Straight-up Bananas

Quick, Easy, and Healthy Mexican Brunch!

Is it weird that the thing that’s mostly on my mind like…all the time…is food? 

While I’m laying in bed, I’m thinking about breakfast in the morning. While at the office I immediately think of what I should have for lunch, and on the road home, I’m thinking what I’m going to stuff my face with the second I get home. Please, oh please, someone tell me it’s not only me!

So I think it goes without saying that during the weekend, my brain is pouring over the brim with brunch, lunch, and snack ideas. Saturday morning I decided I’d make the hubster and I brunch on our balcony. After some serious rummaging through the fridge and freezer, it hit me! How’s about a Mexican-themed breakfast 

Tortillas? (check) 

Beans? (check)

Avocado? (check)

Cilantro? (check)

Eggs? (check)

Quick, easy, and healthy? (check)

Alright then, let’s do it to it!

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Ingredients:

• 1 can of crushed tomatoes
  
• 1 can of beans (any kind is fine)
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 green spring onion
• handful of cilantro (or coriander or whatever you like to call it)
• 3 Wholegrain tortillas or corn tortillas cut into triangles
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• shredded spinach (optional)
• 2 boiled eggs
• a pinch of pepper flakes
• a pinch of cumin powder
• salt & pepper to taste
• the juice of half a lime

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How to get it done, son:

• First, put the tortillas to toast a bit by placing them on a warm pan with absolutely no oil. Just leave them till they get nice, toasty,and crunchy then set aside.
  
• With a tiny bit of olive oil in a skillet, cook garlic, bell peppers, and onion until soft (3-4 minutes) and add the spices (cumin, salt, pepper, and chili flakes).
• Pour the canned tomatoes and a quarter of the canned beans and cook together for another 3-4 minutes.
• Turn off heat and squeeze half a lime on the salsa.
• Add the shredded spinach and let it wilt with the residual heat of the pan (which is just fancy for telling you that you should never overcook spinach. The heat of the pan will cook it enough)
  
• Top the salsa with cilantro and you’re good to go in terms of salsa.

Note: This salsa recipe is the same recipe I use for anything that calls for salsa. You could use it as a dip with chips, salsa for a taco lunch, or as the base for a Mexican tomato soup–once you’ve got this recipe down, you could use it to mix and match any Mexican recipe! Yay! You’ve just learned a gazillion recipes!

For plating, I decided to pamper my eyes with something that I think looked rather cute and scrumptious. I placed the tortilla triangles on the rim of the plate, and filled the middle with salsa. I then topped it with the boiled eggs, spinach, and more cilantro. 

You could also top it with an avocado, yogurt, or basically whatever you feeling like having.

This recipe is easy, quick, and healthy! It’s cram packed with protein and fiber it will have you going like a machine the rest of the day!

Go straight-up bananas with me, and give this recipe a go! I’d love to hear for you!

Oh, and if you’ve got an extra second, why not check out my Instagram page? @straightupbananas

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Easy and Quick Homemade Granola

So between getting ready in the morning, making smoothies, preparing lunch, and brewing coffee who the heck has time to think about what to make for breakfast, right? 

After extensive online research I found the easiest, fool proofest (let’s pretend that’s a word), and quickest version out there and, well, simplified it some more. The beauty of this recipe for granola is that it’s just a base–you could add or subtract whatever ingredients you have or like, if you’ve got the toasted oats, you’re good to go.

In the ingredients section below, you’ll find the mandatory ingredients in bold, and the ingredients that depend on what you feel like putting in your mouth in italics, okay?

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of jumbo, uncooked oats (NOT QUICK OATS)
  
• 1 tablespoon of honey (preferably organic honey)
  
• 1 tablespoon of coconut oil (preferably organic)
  
• A handful of seeds (either pumpkin or sunflower, or both)
  
• A handful of almonds
  
• A handful of dried fruit (apple, mango, coconut…)
  
• A teaspoon of ginger powder
  
• A teaspoon of cinnamon powder
  
• 2 tablespoons of milled flax seeds
  

Method:

1-  Preheat oven to medium heat (about 200 c)

2- Grab yourself a wide oven tray and toss in all the ingredients. Yes, all of them. Yes, it is that easy. 

3- Flatten out mixture on the tray evenly.

4- Now toss the mixture with your hands rubbing the ingredients together and then tossing some more. The reason you’re doing this with your hands is so the coconut oil and honey dissolve with the warmth of your hands and mix into the oats well.

5- Bake in the middle of the oven for 7 minutes altogether. 4 minutes through the cooking time, take it out of the oven and toss mixture (not with your hands this time) to ensure that every single element gets toasted. Then, place back in oven for another 3 minutes. This is the most crucial step. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve decided to be a smart one and mutli task while making granola, only to forget it. 2 extra minutes of baking time could seriously bake them babies black. No good.

6- Remove from oven and let cool.

7- When cooled (I mean completely cooled) place in an airtight container. It will last in the fridge for a good week although I highly doubt it will last that long.

I have a cup of granola every day during weekdays. I have it with milk or yogurt topped with fresh berries and a drizzle of honey for extra sweetness. It’ll keep you full until lunch, it’s a quick and healthy breakfast fix–what more could you possibly ask for?

Go straight-up bananas with me and give this recipe a try! I’d love to hear from you!

Also, follow me on Instagram: @straightupbananas

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Healthy Chocolate Fudge Truffles

Healthy Chocolate Fudge Truffles:

So what do you do when you want to make your sweet-toothed husband something fudgy, decedent, and healthy? You begin the online research and make up your own twist, that’s what you do! Behold! My easy chocolate truffles that are packed with protein, fiber, and all around goodness—sure to give you that energy boost you’ll need for a busy day, while curbing any cravings for junk you might get.

This recipe is sugar-free, guilt-free, and full of antioxidants.

Ingredients:

-          Dark organic chocolate (70% cocoa or higher)

-          Raw cocoa powder

-          20 dates

-          Vanilla extract

-          Wheat bran

-          Almond powder

-          Powdered pumpkin seeds

-          Powdered sunflower seeds

-          Cinnamon powder

-          A squidge of honey (optional)

I think it’s worth mentioning that you could easily substitute the powdered almond, pumpkin seeds, and sunflower seeds for one of the other. You could even substitute them all for powdered oats.

Method:

-          Soak the dates in hot water for about 15 minutes. Then drain, pit, and place in a food processor or blender.

-          Melt chocolate with a little bit of milk and add to dates.

-          Add all the other ingredients.

-          Blend till dates are completely blended, and the whole mixture is completely incorporated together.

-          Place in a clean bowl.

-          Begin rolling into small balls. (If the mixture is too wet to form balls, add some wheat bran and/or cocoa to thicken it up. If it’s still too wet, place in freezer for 20 minutes).

-          Roll balls (hehe) in cocoa powder, seeds, or shredded coconut.

-          Place balls in the fridge for a few hours until set (overnight is wonderful. But if you can’t be bothered to wait, just put in the freezer for an hour or two and you should be good to go)

-          Place balls in an air tight container. It should last for about 5-7 days when refrigerated, but as a general rule of thumb, they usually get eaten long before that.

Go straight-up bananas and give this recipe a go! I’d absolutely love to hear from you!

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