Roll 'em Up!

Breakfast Rolls

A little fun breakfast treat this week - French Toast Rolls! It's okay to treat yourself once in awhile with a "kid-friendly" kinda dish. These are simple to make and you can make this gluten-free by stopping at Whisked Gluten-Free on Ellesmere and picking up their sandwich bread! It's perfect for these hand-held eats! You can also experiment with different spreads and fruit - like strawberries or try fresh local Ontario peaches that are in season right now!

French Toast Rolls

Ingredients:

1-2 Bananas, cut in half, then sliced lengthwise
8 Slices of Gluten-free Sandwich Bread, crusts off, and slightly flattened
2 Eggs
1/4 Cup Almond Milk
Chocolate Almond Spread (or you can use any nut spread...yes Nutella works!)
Butter 
Cinnamon
Maple Syrup

1. In a shallow bowl, whisk your eggs and milk together.
2. Spread each slice of bread with the chocolate spread and place 1-2 slices of banana on top. Roll the slice up tightly and dip in the egg mixture.
3. In a non-stick pan, melt the butter over medium-high heat and place the rolls in the pan and cook until golden brown on all sides.
4. Remove from pan and dust with cinnamon and serve immediately with maple syrup as dip!

Cheat Day Coconut Ice Cream!

Paleo-friendly Ice Cream

Even though this is a "healthier" version of that creamy, cool summer treat ice cream, save this one for a cheat day, or after a long, grueling summer time wod!

Chocolate Coconut Ice Cream

Ingredients:

1 Can of Coconut Milk, Full Fat (check the ingredients that it is just coconut milk and there's not "other" ingredients in it!)
1/4 Cup Cocoa Powder
1/4 Cup Maple Syrup
1 Tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

1. In a blender, combine all of the ingredients and blend until it becomes creamy and smooth in texture.
2. Taste the mixture, and add more maple syrup or cocoa powder, whatever your preference is.
3. Place in a freezer-friendly container with a lid and freeze for at least 4 hours or until it is firm. If it ends up getting to hard, just remove it from the freezer for about 10 minutes before you dig in and enjoy!

Cha-Cha-Cha-Chia!

The Magic of Chia

Chia seeds are pretty cool how they start off so small and then expand like crazy! They are also a great addition to any food or drink that you want to nutritionally enhance! Try out these simple and easy to make chia seed recipes whether it is a WOD day or a rest day - they are good for you! 

Coconut-Chia Seed Beverage

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp Chia Seeds
250 mL (1 Cup) Coconut Water,chilled
50 mL (or about 2 Tbsp) Fresh Pineapple Juice, chilled

1. Take all of the ingredients and put it into a blender, blend to combine. Then allow to sit for about 12-15 minutes until the seeds have expanded. If you want to have a little sweetness, you can drizzle a bit of maple syrup to this awesome drink!
2. If you are at the Box, bring in the ingredients in your shaker bottle (chia seeds left separate); when you are done your wod, add the seeds, give it a shake, let it rest while you cash out and you have a refreshing post-wod beverage waiting for you full of electrolytes and omega 3's!
   

Chia Breakfast Pudding
Ingredients: 
1/2 Cup Chia Seeds
2 Cups Unsweetened Almond Milk
2 Tbsp Maple Syrup or Raw Honey (Your preference!)
A splash of Pure Vanilla Extract

1. In a large bowl, combine the ingredients together; it should start to get thick as you continue to mix everything.
2. Cover the bowl with saran wrap and place in the fridge for at minimum an hour to chill.
3. When you are ready to dig in, remove from the fridge and give it a stir. If it is too thick, you can add a bit more almond milk to help thin it out. 
4. Place a serving into a bowl, top it with fresh berries, or your favourite fruit and some chopped nuts and you are good to go.
5. Best thing about this recipe is, you can make a large batch, portion it and you are ready start your whole week off right!

Eat Your Sprouts!

Brussels Sprouts?!

Many people probably have had the challenge of getting down Brussels sprouts sometime in their life. Most of the time, they are not tasty, but if you add in some bacon...maybe some caramelized onions...I think things will change :) Brussels sprouts are a great vegetable to have in your diet since they are chock full of vitamins and nutrients that we need, and during the winter season, that is when you want to get them in!

 



Ingredients:

1lb Brussels Sprouts, ends chopped and cut into 1/4's, remove any tough leaves
6 Pieces Bacon, cut into bite size pieces
1 Shallot, cut in half and thinly sliced
Balsamic Vinegar
Sea Salt and Ground Pepper

1. In a large skillet, place the pieces of bacon and cook out over medium heat. Once the bacon gets crispy, remove and drain on a paper towel, set aside.
2. In the same pan with the bacon fat, turn the heat to high, and place the pieces of Brussels sprouts evenly over the pan in a single layer preferably. Allow the sprouts to cook for 3 minutes before starting to toss them and continue to toss them in the pan until they become tender and appear caramelized. The length of time will vary depending on the size of the sprouts. If they are on the larger side, after a few minutes, you can add in a 1/2 cup of water to help steam the sprouts to become tender. Remove the sprouts from the pan and set aside.
3. Add in a touch of coconut oil or reserved bacon fat if you have it and toss in the shallots for about 2 minutes until they become soft. Add in a tablespoon of 2 tablespoons of balsamic and cook until most of the liquid is gone. Add in the sprouts and bacon and toss thoroughly together. Season with salt and pepper and you're done!

NOTE* If you want to add a little sweetness, only add in 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar and then add in 1 tablespoon of maple syrup!

COOOOOKIIIEEEES!!

COOOOOKIIIEEEES!

Easy, chewy, chocolate chip cookies. These simple to make and quick to bake ... and are even faster to disappear!

Ingredients:

3 1/4 Cups of Ground Almonds (aka Almond Flour)
1 1/2-2 Cups of Good Chocolate Chips or Cacao Nibs (depends on how much chocolate you want in them!)
1 Tsp Baking Soda
1 Tsp Flaked Sea Salt, crumbled
1 Tsp Pure Vanilla 
1/2 Cup Maple Syrup
1/2 Cup Butter, melted
2 Eggs

1. In a bowl add in the ground almonds, baking soda, and sea salt. Give it a stir to combine. In a separate bowl, add in the eggs,butter, maple syrup, and vanilla - whisk until completely mixed.
2. Stir in the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Then add in the chocolate chips and/or cacao nibs. The result should be a very wet cookie dough. Place this bowl in the fridge for approximately 15-20 minutes for the dough to become solid.
3. Preheat the oven to 375F. Line your baking trays with parchment paper and remove the dough from the fridge. Use a small 1oz ice cream scoop to shape the cookies. Make sure you leave space between each cookie scoop. If you do not have a cookie scoop, shape the cookie dough into 1" in diametre balls.
4. Place tray in oven and bake for about 8-10 minutes - be cautious that you do not over-bake the cookies!! At the 8 minute mark, take a peak to see if the bottom of the cookie is golden and the top of the cookie is golden. If it is, then remove from oven; if not, cook for another minute or two. 
5. The cookies will be soft to the touch when they first come out of the oven. Allow to cool, then eat up or store in an air tight container in the fridge...but you will more than likely not need to do that :)

Portable Salad

Portable Salad

So lately it seems that everyone is on the 'Mason Jar' salad trend, I blame it on Pinterest :) It is a great way to build nutrition in a jar! Mason Jar's are great because they seal shut very well, so you don't get the spills that can happen with other tupperware or ziploc containers. Here's one of my favourite Salads in a Jar recipes - Deconstructed Clubhouse - with the dressing that I got from our own Iron Anne! Don't forget that you can do many other salads 'to go' such as Greek, Tomato Bocconcini, and more!

Ingredients

Baby Gem Lettuce (this is a great type of lettuce to use because it maintains the crispiness that you want in a salad leaf, but you can substitute for another lettuce green if unavailable)
2 Strips of Cooked Bacon, chopped (the good stuff!)
1/2 Chicken Breast, sliced (poached or grilled)
5 Cherry Tomatoes
1 Avocado (optional - but this is kept separate until eating time!)
Apple Cider Vinegar
Olive Oil
Maple Syrup
Sea Salt & Pepper to taste

1. Wash your baby gem lettuce thoroughly and pat dry.
2. Slice your chicken breast into bite size pieces, same goes for the bacon.
3. For the dressing, combine equal parts Apple Cider Vinegar, Olive Oil, and Maple Syrup, season with salt and pepper.
4. To build your salad, start with the dressing in the bottom, then lettuce and tomato, and finally top off with your bacon and chicken.
5. Close the jar and off you go!
6. When ready to eat, give the jar a good shake to coat your salad, cut your avocado and pop it in to enjoy a compact, but filling meal!

Almond Butter Awesome Cups

ALMOND BUTTER CUPS

Reese Peanut Butter Cups are overrated, try these little morsels of awesomeness!! You can RX these cups by coating the bottom of the muffin cups with chocolate as well to completely surround the nut butter filling (Thanks Carm for that little tidbit!). These taste best when taken right from the fridge.

Ingredients
For the Filling:
3/4 Cups Ground Almonds
1/4 Cup Gluten-free Oats, ground
2 Tbsp Almond Butter
1-1/2 Tbsp Coconut Oil
1.5 Tbsp Maple Syrup
1/2 Tsp Pure Vanilla
Pinch Sea Salt (I use Maldon Sea Salt)

For the Topping:
3 Tbsp Coconut Oil
3 Tbsp Maple Syrup
2 Tbsp Cocoa Powder
Pinch Sea Salt

Method
Use paper or silicone muffin cups to make these. I use the smaller sized muffin cups to make 2 bite awesome cups.

1. In a bowl, combine all the filling ingredients thoroughly, it should resemble the consistency of cookie dough.
2. Once filling is mixed, place a tablespoon of the filling into each muffin cup. Set aside.
3. For the topping, melt together the coconut oil, maple syrup and cocoa powder until completely combined and smooth. Spoon chocolate over each cup.
4. Finish off the awesomeness with sprinkling a pinch of sea salt over the middle of each cup and pop in the fridge to harden before scoffing them down!

Pancakes for PR's!

COCONUT BACON PANCAKES

Yes, coconut pancakes are delish, but they become awesome when you add BACON! I used bacon strips instead of breaking up the bacon, because you can make them into a "dipping" pancake, which means more maple syrup to bite ratio. Also, kids love using their hands to eat, so why not let them grab something healthy for breakfast! These pancakes are also yummy without the bacon, you can add in cacao nibs instead for something different!

 

Ingredients
6-8 Slices Natural Bacon (Free of nitrates and bad stuff if possible)
4 Eggs, Best if they are almost room temperature (Free-Range if possible)
1 Cup Good Coconut Milk
1 Teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
1 Tablespoon Raw Honey
1/2 Cup Coconut Flour
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Sea Salt
Coconut Oil for Frying
Cinnamon to taste (Optional) 

Method
Cook your bacon prior to making the pancakes and set aside. I prefer oven-baking that way they are more flat than frying in a pan and sit better in the pancake.

1. In a bowl beat the eggs until they are frothy (they'll have little bubbles in them) and add in the liquid ingredients of coconut milk, vanilla and honey.
2. In another bowl combine the dry ingredients of coconut flour, baking soda and sea salt; ensure they are well combined. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until they are fully incorporated - there should be no lumps.
3. In a non-stick pan or on a griddle over medium-low heat add in the coconut oil. Ladle in an amount of batter that a strip of bacon will fit in, place a bacon strip in the centre and then zig zag a little batter over the bacon in order to hold it in. 
4. Cook pancake for a couple minutes until the bottom is slightly brown - the top of the batter should be slightly drying out. Flip the pancake and finish cooking it off.
5. Continue until you run out of batter or bacon!
6. Serve hot with real maple syrup, a dash of cinnamon (optional) and butter. If you want to do the "dipping" option, just fill a small bowl with good maple syrup and dunk away!
7. Then go lift and hit a PR!