Healthy apple pumpkin breakfast muffins

A healthy, easy, breakfast muffin, low in sugar in loaded with good-for-you apples and whole grain oats -- plus some seasonal pumpkin.

Now is the time of year when I highlight a few pumpkiny things on the blog. Because it's actually October now, the time when pumpkins are in season and seasonally appropriate.

Although you, like I, are likely suffering from a bad case of PSO: Pumpkin Spice Overload, which has reached epidemic proportions this year.

Pumpkins and Apples

I've gotten a bit of a reputation among my friends and readers over the years for being adamant with my No Pumpkin Until October rule. Every pumpkin-spice-hating meme has made its way on to my Facebook page, courtesy of Ninj fans.

Don't get me wrong. I don't hate pumpkin. I'm just a firm believer in keeping my life and eating habits seasonal.

And letting apples, one of the world's most perfect food, have their time in the sun, which is the entire month of September, in my book. It's the month for indulging in apple butter, apple pie oatmeal, apple bread pudding and apple sauce -- just for starters.

But now that it's early October, it's time for apples and pumpkins to join forces, which they do so quite deliciously in these healthy apple pumpkin breakfast muffins.

Strawberry breakfast biscuits

Strawberry breakfast biscuits: not too sweet, with a scone-like texture, and super easy to make. Try them in strawberry shortcake, too.

Lest you think it's all savory crockpot dinners around Casa de Ninj all the time, I'd like to introduce you to my new favorite baked good: strawberry breakfast biscuits.

(Not that you can't eat them any time of the day that you please. Or multiple times during the day. Trust me, we have.)

Regular readers and makers of my recipes will not be surprised to hear that these are a not-so-sweet biscuit -- not nearly as sweet as a pastry or muffin, with a slightly scone-like texture.

They really let the flavor of fresh, seasonal strawberries shine.

And, of course, they are super easy to make, because that's how I roll -- no mixer, no rolling, no lightly-floured work surface, no biscuit cutters.

White bean avocado toast

Packed with protein to keep you feeling full and energized, white bean and avocado toast is the perfect savory breakfast or easy, light lunch.

It's easy to get into a breakfast rut, especially when you're in hurry, as most of us are each morning. Bless his heart, Mr. Ninj is perfectly content to eat the same egg sandwich or oatmeal smoothie that I put in front of him every morning, but I, on the other hand, need to change things up. And while baked goods like muffins are an awesome grab-and-go option, sometimes I need a savory, not sweet, breakfast.

So I was pretty excited when Pepperidge Farm® asked me to come up with a healthy and delicious recipe featuring toast. Yes, toast, which, when simply buttered and served with a plate of eggs can be a little ho-hum.

But this is not that.

We all love a good slice of avocado toast, whether for a quick breakfast or an afternoon snack. I've elevated it to healthy breakfast status by adding a layer of mashed white beans, loaded with keep-away-the-mid-morning-hungries protein, and topping it all with some veggies.

This, my friends, is a good-for-you, savory breakfast toast that's not only delicious but also has amazing staying power.

Pistachio chai muffins

Enjoy these simple, not-too-sweet pistachio chai muffins as a skinny grab-and-go breakfast or quick afternoon treat. 

So this is a thing I've been wanting to do for some time now...

When I go back and look at my recipe index, particularly the recipes I wrote about in the early days of this blog, I realize that there are a lot of easy, healthy, yummy, awesome recipes in there.

But they are horribly photographed.

When I started this blog six years ago (oh my goodness, SIX YEARS!), I didn't even know how to use the manual mode on my dinky point-and-shoot camera. So my posts really suffered. As did some of you, who have been supporting me from the beginning and willingly looked at those pictures!

Times have changed and so have my skills. Therefore, I'd like to give some of those awesome recipes a second life by re-photographing them to show you just how gorgeous they are.

And delicious. And worth your time.

Healthy banana chai muffins

Made with no dairy or refined sugar, these banana chai muffins are a healthy choice for breakfast or an afternoon snack.

I am lucky enough not to have many dietary restrictions in my life -- other than those that are self-imposed, of course (e.g., I gave up all fast food more than six years ago). But I appreciate that not all my readers are as lucky, so I try, whenever I can, to feature recipes that address some of your dietary concerns.

One of the concerns that comes up all the time is dairy -- and how to eat well without it, if you need to. Whether it's because of lactose intolerance or concern about dietary cholesterol and intake of fats, dairy isn't for everyone (although it would break my heart into pieces not to be able to eat my beloved cheese). Therefore, I'm happy to help by creating delicious dairy-free recipes for my readers, especially during February, which is American Heart Month. But that can prove challenging when it comes to baked goods.

Why? One word: Butter. Which begs one question: Is there really a butter substitute out ther that's good for baking? I say yes!

To help you figure out the best way to bake dairy-free, I created this recipe for healthy banana chai muffins and made it multiple times, not with butter but with two different spreads instead -- SmartBalance Buttery Spread and I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! -- to see which one I liked best.

Easy make ahead holiday breakfast recipes

Easy make ahead holiday breakfast recipes: the effortless way to feed a houseful of guests on Christmas morning -- or any other morning!

If you're planning to have a houseful of guests for the holidays, the last thing you want to be thinking about is what to feed them all on Christmas morning.

Give yourself a break by choosing one or more of my easy, healthy, make-ahead breakfast recipes. Oatmeal, baked goods, yogurt partfaits and more -- prep or bake before the big day so you can enjoy the morning as much as your guests.

Happiest holiday wishes from The Ninj!

Ginger pear green smoothie

[ While I been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser, all opinions are mine. Thanks for supporting the brands that support me! #BestLifeProject #CollectiveBias ]

Ginger pear green smoothie: an easy portable power breakfast packed with protein that's also low in calories, gluten free, dairy free, vegan ... and delicious!

Pears are one of my favorite things about fall. I'm less about pumpkin and more about pears. And lately I've been kind of obsessed with the pairing of ginger and pears (pairing pears -- ha ha! -- I didn't even plan that). And it's not just in recipes: I recently went a little cray cray when I found a ginger-pear hand lotion.

So when I was asked to incorporate Vega Essentials shake powder into a recipe, I knew it would be a ginger pear smoothie. (Which only makes sense because you shouldn't eat hand lotion, no matter how awesome it smells.)

I've really gotten into a smoothie groove lately. When you're trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle, smoothies can be so helpful. They make eating a healthy breakfast easy and are a perfect afternoon treat when I'm in the mood for a little snack. Way better for me than answering the siren call of cookies!

Fresh plum breakfast cake

Fresh plum breakfast cake -- a not-too-sweet treat, perfect for showcasing end-of-summer juicy ripe red plums.

I found some gorgeous, juicy, ripe red plums at a local farm market recently and my brain immediately jumped to plum cake. A plum cake that you could eat for breakfast.

When I was really small, we had an Italian prune plum tree in the backyard of our house in New York. Now, mind you,  I barely even remember this house (we moved when I was three) but the plums factored in heavily. In fact, I have only three total memories of the place:

1. Dancing in my next-door BFF Nancy's rec room basement to a real jukebox that played my favorite song at the time -- Elton John's "Crocodile Rock"
2. Being heartbroken when I got sick all over my favorite stuffed elephant pillow (it was blue and I called it "Nelliephant") and it had to be thrown away
3. Pulling little purple prune plums off the tree in the backyard, rinsing them under the spigot on the back of the house and eating them, still warm from the sun

Seriously. Those are my only take-aways from that house.

But those plums! My mom used to turn them into this amazing, dense plum cake that I loved -- largely because it wasn't too sweet and, after we'd had it for dessert the first evening, she would often let us have a piece for breakfast, too. Because fruit is good for you, I guess.

Unfortunately, my mom was out of town recently when I scored my red plums so I didn't have access to her recipe. And I wasn't sure I wanted to mess with a classic by trying to use the juicier red plum instead of the prune plum, so I turned to my favorite, reliable baking source -- Dorie Greenspan's Baking: From My Home to Yours -- for an alternative.

Watermelon strawberry yogurt smoothie

[ While I have been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser for this post, all opinions are mine alone. Thanks for supporting the brands that support me! #HappyBlending #CollectiveBias ]

This delicious yogurt smoothie is loaded with protein, probiotics, fiber, fresh fruit and even some secret veggies: healthy breakfast never tasted so good!

While I love fall and the cool weather it brings, I try not to rush it because it also means the end of summer -- which means the end of bountiful, healthy, delicious summer veggies and fruits.

Other food bloggers may have already gotten started on PumpkinFest 2015, but not me: I'm still buying as much ripe fruit as I can get my hands on!

Which means I knew exactly what ingredients to use when I was chosen to create a smoothie recipe using Chobani Greek Yogurt for Smoothie Week, being celebrated at the Kroger Family of Stores this week. Even though it's September, it's still the perfect time to enjoy watermelon, which will be in season for a little while longer.

For this watermelon strawberry yogurt smoothie, I used fresh watermelon but, once the cooler months roll around, you can use frozen watermelon instead; it's a great way to get the feeling of summer back any time of the year. Because of its high water content, watermelon freezes beautifully. I cut it into chunks, spread them on baking sheets, freeze until just firm, then store all the chunks in zipper bags in the freezer. Freezing them individually means you can easily remove only as many pieces as you need.

Overnight oats and yogurt parfaits

Juicy frozen fruit turns healthy overnight oats into a sweet breakfast parfait -- like eating a sundae for breakfast!

I'm on a roll with new breakfast ideas. And I'm continuing with the easy / make-ahead / grab-and-go theme because ... well ... because I'm most decidedly not a morning person.

And I'm continuing the whole-grain thing from last week's fruit and grain energy bars with these super-easy overnight oat and yogurt parfaits.

Oats are just so darned convenient and versatile, aren't they? I mean, how many other ingredients can claim such yummy success whether they're whole, ground, wet, dry, stewed, baked, boiled or raw? Not to mention all the good-for-you protein they contain.

Now, if you read lots of food blogs or waste a lot of time on frequently browse Pinterest, you know that overnight refrigerator oats are pretty much all over the place. Confession time: I tried making them a couple of years ago and HATED them. I couldn't find the right combination of ingredients. Most were too thick or just too blah-tasting.

But then I got turned on to the secret of using frozen rather than fresh fruit!

You would think I would have figured this out earlier since frozen fruit is also key to my favorite and easiest breakfast smoothie. Duh.

Easy fruit and grain energy bars

Fruit and grain energy bars are protein-rich, delicious and easy to prepare -- a perfect portable breakfast or afternoon snack. 

These easy, homemade fruit and grain energy bars have successfully gotten us out of our current breakfast rut at Casa de Ninj.

Booyah.

They are just the right amount of chewy and not too sweet -- perfect for a grab-and-go breakfast. The danger is that they are so good that I'm tempted to keep making batch after batch.

But eating them constantly would likely get us into another breakfast rut, right? Gaaaaah, when will I learn?!

Changing up the kinds of dried fruit you use in these energy bars keeps them from getting boring. I use dried cranberries and cherries since we have them on hand most often, but I've been known to use dried apricots and plums, too. (Prunes and apricots are a particularly favorite flavor combination of mine, in case you hadn't noticed.)

And if you're not in a breakfast rut, these are still the bars for you. Their portability (and freezability!) make them great afternoon snacks.

Easiest fruit and oatmeal breakfast smoothie

This super-easy, four ingredient fruit and oatmeal smoothie is a fast, delicious and healthy breakfast ready in just minutes -- perfect for crazy hectic mornings.

Still moving. (Note to self: Stop accumulating so much stuff!)

Which means that quick-and-easy is still my number one mantra.

While that's proven to be pretty easy for weeknight dinners, thanks in large part to the slow cooker, it's proving harder for breakfast, without falling into a rut of eating the same thing every day.

Smoothies have increasingly become my go-to breakfast -- if I've cooked up a batch of quinoa for the week, I opt for a quinoa protein smoothie with whatever berries are in the freezer. Otherwise, I rely on oatmeal to make my smoothies a nutritious and filling way to start the day.

This fruit and oatmeal smoothie is by far the easiest one I make. And it can pretty much be different every day if you mix up the type of fruit.

For the best consistency, you definitely want to use a mix of frozen and fresh fruit. If I've got bananas on the counter, I'll use those with frozen berries. With warmer weather and strawberry season on the horizon, I'll mix fresh strawberries with frozen bananas.

(Tip: You can get less-than-beautiful looking bananas -- still perfect on the inside, where it counts -- for a song in many grocery stores when they put them on the "reduced produce" rack. I buy a ton and then freeze the slices so that I always have a huge supply of smoothie bananas on hand in the freezer!)

Just be sure to keep the ratios of fresh to frozen the same. For the smoothie in this photo, I used frozen raspberries and fresh banana.

Maple date scones

Maple date scones are an easy-to-make, healthier, less-sweet treat for breakfast, dessert or an afternoon snack.

While I like sweet snacks and desserts as much as the next ninja, I generally prefer my baked goods to be a little less on the sweet side.

Which is why I'll choose a scone over a cupcake any day.

(True story: My sister used to love sitting next to me at family birthday celebrations when we were young because I didn't like to eat the frosting. I would eat the cake part of my piece and give the frosting to her -- that's how much I prefer my sweets less sweet!)

And any time I can sweeten a sweet more naturally than simply using refined sugar, I'm all over it.

As their name implies, these maple date scones are sweetened with pure maple syrup, chewy dates and almost no added sugar.

Chocolate and goat cheese pastries {+ a giveaway}

Enjoy these easy yet elegant pastries, filled with dark chocolate and creamy goat cheese, for breakfast, at tea time or as a light dessert.

We regularly -- and without question -- pair cheese with wine, right? Similarly, we know how good a glass of red wine and some dark chocolate can taste.

So why is it that we don't often think of pairing cheese and chocolate together?

Clearly we've been missing the boat. In a big way.

In honor of Valentine's Day (which, frankly, is not a big deal around Casa de Ninj) and, perhaps more importantly, the end of Detox January (which I vow will not simply become Retox February), I've created a little treat -- dark chocolate and goat cheese pastries -- that you can enjoy for breakfast, with afternoon tea or as a light dessert.

Or, if you're Mr. Ninj, all three.

Regular readers know I'm a big fan of sweet and savory combinations, like my salted cardamom oatmeal cookies or the holiday favorite bourbon-salted peanut butter chocolate truffles. So when my friends at Vermont Creamery and Lake Champlain Chocolates suggested pairing chocolate and cheese for Valentine's Day, my interest was a little more than piqued.

At first I was a little stumped as to how best to mix the creamy, savory goat cheese with the richer, sweeter chocolate -- other than just snarfing them down separately, of course. I tried to think classier. Which made me realize that both since both cheese and chocolate get melty and even more awesome when warm, why not tuck all that awesomeness inside a pastry?

Booyah.

As with many of my recipes, this one is easy peasy, even though it makes quite an elegant impression. The pastry puffs up like you wouldn't believe, and while the goat cheese and rich chocolate does indeed, as I had hoped, get all melty and awesome in the center, there's not so much of it as to overwhelm the whole pastry effect. It's very less-is-more.

Green power smoothie (to share with your dog!)

Love your dogs? Then share this kale, spinach, peanut butter and banana green power smoothie with them for breakfast.

Yesssssss! I'm so excited to share this smoothie post with you because I assume that you, like me, are a crazy dog person. In a good way. Meaning you love dogs. So much so that you may have been known to cook for them.

Chicken jerky, sweet potato chips, doggie meatloaf -- all part of my cook-for-dogs-repertoire. But now I've got a doggie breakfast specialty as well, to round out Smoothie Week: a kale and spinach peanut butter smoothie that is not only for them, it's also for you!

This easy-to-make smoothie is loaded with healthy ingredients that are good for you but also good (and perfectly safe) for your favorite poochie. And the slightly larger portion size accommodates you both: pour a little bit (start with 1/4 cup for a medium-sized dog) into a bowl for your pal and save the rest for yourself.

Oatmeal breakfast smoothie

Swap your favorite morning oatmeal for a delicious, filling oatmeal breakfast smoothie, loaded with fruit and naturally sweetened.

Smoothie Week continues with this super-filling and delicious oatmeal breakfast smoothie.

Earlier this week, I got you prepped with all my best tips and tricks. Did you make some nut milk? And then turn it into ice? Freeze some bananas? Great: You're all set to whip up one of the yummiest, healthiest smoothies around.

If you're like me, breakfast can get to be a little boring after a while. It's tough to keep it creative every single morning, isn't it? And as much as I love love LOVE my morning oatmeal (especially when it cooks overnight in the slow cooker), I need to change things up so I don't get into a rut and grow weary of my faves.

Which is why I love that this oatmeal breakfast smoothie. It's basically my favorite morning oatmeal -- complete with a whole heap of good-for-you fruits, some natural protein and no refined sugar -- in a delicious, drinkable form.

Perhaps the best thing about this oatmeal breakfast smoothie is that it is incredibly filling. When I have one for breakfast, I never get the eleven o'clock munchies; it keeps me full and energized until it's time for lunch.

Chai spiced slow cooker steel cut oats

While I have been compensated for this chai spiced slow cooker steel cut oats recipe by #CollectiveBias and Quaker, all thoughts and opinions are my own. #MyOatsCreation

Easy overnight chai spiced slow cooker steel cut oats: an individually sized, ready-when-you-are breakfast, hearty enough to keep you satisfied until lunch and away from mid-morning snacks.

I love steel cut oats. While regular rolled oats are a staple in my pantry for recipes like baked oatmeal and peanut butter banana oatmeal muffins, I prefer the heartier and chewier steel cut oats, with their slightly nutty flavor, for my hot cereal breakfasts. But steel cut oats can take extra time to cook than quick oats -- and, if you're like me, you don't have a lot of extra time when you're trying to get up and out the door in the morning.

So when Quaker asked me to develop a recipe using steel cut oats to inspire you to consider oatmeal in a whole new way for 2015, I jumped at the chance and created this chai spiced slow cooker steel cut oat hot cereal. By using your slow cooker while you sleep, you can start enjoying a better-for-you breakfast of steel cut oats easily and without any extra effort -- in fact, with almost no effort at all.

The beauty of this whole grain oat breakfast recipe is that it is so easy. Firstly, there are only four ingredients and all of them are readily available at your local Target (as if you need an excuse to shop at Target, right?). Secondly, the recipe is super easy to prep and to cook, as it cooks itself in the slow cooker while you sleep! And thirdly, having a better-for-you whole-grain breakfast waiting for you when you get up is a real morning time-saver. No more excuses for not eating healthier breakfasts in 2015!

Pear and pecan spice muffins

You'll love the cardamom in these pear and pecan spice muffins, studded with bits of candied ginger. Enjoy the muffins for breakfast or an afternoon snack.

HOLLA: It's Detox January again! 

Regular readers know that Mr. Ninj and I engage in what we call Detox January every year. It's not as bad as it sounds; it's just a way to get back on track with the Way of Better Eating after the excesses of the holidays (yeah, I have no one to blame but myself for those Moonpie cookies). And I encourage you to play along at home.

Detox January is not some overly ambitious resolution that you know you won't be able to keep (new gym membership, anyone?); it's more like a short-term, mini resolution that you know you can achieve.

The rules are simple. For the entire month of January,

• Abstain from all alcohol (but if a recipe calls for a little bit, that's OK) -- we'll be drinking things like virgin marys rather than gimlets for cocktail hour to avoid all the extra calories
• Eat a bit healthier every day (I don't expect you to get all cray cray here -- just try to eat more veggies than cookies and keep your recipes more Cooking Light than Julia Child) 
• Exercise more than you did in December.

 
That's it. Simple, right?

And to show you that Detox January isn't some kind of scary juice cleanse or anything, I annually serve up a yummy baked good as the first recipe of the year. This year, it's lightened pear and pecan spice muffins, scented with cardamom and studded with bits of candied ginger.

Yes, a "detox" that involves muffins ... 'cause that's how The Ninj rolls.

Granola breakfast bread

Banish boring breakfasts by turning granola and cashew milk into a hearty, healthier granola breakfast bread that's super easy to make.

Coming up with different breakfast ideas every morning can get to be drag, am I right? And then qualify that as different breakfast ideas that aren't too rich or too unhealthy (I'm looking at you, cinnamon buns), and it gets harder, especially at holiday time.

I find I often fall back on overnight oatmeal or granola with almond milk,  because both give me a nice shot of protein, are filling and yummy and, best of all, are easy to prepare.

Recently, I got an opportunity to try Silk's new Cashewmilk (Mr. Ninj loves it when food shows up at our front door!), so I immediately used it for breakfast, poured over homemade granola. Good stuff, my peeps, especially since it's creamier than plain skim milk with fewer calories and more calcium to boot (who couldn't use fewer calories and more calcium?). Plus, I loved the mildly nutty flavor and how it complemented the granola.

Which gave me a great idea: why not turn this yummy granola and Cashewmilk combo into a quick bread? Booyah.

Honey almond loaves

Honey almond loaves, a healthier holiday treat sweetened only with organic honey and perfect for gift-giving. Enjoy for breakfast or dessert!

I love the holidays as much as the next gal -- probably more so, given the multiple trees I decorate in the house -- but the overeating and over-indulgent eating can be a drag. Well, not at the time, of course -- at the time, the food is too delicious so you just keep cramming it in your face.

But let's be real: I know that there's no way I'm not going to indulge in whatever sweet treats come my way this holiday season, via gift giving, holiday parties or family celebrations. (We save the not indulging for Detox January, remember?)

So what's a normally healthy-ish eater to do? This year, I'm giving these honey almond loaves, sweetened only with honey rather than lots of refined sugar.