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
I wonder if these bakes could be made raw? ;) Sub in oat groats for the rolled ones and then dehydrating the recipe? Hmm…I wonder.
That breakfast looks awesome! When I can’t sleep, I generally write down everything on my to-do list that is keeping me up and tell myself I’ll get to it in the morning. That quiets my mind somewhat!
Good job Angela, you are clearly a super hard worker and your hard work pays off through a successful blog chalk full of delicous, healthy recipes and ideas. You inspire me to work that hard at the things in life that matter most to me.
Thanks!
Katie
Thank you for commenting on my blog Angela! I must say…I am trying your breakfast cake this week and I can’t wait. :) Keep those amazing recipes cookin!
It helps me to walk through a simple process, like making pasta or something. It’s boring a soothes my mind. I have a nasty habit of making to-do lists in my mind before bed so I try writing everything down.
what would the measurements be for one serving of that delsih breakfast?
delish*
Yum . . . this looks so good! I love pumpkin pie – who wouldve thought you could turn it into breakfast?
Count backwards from 300 by 3’s. You need to focus to this and it is rather boring so not only can other thoughts not take over but you get bored and conk out.
Also, starting with your feet, tighten and release “individual muscles” until you get to your head.
your breakfasts make my mouth WATER! i’m a huge baked goods/sweets person so this is perfectionnnn. i usually try and take deep breaths while i’m trying to fall asleep and then picture the beach lol.. i hate bed time though because i usually can’t turn off my thoughts :( let me know if you learn any good tips!
I read a book EVERY night before bed. Read something really boring will help you fall asleep too, maybe CNN, Wall Street…haha Surprisingly, Sudoku and games like that help you fall asleep. They take your mind of “your to do it” and allow you to relax. I have never been able to fall asleep easily (not like Eric or my boyfriend) so I have a lot of experiences here.
Hmmm tips for quieting the mind…given the title of my blog, I could certainly use some myself. ;)
I have yet to try this, but my roommate has suggested to me several times to keep a notebook by my bed. She think it would help me to write all the craziness going on in my head down, and that it would help me sleep.
Maybe this could help you???!
Try meditation techniques. I choose a mantra like “I am loved” or “I am relaxed.” As I breathe in I say (in my head) “I am” and say the rest as I exhale. By focusing on your breath, you relax your mind. Works for me, especially when I have to work an odd 3rd shift.
Yum, who doesn’t love pumpkin pie any time of day?!
And it helps me to calm my mind by writing everything down. Anything that is going through my head, i’ll just write. It just comes out naturally when i have a lot on my mind and afterwards, i feel such peace. It really helps.
I’ve heard counting backwards by 3’s from 300 helps put a person to sleep. As for getting the mind to stop thinking long enough to fall alseep, I climb out of bed and write down all the worries or things I need to do the next day, or what ever is keeping me up. Then my brain sees I am not going to forget it I can crawl back into bed and rest.
Loving your recipes. Can’t wait to try them all!
Hi Angela,
I love reading your blog! You have so many useful tips and recipes. I’m glad I can offer YOU some advice for once! To quiet your mind before sleep, read a book. I like to read a novel, because I can focus on the story and let my day slip away. I have the same problem you do- I’ll get all snuggled in bed, only to find my mind is still going a mile a minute!
Sweet dreams!
Hi,
Thanks for suggesting to donate to the Humanitarian Coalition to donate to help Haiti Earthquake victims.
Marisa Curcio
Agente de communication – nouveaux médias
Oxfam-Québec