No-Fail Granola

This granola recipe is perfect. 

Pretty hard to mess up and easy to switch up if you're craving a different flavor. Most Sundays, I make a big batch and store in a jar to enjoy throughout the week with almond milk or on top of yogurt or overnight oats. It's nut-free (hence, daycare approved!), actually nutritious and grandparent, spouse, baby and RELATIVE-approved too. I'd say that's good enough to make it a keeper.

No-Fail Granola (makes about 4 cups)

• 3 cups old fashioned oats (though quick cook work fine if you're in a pinch)

• 3/4 cup dried fruit (I generally use dried cranberries or chopped dates!)

• 1/4 pepitas

• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds

• 1/4 cup shredded coconut

• 3 tbsp chia seeds

• 1/4 cup flaxseed

• 1 tsp cinnamon

• 1 tsp Salt

• 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted

• 1/4 cup honey

• 1 tsp vanilla

1. Heat the oven to 375° and line a baking sheet with parchment paper

2. Mix the first eight ingredients together in a large bowl

3. Mix the coconut oil, honey, salt and vanilla together until combined, and pour over the dry ingredients. Toss until well-coated (I recommend using your hands - it's the most effective way to get it really covered and increases your chances of those good granola clumps!)

4. Spread evenly on your baking sheet, criss-cross drizzle with a bit more honey (trust me on this one) and pop into the oven on the topmost rack.

5. Bake for five minutes, then remove from the oven and toss before putting it back in.

6. This is the critical part! Bake for another 5-10 minutes, but keep an eye on it. It should begin to brown, and my rule of thumb usually is: if I can smell it, it's done. Take it out before it burns.

7. Let it cool completely before crumbling (again, better for the clumps), and either devour immediately or store in an airtight container for a week. 

Blueberry and Peach Breakfast Pie

He rolled over, eyes blinking in the morning light, and said that he wanted blueberry pie for breakfast. Even though he might have been kidding, blueberry pie isn't really a laughing matter in my book.  So as the coffee brewed, I pulled out my new and already overused food processor, opened the cabinet, and got to grinding. 

Over the past months, I've been working to understand how to stock a pantry, truly, for moments like this - when you're dying to whip up something delicious, yet healthy, and need the fixings. Through trial and error, the key players look like this: whole grains (millet, quinoa, steel cut oats, popcorn, and rolled oats), dried fruits (dates), nuts (cashews, walnuts, and peanut butter in the fridge) and seeds (chia, ground flaxseed and hemp).  Even though basic or seemingly obvious, when paired with rotations of local and seasonal produce, the possibilities are endless.

Friends, this may have been the moment when the stockpiling paid off.  

Blueberry and peach breakfast pie - a cashew-date crust topped with cashew cream and fruit and drizzled with a salted peanut butter drizzle. So easy, so delicious, and also good for you - and only a little bit in that way where you could say having an oatmeal raisin cookie is kind of like having raisins in a hot bowl of morning oatmeal. To make you'll just need some of the key pantry players, like cashews, dates, and peanut butter, and good late summer fruit. I picked up the most succulent blueberries and tiny peaches at the farmers' market because they were practically calling to me, but you could use any seasonal stone fruit or berry you get your hands on.  

When compared to sugar, dates are a relatively low glycemic sweetener - which means that you get a nice taste without riding a blood sugar rollercoaster. Both the nuts and fruits are also a good source of dietary fiber.  I'm not kidding when I say that the peanut butter drizzle tastes a lot like salted caramel. It's decadent, and as a girl who once made foie gras cupcakes, you can trust me on that. 

Just a word on timing. Because it's essentially a raw vegan concoction, the pie requires some time to chill. My recommendation? Make it early, and take it out when the coffee brews. Or better yet, make it the night before and refrigerate, so you're not waiting on a slice of pie. 

Blueberry and Peace Breakfast Pie

(Makes a 9' round pie)

For the crust:

• 2 cups raw cashews
• 1/2 cup rolled oats
• 7-8 pitted Medjool dates

For the cashew cream:

• 1 cup raw cashews
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon maple syrup
• 1/4 cup filtered water
• 1 teaspoon sea salt (we use Celtic sea salt)

For the peanut butter drizzle:

• 1 tablespoon peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon filtered water
• 1 teaspoon maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1. Measure 1 cup of cashews and place them in a bowl. Set aside 7-8 dates in a separate bowl. Boil water and pour over cashews and dates so that they're completely submerged. Let sit for 1 hour, covered. 
2. To make crust, cut a parchment round to fit to your cake or pie pan. Place unsoaked raw cashews and oats in food processor and grind until a meal is created. Add in soaked dates, one at a time.
3. Once you add in 6-7 dates, a ball of dough should begin in form on one side of the food processor. Remove ball of dough.
4. Press dough ball into cake or pie pan. To easily spread out, I find it easiest to place another sheet of parchment paper over the dough and press down using the base of a cup.  When flat, cover crust and place in the refrigerator for 30 min - 1 hour.
5.  To make cashew cream, drain and rinse cashews and place in food processor. Add 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, vanilla extract, maple syrup and 1/8 cup of filtered water and blend until smooth.  Add more water as needed to achieve a whipped thick consistency.  
6. Remove crust from refrigerator, and using a spoon or spatula, evenly spread the cashew cream over it, leaving a 1/2 inch border of crust along the sides. Cover again, and put into the freezer for 30 minutes.
7. To make drizzle, whisk peanut butter, maple syrup, vanilla, sea salt and water in a small bowl. Mixture should easily drizzle from whisk, so you might need to add more water (in 1/2 teaspoon increments) until desired consistency is achieved. 
8. o assemble, remove pie from freezer. Cover with fruit that has been pat completely dry if just washed. Drizzle peanut butter syrup on top, and sprinkle with a pinch of extra sea salt. Enjoy!

Steel Cut Oats with Grilled Stone Fruit & Banana Cashew Cream

I've always been a big believer in the phrase "everything in moderation." So in our home, we don't really limit our diets to one category.  On the average night, however, you can finds us whipping up a vegetarian or vegan meal because they tend to be easy and make our bodies feel vibrant and healthy. We still enjoy our weekly libations, and the occasional summer barbecue fare. But through exploration, and the elimination diet, we try to bring a sense of consciousness to the way we eat in order to make ourselves operate well. 

One of the most interesting parts of our cooking journey as a couple has been exploring the realm of just how much you can do with good produce, hearty grains, and a little bit of seasoning. This weekend's Sunday brunch was a great example of that exact kitchen manifesto: a warm bowl of steel cut oats topped with grilled stone fruits and banana cashew cream.

I first wandered into the world of steel cut oats a few years ago when my parents began making them regularly, and my father reported the emergence of his abs, which seemed as good a reason as any to add it to the repertoire. They take a little bit longer than your average oat to cook, but that's because they're more whole and less processed, meaning they tend to keep you satiated for a longer period of time. This is a trade-off I'm willing to make. 

Slow cooking oats gives you time to come up with a whole slew of delicious toppings. Because it's stone fruit season, I chose to sprinkle apricots and plums with Celtic sea salt and grill them up alongside fresh figs on my cast iron skillet, which renders the flesh succulent and decadent. I then whipped up a batch of cashew cream mixed with bananas, which is so painfully easy that the end result leaves you wondering why you don't always have a jar full of this stuff handy. 

The end result is a comforting and nutritious bowl, drizzled with flaxseed oil and sprinkled with hemp seeds for an extra Omega boost. It was a great way to plant-power a day spent at the beach, and kept us nice and full until an al fresco lobster roll beckoned in the late afternoon.

Steel Cut Oats with Grilled Stone Fruit & Banana Cashew Cream

(Serves two, generously)

1 cup steel cut oats

1 cup raw cashews

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 teaspoon maple syrup 

1/4 cup filtered water

1 teaspoon sea salt (we use Celtic sea salt)

1/2 banana

Seasonal fruit (I chose apricots, plums, and figs)

Flaxseed oil

1 tablespoon hemp seeds

For cashew cream:

1. Measure 1 cup of cashews and place them in a bowl. Boil water and pour over cashews so that they're completely submerged. Let sit for 1-2 hours, covered. 
2. Drain and rinse cashews and place in food processor. Add 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, vanilla extract, maple syrup and 1/8 cup of filtered water and blend until smooth.
3.  Add more water as needed to achieve your desired consistency (I like my cashew cream on the thicker more creamy side for this dish).
4. Add banana and give one final whirl in the processor until mixture is combined and whipped.

For steel cut oats: 

1. Measure 1 cup of steel cut oats and place them in a large saucepot. Cover them with 3 cups of filtered water. 
2. Cook over low to medium heat for about 30-40 minutes, or until the water has been absorbed. Oats should be creamy, so if they appear dry, add 1/2 cup more water and cook for another 10 minutes. 

For grilled fruit: 

1. Set grill or cast iron grill pan to a low-medium heat. 
2. Halve each piece of fruit, and sprinkle with remaining sea salt. Place fruit flesh side down on grill for 3-5 minutes, and flip when grill marks have appeared. 
3. Grill for another 3-5 minutes and remove, letting fruit cool on a plate. 

To assemble bowls, add cooked oats first, top with the fruit, and scoop in cashew cream.  Drizzle with flaxseed oil, top with hemp seeds, and enjoy!

Coconut Citrus Smoothie

This smoothie is pure wow.

Which is a bit like the weekend that I just closed out. For three days, I kicked off my journey towards becoming a professional coach. I'll share more about that over time, but for now, three words come to mind: spiritual, possibility, and transformation.

I talk often about the importance of balance. In light of the nourishment that my mind and soul received this weekend, I'm sharing a smoothie recipe that does the same for the physical self. It's creamy, invigorating, and brings all the right kind of nutrients to elevate your morning and sustain your energy throughout the day.

The meat of mature coconuts is amazingly nutritious. It's metabolism boosting and provides your body with a great source of energy due to the fact that it's made up of medium length of the fatty-acid chains. While it can be a bit tricky to pry it from the shell (I used this video as my guide), once free, the meat is chewy, dense, and perfect for smoothies.

The other ingredients balance it out with a nice level of zing and tang. The almond butter plays well with the creaminess of the coconut, and the citrus brings an added punch of Vitamin C. Mint is a calming and soothing herb that is also high in antioxidants and helps aid in digestion.  After blending together, I've topped this powerful drink off with my favorite seed mix and some immunity-supporting local bee pollen.

Coconut Citrus Smoothie

1 small banana, sliced

1/2 naval orange, peeled

1/2 lime, peeled

2 tbsp chopped mature coconut meat

1 packet of raw protein powder (I prefer this kind)

1 tbsp organic almond butter

1 tsp hemp seed

1 tsp chia seed

1 tsp flaxseed

1 tsp bee pollen

Combine first five ingredients in blender, and top with water or preferred nut milk and 3-4 ice cubes. Blend until combined. Add in almond butter, hemp, chia, flaxseed and bee pollen and pulse until combined. Drink immediately, or if storing, reserve seed and bee pollen mixture until serving, as they will absorb much of the liquid and thicken the smoothie.

Mango and Golden Beet Smoothie

Last night, we returned from five glorious days off in Florida. It was a much needed break from a recent busy period and the epic winter we've been having here in Boston, and a great place to celebrate my love's thirtieth trip around the sun.  But there was one thing that was missing from our trip south: the sun.

Gloomy skies aside, we had a wonderful visit filled with quiet island adventures, meditative walks on the beach and some good vacation indulgence. We also had the pleasure of devouring delicious citrus in their natural locale. And now that I'm back, I'm craving more of those fruits and a return to my weekly health routine. 

This mango and golden beet smoothie is a variation on what typically makes up my daily breakfast: a blended mix of fruit and vegetables, nourishing powders and a mixture of seeds.

Beets are a wonderful detoxifying food, and in conjunction with mango, are filled with antioxidant-loaded carotenoids to help support eye health. Maca is a hormone-balancing root vegetable native to Peru and known to help boost fertility and control adrenal activity. These ingredients are combined with orange, raw sprouted protein, my hemp, chia, and flaxseed mix and immunity-boosting bee pollen to provide the right kind of sunny energy needed on a winter morning.

Mango and Golden Beet Smoothie

1 small banana, sliced

1/2 naval orange, peeled

1 small golden beet, peeled and diced

1/2 a mango, cubed

1 packet of raw protein powder (I prefer this kind)

1 tablespoon Maca powder

1 tsp hemp seed

1 tsp chia seed

1 tsp flaxseed

1 tsp bee pollen

Combine first six ingredients in blender, and top with water or preferred nut milk and 3-4 ice cubes. Blend until combined. Add in hemp, chia, flaxseed and bee pollen and pulse until combined. Drink immediately, or if storing, reserve seed and bee pollen mixture until serving, as they will absorb much of the liquid and thicken the smoothie.