Tag Archives: brunch

Pizza Bagels

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These are my kids’ favourite after-school snack these days and they’ve made appearances at weekend brunches.  You probably don’t need a recipe to figure this one out, but here it is just in case…
Pizza Bagels

whole grain bagels
pizza sauce (try my BBQ sauce here)
Daiya shreds
Italian seasoning
your favourite pizza toppings

Slice bagels in half and place cut-side up on a cookie sheet.  Spread on pizza sauce, sprinkle on Daiya, Italian seasoning and your favourite toppings.   In the photo above, I’ve used Fieldroast Smoked Apple Sage sausage and fresh basil.

Broil under medium heat for a few minutes until the Daiya is golden and bubbly but watch it doesn’t burn.   Serve warm and enjoy!

Date and Walnut Oatmeal

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Brrrrr, the weather cooled down fast!  Here’s a warm, healthy breakfast recipe my kids and I have been enjoying lately.  Protein, fibre, essential fatty acids and more in dish that’s ready in less than ten minutes — a great way to start the day!  So many variations are possible: swap the walnuts for your favourite nut or swap the dates for raisins, dried cranberries or other fruit.

Date and Walnut Oatmeal

1 cup filtered water
1/3 cup oats
1/8 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp chia seeds
1/4 cup nondairy milk
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 dates, pitted and chopped
2 tbsp walnuts, chopped
optional: maple syrup

In a medium sized pot, bring the water to a boil.  Add sea salt, oats and chia and stir.  Reduce heat to simmer, add the nondairy milk, dates and cinnamon and stir again.  While the oatmeal cooks, toast the walnuts under a broiler or in a fry pan on medium heat for a minute or two — be careful they don’t burn.  When the oats are cooked (if you’ve used quick oats, they will only need 3-5 minutes), spoon into two bowls.  Top each bowl with 1 tbsp nuts and a drizzle of maple syrup if you like.

This dish is gluten-free with GF oats, and soy-free.  Serves two.

Vegan Brunch: Savory Scrambles and Sweet Parfaits

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Shortly after I became vegan, I learned a little tidbit I’ll share with you: Brunch is a big deal to vegans.  Waffles, pancakes, scrambles, muffins, lattes, even bacon and omelets….. we can do it all vegan, deliciously!
My primary brunch staple for about a year was Oh She Glows’ Sweet Potato Oatmeal Breakfast Casserole.  It’s excellent, like everything Angela creates.  Then Tofu Scramble with Coconut Bacon took over as my main go-to.  Click the link for the recipe.

When I hosted a brunch a few weekends ago, I wanted to create a special dish for a friend with severe allergies.  Not only is she vegan, she also needs to avoid soy and gluten.   Before cutting out soy, she adored tofu scramble.  I wondered if I could possibly make a tofu scramble without tofu and still be delicious and full of protein?  I decided to try swapping the tofu in my scramble with white beans and potatoes and I think it turned out wonderfully!   All the flavours of my Tofu Scramble with potato and white beans substituting the tofu.  Perfect for anyone wanting to change up their scramble or just wanting to reduce their soy intake.

White Bean and Potato Breakfast Scramble
1 cup onion, chopped
coconut or olive oil
2 medium potatoes, chopped into bite sized chunks
14 oz cooked white beans, drained and rinsed if using a can
1 heaping tbsp of spice mix (below)
3 tbsp Bragg’s all-purpose seasoning, nama shoyu or soy sauce
2 1/2 cups chopped veggies (we like red pepper, massaged kale, mushrooms and spinach)
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1 tomato, chopped
2 tbsp fresh cilantro, minced

Scramble Spice Mix
2 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp dried thyme
1 tbsp turmeric
1 tbsp Herbamare seasoning or sea salt
1 tbsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder
1/2 tsp sage
Mix the spices together and keep in a glass jar.  Makes enough for 6 servings of the  scramble.

Sautée the onion in a bit of oil over medium heat in a large pan and cook for about five minutes.  Add the potatoes and white beans to the pan with the onion and continue cooking, stirring frequently.  Add 1 tbsp of the spice mix to 3 tbsp of water, stir, then add to pan and stir well.  Add the Bragg’s, veggies and nutritional yeast to the pan and cook for another several minutes, until the potatoes are fork-tender and veggies are soft.  Use a metal spatula to scrape the bottom if the beans start to stick.  Taste and add more Bragg’s, spice mixture or nutritional yeast if desired.  Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper to taste.  Serve warm topped with chopped tomatoes and cilantro.
The scramble also makes a great entrée.

I also served my traditional Tofu Scramble with avocado, fresh fruit, raw almonds (brought by a friend from California where nuts are unpasteurized and truly raw), and cherry coconut parfaits!  The parfaits can be nearly sugar free if you choose no-sugar added jam and granola, making it a not-too-decadent treat for breakfast, brunch or dessert.
Cherry Coconut Parfaits

cultured coconut milk (also called coconut yogurt.  I used So Delicious brand)
your favourite jam (I used homemade chia-berry jam)
granola (I used homemade raw coconut granola, recipe coming soon)
one cherry per parfait to top

Spoon about a two tablespoons of cultured coconut into the bottom of a glass cup or wine glass.  Top with two tablespoons of jam followed by enough granola to cover the jam.  Repeat the layers of coconut, jam and granola, then top with a cherry.  Serve immediately.

I am submitting my White Bean and Potato Breakfast Scramble to the Allergy Friendly Fridays, Gluten Free Fridays, Healthy Vegan Fridays, Foodtastic Fridays,  Wellness Weekends and Meatless Mondays blog hops.
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Tofu Scramble and Coconut Bacon

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I’ve never been a fan of eggs; even as a meat-eating kid I wouldn’t touch them.  It was no hardship at all giving them up entirely for veganism.  When I was first served tofu scramble a couple of years ago, I didn’t find it particularly appetizing to look at, since it resembles scrambled eggs, but one taste and I was sold.  Tofu scramble is also a winner with my kids, they will eat every bite.
Tofu scramble makes a superb dish for brunches or dinner entrées.  Tofu is an excellent source of protein, calcium and iron, plus it’s not highly processed like some other soy foods.  Add some vegetables and nutritional yeast and you have one super healthy dish!  I make up a spice mix for the tofu scramble and keep in a glass jar in my pantry so I don’t have to measure out seven spices every time I want tofu scramble.
Tofu Scramble
1 cup onion, chopped
coconut or olive oil
2 14-oz packages of extra firm tofu
1 heaping tbsp of spice mix (below)
3 tbsp Bragg’s all-purpose seasoning, nama shoyu or soy sauce
2 1/2 cups chopped veggies (we like red pepper, massaged kale, mushrooms and spinach)
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
optional topping: fresh herbs, Daiya, coconut bacon (see below)
 
Tofu Scramble Spice Mix
2 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp dried thyme
1 tbsp turmeric
1 tbsp Herbamare seasoning or sea salt
1 tbsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder
1/2 tsp sage
Mix the spices together and keep in a glass jar.  Makes enough for 6 servings of the tofu scramble.
Sautée the onion in a bit of oil over medium heat in a large pan and cook for about five minutes.  While the onion cooks, drain and rinse the tofu, then wrap in a clean kitchen towel and press gently to remove excess liquid.  Add the tofu to the pan with the onion and use a metal spatula to chop it up into chunks; it will continue crumbling into smaller pieces as it cooks.  Add the spice mix to 3 tbsp of water, stir, then add to pan.  Cook the tofu, scraping the bottom with the metal spatula as the tofu becomes brown and crispy on the bottom.  Add the Bragg’s, veggies and nutritional yeast to the pan and cook for another several minutes, until the veggies are soft.  Taste and add more Bragg’s or nutritional yeast if desired.  Serve warm.  Sprinkle with sea salt  and pepper to taste.
The scramble tastes excellent on its own, or you can top it with melted Daiya and even crispy coconut bacon for a higher-fat treat.  I first heard of coconut bacon when I read Mary’s rave review of Aux Vivres on her blog This is Vegan and was intrigued.  If you don’t like that’s it’s called “bacon”, just think of it as “smoky coconut crisps”.  I was excited to make my own crispy treat and was happy to find the recipe for Aux Vivres’ coconut bacon at Kirsten’s Kitchen here.  I used large flaked dried coconut since I couldn’t get my hands on a fresh coconut and it worked just fine.
I found that the recipe resulted in a surprisingly sweet taste; in future I will reduce the maple syrup to 2 tbsp for a more savoury taste.  The coconut bacon was also lovely in sandwiches and topped on salads, crackers, pastas and pizza.  Crispy and delicious!