Dark Chocolate & Raspberry Breakfast Bar

British berries are fantastic. A short walk through the woodlands and you will find many identifiable (as well as mysterious) berries growing on bushes.

It is a massive comfort in many ways, as I grew up spending my weekends and summers in Northern Ontario in Canada, surrounded by wilderness. Holding my childhood memories in nature, I realize how fortunate I am to even just have a deeper connection to where our food comes from.

These abundant forests, that I still consider my home, grew blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and even the stay black bear indulging on the same tart delicacies. Visiting my parents house, I can still walk around the property among deer, beavers, and loons and pick raspberries for a pie or cake.

Of course, wild raspberries are probably 1/10th the size of farm grown, and are packed with flavor like no other. We sometimes will pick them in late august (if the animals haven’t beat us to it) and freeze them for a later date. You can of course do this with farmed local berries when in season (as they taste better and hold more nutrients then off-season). It’s perfect for pies, or breakfast oat bars like this!

In this recipe, I’ve used my base for breakfast bars, which is gluten free oats, a ripe banana, coconut oil and maple syrup. You can add whatever you like to this, just follow the recipe and flavor accordingly!

Dark Chocolate & Raspberry Breakfast Bars

Serves 12

30 Minutes

Ingredients

-1 Cup Gluten Free Oats

-1 Ripe Banana

-1 Tbsp. Coconut Oil, melted (I use Lucy Bee, as it is fair trade and rated 1st in ethical coconut brands)

-3 Tbsp. Maple Syrup

-1 Tsp. Vanilla

-1/2 Cup Organic British Raspberries

-1/2 Bar Dark Chocolate (I use Montezuma 100%, but you can use anything over 75%)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180C.

2. Mash your banana in a bowl, combine oats, melted coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla. Let sit for 10 minutes.

3. Chop Dark Chocolate into chunks, and add to bowl with the raspberries and fold into oat ‘batter’ gently.

4. Bake 15-20 Minutes until golden. Cool completely and cut.

Keep covered for 2-3 days, in fridge for 5, or store in freezer for 1 month.

Plant Powered Protein Scramble

Despite the name, Scrambled Health is NOT based on scrambled eggs but rather is the background of a nickname I’ve adapted to. Working in my first Michelin star French kitchen I was asked to make scrambled eggs for staff meal.

I began my culinary career at Le Cordon Bleu learning gastronomy and nutritional cooking. This, along with the fact that eggs always disturbed my esphogitus, I had spent years as a vegan, and the smell of any egg dish would make me gag… I could say that I had never scrambled an egg.

To this day, I struggle to make scrambled eggs as well as my ten year old brother can.

Back in my family home, I was known in my family for serving them my tofu scramble and pretending it was made from eggs. I fooled some! My traditional eggs and bacon English breakfast grandfather had been fooled multiple times.

This recipe is incredibly versatile. I’ve used it as egg salad (adding vegan mayonnaise), in a breakfast wrap with roasted potatoes, in salads, over toast, over sweet potatoes, with hummus on roasted veggies… the flavours are mild, enjoyable and complementary to a variety of foods.

Try this out and experiment!

I would love to hear how you served this dish!

xx

Plant Powered Protein Scramble

Vegetarian, Vegan (Option), Gluten Free, Nut Free

Serves 2

15 Minutes

Ingredients

-1 tsp rapeseed or avocado oil

-1/2 Red Onion, Minced

-1 cm Cube Fresh Ginger, Minced

-1 Clove Garlic, Minced

-1 tsp. Turmeric

-1/8 tsp. Cayenne Pepper

-1 Block Firm Tofu

-150 g Fresh Spinach

-Salt and Pepper to Taste

OPTION

-50 g Goat Cheese, or Feta

Method

1. Heat oil in a pan on medium-low heat, add the red onion. Sautee until becoming translucent (about 2-3 min).

2. Add minced ginger and garlic with the onion. Cook until fragrant and add the turmeric and cayenne pepper.

3. Meanwhile, remove the tofu from packaging. Drain and pat dry with a clean dishcloth or absorbent kitchen towel.

4. Crumble the tofu into the pan, so it is small chunks. Stir the mixture for about 3-5 minutes, until tofu is cooked and fully immersed with the spices and onion mix. Add salt and pepper to taste if necessary.

5. Add the spinach to the pan and slowly mix in until completely wilted.

6. At this time, you have the option of adding feta or goat cheese. Mix the cheese throughout for a great salty and tangy addition of flavour.

Serve warm as a replacement of scrambled eggs or cold as a egg salad. Keep leftovers in fridge for up to 3 days.

One Pan Pecan Granola

Easy, delicious, satisfying, quick, and good for children and adults alike. I really can’t put an end to the positive adjectives to this dish.

I am inherently lazy (partially the reason I left Michelin star kitchens) and am always looking for a short cut in the kitchen.

I love my oven, I really do, but for some reason actually putting something IN the oven makes the dish seem that much more work. Call me crazy! I can’t be the only one.

So, being lazy, not wanting to clean the excess dishes of a mixing bowl AND a tray AND a sticky spatula, I decided to venture into the world of non-oven granola.

I will admit it took a few tries (including making sure my pan was completely dry in between recipe tests and washes as my ‘granola’ quickly turned into ‘oatmeal’ - rooky mistake), but the final test was so beautiful and was so satisfying.

I will never again wait for granola in the oven. Yes, patience is a virtue, but really the best inventors are inpatient and lazy right? How else would we have self operating vacuums or lights that turn on by clapping your hands?

This idea of how to begin on this endeavor started with my time in kitchens as a pastry chef when I was making toffee pecans for a super extra banoffee dessert that included banana ice cream, salted chocolate crumble, and siphoned dolce de leche. I can safely say I gained a lot of weight there. The pecans were made with maple syrup, brown sugar, butter, butter, and more butter.

In my adaption of it, I obviously didn't want butter, or refined sugar so I went off the whim and it turned out SO WELL.

You can use this recipes on top of my Vanilla Poached Pears, on top of yogurt, an apple crumble topping, or wherever else you would use granola.

A word to the wise on this one:

Be very careful, and stay with the pan the entire time. The time in between a perfectly browned pecan and a burnt one is a matter of milliseconds. Don’t let this scare you, but just keep an eye on it and have your ingredients set up beforehand.

One Pan Pecan Granola

Serves 4

10 minutes

Ingredients

-1 Cup GF Oats

-1/2 Cup Pecans

-1/3 Cup Maple Syrup

-Option: Vanilla Extract or Bean

-1 tsp. Cinnamon

Method

1. Chop half of the pecans roughly, and leave the other half whole. Set aside.

2. In a pan on low heat, brown the oats slowly over the pan, continuously stirring while you add the pecans to brown slightly and immediately add maple syrup. Add the vanilla essence (if using) and cinnamon here. Continue stirring.

3. Pour onto a silicon mat and let cool. It will be hard once cool, but no worries! Break up the pieces and cut in a sterilized jar. Leave in a cool place or in the fridge for up 3-5 days.

Vanilla Poached Pears

Dessert Or breakfast these are A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. You can technically have breakfast for dessert… without any judgement (from me anyways).

I often make my vanilla poached pears for parties, family members, or my own lazy brunch morning with Rich and myself.

They seem luxurious, intricate, and impress everyone… little do they know, these took less than 40 minutes - most of which I was sitting reading my current novel “The Language of Kindness” by Christie Watson (I highly recommend).

I’m letting you in on my secret dessert dish which I ‘pretend’ are really complicated at dinner parties by explaining the dish with grandiose phrasing. What can I say, I’m a cancer and I just need positive attention.

I know, horrible, but I am making up for my deception by sharing these with you- and so that you can do the same with your friends and family!

The trick is staying coy. “No, no, it was so easy! Really, it's nothing!” and I swear it almost makes the dish taste SWEETER.

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Now that I have shown you my true colours (Oops!) I’m going to move on to the making behind the dish.

This dish can be made vegan, gluten free, and can also be done as nut free and paleo (without the pecan granola). It requires minimal cutting, is pretty much one step, and is incredibly delicious with delicate flavours. I made this the other morning for what was a healthy breakfast, made with only fruit and free sugars.

Oh, and the biggest plus was my kitchen smelled fabulous all day.

The poached pears are best served hot, immediately after plating, with a dollop of cultured yogurt (I use coconut collaborative, or goats milk yogurt), or a scoop of vanilla and/or salted caramel ice cream and topped with my one pan pecan granola, which can be found here. With all the components the dish is complete in both texture and flavour, but I encourage you to be creative and let me know what you made these with!

For breakfast as seen in the pictures, I added cultured goat yogurt, my one pan pecan granola, with a sprinkle of chia and honey!

LETS GET STARTED!!

Vanilla Poached Pears

Gluten Free, Vegan Option, Vegetarian, Paleo (without granola), Nut Free (without granola), Refined Sugar Free

Serves 1

5 Minutes Prep.

35 Minutes Cook

Ingredients

-1 Pear (of any kind; not overly ripe and still hard)

-1/4 Cup Honey/Maple Syrup

-1 tsp. Vanilla

-1 tsp. Cinnamon

Method

1. Cut the pear in half, and remove the core (with a knife or a melon baller).

2. Place the pear cut side up in a saucepan, and add your choice of sweetener (honey/maple syrup), vanilla and cinnamon. Fill with water until pears are completely covered with liquid (and then some (amount depends on your pot)

3. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Leave the pears to poach for 35 minutes for a soft, sweet and delicate treat.

4. Serve warm.

Garlic & Parsley Mixed Mushrooms

Garlic. CHECK! Mixed mushrooms. CHECK! Delicious, variable, & easy? CHECK CHECK CHECK!

This recipe is a crowd pleasing winner all around, and it is SO EASY AND VERSATILE.

Great as an impressive breakfast, either on grilled sour bread toast, under eggs, or as a side dish to your Sunday roast!

Garlic Parsley Mixed Mushrooms

Serves 2

15 Minutes

Ingredients

-1 tsp. Avocado/Rapeseed Oil

-1/2 Red Onion

- 1 Clove Garlic

-200 g Mixed Mushrooms (Shitake, White Cap, Button, Portobello, oyster etc.)

-10 Sprigs Fresh Parsley

-Salt & Pepper To Taste

Method

1. Mince the red onion while heating the avocado or rapeseed oil in a pan over medium-low heat.

2. Meanwhile mince the garlic and add to pan with onions once they begin to become translucent (about 2-3 minutes) and continue to caramelize.

3. Wash dirt off of the mushrooms, leaving them underwater no longer than 30 seconds (they will begin to absorb and become watery). Slice the mushrooms thinly while the onions cook. Remove any long stems, and add to pan once the onions are fully caramelized and sweet.

4. The mushrooms will release moisture, and soon should become browned. Coarsely chop the washed and stemmed parsley while the mix is cooking. Once liquid is evaporated and the mix is fully browned and cooked, turn the heat off and add the fresh parsley. Make sure the herb is evenly immersed in the mushroom mix.

5. Add salt and pepper to taste, and serve warm!

Apple Pie Porridge

I have really been on a sweet breakfast kick recently!

Richard was awake this morning to join me for breakfast and I figured I would give him something extra special to see what I get up to breakfast-wise.

I noticed an abundance of apples in our kitchen and as most of my recipes happen, I experimented! My time working as a pastry chef gave me plenty of skills to simply just ‘go for it’ when it comes to trying out new foods. They are definitely not all successes but this one most certainly was!

This porridge was a definite step back to the past for me today. Apple Pie was my favourite as a child, and my dad absolutely loved it- to my mother and grandpas dismay. There was a large divide in my family, one that was solely based in either the adoration or rejection of an apple pie. I was my Dad’s shining daughter siding with him, and gladly divulging into our stint of Saturday’s apple pie. I can honestly say I haven't had apple pie in YEARS and this recipe is as close as I’ve gotten to treating myself to the childhood memories.

Sharing this with you gives me great joy, and I promise you can share the glee with whoever you make this easy, fast, and sneakily-healthy breakfast for.

Apple Pie Porridge

Serves 1

15 minutes

Ingredients

Poached Apples

-1/2 Red Apple (Gala, Pink Lady, Red Delicious, Red Cooking Apple)

-2 Tbsp. Honey or Maple Syrup

-2 Tbsp. Water

-1 tsp. Cinnamon

-1/2 tsp. Vanilla

Oatmeal

-1/2 Cup Oats

-1 Cup Almond Milk (or alternative)

-1/2 tsp Vanilla

-1 tsp. Cinnamon

Topping Ideas

-Walnuts, Pecans, Almonds

-Raisons, Strawberries, Dried Fruit

-Dark Chocolate, Almond Butter

-Hemp Seeds, Chia Seeds, Flax Seeds

Method

1. Make sure your half of an apple has no core membrane or seeds. Thinly cut lengthwise and separate the apple slices as they tend to stick together.

2. Place the apple slices in a pan over low heat with the honey/maple syrup, water, 1 tsp. cinnamon and 1/2 tsp. vanilla. Allow the liquid to bubble and reduce to a syrup while cooking the apples. This should take about 5 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, either in a saucepan or microwaveable bowl, combine the remaining 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1/2 tsp. vanilla, and 1 cup almond milk. If making oats over the stove, bring the mixture to a boil, and add in the oats. Lower the heat to a simmer and stir until fully cooked and liquid is absorbed into oats (about 5 minutes). The alternative is in the microwave, adding the oats to the liquid mixture and microwaving on high heat for 2 minutes.

4. Top the oats with your apple pie mix. Reserve the excess syrup and drizzle over oats. Add toppings of choice!

In this bowl, I added hemp seeds, strawberries, and walnuts!

Let me know what you added to your bowl and hashtag it to #behindthebowl and #scrambledhealth

What more recipes would you like to see? Let me know in the comments below, as I would love to hear from you!

Caramelized Banana and Maple Chia Porridge

Yes. Your read that right.

Caramelized Bananas on a health and wellbeing website.

And no, this isn't a ‘everything in moderation’ post.

This oatmeal recipe was inspired by a breakfast dish I made a few times a week for staff meal while working in Michelin kitchens however, there it is more butter than banana.

I came back to this dish thinking of how much I was craving sweet comfort food, but, with my trip to Italy coming up, I just could not have my 8th Salted Caramel Millionaire Bar within a 24 hour span- yes, they are THAT good. Knowing I had bananas, and having just stocked up on oats to make my Banana Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies for Richards road trip to Cardiff this long weekend, I decided to fill myself up for the day of work ahead.

In this recipe, you can either make the oats on a stove, or microwave. For half a cup of oats I use between 1 cup to 2 cups of Plenish almond milk (depending on how liquid I want my oats). I topped the porridge with blackberries for tartness to cut the sweetness of the bananas and maple but you can use pretty much anything! As for the Chia seeds you can mix them in the porridge or use them as a pretty topping. Take a picture of your creation and tag me on @scrambledhealth. I would love to see how you’ve done it and remember to hashtag with #behindthebowl.

Caramelized Bananas and Maple Chia Porridge

15 minutes

Serves 1

Ingredients

-1/2 Cup Gluten Free Oats

-1 Cup Almond Milk (or Alternative)

-1 Banana

-2 tbsp. Maple Syrup

-1 tsp. Cinnamon

-1 tsp. Chia

Topping Ideas

-Blackberries, Blueberries, raspberries

-Walnuts, Peanuts, Almond Butter, Hemp Seeds

Method

1. Stove: Bring your milk of choice to a boil on medium heat in a small saucepan. Add the Oats, bring to a simmer on low heat, and stir until liquid is absorbed.

2. Cut the banana in thin slices, separate them (as bananas are sticky!) and place in a saucepan to coat with the maple syrup and cinnamon. Bring to medium heat until the syrup starts to bubble.

3. Toss the bananas until they start to caramelize on the edges and become very soft. Remove from heat and add the bananas to the top of your porridge. Reserve the liquid in pan, and use as a drizzle sauce.

4. Top creatively with chia seeds, and other toppings of choice! Serve hot with coffee or tea (Optional, but highly suggested in the morning)