I always wanted to have a good reason to name a post like that!
Early Rising Challenge Day 3:
- I was asleep by 11:15pm (in bed at 10:30pm) and naturally rose at 6:15am this morning! I found it very difficult to get into bed at a good time last night because I had work to do. My mind was swirling with thoughts for a long time when my head hit the pillow! Hate that. Any tips for quieting the mind??
- A space heater at my desk is crucial to tolerating the first 30 mins. until the house warms up.
This certainly helped me wake up…
Pumpkin Pie Baked Breakfast Cake
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup almonds
- 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats (not instant)
- 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
- 2 t pure vanilla extract
- 1/3 banana
- 1-1.5 Tbsp agave nectar or maple syrup (to taste)
- 2 t pumpkin pie spice (or a mix of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger)
- Pinch fine sea salt
- 1-2 T scoop Manitoba Harvest Hemp Vanilla Protein Powder (optional)
- 1 and 1/4 cups unsweetened almond, soy, rice, or hemp milk
- Dark Chocolate or cacao nibs (to garnish)
- Graham crackers (to garnish)
Directions: Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 4-6 cup (1-1.5 L) casserole dish or three small oven safe dishes. Throw all ingredients except the toppings into a blender or food processor and blend until smooth, stopping to scrape sides if necessary. Evenly distribute the batter into the dishes and then garnish with chocolate chips, cacao nibs, and/or crushed graham crackers. Pop in the oven for about 35 minutes at 350F or until golden brown and firm. You can refrigerate for 4 days and they apparently freeze well too!
Makes 3 servings. [Breakfast cake is adapted from Ricki’s Breakfast Pudding.]
Tip: These cakes are great right out of the fridge for a quick snack or dessert!
The Manitoba Harvest Vanilla Hemp Protein Powder I used:
This was just a naked pumpkin pie! I think I will put a dollop of soy yogurt on top!
This was garnished with cacao nibs and delicious homemade vegan graham crackers that I whipped up (a new ingredient in my V-day Glo Bar!).
This one was made into a double layer pumpkin pie and I garnished with dark chocolate chips.
The nutritional information for one cake is below:
This nutritional information is for the basic cake (oats, almonds, unsweetened almond milk, spices, vanillas, banana, unsweetened applesauce, pumpkin, sea salt, agave nectar). without any toppings or protein powder.
As you can probably tell, I subbed out half of the nuts for oats in this recipe, as compared to the Baked Cherry Pie recipe. This is a ‘lighter’ version of the baked breakfast cake. Taste wise, I do prefer the original version (with more nuts), but this one was still nice too and it gives you a bit more wiggle room to play around with fun toppings!
The great thing about this recipe is that you can adapt it to how you want it. If you want it sweeter, add more sweetener. If you want it more filling, add some protein powder like I do. More healthy fats? Experiment with different nuts and chia seeds. The sky is the limit!
Earthquake in Haiti
The recent earth quake in Haiti has left approx. 3 million people – a third of Haiti’s population- in desperate need of emergency relief. After watching this video (note: some graphic scenes), I knew I had to contribute in any way possible.
Canadians:
CARE Canada, Oxfam Canada and Oxfam Quebec as well as Save the Children have banded together to form a central hub for donations called The Humanitarian Coalition, which is accepting donations online and by phone.
In the US or the UK? See here for a list of reputable charities that you can donate to.
Updates:
- All of my recipes are updated on my Recipes page, including reader’s favourite breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert recipes!
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I’m baking today for a donation I did for the Alberta Association of Services for Children and Families Conference. If you will be there, keep your eyes peeled for my Glo Bars at the registration table! :)
Make today GREAT!
Awake before the sun is risen, I call for my pen and papers and desk.
– Christopher Smart