As a thank you to a handful of friends who were so supportive during the stress of my renovations, I wanted to organise a brunch to show my appreciation of their generosity, kindness, patience and friendship.

When I asked about any dietary requirements one of my guests let me know about her restrictions. My plan was to make/organise a few things separate and just for her, but then I thought why not we all just eat DF, GF and EF?!

When entertaining, I like to keep things as simple as possible. I don’t see the point of having people around if you’re just going to slave in the kitchen followed by all the cleaning up. So I wanted a recipe that I could make ahead and serve once my friends arrived.

I know lots of people love my traditional Bircher Muesli recipe as well as my Spiced Quinoa Porridge, so why not amalgamate the two ideas and create a Quinoa Bircher Muesli that ticks all the boxes!

It’s absolutely delicious served with My Favourite Homemade Granola (just replace the oats for quinoa flakes or extra coconut flakes for GF) with fresh or poached pears, a dollop of coconut yoghurt and a drizzle of raw honey. Or, with a mix of pistachios and pecans, fig, pomegranate and/or berries and a drizzle of date syrup. Yum!

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Quinoa Bircher Muesli

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes

Total Time 20 minutes

Servings 2

Author Brenda Janschek

Ingredients

• 1 cup white quinoa rinse very well to remove bitter saponins
• 2 cups water
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon cardamon
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract or ground vanilla bean powder
• 1 tablespoon raw honey
• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice approximately juice from 1 small orange
• 1 apple grated
• 1/2 cup coconut yoghurt use dairy yoghurt if not dairy free

Instructions

• Place quinoa, water, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom and vanilla in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer. Gently simmer without lid, stirring occasionally, for 12-15 minutes until liquid is absorbed.
• Remove from heat and cover and let sit for 5 minutes. Stir through honey.
• Transfer to a bowl and allow to cool for 5-8 minutes.
• Add the apple, orange juice, yoghurt and stir to combine
• Pop into the fridge overnight then serve with poached or fresh fruit, granola or nuts and seeds, some extra yoghurt and a drizzle of your sweetener of your choice if you like.

This Chocolate Porridge is made with rolled oats and cacao and is rich, creamy and delicious and guaranteed to hit the spot. Not too sweet, easy and quick to make, great for snack leftovers or breakfast the next day, and full of nutritious ingredients packed full of fibre, magnesium, whole grains, and antioxidants.

I make mine vegan and dairy-free by using almond milk and I just love it with a teaspoon of peanut butter swirled in at the end, then topped with lots of different textures like berries, banana, coconut flakes, nuts and seeds and buckinis ….The options are endless!

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Chocolate Porridge

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Servings 2

Ingredients

• 1 cup rolled oats
• 2 cups your choice of milk I used almond milk
• 1/2 cup filtered water
• pinch sea salt
• 2 tbsp raw cacao mixed with 2 tablespoons hot water
• 1.5 tbsp maple syrup or you can use rapadura or coconut sugar
• 1/2 tspn vanilla extract

Instructions

• Pour the milk and 1/2 cup water into a saucepan. Add the oats and sea salt and bring to boil. Reduce to a light simmer and stir occasionally for 5 minutes.
• Whilst this is cooking, add the cacoa powder and 2 tablespoons hot water into a small bowl and mix to create a smooth paste.
• Add the cacoa paste, maple syrup and vanilla extract, to the oats. Mix well to combine and keep simmering for 5 minutes, mixing occasionally so the porridge doesn't stick to the bottom of the saucepan. Take off the heat but leave covered for a few more minutes to achieve more creaminess.

Notes

If the porridge is too thick for you liking just add extra liquid, a little at a time.

Adjust sweetener as necessary to suit your tastebuds.

You can also add in half a mashed banana for extra, natural sweetness in the last 5 minutes.

See my comments above for my favourite healthy topping ideas. 

This porridge is even tastier the next day so be sure to make extra for leftovers! 

If you make this recipe and share on instagram, remember to tag me @brendajanschek.

Otherwise feel free to pm me your photos via Facebook.

If you’re looking for more recipe inspiration, take a look at my recipe ebook getting rave reviews, Easy Wholefood Lunchboxes.

It’s packed with 40 delicious nut-free, refined sugar free sweet and savoury recipes which have all been kid-tested and approved!

Other breakfast recipes you might like:

Berry Smoothie Bowl

Strawberry and Coconut Crumble 

Golden Honey and Ricotta Wraps

Delicious and creamy. Sweet, satisfying, and quick! How healthy are these bowls really?

Smoothie bowls are fruit-based which means while it’s all-natural sugar they can contain far more servings of fruit than you’d typically eat in one sitting. In its blended form, the fructose hits the bloodstream quickly and all at once. All that fructose can spike insulin and get you riding the blood sugar roller coaster.

And because smoothie bowls are carbohydrate-based you can end up hungry again very soon after.

The trick is to make sure there is enough protein, fat, and fibre to balance out the carbs and get a slower release and stable breakdown in the body.  This is why I always recommend including things like nuts, seeds, yogurt, and protein powder to slow down that fast release.

Smoothie bowls topped with lots of fruit are popular and make the bowl look very pretty and Instagram worthy but I try to limit the fruit toppings for more fat and protein-based toppings like nuts, seeds coconut flakes or shreds and my homemade granola.

The same goes for your regular ol’ smoothies like this Choc-Banana Nut Butter Smoothie and Ginger Mint and Green Apple Smoothie. 

In the recipe below you’ll see how I make my smoothie bowls with one of our favourite combinations.

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Berry Smoothie Bowl

Prep Time 5 minutes

Servings 1

Author Brenda Janschek

Ingredients

• 1 cup your favourite frozen berries or you can replace berries for frozen mango
• 1 banana, frozen and sliced
• ¼ cup mixed raw cashews and chia seeds or macadamias and almonds work well too
• 2 tbsp natural or Greek yoghurt
• 1 scoop protein powder optional
• 1/2 cup ice
• 1/4 cup milk of choice add extra if needed

Toppings

• 2-3 tbsp homemade granola
• 1 tbsp coconut flakes or shredded coconut
• fruit sliced paw paw, banana, berries or your fruit of choice (optional)
• 1 tsp chia seeds
• 1 tbs peanut butter optional

Instructions

• Blend up nuts and seeds until smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend on low until smooth
• Serve into bowls with toppings

If you’re looking for more recipe inspiration take a look at my ebook, Easy Wholefood Lunchboxes. It’s packed with 40 delicious nut-free, refined sugar free sweet and savoury recipes which have all been kid-tested and approved and take the guess work out of what delicious, healthy food to make your kids for lunch!

If you make this recipe and share on instagram, remember to tag me @brendajanschek.

Otherwise feel free to pm me your photos via Facebook.

Other recipes you might like are Anti-oxidant Smoothie and Super Smoothie. 

The recipe is filled with nutritious ingredients including mood-boosting cocoa powder and protein packed peanut butter. Plus, they are naturally sweetened with medjool dates instead of refined sugar. Bliss balls always make the perfect healthy treat for when those sugar cravings hit. They’re a great snack for on-the-go and the perfect pick-me-up for anyone in the family who needs a nice boost of slow burning energy.

We’ve always got a batch of bliss balls going like these 5 minute apple and cinnamon bliss balls, Cookie Dough Energy Balls, Chocolate Orange Truffles and now these Chocolate Peanut Butter Bliss Balls will be on high request because the kids have declared them their fave.

If you’re looking for more recipe inspiration take a look at my ebook, Easy Wholefood Lunchboxes. It’s packed with 40 delicious nut-free, refined sugar free sweet and savoury recipes which have all been kid-tested and approved and take the guess work out of what delicious, healthy food to make your kids for lunch!

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Bliss Balls

Prep Time 10 minutes

Servings 12

Ingredients

• 125 grams Medjool dates, pitted
• 2 tablespoons Cacao powder
• 2 tablespoons Peanut butter
• 3/4 cup Mixed nuts and seeds I used pepitas, chia seeds, brazil nuts, almonds, hazelnuts and cashews
• 1/2 cup Desiccated coconut plus extra for rolling
• 1-2 tablespoons Brown rice syrup or maple syrup (optional) dates may provide enough sweetness

Instructions

• Pop all ingredients into a food processor and blend until all the ingredients clump together. Scoop around a tablespoon at a time and roll into a ball and roll in desiccated coconut if desired or leave plain. Should make around 12 balls. Store in the fridge.

Notes

I always double the recipe for bliss balls because they keep so well in the freezer. If you double this recipes then it becomes easy to add more variety of nuts and seeds too. 

If you make this recipe and share on instagram, remember to tag me @brendajanschek.

Otherwise feel free to pm me your photos via Facebook.

Once you’ve given this recipe a go, try a different combo of Notella and Banana Wraps. Yum!

Get the kids in the kitchen to help make them!

Many of the ingredients in this recipe can be sourced from my one-stop-favourite, organic wholefoods online store, The Wholefood Collective. They go to great lengths to ensure everything they source is amazing quality, they stock all my favorite products and I don’t even have to leave the house! Oh, and the cherry on the cake is they donate profits to improve food security for vulnerable Aussies.

Here are some of the ingredients you’ll need:

Raw Honey
Nut butter
Cinnamon
Coconut Oil

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Golden Honey & Ricotta Wraps

Author Brenda Janschek

Ingredients

• 8 slices of Mountain Bread
• Raw Honey
• Fresh Ricotta
• Banana sliced
• Nut butter
• Cinnamon
• Coconut oil ghee or butter for frying

Instructions

• Lie Mountain Bread on kitchen counter
• Spread honey and nut butter at the end of each slice
• Next spread the ricotta cheese
• Place slices of banana on top
• Sprinkle with cinnamon
• Roll it up remembering to fold in the ends as you go
• Heat coconut oil, ghee or butter in large frying pan on medium heat, when hot fry the rolls for approx 3 minutes each side or until lightly golden.

TO SERVE

• Allow to cool slightly and serve warm with a side of sliced fruit or berries

If you’re looking for more recipe inspiration take a look at my popular ebook, Easy Wholefood Lunchboxes.

It’s packed with 40 delicious nut-free, refined sugar-free, sweet and savoury recipes that have all been kid-tested and approved, and take the guesswork out of what delicious, healthy food to pack your kids for lunch!

If you make this recipe and share on instagram, remember to tag me @brendajanschek.

Otherwise, feel free to pm me your photos via Facebook.

Some other easy breakfast ideas you might like are Gingerbread Smoothie and Brenda’s Big Batch Bircher Muesli. 

Crumble weather arrived back in Sydney this week, so I made a Strawberry Crumble on the weekend and each night we’ve been comforted by the rich, sticky strawberries topped with a toasty, tasty crust. It’s delicious served with cream, ice-cream or custard.

And yes, it’s my third crumble recipe on the blog so you could say #addicted

But seriously, I reckon it’s just about one of the healthiest dessert you can make, full of wholesome, real food ingredients like oats, butter, desiccated coconut, strawberries and just a small amount of natural sugar.

And it’s great for breakfast, dessert and what a lovely little surprise it makes in the kiddies lunchboxes.

If you’re looking for more recipe inspiration, take a look at my new recipe ebook which is getting rave reviews, Easy Wholefood Lunchboxes.

It’s packed with 40 delicious nut-free, refined sugar free sweet and savoury recipes which have all been kid-tested and approved!

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Strawberry and Coconut Crumble

Prep Time 10 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 10

Author Brenda Janschek

Ingredients

• 750 grams strawberries hulled and diced into quarters
• 3/4 cup wholemeal flour
• 3/4 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 desiccated coconut
• 1/3 cup rapadura sugar plus 1 tablespoon extra to mix with the strawberries
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• pinch sea salt
• 1/2 cup cold unsalted butter diced (a little extra if crumble appears a little dry)
• Coconut flakes flaked almonds or chopped cashews or walnuts for topping (optional, but I like the added crunch it gives)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 200 C. Lightly grease a shallow baking pan.
• Mix strawberries with 1 tablespoon rapadura sugar and put into baking pan.
• Combine flour, oats, coconut, sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.
• Add butter and using fingertips, rub butter into flour mixture until mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
• Add vanilla extract and stir through.
• Sprinkle over strawberry mixture, pressing down slightly.
• Sprinkle with coconut flakes, almond flakes or chopped nuts
• Bake for approx 20 minutes or until top is golden.

If you make this recipe please do take photos and send them to me.

If you share them on instagram, remember to tag me @brendajanschek. Otherwise feel free to pm me your photos via Facebook. I get a total kick out of seeing you bring my recipes to life. 

And remember, if you haven’t already, grab your copy of Easy Wholefood Lunchboxes here.

Here are my other delicious crumble recipes for you to check out Pear and Ginger Crumble and Apple Crumble Slice. Or you might like these Strawberry and Yoghurt Muffins.

Bren x

The warming spices in this creamy Gingerbread Smoothie provide so much comfort against the rain and cold. Not to mention it’s oh so nutrient dense!

It’s high in fibre, protein, and calcium, and a good source of vitamin C (banana) and iron (molasses and chia seeds), protecting our immune system and keeping us healthy and strong.

And because of the blended nature of smoothies they are really gentle on our digestion which makes it that much easier for our bodies to assimilate and utilise all the nutrients.

This Gingerbread Smoothie can be enjoyed for breakfast, as a snack, or packed in an insulated drink container and sent to school.

If you’re looking for some lunch inspiration, take a look at my recipe ebook,  Easy Wholefood Lunchboxes. It’s packed with 40 delicious nut-free, refined sugar free sweet and savoury recipes which have all been kid-tested and approved!

Many of the ingredients in this recipe can be sourced from my one-stop-favourite, organic wholefoods online store, The Wholefood Collective. They go to great lengths to ensure everything they source is amazing quality, they stock all my favorite products and I don’t even have to leave the house! Oh and the cherry on the cake is they donate profits to improve food security for vulnerable Aussies.

Here are some of the ingredients you’ll need:

Cinnamon powder
Ginger powder
Cardamom powder
Nutmeg Powder
Chia Seeds
Oats

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Gingerbread Smoothie

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 2 minutes

Total Time 7 minutes

Servings 1

Author Brenda Janschek

Ingredients

• 1 cup milk of choice I used unsweetened almond milk
• 1 large banana
• ¼ cup cashews
• 1 teaspoon chia seeds
• ¼ cup rolled oats
• 1 tablespoon yoghurt optional
• 2 teaspoons maple syrup or 2 Medjool dates
• 1 teaspoon blackstrap molasses
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 x 1 cm fresh ginger peeled
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
• ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract or powder
• pinch of allspice
• pinch nutmeg

Instructions

• Pop all the ingredients into a blender, blend for a couple minutes or until smooth

Notes

I like to let the smoothie sit for 5-10 minutes to allow the chia seeds to swell and thicken the smoothie. You can also store this smoothie in the fridge.

If you make this smoothie please do take photos and send them to me.

If you share them on instagram, remember to tag me @brendajanschek. Otherwise feel free to pm me your photos via Facebook. I get a total kick out of seeing you bring my recipes to life.

Some other warming recipes you might like

7 Soups To Soothe the Soul
10 Warm and Hot Meals to Pack for School Lunches

Bren x

The netball representative carnivals are high intensity. They involve 7-8 half games in one day, preparing the girls for the big finale that is the 3-day State Netball Championships!

The players aren’t really that hungry throughout the day, which is natural as they’re keeping their energy for playing, not digesting, but they still need to eat and drink to help prevent fatigue, keep them focused and keep their energy steady.

In our Under 13’s age group, at the coaches request (yay!), all the parents pitch in to make sure there is an array of healthy snacks and food for the girls to eat between games.

Small protein and carb snacks are ideal which was how these Cookie Dough Energy Balls were born. As well as the fact my daughter’s main motivation to bake weekly is the allure of eating the leftover batter in the bowl at the end!

The combination of ingredients provide the perfect boost for the girls, all wrapped up in delicious, easy-to- eat little bites.

I have made a few batches of this since I created the recipe a couple of weeks ago and I can’t keep my kids hands off them (or mine!).

While most of us won’t be able to pack these in our school lunchboxes due to the nuts, my Easy Wholefood Lunchboxes recipe ebook is filled with nut free sweet and savoury recipes, like Apricot, Orange and Coconut Bliss Balls and Chocolate Tahini Oat Bites …

Many of the ingredients in this recipe can be sourced from my one-stop-favourite, organic wholefoods online store, The Wholefood Collective. They go to great lengths to ensure everything they source is amazing quality, they stock all my favorite products and I don’t even have to leave the house! Oh and the cherry on the cake is they donate profits to improve food security for vulnerable Aussies.

Here are some of the ingredients you’ll need:

Rolled oats
Desiccated coconut
White chia seeds
Almond meal
Peanut butter
Raw honey
Milk
Sea salt
Vanilla extract
Dark chocolate chips

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Cookie Dough Energy Balls

Prep Time 15 minutes

Author Brenda Janschek

Ingredients

• 1 cups rolled oats or you can just use oat flour
• 1/2 cup desiccated coconut
• 1 tablespoon white chia seeds optional
• 1 cup almond meal
• 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1/4 cup raw honey
• 1 tablespoon milk I used almond milk
• pinch sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ cup unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup mini dark-chocolate chips

Instructions

• In a food processor, grind oats, coconut and chia seeds (if using), until finely ground.
• Add peanut butter, honey, almond meal, salt, vanilla, butter and milk. Process again until it's all mixed together well.
• Stir through choc chips
• Roll tablespoons of the dough into balls, if rolling proves difficult, press into balls using the palm of your hand.
• Store in refrigerator. Can be frozen.

Notes

Time Saving Tip: Alternatively you can line a shallow square or rectangular baking tin with baking paper and press the dough into the tin, pop in freezer to set, then cut into bars.

If you’re looking for more recipe inspiration, take a look at my new recipe ebook which is getting rave reviews, Easy Wholefood Lunchboxes.

It’s packed with 40 delicious nut-free, refined sugar free sweet and savoury recipes which have all been kid-tested and approved!

If you make this recipe please do take photos and send them to me.

If you share them on instagram, remember to tag me @brendajanschek. Otherwise feel free to pm me your photos via Facebook. I get a total kick out of seeing you bring my recipes to life.

Other similar recipes you might like are Raw Cacao Balls  and Chocolate Orange Truffles

Bren x