Dudes. These. are. the. best.
The best as in I may have already inhaled 3 granola bars today. And one before I got around to snapping the photos (see how there’s only 5 bars in the pictures?!)
I have a granola bar addiction. I have granola bars stashed in my desk drawer at work, in our cupboard at home, and often I’ll throw one in my purse. You never know when hunger might strike - and since I turn into the grouch when I’m hungry, they’ve saved me on many occasions!
Soo, confession: I ate half of this Whole Wheat Apple Spice Bread loaf before I took the photographs for this blog post. Whoops. I can never resist a warm, moist, spiced loaf that’s calling my name… Forgive me - this loaf is irresistible!
Apple cinnamon is one of my favorite flavor combinations ever (I lovelovelove apple pie) - so Apple Spice Bread was a no brainer for me. It’s quick to throw together, and using all whole wheat flour ups the healthy-factor for breakfast!
Granola is one of my very favourite breakfast foods to make from scratch - it’s so customizable and so much more affordable than buying a bag at the store! I love slipping in extra cinnamon or my favourite nuts - and it makes such a satisfying breakfast with a splash of almond milk or sprinkled over yogurt.
My granola game changed when I raided the bulk bins at the grocery store and found buckwheat. Buckwheat are cute little grain-like seeds, except they’re not a grain at all! They’re actually a fruit seed (?!). And if you’re gluten-sensitive, buckwheat is completely gluten-free.
Sunday was our 1 year anniversary of being engaged! The countdown to the wedding begins! We love to celebrate the little things around here - it’s always a good excuse to open up a nice bottle of wine! 😉
To celebrate, we went for a walk on the beach where J proposed, and then came home and made a delicious dinner together - cooking in the kitchen with him is one of our favourite things to do together. We made beef tenderloin (!), garlic mashed potatoes, and roasted brussels sprouts. For dessert I whipped up one of my famous apple crisps using the recipe that’s been passed down through my family.
As I was sprinkling the crumble topping on top of the sliced apples I wondered if I could turn it into a muffin topping. Streusel-topped muffins? Yes please!
Soft, cinnamony, French Toast in the cutest bite-size form are sprinkled with chewy raisins and drizzled with a sweet and crunchy brown sugar cinnamon topping: it’s Cinnamon Raisin French Toast Bites! It’s French Toast To-Go!
…Is there nothing better than taking French Toast to-go? I think not. (And for real, I did take two of these Cinnamon Raisin French Toast Bites to work and ate them from tupperware at my desk yesterday. Not fancy, but so fun and portable!)
Have you ever made homemade granola? It’s the best thing ever. I used to spend lots of $$$ on store-bought granola, even occasionally buying the super fancy granola from specialty cafes. There was a while when I ate yogurt+granola for breakfast every day, so my granola consumption was HIGH.
Then I realised - why can’t I make this? Granola is just oats, right? Pretty much. Oats, coconut, some spices, and a few liquids to hold everything together. My favourite granola recipe is adapted from Smitten Kitchen’s cookbook (original recipe is re-printed here).
I will admit to not knowing what Apple Butter was until approx 3.5 weeks ago when J went across the border to Murrica (ahem - the USA) and brought me back Pumpkin Butter from Trader Joe’s. J loves to bring me back food treats when he goes to the US (what a good fiance!) - usually it’s huge blocks of cheese, but this time - PUMPKIN BUTTER FOR THE WIN.
Anyway. Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Butter is amazing, and you should buy it if you haven’t already. It inspired me to create my own “butter” - but pumpkin sounded too tricky, so here we are with Spiced Apple Butter.