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Bakery Style Banana Bread Breakfast Muffins :: Gluten Free & Dairy Free

January 20, 2022

Bring the coffee shop home to you with these Bakery Style Banana Bread Muffins packed with good for you ingredients to make a healthy breakfast!

Bakery Style Banana Bread Breakfast Muffins :: Gluten Free & Dairy Free

Product links in this post are affiliate links. It does not cost you anything, and helps maintain the free information on this site, as well as answer the questions of “what brand do you use?” Please know I never personally recommend any product I wouldn’t use on my own family.

As the saying goes…

“If you choose not to find joy in the snow, you will have less joy in your life but still the same amount of snow.” And so we snow shoe. And we build snowmen. And I live through the joy in my girls’ eyes at the sight of fresh powder. I am not sure I enjoyed the snow as much as my 3 girls do when I was a kid, but man, it sure is pretty. And we live here – and love it. So for a few months out of the year, I find joy in the piles of snow, and dream of the beach days to come. The winter months also bring a bit of a produce shortage to my kitchen, and that means…bananas!

Bakery Style Banana Bread Breakfast Muffins :: Gluten Free & Dairy Free

All the bananas, all winter long

Because bananas are about the only thing my fruit budget likes in the winter. We pile them up in the fruit bowl every week, and inevitably there are a few stragglers at the end of the week that make for the most perfect breakfast muffins! I do have 2 banana muffins already on the blog, so why another? Well this one has a different ingredient profile, so maybe it works better for someone. And these big guys really reminded me of a coffee shop bakery muffin, so my older girls are all over that!

Bakery Style Banana Bread Breakfast Muffins :: Gluten Free & Dairy Free

The Method :: The Bananas

Hey listen, I’m all about a banana muffin recipe where you just whir up the bananas right along with the rest of the ingredients and it becomes a super smooth batter. I even have recipes like that on my blog. But this one – we’re gonna take a fork to those bananas because it is worth those few little pieces for texture’s sake in these yummy muffins. Just grab a fork and have at it – it’s still just a “one-bowl” kind of a recipe, and it doesn’t take a lot of extra time.

Bakery Style Banana Bread Breakfast Muffins :: Gluten Free & Dairy Free

The Method :: The Nuts

The blended nuts have a two-fold purpose. I wanted these to be a breakfast muffin, so adding an element of protein was easy to do with nuts. But I’m not just going to add almond flour to these muffins – the combination of walnuts and pecans give the most amazing flavor to the banana muffins, and you’ll get a just a little bit more nutty texture to the final muffin too. Yes, you have to pull out the blender, but just like the fork-smashed bananas, I promise that it is worth the flavor and texture.

Bakery Style Banana Bread Breakfast Muffins :: Gluten Free & Dairy Free

The Method :: The Banana Muffin Batter

Once you mash the bananas, you’ll whisk in the rest of the wet ingredients – I just use the same fork I mashed the bananas with! Then you’ll add the blended nuts, and the rest of the ingredients. Just a quick stir with a rubber scraper will give you the perfect muffin batter to scoop into your muffin tin. I use a 1/3 cup measure which ends up being the perfect amount to completely fill the muffin cup. If you are going for a “bakery style” sized muffin, this is what you want to do! You’ll get that fun muffin top this way, and it’s a great size for older kids. You can make the muffins smaller by filling the muffin cups less, and you’ll get more muffins this way!

Bakery Style Banana Bread Breakfast Muffins :: Gluten Free & Dairy Free
Whisk the wet ingredients into the bananas
Bakery Style Banana Bread Breakfast Muffins :: Gluten Free & Dairy Free
Stir in the dry ingredients

The Method :: The Topping

Because most fun bakery muffins have a topping to entice! Just a couple sliced bananas and a sprinkle of walnuts make a pretty muffin top, and the kids will love it! The walnuts get crispy in the oven and so flavorful. Just place your banana rounds, sprinkle the walnuts, and you’re ready to bake.

Bakery Style Banana Bread Breakfast Muffins :: Gluten Free & Dairy Free

The Method :: Baking the Muffins

I went for a higher heat to start with these muffins to get the most rise and a great “muffin top” texture. Once you pre-heat the oven, you’ll put the muffins in and pull the temp down a bit. The muffins will bake for about 25 minutes until they spring back to touch. Let them cool for a few minutes before turning them out onto a cooling rack to cool completely. You can also cool and then freeze these muffins so that you have easy “grab and go” breakfasts for busy weeks!

Bakery Style Banana Bread Breakfast Muffins :: Gluten Free & Dairy Free

Swaps?

So I have not tried these muffins nut free. It is a lot of nuts to swap out. I do think blended pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds could work, but I’m not sure how the flavor would be. If you need a completely nut free banana muffin, try my Paleo Mini Banana Muffins! There are 2 eggs in these muffins and I do think they need them for the rise, but typically 2 eggs swap for egg replacer well in baked recipes. You might not get the rise that these muffins do, but it should still have a good texture.

Bakery Style Banana Bread Breakfast Muffins :: Gluten Free & Dairy Free

Bakery Style Banana Bread Muffins :: Gluten Free & Dairy Free

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees, and line a muffin tin with unbleached paper cup liners.
  • Mash 4 bananas in the bottom of a medium mixing bowl until smooth. There can be a few small pieces throughout.
  • Add the avocado oil, coconut milk, eggs, and vanilla and whisk with the fork to combine with the mashed bananas.
  • Blend the pecans and the walnuts into a fine meal, and add them to the wet ingredients in the bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients to the bowl, and use a rubber scraper to stir the batter until it is just combined.
  • Scoop the batter into your lined muffin tin, filling the muffins cups all the way to the top if you want the larger, bakery style muffins. You will get 12 large, bakery style muffins perfectly, or you can make them smaller and get 18 regular sized muffins.
  • Put the muffins in the oven, and bring the temperature down to 400 degrees. Bake at 400 degrees for 25-30 minutes. Check your muffins around the 25 minute mark in case our ovens run differently. The muffins should spring back to touch, and be golden brown on the top.
Bakery Style Banana Bread Breakfast Muffins :: Gluten Free & Dairy Free

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Nourishing 2 Week Meal Plan {Fall Inspired Part 1}

September 7, 2021

A cozy, fall inspired menu plan with busy families, school schedules, and nourishing goals in mind!

Nourishing 2 Week Meal Plan {Fall Inspired Part 1}

Product links in this post are affiliate links. It does not cost you anything, and helps maintain the free information on this site, as well as answer the questions of “what brand do you use?” Please know I never personally recommend any product I wouldn’t use on my own family.

Getting back into the groove…

We are a couple weeks into school, and I feel like most of my readers are flowing back into fall school routines, so I’d say it’s safe to start talking about fall menus! Fall certainly has a different feel than going from spring to summer menu plans – does it feel like that to you? For the most part it felt like late spring and into summer, the meal planning goes a little more “fly by the seat of your pants” style, and then once September hits, everyone has no choice but to plan a little bit more, or dinner will never hit the table!

Before we get started!

If you have never seen one of my meal plans, I would invite you to start with the Winter Meal Plan Part 1 and the Winter Meal Plan Part 2. Even though we are not full swing into cold weather, the information at the beginning of each of those posts will help you understand my meal plan approach, how I like to handle macronutrients to balance meals, questions you might have about portions and family sizes, and even more. Make a pit stop there first, and then come back to get some fall inspired meals!

Nourishing 2 Week Meal Plan {Fall Inspired Part 1}

School staples, and some lunchbox shortcut favorites

With school starting back up, and the long, daunting thought of the lunchbox packing task that awaits us for the whole year, I thought I would put some lunchbox staple favorites all in one place. Some because I didn’t have a ton of room to always label and link veggie/cracker dips and dressings for salads. And also so that you can see some examples of some store bought snacks and favs that I keep in my pantry. I’ll break these up so that you can find them easily!

Nourishing 2 Week Meal Plan {Fall Inspired Part 1}
Build your own nachos lunchbox with store bought olives and chips (see below for links!)

Staple store bought lunchbox sides

For the most part, these are used sparingly and minimally – a hand full here, and a few there. But they are great to have on hand in the pantry, and especially help kids that are newer to “real food” make the transition to healthier lunchboxes without giving up some comfortable favorites. I also have a post with 11 Healthy Packaged School Snacks for Kids that I use for morning snacks at school here and there, but they also work well in lunchboxes.

Charcuterie Board style lunchbox using the Simple Mills crackers & a Bear Nibbles Yo-Yo Fruit/Veg Strip!

Staple dressings and dips

I’m going to go ahead and list all of our favorite dressings below, and you can put your kids’ favs into your meal plan as you go. I also wanted to mention that we get guacamole cups and hummus cups at Costco. If you don’t have access to Costco, you can find them at most grocery stores these days. You can also find Wholly Guacamole cups and Go Go Dippers Hummus cups online. There are also fantastic, simple recipes for guacamole and super simple hummus in the Lunchbox Staple Chapter of my cookbook, The Little Lunchbox Cookbook!

Fruity Poppy Seed Dressing in the Rainbow Chicken Salad from The Little Lunchbox Cookbook!

Veggie Soup Swaps

One of my goals each week in the cooler months of the year, is to get 1-2 bone broth based soups into the family by week’s end. Usually it is a veggie based soup, which the girls have devoured since infancy, and sometimes it is a heartier dinner soup with more protein and bulk. You’ll notice in the meal plan that usually my rhythm is to make the soup for the week on the weekend and that way it is easy to add to a thermos for school lunch later in the week. I know that not every kid will love every soup, and luckily for you, there are a myriad of soups to pick from both on the blog and in my cookbooks. If you have little guys at home, I would encourage you to start these young so that they develop a palate for these tasty soups that are such a great way to get nourishing bone broth and mineral rich veggies in! (Heartier, dinner type soups are linked in the dinner section below)

Copycat Alphabet Soup recipe from The Little Lunchbox Cookbook!

So let’s kick off this Fall Menu Plan!

Here is a PDF for you to download for the full 2 week fall meal plan with links to recipes included. {See below this section for a blank version if you want to fill in your own!}

Want to build your own meal plan?

Go for it! My way of doing meals is definitely not the only way! And my recipes are not the only recipes around! Here is a blank PDF for you to print and fill out your own.

Dinner swaps!

I know that not every dinner chosen on the meal plan below will fit with every family’s tastes. There are so many choices for how to fill this in, which is why I never posted meal plans before. I really want you to fill the meal plan in to your family preferences. The plan below is simply inspiration and a guide to show you how I flow certain meals into others, how I double up meals, and how I balance a day’s macronutrient needs for my family. Here are some fall inspired dinner swaps for anything on the menu that you might want to change. Most of this list is from right here on the blog. Any recipe links that have a page number are from my cookbooks. Those with page numbers in green are from The Little Lunchbox Cookbook, and those with page numbers in pink are from Nourished Beginnings.

Pot Pie Soup dinner!
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No Added Sugar Blender Batter Protein Banana Pancakes :: PLUS! A Bonus No Added Sugar Strawberry Topping!

September 4, 2021

Quick and easy blender batter protein pancakes with no added sugar and a fun strawberry topping!

No Added Sugar Blender Batter Protein Banana Pancakes :: PLUS! A Bonus No Added Sugar Strawberry Topping!

Product links in this post are affiliate links. It does not cost you anything, and helps maintain the free information on this site, as well as answer the questions of “what brand do you use?” Please know I never personally recommend any product I wouldn’t use on my own family.

An epic summer…and a crew ready for back to school routines!

And a glorious summer it truly was. This kids rode every beach wave, hiked every trail, read every book, and climbed every tree (while also making super cool tree swings out of random things from the garage as you can see behind them!). They played their hearts out, and I have found, years into this school aged kid thing, that kids that play their hearts out all summer are quite ready to go back to school once September hits! As much fun as they had together, they were ready for their first week back this past week, and had a ball seeing their friends at school once again.

No Added Sugar Blender Batter Protein Banana Pancakes :: PLUS! A Bonus No Added Sugar Strawberry Topping!

School morning breakfast goals

While I focus on certain nutrition goals for every breakfast no matter the time of year, school mornings bring along another level of needs, and not all of them include the actual ingredients of the breakfast. Here are my school morning breakfast goals

  • Manageable prep time. Besides wanting to fill the kids up before school with fuel that will last, these school morning breakfasts must be sustainable in prep time. School mornings are early, no matter the age, and it is vital that we can get these kids filled up with food that will fill them up to focus at school *and* be manageable to prep on a busy morning.
  • Low to zero added sugar. Because I love my teachers. And I want them to love my children 🙂 Bouncy little people that have been drowned in sugar before school make the morning really hard to focus. The book Sugarproof Kids is a very good place to start if you are looking to work on getting added sugar out of the diet. I like to fruit-sweeten where ever possible so that the fruit fiber can slow the burn of the natural sweet in the fruit.
  • Macronutrient balance. Having the right balance of fats, protein, and good carbohydrates will sustain the kids and keep them full and focused all morning. The right carbohydrates will give them energy instead of leaving them dragging when you combine it with protein and fat to slow the burn and satiate their hunger.
No Added Sugar Blender Batter Protein Banana Pancakes :: PLUS! A Bonus No Added Sugar Strawberry Topping!

Pancakes on a school morning?!

When you can blend the batter in just minutes and pour it onto a skillet right from the blender cup, then yes! It absolutely can be done on a school morning! These pancakes also have a good macronutrient balance with whole grain and fruit from oats and banana, protein from almond flour and collagen, and satiating healthy fat from coconut milk and egg. It takes just minutes to get everything into the blender and pour onto the skillet. You can serve the pancakes with fast and easy hard boiled eggs or sausage if you want as well. They are so filling that some kids might even just get away with having the pancakes with a smear of butter, almond butter, or coconut butter, and be good to go.

No Added Sugar Blender Batter Protein Banana Pancakes :: PLUS! A Bonus No Added Sugar Strawberry Topping!

The Method :: The Protein Pancake Blender Batter

Dump it all in and blend away! That’s my kind of pancake batter! Simply add the ACV to the blender cup and then fill the blender to the 1 cup mark with coconut milk. You’ll add the rest of the ingredients right into the blender and then buzz it down for 30 seconds. The batter pours beautifully right onto the skillet from the blender cup, so there’s no extra dirty bowls or scooping cups!

No Added Sugar Blender Batter Protein Banana Pancakes :: PLUS! A Bonus No Added Sugar Strawberry Topping!
No Added Sugar Blender Batter Protein Banana Pancakes :: PLUS! A Bonus No Added Sugar Strawberry Topping!

To syrup or not to syrup…

I’m all about a little pure maple syrup on a weekend waffle or pancake. But when I created these pancakes with school mornings in mind, I really wanted to give you some options for a no sugar added topping that will still make the kids happy. And leave their blood sugars happy too! What’s the point of a no added sugar pancake if you are going to drown it in syrup? These pancakes are nice and sweet on their own thanks to a couple bananas, but toppings are so fun too. The strawberry topping is a snap to make, and you can keep it around in the fridge or freezer to pull out anytime. You can change up the fruit if you want too, but we really like the strawberry banana combo!

No Added Sugar Blender Batter Protein Banana Pancakes :: PLUS! A Bonus No Added Sugar Strawberry Topping!

The Method :: The Strawberry Topping

You can use fresh fruit if it is in season, but that is usually just a few short weeks out of the whole year for us. I like to keep a bag of frozen strawberries for smoothies in the freezer, so they work great to make this topping too. Just put them in a small sauté pan with a little water and cook it down for a few minutes. You can leave the strawberries as is, or stir in some chia seed to make it feel thicker like a sauce!

No Added Sugar Blender Batter Protein Banana Pancakes :: PLUS! A Bonus No Added Sugar Strawberry Topping!

School morning hacks!

We’ve already talked about how easy these pancakes are to make on a school morning, but here are a few tips to make it even easier!

  • Make the pancakes up on a prep day and freeze them flat. You can pull pancakes out the night before to thaw and warm in the oven on a sheet tray, or pull them out frozen right into a toaster or toaster oven to warm up before school.
  • Make up the strawberry topping the night before or on a prep day. The strawberry sauce can be frozen too, so if strawberries are in season, batch it up!
  • Have some hard boiled eggs as sides ready to go. I like to make a dozen hard boiled eggs on Sunday evening when I am prepping for the week. Then you can easily pull these quick breakfast sides to go with your pancakes before school.
No Added Sugar Blender Batter Protein Banana Pancakes :: PLUS! A Bonus No Added Sugar Strawberry Topping!

No Added Sugar Blender Batter Protein Banana Pancakes :: PLUS! A Bonus No Added Sugar Strawberry Topping!

Ingredients

No Sugar Added Strawberry Topping ::

  • 2 cups frozen strawberries
  • 2 tbsp water
  • 1 tsp chia seeds

No Added Sugar Protein Banana Pancakes ::

Instructions

Make the No Added Sugar Strawberry Topping

  • Put the frozen strawberries and water into a small sauté pan over medium to medium-high heat. When the strawberries are melted enough, use a potato masher to squish them down. Simmer the strawberries, mashing them up with the potato masher for 2-3 minutes, then set aside off the heat.
  • Add 1 tsp of chia seeds to a small bowl or cup, and then stir in the mashed, cooked strawberries until the chia seeds are evenly distributed. Put the strawberry topping into the refrigerator to thicken while you make the pancakes. This strawberry topping can be made days in advance, and even frozen.

Make the No Added Sugar Protein Banana Pancakes

  • Pre-heat your skillet to medium heat while you blend the pancake batter.
  • Put 1 tablespoon of apple cider vinegar into your high-speed blender or regular blender, and then fill the blender to the 1 cup mark with coconut milk.
  • Put the rest of the pancake ingredients into your high-speed blender or regular blender, and blend for 30 seconds on high. If you are not using a high-powered blender, you may need to blend longer.
  • Use coconut oil or olive oil to lightly grease the skillet, and use the blender container to pour the pancake batter right onto the heated skillet. Cook the pancakes just like regular pancakes – when you see the bubbles, and that the sides of the pancakes are looking more “set,” you can flip them. This takes a minute or so. Then cook the pancakes on the other side until golden brown and cooked through – this takes a couple minutes.
  • Put your cooked pancakes onto a wire rack to cool while you work through the rest of the batter. To freeze the pancakes, let them cool completely, and store them in a freezer bag.

Notes

  • I like to add a few pinches of cinnamon to the batter too! Or pumpkin spice if you are into that sort of thing!
  • If you do not have grassfed collagen, you can leave this ingredient out. It adds protein, but I realize not everyone has access!
  • I think an egg replacer would work for the egg – please let us know in the comments if you are egg free and try this!
No Added Sugar Blender Batter Protein Banana Pancakes :: PLUS! A Bonus No Added Sugar Strawberry Topping!
Batch Up Meals Breakfast Ideas Healthy Kids and Teens Real Food 101 Real Food Tips

Bakery Style Carrot Oat Muffins :: Gluten Free & Dairy Free

February 23, 2021

Have a fun and healthy start to the day with a balance of macronutrients in these fun bakery style carrot oat muffins!

Bakery Style Carrot Oat Muffins :: Gluten Free & Dairy Free

Product links in this post are affiliate links. It does not cost you anything, and helps maintain the free information on this site, as well as answer the questions of “what brand do you use?” Please know I never personally recommend any product I wouldn’t use on my own family.

Middle School…We’ve got this!

I’ll be the first one to admit that I was a little tentative about it being her 6th grade year. I remember 6th grade…do you remember middle school?! I do not remember ever having this much confidence and poise in 6th grade, but I’ll take it. This middle school thing hasn’t been so hard so far, and my goodness is this kid so fun. Her sense of humor totally surprises me, and her maturity blows me away.

Bakery Style Carrot Oat Muffins :: Gluten Free & Dairy Free

Gone are the days of mini muffins…

The little ones grow up, don’t they? They grow so rapidly in these pre-teen and teen years, and the minis just don’t do the trick for these growing appetites. My oldest has been completely enamored with the idea of a muffin that looks like her favorite coffee shop, and it’s actually pretty fun to sit down with a warm mug and an almost 12 year old. The way their minds think at this age will make you think, and will soften your heart.

Bakery Style Carrot Oat Muffins :: Gluten Free & Dairy Free

Breakfast muffins that count

You know that whole “rapidly growing” thing I mentioned above? We can still do a fun breakfast muffin that feels like a coffee shop, but also fill these pre-teen and teen growing needs with ingredients that actually count. Without compromising on texture, I was able to combine all 3 macronutrients in a healthy, balanced way in these carrot oat breakfast muffins. Because Lord knows no one needs a hormonal, hangry pre-teen in the house. {And truth be told, no one needs a hangry, tired toddler on their hands either!} Healthy, well sourced carbohydrates, fats, and protein is where it’s at for happy blood sugars, and a focused morning at school.

Bakery Style Carrot Oat Muffins :: Gluten Free & Dairy Free

The Method :: The Muffin Batter

The carrot oat muffin batter is quite simple. You’ll blend the wet ingredients until smooth and then blend in the dry. This batter comes together so quickly, and I find myself making them up quick the night before I want to serve them so that I can get those few extra winks of sleep! I use the shredder tool on my food processor to make the carrot shredding go fast, but this is also a fun project for any littles in the house that are ready for sharps to shred the carrots on a little shredder. I remember having extra afternoon time when I had napping babies with an extra older preschooler that didn’t nap anymore. It is always nice to have a little project to work on with them to keep their hands busy!

Bakery Style Carrot Oat Muffins :: Gluten Free & Dairy Free
Bakery Style Carrot Oat Muffins :: Gluten Free & Dairy Free

The Method :: Muffin Size and Baking Tips

My household used to *live* for mini muffins, but as my littles have grown (along with their appetites!), the novelty of the minis has sadly worn. If you have toddlers in the house, mini muffins will be so helpful to you. There is less waste because sometimes little ones get halfway through a regular sized muffin and decide they are done! It is also less overwhelming to look at a mini muffin or 2 on your plate versus a very big one. (This is the mini muffin pan that I have) If you have older kids in the house, they will just love the idea of having a big, bakery sized muffin! For the minis, simply use a tablespoon to fill the mini muffin cups and bake for about 15 minutes. If you are going for more of an oversized, bakery style muffin, I’ve found a heaping quarter cup measure works really good. Those larger muffins will need to bake around 35 minutes. Of course a nice regular sized muffin works good too – and packs nicely for lunchboxes. You can use a quarter cup measuring cup to scoop those out and bake around 25 minutes.

Bakery Style Carrot Oat Muffins :: Gluten Free & Dairy Free

Freezer Friendly

Go ahead and double this one up! It bakes up doubled perfectly, and these breakfast muffins can make a regular appearance on your meal plan because they freeze up great. Just cool them off after baking and stash them away in the freezer in gallon freezer bags. You can thaw them out on the counter overnight, or pop them in the oven to warm in the morning while you get ready.

Bakery Style Carrot Oat Muffins :: Gluten Free & Dairy Free

Swaps and Switches

If you are egg free, try 2 flax eggs, and perhaps make some of the liquid for the flax eggs some apple cider vinegar so that it will react with the baking powder and create some rise. The flax eggs will bind, but will need some help to fluff up. If you are nut free, I’m sure you can swap the almond flour for something else. If you fall into either of these categories, please let us know what you try so that others that are egg or nut free can have some options!

Bakery Style Carrot Oat Muffins :: Gluten Free & Dairy Free
Bakery Style Carrot Oat Muffins :: Gluten Free & Dairy Free
Print Recipe
5 from 3 votes

Bakery Style Carrot Oat Muffins :: Gluten Free & Dairy Free

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees and line a cupcake tin with unbleached paper cup liners or silicone liners. This recipe will make 10 large, bakery style muffins, or 12 regular sized muffins. You could also do mini muffins and get about 24 or so.
  • Blend the eggs, olive oil, syrup, and molasses about 1 minute until smooth.
  • Add the almond flour, oats, Namaste flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt and blend to combine. Add the carrots and blend to combine.
  • Scoop the muffin batter into your muffin cups, and top with a sprinkle of oats if you wish. Bake the muffins at 350 degrees. Large, bakery style muffins like the size in this post will bake for 35 minutes. Regular sized muffins will bake for 25 minutes. If you try mini muffins, they will need about 15 minutes. The tops of the muffins should be golden brown and spring back to touch.

Notes

  • This recipe doubles great and is freezer friendly. Just cool the leftover muffins and store in gallon freezer bags in the freezer.
  • If you are egg free, try 2 flax eggs, and perhaps make some of the liquid for the flax eggs some apple cider vinegar so that it will react with the baking powder and create some rise. The flax eggs will bind, but will need some help to fluff up.
  • If you are nut free, I’m sure you can swap the almond flour for something else – let us know what you try so that others that are nut free can have some options!
Bakery Style Carrot Oat Muffins :: Gluten Free & Dairy Free

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Gluten Free Fresh Apple Pancakes

September 22, 2020

Super soft and fluffy pancakes with a fresh apple twist and warm fall flavors!

Gluten Free Fresh Apple Pancakes

Product links in this post are affiliate links. It does not cost you anything, and helps maintain the free information on this site, as well as answer the questions of “what brand do you use?” Please know I never personally recommend any product I wouldn’t use on my own family.

Apple abundance!

Michigan apple trees are quite literally bursting with fruit this year! We are having fun apple orchard hopping each weekend, supporting as many of our favorite farmers as we can…and having a lot of fun in the kitchen with apple recipes too!

Gluten Free Fresh Apple Pancakes

Breakfast goals

When I’m creating breakfast recipes for my kids, I usually have a few goals in mind. Sometimes I’m creating fun “every once and a while” recipes like apple coffee cake to be enjoyed on the weekend, that might be more on the “treat” side of things. Most of the time, however, when I’m recipe developing, I have school mornings and growing kids in mind. That means I don’t just want a pancake that will create a carb overload – I want every bite to count. That means a good balance of protein, fat, and carbohydrates, and that can get a bit tricky when you are picky about texture.

Gluten Free Fresh Apple Pancakes

Power packed ingredients with a super fluffy finish

The stars of the show in these pancakes are nutty, warm buckwheat and almond flours. Buckwheat is a seed that has a warm and nutty flavor that works so well with apples. There is a nice balance of protein and fiber making for a filling ingredient. It blends well with mild tasting almond flour, which also gives some healthy, filling fat and soft texture. Serve a stack of these pancakes with a side of eggs or sausage, or just have them alone with a pat of butter, nut butter, or coconut butter! Either way, the kids will be full and focused all morning!

Gluten Free Fresh Apple Pancakes

The Method :: The Egg Whites

Don’t skip this part! The key to super fluffy pancakes is just taking a minute to whip the egg whites separately. You’ll fold the egg whites into the batter at the very end, and I promise you will be glad you did when you see how light and fluffy your pancakes are.

Gluten Free Fresh Apple Pancakes

The Method :: The Apples

From apple chunks to applesauce, I’ve tried just about every kind of apple pancake almost every fall season. I have found over the years that my favorite way to make apple pancakes is with shredded apple. It doesn’t weigh down the pancake like applesauce does, and keeps them light and fluffy instead of soggy like they get when you use chunks. So grab a grater and quick give them a shred – the flavor of apple permeates every bite of light, fluffy pancake!

Gluten Free Fresh Apple Pancakes

The Method :: The Batter

Once you’ve separated your eggs, and whipped the whites, you’ll blend the wet ingredients, and then add in the dry. The batter will feel a bit thicker than usual pancake batter, but moisture will be added with the apples and egg whites, so hang tight and don’t be tempted to add more liquid! Once you stir the apple shreds in, then you can gently fold in the egg whites to make a super light and fluffy pancake batter for your griddle.

Gluten Free Fresh Apple Pancakes

Pancake finishes

Here are some ideas!

  • Traditional butter and maple syrup – you can’t go wrong with that!
  • Coconut butter! If you have little guys at home, they will think this is like frosting – super sweet and loaded with friendly fats and fiber, it is so good for them!
  • Whipped cream or coconut whipped cream – this is usually how I serve pancakes on a school morning to avoid sugary maple syrup. You don’t get as much sugar that way, and it still tastes fun! You can dust the top of the whipped cream with cinnamon too.
  • Nut or seed butter and a dusting of cinnamon!
  • Sautéed apples with cinnamon would be fun too!
Gluten Free Fresh Apple Pancakes

Gluten Free Fresh Apple Pancakes

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Separate your egg whites into a small mixing bowl, while putting the yolks into a medium mixing bowl. Beat the egg whites with an electric hand mixer until soft peaks form in the egg whites – this will take about a minute. Set the egg whites aside.
  • Add the coconut milk, ACV, coconut sugar, and molasses to the medium mixing bowl with the yolks, and blend until smooth. Add the almond flour, buckwheat flour, cinnamon, baking powder, and sea salt, and blend to combine. This will feel thick, but do NOT add more liquid – the apples and egg whites will do that!
  • Fold the shredded apple into the pancake batter using a rubber scraper, and then gently fold the whipped egg whites in until smooth and fluffy.
  • Coconut oil or butter your hot griddle or skillet over medium heat, and cook your pancakes. I use a small ladle to pour mine. A ¼ cup measuring cup works well too. Cook the pancakes until you see little bubbles on the sides, about 1 minute, and then flip, cooking another minute or so until the pancakes are cooked through and golden brown.
  • Top your warm pancakes with butter and maple syrup! My kids were totally into a topping of coconut butter on theirs one of the times I served these too.
  • To freeze the pancakes, cool them, and then put into freezer bags to freeze. To warm up leftover pancakes, put them on a baking sheet into a warm oven.
Gluten Free Fresh Apple Pancakes

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Apple, Sweet Potato, and Sausage Breakfast Casserole

September 14, 2020

The best savory and sweet flavors of fall, all in one breakfast casserole the whole family will love!

Apple, Sweet Potato, and Sausage Breakfast Casserole
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Michigan apple season has arrived…

…and we are totally here for it! Honestly with the way 2020 has been going, I wouldn’t have been surprised if this year was one of those years where we got a late frost in the late spring to ruin apple blossoms, but as it turns out, Mother Nature wanted to gift Michigan with a bumper crop of sweet, delicious apples this year! The trees are quite literally loaded!

Apple, Sweet Potato, and Sausage Breakfast Casserole

A new, savory apple recipe

We’ll for sure be picking apples many weekends this fall, which means we’ll have plenty for those apple pies during Thanksgiving, and of course sweet breakfast muffins before school, and apple coffee cake on the weekend! I’m planning on making a freezer batch of butternut squash and apple soup, but had a craving for a warm savory breakfast using our freshly picked apples. I played around with this idea of a savory and sweet breakfast casserole last winter, and I’m ready to share it!

Apple, Sweet Potato, and Sausage Breakfast Casserole

Gorgeous presentation, fuss-free prep!

I know, I know…this probably isn’t much of a weekday breakfast. But that’s what weekends are for right? We get to look forward to warm, comforting breakfasts that take just a little longer in the oven to make. While this breakfast casserole probably isn’t school morning prep material, it is definitely really easy to get into the pan, and then you can enjoy your jammies and fuzzy slippers under the blankets while it bakes on a Saturday or Sunday morning.

Apple, Sweet Potato, and Sausage Breakfast Casserole

The Method :: The Sausage

Whether you have a local farmer that you love to get sausage from, or you make your own, you’ll start by flavoring your skillet with warm sausage flavor, browning your sausage through. We purchase a half grass-fed cow every year, so typically I just season some of our ground beef with my own sausage season blend.

Apple, Sweet Potato, and Sausage Breakfast Casserole

The Method :: The Veggies & Apples

While the star of the show for this breakfast casserole certainly is the big, chunky sweet apples, I did manage to sneak in some pretty sweet potatoes too. The sweet potatoes add some bulk to the casserole, not to mention pretty color and a little starchy veggie sweetness. You’ll start caramelizing the sweet potatoes first, since they take a bit longer to cook. Cooking the veggies in the sausage drippings adds flavor that you just can’t create any other way! The rest of the veggies and the apples will soften rather quickly and then you can stir the sausage back in with a healthy cup of cheese.

Apple, Sweet Potato, and Sausage Breakfast Casserole

The Method :: Assembling the Casserole

Once you pour your veggie, apple, sausage mixture into your casserole dish, all you have to do is pour in some whisked eggs and milk of choice, and bake it off! The prep time takes about 15 minutes and then you can be hands free. On a weekend that absolutely means you can hop back in bed, or snuggle up with your favorite blanket on the couch with the kids for cartoons!

Apple, Sweet Potato, and Sausage Breakfast Casserole

Swaps and Subs

While I absolutely recommend the exact veggie/apple/sausage combo in this recipe card (please trust me – the balance of savory/sweet will knock your socks off!), I know sometimes you just don’t have everything on hand. I do think you could swap bacon for the sausage, or just leave the meat out if you wish. If you leave the meat out, you’ll want to bulk up the casserole with more veggies. You can swap kale for the spinach. You can swap regular white potato for the sweet potato, and I think squash would be lovely here too.

Apple, Sweet Potato, and Sausage Breakfast Casserole

Does it freeze?

The jury is still out on that. I’ll update you later this week though! I froze one square of the casserole and will thaw it out next week and update here! Stay tuned! What I WOULD do though, is bake this off on a Saturday or Sunday, and refrigerate any leftovers. You can eat the leftovers on Monday or Tuesday before school by warming the squares up in the oven. If you aren’t baking for a crowd, you could halve this recipe and make a smaller portion too.

Apple, Sweet Potato, and Sausage Breakfast Casserole

Holiday morning perfect!

I was having a conversation with friends earlier this week while I was preparing to photograph this recipe and one of my friends mentioned how perfect this casserole sounded for Thanksgiving morning brunch. I couldn’t agree more! I also think it would be so great for Christmas morning as well!

Apple, Sweet Potato, and Sausage Breakfast Casserole

Apple, Sweet Potato, and Sausage Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients

  • 2 tbsp of butter or olive oil or combo of both
  • 1 lb ground sausage of choice I make my own using plain ground beef or pork with my own sausage season blend
  • 2 small sweet potatoes ½-inch cube (2 cups of ½-inch cube sweet potato. I didn’t peel but you can if you want)
  • ½ medium onion diced
  • ½ red bell pepper diced
  • 2 medium apples 1-inch cube (I didn’t peel, but you can if you want)
  • 1 – 1½ tsp sea salt
  • ½ tsp dried thyme
  • ¼ tsp pepper
  • 3 cloves of garlic fine chop
  • 1 handful of baby spinach chopped
  • 1 – 1 ½ cups cheese of choice shredded
  • 12 eggs
  • ½ cup full fat coconut milk or milk

Instructions

  • Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees and butter a 9×13 casserole dish.
  • Warm a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt the butter, and brown the sausage. Use a slotted spoon to scoop the browned sausage out of the skillet, leaving the fat behind to cook the veggies in.
  • Add the sweet potato to the fat in the skillet over medium-high heat, and cook for a few minutes. Sweet potato takes a bit longer to cook than the other veggies, so don’t add the others just yet.
  • Once the sweet potato has cooked for a few minutes, add the onion, pepper, apples, sea salt, thyme, and pepper, and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Cook the veggies for about 7-10 minutes until soft and sweet.
  • Add the garlic and spinach to the skillet, stir, and cook for one minute. Turn the skillet off, and stir in cooked sausage and the shredded cheese.
  • Dump the cooked veggie/sausage mixture from the skillet into the buttered casserole dish, and spread the mixture out evenly. Whisk the eggs and milk in a medium mixing bowl and pour over the veggie/sausage mixture.
  • Bake the breakfast casserole for 25-30 minutes at 400 degrees until the eggs are set, and the top is a pretty golden brown. Let the casserole rest for 5-10 minutes before cutting.
Apple, Sweet Potato, and Sausage Breakfast Casserole

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