let the food speak
February 23, 2011 To say that things are busy around here, would be an understatement. It’s all good busy though, so I can’t complain! However, I can complain that my brain feels like a pile of mush right now.
There are a lot of things I want to talk about soon, but currently don’t have the brainpower for…such as:
- my thoughts so far on the book, Eating Animals
- an article by Mark Bittman on McDonald’s oatmeal breakfast
- a new book I received to read + review, The Secrets of People Who Never Get Sick
- photography posts!!
- my workouts
- etc.etc.etc.
For now, all I’ve got is breakfast. And hummus. But not together.
I created a vanilla version of the fancified buckwheat bake. Completely delicious, in a non-chocoately way. However, it was still smothered in cocoa-nut almond butter and love grown foods cocoa goodness granola.
The texture was very similar to the cocoa version. It’s cake, meets muffin and definitely the healthiest breakfast I’ve ever consumed! I’ve been digging this texture much more than oats lately. I’ve been missing ground farro porridge terrrribly though. It’s the most amazing texture ever! I’m still not eating gluten, due to my detox, but will reintroduce it this coming Monday.
Ba-nilla Buckwheat Breakfast Bake [serves 1]
- 1/4c ground raw buckwheat flour [grind raw groats into powder]
- 1T raw buckwheat groats
- 1T chia seeds
- 1 flax egg [1T ground flax meal + 2.5T warm water, whisked] or 1 egg white
- 1/2 banana
- 2T unsweetened almond milk
- 1T maple syrup
- 3T chopped almonds
- 1/2t cinnamon
- 1.5t vanilla extract
- 1/4t almond extract
- 1/4t baking powder
Toppings:
- unsweetened shredded coconut
- cocoa-nut almond butter
- Love Grown Foods cocoa goodness granola
- Whisk flax egg and let sit for 5min.
- In a bowl mash the banana until egg-like.
- Whisk in milk, vanilla, almond extract and maple syrup.
- Mix in buckwheat flour, groats, chia seeds, cinnamon, almonds, + baking powder until well combined.
- Mix in flax egg until combined.
- Grease a microwave safe bowl, or dessert cup. I used a dab of coconut oil on my finger to grease.
- Cover with a paper towel and microwave about 1min30sec – 1min45sec.
- Eat out of the bowl with toppings, or flip out of the bowl onto a plate, top + scarf!
I haven’t made hummus in far too long and yesterday the idea struck me to make avocado hummus. I was thinking the extra dose of healthy fats would be a great addition as well as hoping for a super creamy consistency.
I added 2-3c spinach for a little extra green kick and for the nutrients, of course. ;)
When making hummus, or nut butter, etc. it’s extremely easy to make 2 variations at the same time. Use all of the ingredients you want to include in both versions. So, if you wanted 1/2 with avocado and 1/2 without, make the plain hummus, then scoop out half, add your avocado and make the 2nd version.
2 options are better than one!
Avocado Hummus
- 1can garbanzo beans [or 1.5c cooked], reserve liquid
- 1/4-1/3c bean liquid [cooking liquid, or veggie stock]
- 2 medium cloves garlic
- 1/4c tahini
- 1/2t salt
- fresh ground black pepper to taste
- 1/4c fresh lemon juice
- 1 small/medium avocado
- 2-3c spinach
- In a food processor, process garlic.
- Add in beans, 1/4c bean liquid, tahini, salt, pepper, avocado and lemon juice.
- Process, scraping when necessary, until almost fully smooth.
- Add spinach and process until desired consistency is met. Add more liquid if desired.
My lunch consisted of spoonful upon spoonful of hummus with a side of carrots….and cocoa crunch cereal.
A side of carrots, which more hummus. For this smoked avocado hummus version, all I did was scoop out half the original hummus, then added 1t smoked paprika and processed until combined.
Smokey deliciousness!
A lot of hummus was consumed straight from the food processor and over half the batch of cereal was consumed before it made it to the bowl with milk.
Time to turn my brain off, watch Modern Family, then crash into bed.
Niiight!
Ashley
Reader Comments (94)
Those pictures are GORGEOUS!!! And I want some of that avocado hummus STAT! :)
Thanks for the comment on my blog about the farro porridge! I feel a little bit like I'm recipe stalking you though...first the kale pesto and now the farro porridge.
And I won't lie. I bought amaranth when I went bulk bins shopping this afternoon. Don't know when I'll have time to give popping it a try, but I'm looking forward to it. I love cereal so much, but I try not to buy it because I eat the whole box in like 2 or 3 days because it always takes more than one serving to fill me up!
Haha, I recipe stalk Ashley too! No worries. I'm sure she doesn't mind. Riiight Ash?~ :) I think it's because I love experimenting with new things too, esp. flours+grains
I've tried spinach hummus before and didn't like it but avocado hummus sounds great! I made your buckwheat cinnamon raisin (or something like that :p) bake yesterday and made anybars of it, they're great!
you are so creative with your meals. i love it! anytime i'm in a food rut, i know i can come here and find something good to spice things up. thanks!
The avo hummus, looks wonderful.
But i am still stuck back on the cocoa-nut almond butter, granola, and buckwheat bake. Oh my!
Good luck w/ your gluten re-intro. I hope that it goes well for you. When i reintro'ed gluten after being off it for about 6 mos, it did not go so well. Just a piece of toast sent me into a tailspin so I hope your reintro goes great...and hopefully you are NOT gluten intolerant and can partake in gluten foods again :)
I've seen many hummuses in my life, but never avocado and I have no idea why! That looks incredible!
I read that article about McDonald's oatmeal yesterday. I've been outraged at that company for years, but seriously, the nutritional info on their oatmeal is ridiculous. Sometimes I get so fired up about that kind of stuff.
I just ran out of vanilla today. Luckily my aunt is bringinb me back 2 one litre bottles of it from Mexico!!!
I am with you on the crazy busy. I am glad things are all good for you when it comes to the busy stuff. Hopefully last night was relaxing and you will have some calmness today too! The bake and hummus look delicious!
I want that avocado hummus!
I made avocado hummus a few weeks ago and loved it! I figured I was always putting avocados and hummus on my sandwich separately, so I might as well mix them together!!
I am interested to hear your thoughts on Eating Animals, I just read it and felt a little lost on what I thought about it. Way too much info in that book!
Avocado hummus?!?! Why didn't I think of that? Sounds incredible! Oh, and I am making a batch of your socca crackers today or tomorrow. I will let you know how they turn out!!
xo
Never thought to use avocados for hummus, but yours looks amazing! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on Eating Animals. It's on my book to do list.
Love your blog. Look forward to reading it every day:)
I love the idea of adding avocado!! I should try that next batch (aka tomorrow). I've been making a batch a day, totally fine - it is always gone by the next day!
I feel like you made the hummus just for meeeeeeeeee! You know I love healthy fats AND hummus! :)
Ahhh! That may be the perfect hummus! There are so many different hummus flavors out there but I've never heard of this one. It sounds like it'd be really smooth and creamy, and that's how I like it.
I wish I had seen this new version before I made myself a cocoa one this morning! Can't wait to try itout tomorrow (I'm an addict). By the way, I highly suggest taking a few chocolate chips (6-8) and pressing them into the top of the bake as soon as you take it out of the oven/microwave and then add toppings. There will be gooey melty chocolate surprises!
I also can't wait to hear your thoughts on Eating Animals. Ive been wanting to reread it lately. I don't agree completely with everything he says but I thought it was very good.
That article about McDonalds oatmeal is eye-opening. I mean, I never guessed that it would have been very good for you, but to have so much extra crap in it? Yikes. Goes to show you that you can never ever trust anything that comes out of a fast food joint, no matter how much they try to insist about something "healthiness" or "naturalness." Real food that's good for you is SLOW FOOD! Just like all the amazing stuff you make...:)
That's it! I have seen one too many breakfast bakes now that have made my mouth water. I am making one this weekend, because if I don't, I may end up licking my computer screen and I don't think my colleagues would like that. Ohhh...and my mom just bought me some chocolate peanut butter. A breakfast bake plan is forming in my head right now.
ahhh I'm so excited to make your hummus recipe - love the idea of adding spinach and avocado! Looks delish!
Everything looks LOVELY, just wonderful. Just delicious.
I've tried store-bought avocado hummus before and looved it, so thanks for providing a recipe to make at home!
Every single morning I lust after your buckwheat bake. Why I haven't made one yet is beyond me!
McDonald's ruined oatmeal, the sad thing is people will probably order it thinking it's the "healthy" choice.
Those recipes look amazing. I can't wait to try the buckwheat back...I finally found buckwheat groats so that is on the recipe list this weekend.
I'll look forward to your thoughts on eating animals - I am 3/4 of the way through the book. It is very eye opening - just wish I could get my husband to read it!
im looking forward to your "eating animals" post and thoughts about it! i have to go check out the oatmeal article
I love the addition of spinach to my hummus! Avocado would make it extra creamy, yum! Hope your head doesn't explode Ashley :)
Hummus + guacamole = heaven! Fantastic idea to add in some avocado to the hummus. I must make this :).
Avocado hummus sounds soooo good. Creamy and all those healthy fats. Good thinkin, Lincoln!
Pea D is reading Eating Animals right now too. Maybe I can write discussion questions for you guys ;)
I recently made Carrot Hummus! You can basically put anything in there with garbanzos!
Your food seriously looks so beautiful all the time! LOVE IT. you should do a photo session at this year's Healthy Living Summit!
I thought you should know I nominated you for the Women's Health Blogs We Love contest (http://www.womenshealthmag.com/features/blogcontest). Here's my 50-word nomination:
"Ashley's blog was the very first 'food blog' I stumbled upon. She balances helpful information, delicious, healthy recipes, and beautiful photography. Not only is it evident that she loves food and living an active lifestyle, but readers can see that her life is truly healthy and happy. What an inspiration!"
Avocado Hummus?!?! I had some of this stuff before (store bought) and LOVED it... but it was in Tennessee, have never seen it in WI always wanted to make a homemade version but never got around to it... besides eating guac and hummus together hahaha... looks great :)
Avacado Hummus! I have a wrap that I make with Hummus and Gacamole and now I can just make this! Question, I recently tried to make hummus for the first time and wondered, is the tahini supposed to taste really bitter? I made a batch of hummus and it tasted really bitter so I tasted the tahini seperately and it was really bitter. Maybe I got a bad jar?? Thoughts anyone?
I read that article on McDonald's oatmeal too per Kath's recommendation. It was really interesting and only reaffirmed why I won't go there in the first place. Boo McDonald's!
thank you for getting back to me about the subs for either the banana, applesauce and pumpkin. I really love bananas! However I am a creature of habit and love bananas in my scottish oats for breakfast! I was trying to come up with a way to use a bake for lunch without having to have another big banana for the day. If you come up with any ideas I would be happy to try it!!
Thanks again!
Heather
woah -- you combined guacamole and hummus ! It looks like the perfect marriage to me.
I've been living off red lentil hummus lately, or swaping tahini with cashew butter in regular hummus. It's been troubling how fast I eat it!
That Hummus recipe looks delicious! I never thought about making avocado hummus! Great idea!
I got to try that breakfast bake!!!
Mark's article is fantastic. I read it yesterday and found myself nodding with each line I read. It's absolutely ridiculous that there aren't rules around being truthful to what's in the products we're buying.
Just this morning I blogged about a video I found on blueberries in products like prepackaged bagels, muffins and cereals and how many of the products don't actually contain blueberries at all, but petrochemicals and red and blue food coloring. Awesome.
Us nutritionists cannot work fast enough to warn everyone of the dangers out there!
I'm looking forward to reading your views on Mark's article and your thoughts on the McDonalds oatmeal. Luckily we don't have it in Canada, but Tim Hortons has something very, very similar.
The combination of avocado and hummus is incredible!!! You have potentially created a new favorite snack food for me...
Gorgeous recipe as usual and wud luve to try this version.
I made Hummus the other day, too! It did not look as pretty as this, though. And I really need to find some Tahini paste, stat! I've never seen it...
I have been making all kinds of ridiculous hummus lately, and this has definitely just made the list! :)
Really? It's in jars by peanut butter, or in the larger whole foods you can buy it in the bulk aisle by the fresh ground peanut butter. You can definitely get it in bulk at cherry creek! I don't really like it on it's own..but it's crucial to good hummus!
Avocado hummus sounds amazing! Great pics! :)
That is 100% disgusting. I never knew that. I wrote an post about organic vs. non organic strawberries, last year, that you might enjoy! http://edibleperspective.com/2010/05/really-important/
I wasn't sure if you were asking if applesauce or pumpkin would work or if you didn't want to use any of those. Applesauce + pumpkin would definitely work! I'm thinking 3T of yogurt would work as well.
It does taste bitter, unless it has salt in it. :) My hummus never seems to taste bitter though. Did you add salt and other seasonings?