with parchment paper.

In a skillet over low heat toast your oats and quinoa (should take about 3-5 minutes).

While your oats and quinoa are toasting, pull together all of your dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl.  Add the toasted oats and quinoa and blend well.

gluten free breakfast bars mixPut your peanut butter, olive oil and honey in a sauce pan over medium heat and simmer until the mixture is melted.

Fold the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and continue to mix well.

gluten free breakfast bar pan

Pour your mixture into the baking dish and bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

Remove and let the mixture cool before placing in the fridge.

Once the mixture has firmed up, cut into bars or squares and enjoy!

Breakfast at the Sheraton Maui

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Another Maui post!  Hopefully you aren’t sick of these yet but we had so much good food that I feel I must share.  And don’t worry, I have plenty of non-Maui related posts coming up like my first time trying out Blue Apron Meals and making pulled pork.  But for now, let’s talk about breakfast at the Sheraton Maui (and its stunning ocean views!).

breakfast at the sheraton maui oceanWhen the Englishman and I first booked our honeymoon, we decided to stay at the Sheraton Maui at Black Rock, largely for its central location in Kaanapali and because the resort looked gorgeous.  Breakfast was included in our room rate, but like with most resorts, we weren’t expecting much.  After our first breakfast at the Sheraton Maui, we proceeded to have breakfast there every morning with the exception of the one day we ate at Koa’s Seaside Grill.  It was that good!

The breakfast that was offered was a buffet.  And as someone who has eaten at many a breakfast buffet in their time (Vegas anyone?) I was fully expecting to walk in underwhelmed since it was a “room rate” breakfast.  But boy I was I wrong.

Breakfast at the Sheraton Maui EggsThe buffet that was offered included fresh eggs, bacon and potatoes each morning along with mini waffles or pancakes (one day had cheese blintzes) along with steel-cut oatmeal, fresh fish, rice and miso soup.

Breakfast at the Sheraton Maui cold buffetIn addition to the hot items, there was a cold breakfast buffet bar that offered cereal, milk, assorted pastries and toast.

braekfast at the sheraton maui fruitThere was also fruit as far as the eye can see – papaya, pineapple, strawberries and bananas to name a few and it was good.  You could also get some fresh cheeses or salads to enjoy with your meal.

Last but not least there was an omelet station which I never visited since there was so much other good stuff to eat at the buffet.

breakfast at the sheraton maui spreadEvery morning we ate on the patio overlooking the pool and I enjoyed iced tea with fresh pineapple in it.  I loved the fresh pineapple in the tea so much that I even tweeted about it one morning.

If you ever find yourself in Hawaii you should definitely check out breakfast at the Sheraton Maui even if you aren’t staying at the resort!  They know how to do breakfast right and it’s the perfect way to kick off another day in paradise.

Best buffet breakfast you ever had….and go!  I will say the other fabulous buffet I’ve enjoyed was the Rio World Buffet in Las Vegas.

WholeMe Product Giveaway

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The Natural Products Expo West is one of the things I look forward to every year.  Last year, I had the opportunity to meet with so many wonderful brands and learn more about their products.  Unfortunately I couldn’t attend this year, so the wonderful team at WholeMe sent me some of their grain-free products to review.  And the best part?  I’m hosting a WholeMe Product Giveaway so you can get in on these delicious goods too!

Whole Me ProductsWhole Me is a company that focuses on creating healthy snacks that are made with real ingredients and not loaded with preservatives.  All of the Whole Me products are made with natural sweeteners and are grain-free, gluten-free and also offer dairy-free and soy-free options which is perfect for anyone on a special diet or who has food sensitivities.  I also liked the fact that Whole Me’s products are perishable which means they won’t be going stale on your kitchen shelf.

The first item I tried was the EatMe Cereal.  Made with almonds, honey, pepitas, unsweetened coconut, sunflower seeds and coconut oil, this cereal was the perfect grain-free alternative to traditional breakfast cereal.

Whole Me GranolaI enjoyed the cereal with some almond milk for breakfast, but this also makes a great afternoon snack.  And I’ll be honest – this cereal is addictive!  I kept finding myself grabbing handfuls straight from the bag because it was so good.

In addition to cereal, Whole Me has two snack bars – the WakeMe Bar and the DateMe Bar.

Whole Me BarsNext up was the WakeMe Bar, made with espresso and cocoa nibs.  If you are an espresso fan, then you will definitely love the WakeMe Bar.

Whole Me Wake me barI liked this bar because it wasn’t really sweet at all and the espresso flavor was really unique.  It’s a great way to get a little extra caffeine boost!

Last but not least was the DateMe Bar, which in my opinion tasted like a delicious slice of carrot cake.

Whole Me Date Me BarThe DateMe Bar is made dates, pecans and almonds and has the perfect balance of sweet and salty.  I loved the natural sweetness from the dates and love the fact that the pecans and almonds add a nice balance of healthy fat and protein.

Whole Me Products Close upI was really impressed with all of the Whole Me products.  The cereal is a perfect paleo breakfast option and both the DateMe and WakeMe bars are perfect snacks on the go or for travel.  I’ll definitely be packing some Whole Me goodies in my suitcase when I travel to Maui for my honeymoon in June!

And now to the best part – the WholeMe Product Giveaway!  One lucky winner will receive a bag of the EatMe Cereal, a DateMe Bar and a WakeMe Bar.  All you need to do is enter below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Open to US residents only.  Giveaway ends on 3/20/14 at 12AM PT.

 

Brunching at Haute Cakes Caffe

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It’s no secret that I love brunch.  In fact, morning tends to be my favorite time of the day.  I just love waking up and getting a good run or workout in, having a shower and then having a nice breakfast to start the day off right.  During the week my breakfast usually consists of oatmeal topped with slivered almonds and a banana, so when the weekend rolls around, I tend to gravitate towards something different.

As I mentioned in my weekend update, the weather in Southern CA has been absolutely stunning.  The Englishman and I wanted to take advantage of the warmer temps, so we decided to go to one of our regular breakfast spots, Haute Cakes, and sit outside on their patio.

Haute Cakes Caffe Storefront

I have been to Haute Cakes many times, and while they have excellent afternoon snacks, I feel like there’s something always slightly lacking.  The service is always good, the food comes out piping hot, but I feel like it’s never as good as it could’ve been.  Take our breakfast for example.

I ordered the Three Egg Scramble which came with eggs, fruit, toast and potatoes.

Three Egg Scramble Haute Cakes

The eggs were nice and fluffy, the potatoes had nice flavor to them and the fruit was good.  But the toast?  First off, they were out of baguettes (at 8:30 am on a Sunday morning) and the sourdough toast they gave me was almost burnt and was as hard as a rock.  I had a few bites of it before calling it quits.

Then there was the Englishman’s breakfast.  He got the Haute Combination which came with pancakes or french toast, eggs, bacon or sausage and fruit.  He went with french toast, poached eggs, and bacon.

Haute Combination - French Toast and Poached Egg

I loved the French Toast – it had a nice hint of sweetness but not too overpowering.  The bacon was nice and crispy.  But the poached eggs?  They were horribly underdone to the point that the Englishman did not feel comfortable eating them.

So that’s my issue with Haute Cakes.  They do things really, really, well, but then there are other components that seem to drop the cafe down a few notches.  I really want to love the place and sing it’s praises from the rooftops, but I can’t yet.  Until then, I’ll keep visiting in the hopes that my “like” for Haute Cakes will soon turn into a “love.”