THE REAL DEAL OATMEAL
Serves 4
Scottish oatmeal is made the ancient way, by stone grinding whole oat groats into a coarse meal (hence the name oatmeal). The process yields a whole-grain product with its germ, oil, and fiber intact. You’ll find Scottish oatmeal in the cereal aisle at many large markets, most health food stores, and online.
3 cups water
Dash of salt
1 cup Scottish oatmeal
2 bananas, peeled and sliced
½ cup raw or roasted cashews
½ cup blueberries
¼ cup roasted unsalted pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
Maple syrup, for drizzling (optional)
1. Bring the water and salt to a boil in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the oatmeal, reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and let stand for 2 minutes.
2. Mix in the bananas and cashews.
3. Divide among four serving bowls. Sprinkle each with blueberries and pumpkin seeds and drizzle with maple syrup, if desired.
Food groups: protein (cashews), carbohydrate (oatmeal), fruit (blueberries, bananas), vegetable (pumpkin seeds)
PEANUT-PINEAPPLE RICE
Serves 4–6
If I see cooked rice in front of me, my first instinct is to stick a big spoon of peanut butter in it and stir it up. I’ll even intervene if someone at my table at an Asian restaurant suggests leaving behind what’s left of the ubiquitous bowl of steamed or fried rice.
“No, I’ll take it home and eat it tomorrow with peanut butter,” I will say.
I love the flavor combination of peanut and rice. Turns out, it’s hereditary. My parents liked it, my grandfather liked it, and both he and his sister Grace would recount how their own grandmother, Ellen G. White, was fond of it. Just a simple bowl of hot rice with peanut butter stirred into it.
Here’s a recipe that’s a bit fancier than that, but it honors those flavors.
4 cups water, divided
2 cups uncooked brown rice
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 scallions, chopped
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons tomato paste
¼ cup creamy peanut butter
2 cups fresh pineapple chunks
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
1. Bring 3 cups of the water to a boil in a saucepan, add the rice, stir, cover, reduce the heat to low, and cook for about 30 minutes, or until all the water is absorbed. Remove from the heat and let rest for 10 minutes, covered, then fluff with a fork.
2. Heat the oil in a small saucepan, add the onions, and stir for 1 minute. Add the soy sauce, tomato paste, and the remaining 1 cup of water and stir to blend.
3. Add the peanut butter and stir for 1 minute until a smooth sauce is formed.
4. Add the pineapple chunks to the cooked rice and stir to combine.
5. Place the rice in a serving bowl and pour the peanut sauce over the top. Sprinkle with the chopped cilantro.
Food groups: protein (peanut butter), carbohydrate (brown rice), fruit (pineapple, tomato paste), vegetable (scallion, cilantro)
BUCKWHEAT GRIDDLE CAKES WITH CRUSHED STRAWBERRIES
Serves 4–8 (makes 8 griddle cakes)
After you’ve feasted on these, you’ll never look at plain pancakes in quite the same way. In fact, you probably won’t bother looking at plain pancakes at all.
2 cups whole-grain buckwheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups unsweetened almond milk
¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
24 fresh strawberries, crushed
¼ cup toasted slivered almonds (see Note)
1 cup fresh mint leaves
1. In mixing bowl, whisk the flour and baking powder. Add the almond milk and applesauce and stir to combine. Allow the batter to rest for 10 minutes.
2. Coat a frying pan with cooking spray and heat over medium heat. For each griddle cake, pour ¼ cup batter into the pan and cook until the edges are firm and bubbles appear on the surface (2–3 minutes), then flip and cook until done (about 2 minutes). Repeat for each additional griddle cake.
3. To serve, spoon crushed strawberries over each griddle cake, sprinkle with toasted almond slivers, and garnish with mint leaves.
Food groups: protein (almonds), carbohydrate (buckwheat flour), fruit (applesauce, strawberries), vegetable (mint)
NOTE: To toast almonds or any other nuts or seeds, stir constantly in a dry pan over medium heat until they just start to brown. Remove the pan immediately from the heat and continue to stir constantly for 1 minute, then pour into a shallow dish to cool.
THE SUPER BOWL
Serves 1
I always keep lots of fresh fruit and greens and nuts in the kitchen, and this recipe is one of the reasons why. It’s so easy to put together, so beautiful to look at, and so good to eat. It’s one of my favorite breakfasts.
¼ cup raw old-fashioned (rolled) oats
½ cup fresh strawberries, cut into quarters
1 small apple, unpeeled, chopped
1 small juicy orange, peeled and sectioned
1 small banana, peeled and cut into thick slices
½ cup fresh cilantro leaves, cut into strips
2 seedless dates, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped raw walnuts
1 tablespoon ground flaxseed meal
1 tablespoon unsweetened coconut flakes
1. Combine the oats, strawberries, chopped apple, and orange segments with all their juice, and mix well.
2. Mix in the banana slices, cilantro leaves, dates, and nuts.
3. Sprinkle with the flaxseed meal and coconut flakes and serve.
Food groups: protein (walnuts, flaxseed), carbohydrate (oats), fruit (orange, apple, banana, strawberries, dates, coconut), vegetable (cilantro)
ELLEN G. WHITE’S FAVORITE BREAKFAST: COOKED WHEAT BERRIES WITH FRUIT AND NUTS
Serves 4–6
My great-great-grandmother loved hot whole-grain cereal served in a bowl with fresh cream. Wheat, oats, rice, millet, cornmeal—all varieties of grain were to her liking. She also insisted on several kinds of fresh fruit with the morning meal. And nuts. She was crazy about nuts. She bought almonds by the hundred-pound bag!
Here’s her original recipe for a breakfast dish for four to six people that combines wheat berries, fresh fruits, and almonds. Wheat berries are entire wheat kernels with the bran, germ, and endosperm intact. They are readily available at health food stores and online.
My great-great-grandmother had her wheat berries cooked the old-fashioned way, brought to a boil in a pot of water, and then left to soak in the tightly covered hot water overnight. They would be ready to eat in the morning. But the same result can be achieved in much less time by bringing the wheat berries to a boil, lowering the heat, and cooking for about an hour until tender.
2 cups whole wheat berries
6 cups water
1 cup dates, pitted and chopped
½ cup raisins
¼ cup slivered almonds
Soy or almond milk (optional)
1. Combine wheat berries and water in a pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to low and cook, covered, for 50–60 minutes, until tender.
2. Drain and divide the cooked wheat berries among 4–6 serving bowls. Top each with banana slices, dates, raisins, and almonds.
3. Add a splash of soy milk, if desired.
Food groups: protein (almonds), carbohydrate (wheat berries), fruit (bananas, dates, raisins), vegetable (soy milk)
TIP: Ellen G. White liked to pour fresh dairy cream over her cereal, but it’s easy to turn this dish vegan by substituting soy or almond milk.
MUSH ’N’ SHROOMS
Serves 4–6
Making polenta is easy. It’s basically just cornmeal mush. Stir-frying some mushrooms is easy, too. Now, what happens when you combine polenta and stir-fried mushrooms? Wow, it’s easily one of the best breakfast dishes you’ll ever eat. You might start making it for lunch and dinner, too!
FOR THE POLENTA:
3 cups soy milk
1 cup whole-grain cornmeal
Pinch of salt
3 tablespoons dairy-free butter spread (see Note)
FOR THE MUSHROOMS:
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons dairy-free butter spread
1 teaspoon ground sage
1 teaspoon ground rosemary
1 pound mixed fresh mushrooms (such as cremini, portobello, shiitake, porcini, or chanterelle), coarsely chopped
¼ cup vegetable broth or water
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
¼ teaspoon black pepper
TO MAKE THE POLENTA:
1. In a medium-size pan, bring the soy milk to a simmer over medium heat.
2. Slowly stir in the cornmeal, add the salt, and reduce the heat to low. Cook, stirring often to prevent sticking, for 30–40 minutes, until the polenta is creamy and tender.
3. Remove from the heat, stir in the dairy-free butter spread, and set aside for a few minutes to thicken.
TO MAKE THE MUSHROOMS:
1. Combine the olive oil, dairy-free butter spread, sage, rosemary, and garlic powder in a large skillet and stir over medium heat until the butter spread is melted and the mixture is smooth.
2. Add the mushrooms, stir to coat, increase the heat to high, and cook until the mushrooms begin to brown, 3–4 minutes.
3. Add the vegetable broth, stir well, and then remove from the heat.
4. Add the vinegar, stir well, and sprinkle with the black pepper.
TO SERVE:
1. Transfer the prepared polenta to a serving dish and top with the mushrooms.
Food groups: protein (soy milk), carbohydrate (polenta), vegetable (mushrooms)
NOTE: Dairy-free butter spread is available in the dairy aisle of many large markets and health food stores.
MONKEY-BUNNY CAKE
Serves 6–8
The monkey was in the kitchen getting ready to make monkey bread with bananas when all of a sudden the bunny showed up and offered to help. Naturally, the bunny had brought carrots and wanted to add them to the mix. The result was Monkey-Bunny Cake!
What, you’ve never heard this story? Well, it’s not surprising, because I just made it up. I made up this recipe, too. It’s really good. It goes great with your morning coffee.
2 cups whole-grain pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
¼ cup vegetable oil
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1 carrot, grated
¼ cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup chopped walnuts
Frozen peaches, slightly thawed (optional)
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9-inch square cake pan or baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and stir to blend.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the sugar and oil. Add the mashed bananas and grated carrot and mix thoroughly. Add the water and vanilla and mix thoroughly.
4. Add the flour mixture and chopped walnuts and mix thoroughly.
5. Spread into the prepared pan and bake for 40–50 minutes, until lightly browned on top.
6. Let the bread cool in the pan, then turn out onto a cooling rack to cool completely. Serve with slightly thawed frozen peaches, if desired. Yummy!
Food groups: protein (walnuts), carbohydrate (flour), fruit (bananas), vegetable (carrot)