This translation from French into English does not work. When we say “j’ai un petit creux” that translates literally into “I have a little hole“, but it means “I have a hole in my stomach“, so that “I am a little hungry“.  It sounds really strange in English, you are just wondering where that hole is…but that’s all I could find since I am not proficient in English expressions, so we’ll leave it at the hole we have in our stomach!

I am not a huge cookie fan, and I rarely eat cookies, so I don’t keep anything sweet at home, no cakes, cookies or such things. I would gladly chose a bag of chips which is my “péché mignon” over a slice of cake or a cookie, but once in a couple of months, I do feel like a little sweet thing which is not fruit, then I make those.

They are very tasty and healthy and they can be eaten in the morning since they do have a good quantity of oats and nuts. They’re the soft kind and quite satisfying when you feel like a little treat.

I used whole wheat einkorn flour and dark chocolate but of course, you can make your own substitution according to your tastes.

Ingredients for 10-12 (depending on the size)

• 1/2 cup light agave nectar (or any sweetener of your choice)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract or vanilla paste
• 1 small container of apple sauce (about 3 tbs)
• 1/4 coconut flour
• 3/4 cup whole wheat einkorn flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 3 tbs chopped cashews
• 4 tbs chunks of dark chocolate for baking
• 1 cup + oat flakes

Instructions

In a container, mix agave nectar, vanilla and apple sauce. Mix well. Then add the flours, the baking powder, the nuts, the oats and the chocolate. Mix with tip of the fingers to obtain a homogeneous mixture but do not over mix.

Pre heat oven at 360F. Using a cookie tray, make cookies dividing the dough into small amounts, the equivalent of 1.5 tbs of dough on tray. Sprinkle the top with extra oats.

Bake in the oven for about 12 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool.

I think I am getting into a “oat phase” these days. I try to put oats and oat bran wherever I can. Oat bran, oat flour, rolled oats, anything oat makes me happy, besides I love my fibers. I had bought too many bananas (I forgot I had a bunch at home), but I always fear to be banana depleted in the morning for breakfast, so I keep buying more than I can actually eat. Two of those bananas were overly ripe and what do do with over ripe bananas other than shakes? banana bread or cake, right? But it needs to be banana and oats together or nothing at all, so banana-oats combo it will be.

In my world, I would have called this a banana cake but in the US it’s more a bread than a cake (I’m sure there is an explanation, but I haven’t had the time to google it). In France anything called bread contains yeast and not baking powder. Anything called bread is something very different and looks like a baguette and tastes like one too.

Since I didn’t have any oat bran flour, I grounded some oat bran into a fine texture which ended up like flour. It all turned out quite well. This cake is very moist and not sweet at all so it could work as breakfast since it has a good amount of nutrients.

 Ingredients

• 1.5 cups oat bran flour
• 2/3 cup coconut sugar or sweetener of your choice
• 3/4 cup quick rolled oats
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 ripe bananas
• 1 Islandic Yogurt (or Greek yogurt)
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Pre-heat oven at 350F.

In a mixing container, mix flour, oats, sugar and baking powder. In a mixer, add banana, yogurt, oil, eggs, vanilla. Mix to obtain a smooth texture.

Pour liquid mixture containing the bananas to dry mixture containing the flour and oats. Mix well.

Grease a pan with butter. Coat with flour and remove excess flour. Pour batter and bake in the oven at 350F for about 50-55 minutes.

Usually for breakfast I like my multi grain toasts with no desire to change but once in a while I like to treat myself with some fancy little bites like these ones. I would have called those mini cakes (which in French gâteaux are what those are), but I feel they’re more muffins than cakes, as per American standards. Cakes are described as sweet, with frosting and no fruits.

They’re light, very airy, moist and perfect for breakfast or as afternoon snack. The base is like the traditional French yogurt cake, but I used Greek Yogurt instead and oat and almond flours instead of regular white flour. I used a pear but you could also use an apple.

Ingredients for 6-8 muffins

• 1 1/3 cup oat flour
• 1/2 cup oat bran
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1/3 cup coconut sugar
• 2 tbs stevia powder
• 1 Greek yogurt
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 tsp vanilla powder
• 1/4 tsp bitter almond extract
• 1 pear, peeled and grated
• sunflower seeds for topping

Preparation

Preheat oven at 365F. In a large bowl, mix flours, baking powder and vanilla powder.

In another bowl, beat eggs with coconut sugar, stevia, oil, yogurt, bitter almond extract. At the end add pear. Mix well.

Pour the bowl containing the eggs/sugar mixture into the bowl containing the flour mixture. Mix well.

Divide batter in individual muffin molds. sprinkle with coconut sugar and sunflower seeds.

Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes.

Don’t you love when your refrigerator is filled with vegetables? You open the door and all you can see is a bundle of colors. Unfortunately, today, I only had a bunch of broccoli left with a red bell pepper. The good thing is that tomorrow I am going food shopping with a friend of mine to the Berkeley Bowl! I am already excited about it. It will be her first trip there, I cannot wait to see her when she sees the fruits and vegetable section. Some girls enjoy going to the SPA or get a manicure, and I get the same excitement when I go to the Berkeley Bowl. How weird is that?

Since I only had broccoli and bell pepper, I figured I would combine the two. I love those galettes dearly. They’re tender, melt in your mouth and so light!  You can use any vegetables you like and substitute mozzarella with gorgonzola cheese as well. The vegetables just needs to have some consistency so you can mash them in a puree, so it’s better not to use any leafy vegetable. I mixed a little chopped spinach with it, but more would not have worked because of the liquid they tend to produce. Those galettes are a good way to have your kids eat veggies, in case you have fussy ones. They won’t feel they’re eating vegetables, and the melting mozzarella in the middle is a selling point!

I did not add too many ingredients to the galettes and lose the broccoli flavor, since the harissa sauce will enhance them. Harissa is a hot Middle Eastern sauce, served with couscous. You can buy it in tubes and delay it in water. I like to make mine with red bell peppers.

You can serve those with a light salad, and you’re all set for lunch.

Ingredients for 2

For the galettes

• 1/2 head of broccoli
• 6 tbs pre cooked oats or regular oats soaked in hot water
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 2 handful chopped frozen spinach (optional)
• a few basil leaves 
• 1 fresh mozzarella ball, cut in small squares
• 1 tbs plain breadcrumbs
• salt and pepper

For the harissa sauce

• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1/2 tsp coriander seeds
• 1/2 tsp cumin powder
• tabasco
• 2 tbs olive oil
• salt and pepper

Preparation

For the galettes

Heat olive oil and brown shallots, add broccoli cut in small florets, salt and pepper. When broccoli are cookded mash them with a potato masher. Add defrost spinach and add to the broccoli. Add basil and garlic. 

Add enough water to the oats to form a thick paste. Add to the broccoli, and mix well. 

Take a small quantity in your hand and place a piece of mozzarella in the middle, close the ball well so that the mozzarella will not leek when in the oven and make a patty about 2 inches wide. Dip each side of the patty in bread crumbs. Cook in a pre heated oven at 375F for about 15-20 minutes, or until both sides are golden.

For the harissa sauce

Broil red bell pepper in the oven until the skin get charred. Remove from the oven, let cool. When cooled, remove the skin, and the seeds and cut in pieces. In a mixer, add red pepper and all other ingredients and mix to a smooth texture. Adjust with salt and pepper and serve with galettes.