Pretty Little Apron

Cinnamon

Brioche French Toast

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One thing that the 2020 Quarantine has brought my family is more delicious breakfasts together. Where we used to only have the weekends to sit down together as a family for breakfast, we now have everyday!


I posted my Summer Berry Stuffed French Toast recipe a while back, and that is a bit more complicated of a recipe. If you are making French Toast for a crowd, I would totally go with the Stuffed French Toast. It is way over the top and has gotten rave reviews from my friends. If you are making French Toast for just your family to enjoy, then this Brioche French Toast is for you! It is a classic French Toast recipe that my kids and husband all love. We like to serve our French Toast with a sprinkle of powdered sugar, real maple syrup, and whipped cream.

French Toast Recipe

Brioche French Toast Tips and Tricks

There isn’t anything particularly amazing or different about this French Toast recipe except the bread choice. I have tried to make French Toast with several different types of bread, and some have failed. My biggest fail was trying to make French Toast with sprouted grain bread. Obviously, sprouted grain bread is healthier than any white bread however let me just say it does not yield a French Toast worth the cooking time. Hard and eggy tasting is what I got. My kids didn’t want to touch it with a 10 foot pole and neither did I!

After that I learned my lesson. If I wanted to make French Toast, then I should use the bread that yields the best end product and enjoy it. A friend of mine mentioned using a Brioche loaf for a French Toast bake, so next time I was at the grocery store I picked one up. My friend was so right, Brioche is the perfect bread for French Toast for a few reasons:

  • The bread is very moist to begin with so you get a fluffy inside.
  • It has a bit of a sweetness to it already.
  • It is easy to slice up yourself for the perfect not too thick but not too thin slices.
  • With a hint of brown sugar and egg, the outside cooks into that perfect crust we all love.

For cooking, I use a cast iron skillet or my outdoor flat top grill. Both of these options yield the same result.

*We have found Brioche loaves at all of the grocery stores we shop at. They are in the bakery section, not the bread isle. We have always found that they are wrapped in clear white cellophane and usually have a liner on the bottom of them. Ours have never been sliced which is perfect.

 

 

Blueberry Crumble Bars

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Blueberry Crumble Bars

What I love about these Blueberry Crumble Bars:

  • The color
  • They could be breakfast
  • They could also be dessert
  • They are 100% whole grain (whole wheat flour + rolled oats)
  • They just happen to be the perfect little lunchbox treat
  • You can totally dress them up by cutting them a bit smaller and serving them in a fancy cupcake liner
  • Blueberries just happen to be in season right now and are super cheap 🙂

Blueberry Crumble Bars


As far as baked blueberry items go, these are a favorite of mine by a landslide!  I used the same crumble dough last year with my Fresh and Easy Peach Preserves inside and I must say, the blueberry bars win! It might have been the fact that I used more filling but it also might be that I really dig the perfectly sweet/tart blueberries + cinnamon + big clumps of brown sugary dough. Who wouldn’t totally fall in love with these? Oh that’s right… my children. You know, the kids who will eat blueberries frozen or fresh but will not touch a Blueberry Crumble Bar?? Yeah. Them. Seriously.

Blueberry Crumble Bars

Speaking of kids, I’m about to have another one very soon! If you’ve been wondering where the heck I’ve been let me just put it to you like this…. I’m huge. Massive. Pregnant as ever. And cooking as of late has been a little hectic. Heck… everything has been a little hectic. The other day I even Googled the phrase “Pregnant belly got hot while cooking” because opps, it was pressed up against the stove and it didn’t even cross my mind that maybe that was a bad thing until I was already done. Dr. Google told me that the amniotic fluid around the baby is temperature regulated and I should have no fear. Whew! Thank you amniotic fluid for saving me on that Mommy fail moment! What would I do without Dr. Google?

Notes About the Recipe

  • These bars are not overly, sickeningly sweet. Every. Single. Time. I eat a store bought fruit bar I end up with a stomach ache. Not the case here!
  • Do NOT… I recipe.. Do NOT try to cut the bars right out of the oven or you might end up with a purple colored disaster! I let the bars cool for a good 45 minutes-1 hour before even looking their way or thinking about cutting them. I know, it is tempting, but don’t do it! 🙂
  • Parchment paper is also a must here. I know, I hate it too because it always wants to roll up but press that parchment paper down and make it work!
  • The dough is a great base for various fruits. If you get creative and decide to try another variety, give me the deets in the comments. I’d love to hear what you did!
  • Recipe inspiration from Whole Grain Fruit Filled Bars, right out of the Weelicious Lunches cookbook by Catherine McCord of Weelicious. Thanks for the inspiration!

 

Whole Wheat Banana Muffins with Cream Cheese Filling

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I’ve been gawking… foodgawking that is! One thing I’ve really been gawking are all of those cutesy desserts covered in sprinkles galore. I’ve always loved sprinkles because they are cute, colorful, and well, they can make ugly things look pretty. However, once I grew up and realized what sprinkles actually were we kind of had a falling out. How could they have been lying to me this whole time? Pretending to be cute when in reality they are chemical bombs covered in artificial colorings! We’ve been broken up for quite some time now, and every time I see a sprinkle my heart sinks a little more. Until now!


I have no idea why it took me so long to realize that there ARE naturally dyed sprinkles out there, and they were right in front of my sprinkle-less little eyes this whole time. I’ve passed by them time and time again, never looking twice at their vegetable dyed awesomeness. One day when my kids weren’t screaming for Annie’s crackers (yes I do fall victim to those stupid bunnies sometimes too) I had a moment of clarity in the grocery store for the first time in over 7 years. All of a sudden there they were… the sprinkles I have been longing for all this time, so I scooped them up for $1.99 and was on my merry way home to think of reasons to use them.

Naturally I thought I’d be using the sprinkles for cupcakes but when I made these banana muffins I thought they needed a bit of a sprinkle face lift. My husband said “Don’t waste sprinkles on muffins” but seriously, he’s no food stylist so I started sprinkling, and how cute are these!?!? Muffins are no longer the “ugly cupcake” or the “stepchild of cupcakes” or the “duff” (totally not explaining that one if your not familiar with that term 😉 ), but they are now holding their own on the cuteness scale. These muffins are worthy of being a healthy classroom treat, or the lunchbox item all the kids are secretly longing for. We’ve re-invented muffins here people and I’m  loving these!

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What I love most about these muffins is they aren’t just cute muffins… they are healthy muffins! I don’t play the “whole wheat” game that is actually half whole wheat and half refined flour. What is the point of that again? Not only are these muffins whole wheat, they are also naturally sweetened which is almost always my goal when baking. On top of that they have a rich and creamy center with just enough cream cheese to make you feel like your eating something dreamy and decadent. Even better then all of that, they are so easy to make. Simply mix wet, mix dry, and combine just until mixed and bake.

Muffin Tip: I always fill my muffins to the top of the liner because nobody likes a muffin without tops!

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*If you are looking for naturally dyed sprinkles here are the ones I used. It is a bulk pack but if you love sprinkles as much as I do it might be worth it!

Vanilla and Fig Baked Oatmeal

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One thing I always hear people saying is they just don’t have time to make themselves a healthy breakfast every morning. If you are used to eating nothing (or something packaged) this recipe is for you! It takes just a few minutes to put together, and after you bake it you will have a healthy breakfast prepared for the rest of the week. I top this oatmeal with a mix of nuts, seeds, and dried fruits, and pour a little milk over it while it is still hot. I cut it into little squares for my kids and they eat it with milk like regular cereal. This is a great alternative to boxed cereals for kids because it is real food with real ingredients and is not loaded with sugar like most of the boxed options.


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Whole Grain Banana Bread

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We had some bananas get brown really quick, so it was banana bread time! I adapted an old banana bread recipe to make it with whole, natural ingredients and it turned out fantastic! Quick breads are just that… quick! It takes only a few minutes to put together and it is delicious. This bread it great for lunchboxes or after school snacks.


This recipe features whole spelt flour, whole wheat pastry flour, mascobado sugar, maple syrup, and salted butter. I love using salted butter in recipes like this for a little touch of saltiness  to go with the sweet bananas.

Strawberry-Mango Oats and Yogurt

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Making yogurt for your baby is fun and easy! All you need is a blender or food processor. I suggest staying away from the products marketed specifically for making baby food because they have a very limited use and are expensive. They do the same thing as a food processor, but are cheaply made and don’t work as well.


Oats are iron rich and a perfect addition to any baby food. I use regular rolled oats (not quick cooking or baby style) and organic whole milk plain yogurt for this recipe. I also use organic strawberries, as strawberries are part of the dirty dozen list.

This recipe is also great for older kids. I put it inside our reusable Squooshi pouches, and even freeze it for an on-the-go snack to pull out of the freezer. Be creative and mix in any fruit that you’d like!

Red Palm Superfood Cookies

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Yes, you read the title right… Superfood cookies! If you’ve been following along you know I have 3 boys. I like to make treats for them every once in a while because I don’t want them to feel like we are “weird” or “different” then other kids we know, and who doesn’t love cookies? My husband had been making these oat, walnut, and maple cookies and I decided to take them to the next level by using red palm oil. If you haven’t heard of this stuff yet it is incredible!

Health Benefits


Organic virgin red palm oil is the king of all oils. It is better then olive oil, coconut oil, and all the other oils that have great health effects on us. My husband actually just picked it up at the store one day, not even knowing what it was, so I Googled it and found this article from Dr. Oz describing how amazing it is! Here is an overview of the health benefits:

  • Rich in tocotrienol which is cancer fighting
  • Fights heart disease and high cholesterol by aiding in the removal of plaque buildup in arteries
  • Helps maintain proper blood pressure
  • Antioxidant rich- aids in preventing osteoporosis, asthma, cataracts, macular degeneration, arthritis, and liver disease
  • Slows down premature again by protecting the skin from UV rays from the sun
  • Protects against Alzheimer’s by improving blood flow to brain cells and stopping the damage of brain cells from occuring

I don’t know about you, but sign me up for the Red Palm Oil train right now!

The Cookies

Not only will you get all the health benefits from the Red Palm Oil, the rest of the ingredients are whole, natural, and also packed with nutrition! These cookies contain oat flour and rolled oats as well as all natural sugar so your body will not experience the “crash” that comes with refined flours and sugars. The best part, they taste AMAZING! I think sometimes people think of health food as cardboard-like but its 2014 and things have drastically changed!

The Oil

The most important thing is to choose the right oil. Do not get any type of refined version, as refining processes ruin the health benefits of oils. I’d highly recommend Nutivia brand Organic Red Palm Oil. It is relatively inexpensive and can be found in the “organic” section of grocery stores. If you are looking among the highly refined oils and can’t find it, look in another section. Here is a link to the oil on Amazon if you can’t find it locally.

Kid Friendly Frozen Carrot Cake Pops

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There are 12 days of school left…. 12! There will soon be mad chaos in my household 24/7. We will be spending a ton of time outside and at the pool so I’m trying to come up with fun snack ideas for the kids that are quick. I’m also on a Ninja Masterprep kick because it is new so frozen pops seemed like an obvious option when I was thinking of ideas.


To be fair, this idea wasn’t all of my own. I did see a Pin floating around a while ago but noticed it contained some refined ingredients and moved on. After my “Apple Pie” Squooshi yesterday I realized cinnamon in smoothies tastes really good. I saw the carrots in the refrigerator and thought I’d give the carrot cake smoothie idea a whirl. When I tried it I was kind of amazed that I just made a carrot taste so good! The real test though, was having a tiny tester try it. There is a bit of “grit” from the carrot so I was concerned he would be turned off by that. To my surprise he ate all of his and asked for his brother’s!

Here is a link to the molds if you are interested, we use ours regularly and have been very happy with them.

 

Whole Wheat Apple and Oat Pancakes

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Apple and Oat Pancakes

I mentioned before I had been trying to perfect my pancake recipe. When I’m creating recipes to use for my kids it does take a bit of trail and error with ingredients to get things just right. I’ve been making pancakes from scratch for quite some time now, so I’m familiar with what makes a good pancake! I also have 3 tiny taste testers to let me know what they like as well.

Nutrients


Of course, being a health conscious mom I  also want to pack as many nutrients as I can into my kid’s breakfast. When my 7 year old son goes off to school in the morning I want to be sure he will have energy to last him until lunch time. The problem with sugary kids cereals and some frozen pancakes is that they are loaded with sugar and refined grains that give kids energy spikes, then crashes. Kids tend to loose focus easily and eating highly refined foods won’t help with that!

Oats provide long lasting energy and are iron rich, so I feel good about feeding them to my toddler and baby as well. Its awesome being able to make a breakfast like this and feed all 3 boys the same thing! The stone ground whole wheat flour in these is also naturally rich in iron, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, and folate so your getting nutrients from grains without the bleaching and enriching refined grains go through. I’ll never understand the concept of stripping grains of their natural nutrients, then adding them back in. Getting back to basics and using stone ground whole wheat flour, rolled oats, and real apples make these pancakes a delicious way to start the day. They are great for snacks and lunchboxes as well!

*Here is a link to the flour I use:

Whole Wheat Pancake Donuts

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donuts2 These little donuts are so fun! I’m constantly thinking of ways to make unprocessed food fun for my kids and this recipe was a hit all around. They are great for breakfast, lunchboxes, or dinner. To make these you will need a mini-donut baking pan. Here is a link to the one I use.

For this recipe I also used a whole wheat pastry flour which allows for a whole wheat product that is not dense. I do use this product often in recipes like this one and other baked goods. Its a great alternative to bleached and enriched white flour without the processing the white flour goes through. This flour is a staple in my pantry! If you don’t have whole wheat pastry flour on hand, you could experiment with using a regular whole wheat flour. I have experimented with a few different flours in pancake mixes and I can’t say I prefer one over another. Here is a link to the flour if your having a hard time finding it in your local grocery store.


I should also note that I did pre-sweeten these with pure maple syrup. It is important to use pure maple syrup over a highly refined syrup because most of the time the other ones are pure high fructose corn syrup and caramel coloring! Never a good way to start the day for any child. I pre-sweetened to avoid the “syrup fight” as I like to call it. You see, my oldest son likes to put all of his syrup on one or two bites and then continually asks for more and more until the “syrup fight” happens when I have to cut him off. Then I’m “really mean” as he likes to say. I’ll admit I’m a tad bit skimpy with the syrup because refined or not, sugar is still sugar and we should all be conscious to not over-consume in the name of being “healthier.” It is just easier to put the syrup in the mix and avoid any issues! I went light on the syrup and the donuts were only slightly sweetened, but my kids didn’t complain or even ask for more. You can adjust this according to what you like.

 

 

Recipe Rescue “Cinnabun Popcorn”

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popcorncollage Sometimes I am so utterly shocked when reading ingredients in packaged food that seem so harmless. I will never understand how the food industry takes something simple and turns it into a cocktail of dangerous chemicals and unhealthy fats. Microwaveable popcorn is no exception. The sad part is most people don’t read the ingredients because they think its obvious… corn and butter. Once I started recognizing harmful ingredients in packaged foods I stopped letting my children eat microwaveable popcorn. It wasn’t a staple in my pantry but unfortunately it is in many homes. This unsuspecting highly processed popcorn has got to go! Luckily for us it is so incredibly easy to make your own that tastes even better then some of the packaged stuff.


What’s in the Packaged Stuff and Why is it Dangerous?

Ingredients:

Popcorn Bag Contains: Orville Redenbacher’s Gourmet Popping Corn, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Less than 2% of: Cinnamon, Salt, Natural and Artificial Flavor, Butter, Color Added, Sucralose. Pouch Ingredients: Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Sugar, Less than 2% of: Natural and Artificial Flavor, Caramel Color, TBHQ and Citric Acid to Preserve Freshness.

  • Hydrogenated Oils: Highly processed synthetic fats. Cheap to produce and extend shelf life. Raise levels of bad cholesterol (LDL). High levels of LDL can result in heart attack, stroke, diabetes, and heart disease. These scary fats are the 2nd ingredient and appear twice on the list!
  • Artificial Flavor: This is a huge unknown and the reason I do not eat packaged products with this ingredient. It could be anything but it isn’t called artificial for no reason. Also appears twice on the list.
  • Sucralose: Fake sugars that just wreak havoc on our bodies. This surprises me because nothing on this package makes claims of being “diet”. Just another reason to read every ingredient.
  • Carmel Color: Controversial color additive. Commonly found in sodas, and may be linked to cancer.
  • TBHQ: tertiary butylhydroquinone….. enough said!

 

How to Make Your Own

Making microwave popcorn is so simple. As with other products I have found, I can’t believe I have gone my whole life without knowing you don’t need their chemical laden bags to pop popcorn in the microwave. All you need is a brown paper bag! Yes… those brown paper lunch bags pop popcorn the same way the prepackaged ones do. Thank goodness for Pinterest on this one! When I started popping my own I realized it was fun to come up with new combinations of toppings and my children gobbled it up like it was something really special. This Cinnabun recipe was a favorite all around. I prefer a topping that is not completely overpowering so I went on the lighter side, however you can easily add more if you find you want more sweet goodness.