Breakfast

Ricotta Lemon Pancakes with Homemade Berry Jam

Posted by Rachel Ashley on Apr 8, 2012 in Breakfast, Fashionably Organic | 1 comment

INGREDIENTS

(makes 10 small pancakes = 2 to 3 servings)

For the Jam:
1 cup blueberries, raspberries and blackberries medly
1 tbsp Stevia
Juice of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tbsp organic strawberry jam

For the Pancakes:
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbsp Stevia
1 tbsp Chia seeds
1/2 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup almond milk (or your choice of milk)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 organic egg
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 tsp canola oil or grapeseed oil (optional)
Juice of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 lemon
Egg Whites – 2 (optional: well whipped for more fluffy pancakes)

Recipe:

For the jam put your stove on medium-high heat, add berry medly to a small pot. Add the juice and lemon zest of 1 lemon and add the Stevia. Continue to stir and let the berries break down.  Once the berries have been heated through, about 4 minutes, add strawberry organic jam.  Cook for an additional 3 minutes to reduce and allow the mixture to thicken. Once the berry jam has thickened, remove from heat and set aside. The jam should thicken enough, that when you put some on a spoon you can run your figure down the back side of the spoon and the jam will stay sperated.

For the pancakes mix your dry ingredients together in a mixing bowl: whole wheat pastry flour, basking powder, baking soda, salt and Stevia.  Add the chia seeds and mix.  Set bowl aside.

In a seperate bowl combine the wet ingredients: ricotta cheese, almond milk, heavy cream, vanilla extract, canola oil, egg, lemon juice and lemon zest and mix well.  Now add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and gently mix with a whisk.  Do not overmix.  In a seperate bowl wisk two egg whites until frothy and then gently mix into the batter.

 Heat a nonstick pan on medium heat.  Use a little oil or spray to coat the bottom of the pan.  Use a 1/4 cup to drop the batter onto the nonstick pan or a ladle.  Allow the pancakes to cook on each side until golden brown.  Make sure you cook these through to avoid uncooked batter in the center. Add a stack of pancakes to a plate.  Top with berry jam (or maple syrup)!

Enjoy!

 XO,

Rachel Ashley

1 Peter 1:3
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…

Overnight Oatmeal for Breakfast, Anyone?

Posted by Rachel Ashley on Mar 22, 2012 in Breakfast, Fashionably Organic | 0 comments

Hello!  I hope you having a good day!   Do you ever have those overwhelming and tiring days?  But then there are those days where the weight is lifted and relief is provided, right?!  I feel like I huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders today.  I manage a retail store and my inventory has been off for several months and I couldn’t figure out why.  My associate’s and I have completed live inventories and have checked the numbers, but when I go back into the system they are off again!  I have been spinning my wheels for months, not sure how to explain it to POS System provider and continually blaming myself for the mistakes.  I was very fortunate today to have the VP of Sales and a Business Analyst assist me in a live inventory of the store and fix all of our inventory issues!  I am so relieved and overjoyed that its all fixed now.  We spent 5 hours counting and correcting the system!  I am a happy girl right now, to say the least!

Anywho, this past Saturday evening I decided to try a new recipe that I stumbled across online, I honestly don’t remember where I found it, but I was excited to try it!  You have to prepare this recipe the night before, that way you can enjoy it for breakfast the following morning.  I was intrigued to try this recipe, because I eat homemade oatmeal every morning and it was fun to see a creative recipe for it!  I have to say, I liked the texture and the taste.  The taste was a little different than I expected, but this is a recipe you can totally adpat to your taste- buds.  The best part is oats are so good for you!

 A few reason to enjoy oatmeal….

• Oatmeal has been said to lower cholesterol and reduce the risk of heart disease.
• The soluble fiber in oatmeal absorbs a considerable amount of water which significantly slows down your digestive process. This result is that you’ll feel full longer, which helps you control your weight.
• Oatmeal may help reduce high blood pressure. The reduction is linked to the increase in soluble fiber provided by oatmeal. Oats contain more soluble fiber than whole wheat, rice or corn.
• Oatmeal contains a wide array of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants and is a good source of protein, complex carbohydrates and iron.

In the morning the oats will have absorbed the milk and yogurt – making the mixture thicker!

Overnight Oatmeal

Ingredients
1/3 cup uncooked rolled oats (not instant, not steel cut)
1/3 cup organic almond milk (skim milk)
1/3 cup fat-free Greek yogurt

Possible Add-ins
1/2 cup fresh fruit
1/2 cup pumpkin
1/2 cup applesauce
1 tbsp unsweetened dark chocolate cocoa
1/4 cup almonds
1/4 cup dried fruit (I used cranberries)
1 tsp of cinnamon
1 tsp of Stevia (I sprinkled a 1/2 packet of Truvia, to sweeten!)

Recipe:
Mix uncooked oats, almond milk and yogurt together in a bowl.  Cover the  mixture with plastic wrap or store in an air tight container and leave in the refrigerator overnight.  The consistency will be soupy after this initial mixing.

Overnight, the oats will absorb the liquid from the almond milk and yogurt, and the mixture will expand and thicken.  This absorption process, in essence, “cooks” the oats.  In the morning, top the mixture with nutritious add-ins of your choice.   The possibilities are endless!  I personally added raw almonds, 1 tsp of cinnamon, 1/4 cup dried cranberries and 1/2 tsp of Stevia (Truvia)!   This is an awesome high-protein, low-calorie, satisfying breakfast!

Try it out and let me know what you think!

XO,
Rachel Ashley

Ricotta Chocolate Chip Muffins

Posted by Rachel Ashley on Feb 21, 2012 in Bread, Breakfast, Chocolate, Dessert, Fashionably Organic, Sweets | 2 comments

Good Morning!  I had so much fun baking in my kitchen a couple weekends ago for a family bridal shower.  I was in charge of the sweets, which I always find fun!  As most of you know I always try to put a healthy spin and/or organic ingredients in every recipe I make.  Although, sometimes they turn out more  like a science experiment, but that also make baking healthier more fun!  Most of the time I can successfully replace unhealthy ingredients with healthy ones.  This recipe was adapted from Skinnytaste.com.  I came across one of Gina’s pictures on Pinterest and I am so excited to have found her blog!  I had leftover ricotta cheese and I wanted to find a recipe that I could incorporate it into before it went to waste.  These little muffins are super moist and with the added sweetness from the chocolate chips makes them perfect with your morning coffee!  Chocolate is my weakness so if I can make something healthy and get my sweet tooth fix, I’m happy!

Ingredients:
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup Organic Butter – unsalted
3/4 cup of Stevia
3 large organic egg whites
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chip morsels

Recipe:
Begin by preheating the over to 375 F. In a medium size bowl mix together the whole wheat pastry flour and baking soda. In a separate bowl (I used my Kitchen Aid mixer) cream the butter and sugar together. Then slowly add the egg whites to the butter/sugar mixture while the beater is on medium speed. Add the ricotta cheese and then slowly add the flour/baking soda mixture. Add the vanilla and then fold the chocolate chips into the batter. You will need a muffin tin and cupcake wrappers or spray the muffin tin so the batter doesn’t stick to the pan. I like to use an ice cream scoop to spoon each muffin spot with about 3/4 of the batter.

Bake the muffins at 375 F for 15 minutes.  Remove muffins from the muffin tin and place on a rack to cool.

This recipe yields a dozen muffins.

French Toast

Posted by Rachel Ashley on Jan 9, 2012 in Breakfast, Fashionably Organic | 0 comments

Good Morning! Happy Monday!  I have been meaning to share this recipe with you and I truly forgot.  On Christmas, we always make a big breakfast, it has been a tradition sense I was a little girl.  This year instead of biscuits, eggs and bacon, we decided to make french toast, eggs, and bacon.  French toast is so good, especially when you use a thick sliced bread cinnamon swirl bread.  French toasts reminds me of my Grandma.  She always made the best French toast.  French toasts is super easy and doesn’t take very long at all.  I find making French toast is much easier than pancakes.  Be sure to try this recipe, its so yummy!

XO,

Rachel Ashley

Ingredients:

1 thick slice loaf of cinnamon swirl bread (or bread of your choice)

4 Large Eggs

2 teaspoons of cinnamon

1/2 cup of Heavy Whipping Cream

Butter or EVOO for coating griddle/skillet

Pure Maple Syrup

Recipe:

On a cutting board slice your loaf of bread into thick 1″ slices (my bread was already pre-cut).  In a large glass bowl, crack 4 large eggs, pour 1/2 cup of heavy whipping cream, and 2 tablespoons of cinnamon. Whisk all the ingredients together.  Drizzle EVOO into a large griddle or skillet pan and place on the stove on high heat.  The key is to get your pan very hot and then turn down the heat to medium heat once ready to grill.  With the ingredients all whisked together begin dredging the thick slices of cinnamon swirl bread.  Place the bread slices, one at a time, into the bowl, letting slices soak up egg mixture for a few seconds, then carefully turn to coat the other side.  Dredge only as many slices as you will be cooking at one time (for me I cooked 4 at a time).  Transfer bread slices to griddle or skillet, heating slowly until bottom is golden brown, takes about 1 to 2 minutes on each side. Turn and brown the other side.   Serve French toast hot with butter and warm pure maple syrup.

Yum-oh! Enjoy!

Gluten Free Oatmeal with Apples

Posted by Rachel Ashley on Jun 19, 2011 in Breakfast, Fashionably Organic | 4 comments

I don’t know about you, but I love breakfast.  I have to switch up my breakfast from time to time.  Sometimes for breakfast I make protein shakes with berries, or I  have a slice of toast with jam, other times I have eggs and turkey bacon or sausage, occasionally I have pancakes or French toast (usually this is a weekend type breakfast) or I have oatmeal.  I use to have cereal all the time as a kid and through college, but now a days I treat myself to cereal every now and then, but I try and stay away from  processed food.  I will say I love cereal and it is great if you need to eat in a pinch.

Well, this week I made gluten free oatmeal with apples.  I had several organic green apples in my refrigerator that I had not eaten so I thought it would be good to cut one into small chucks and throw them in my oatmeal.  On a side note, when I make oatmeal I usually make enough to have for breakfast, for a week. There are many reason to love oatmeal – it is very good for you because it is high in fiber, it contains a wide array of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.  One of the main reasons I have always done well with oatmeal, is because it keeps you full longer.  As I kid, that is all my mom fed me for breakfast, because if she didn’t I would get hungry and I couldn’t last tell lunch time.  This recipe I happened to make with gluten free oats, which I love.  I do not have a gluten intolerance that I know of, but I think I do well with eating minimal amounts of gluten.  I made this oatmeal with Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Oats, organic green apples, cinnamon, Stevia, and agave.

Ingredients
2 cups Gluten Free Oats
4 cups water
1/4 tsp salt (optional)
1 large organic green apple
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tbsp of agave nectar
4 tbsp of Stevia

Recipe
For a really yummy breakfast cereal, bring 4 cups water and 1/4 teaspoon of salt (optional) to a boil.  Chop one organic apple into cubes and add to the boiling water and let cook for about two minutes.  Then add 2 cups of  quick rolled oats, reduce heat and cook for 3 to 5 minutes (time depending on the consistency that you like your cereal; I like mine thick and creamy) stirring occasionally.  Add 1 tbsp of cinnamon, 4 tbsp of Stevia and 1 tbsp of agave nectar and stir until blended.  Cover and remove from heat and let stand a few minutes. Yum-oh!

Siggi’s Icelandic Style Skyr Yogurt

Posted by Rachel Ashley on Feb 1, 2011 in Breakfast, Dessert, Fashionably Organic | 2 comments

Oh my gosh!!!  I have to share with you my new favorite yogurt! Who has tried siggi’s Icelandic style skyr strained non-fat yogurt? If you have not tried it I recommend it pronto! If you are wondering what “skyr” is, like I was I am hear to explain…it is the traditional yogurt of Iceland.  It is made by incubating skim milk with live active cultures.  The water naturally found in milk called whey, is strained away to make for a much thicker, creamier, concentrated yogurt.  Thus, to make just one cup of skyr, with all that water going out, you need 3 to 4 times the amount of milk required to make one cup of regular yogurt.  This process lends itself to 2 to 3 times the protein count than that found regular yogurt. This is yogurt is truly amazing! One of my favorite things about siggi’s is you can read and pronounce every ingredient, there is no mystery to siggi’s!

My favorite way to enjoy yogurt is to add fresh berries with a sprinkle of slivered almonds.  Don’t be afraid to add to your favorite yogurt…nuts, berries, dried fruit, granola, etc. they all make delicious toppings. Visit your local market and try siggi’s yogurt; they come in a seven amazing flavors including: (1) blueberry (2) orange and ginger (3) plain (4) pomegranate and passion fruit (5) acai (6) grapefruit (7) vanilla. Some old and some new very original flavors…you won’t be disappointed! Enjoy!