breakfast | A Mummy Too

Vegans can have great breakfasts too! (including a scrambled tofu recipe)

21 May, 2013 By Emily Leary 2 Comments

I am so, so full! – me

I love a challenge, especially a foodie one, so when McCain emailed me and asked me if I’d like to write about my dream breakfast, I was happy to oblige – even more so when I read further and learned the plan was to challenge my family to make it for me. WIN!

So, by supermarket delivery this morning arrived all the ingredients for my dream breakfast of scrambled red pepper tofu, veggie sausages, hashbrowns, seeded toast and grilled tomatoes, with a big glass of fresh orange.

I have to admit, I helped to make the tofu part, but low and behold I sat in the garden on a sunny Sunday morning and enjoyed a beautiful – and perfectly vegan – cooked breakfast. I was stuffed!

If you’d like to try it for yourself, the textured, flavourful sausages are Linda McCartney and the from-frozen, crispy hash browns are McCain. Both manufacturers have confirmed their products are meat, dairy and egg free.

If you want to make the scrambled tofu, here’s what to do (with thanks to Jolinda Hackett for the inspiration for this recipe:

Ingredients

396g pack of tofu (we used Cauldron)
2 sprays of liquid aminos
1/2 tsp tumeric
1/2 tsp garlic granules
4 tsp yeast flakes with B12
2 tsp olive oil + 1tbsp for the pan
1 red pepper
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

Drain the tofu and press out the excess liquid against kitchen towel
In a large bowl roughly mash the tofu with the aminos, tumeric, garlic and olive oil
De-seed and finely chop the red pepper
Warm the remaining oil in a large pan over a medium heat and fry the pepper until soft
Tip in the tofu and fry for about 8-10 minute, stirring occassionally until the flavours taste cooked through
Stir through the yeast, season to taste (I recommend lots of pepper), give a final taste test and serve

The result is rather yummy and perfect for breakfast.

One thing I’d say, though, is that if you’re going to try a vegan meal, try not compare the components to their meaty/eggy/dairy-rich cousins – it’s not about being better or even the same as, it’s about being different, and we can all benefit from widening our experiences with food, whatever our day-to-day diet needs and choices :)

Disclosure: we were sent some McCain hashbrowns free of charge for review. No payment was recieved. All posts are 100% honest.

Filed Under: Food and drink Tagged With: breakfast, cooked, hash brown, sausage, vegan, vegetarian

Actimel healthy breakfast smoothie recipe

30 April, 2013 By Emily Leary 2 Comments

Hmmm, it’s got bits in it – JD, 5

Here’s a quick, simple recipe for a health breakfast smoothie. It uses Actimel’s new mango and passionfruit flavour so it’s also packed with live cultures that are thought to be good for your gut (suitable for children aged 3+).

Ingredients

1 Actimel mango and passionfruit
2 inches of cucumber
1/2 a ripe mango
1/2 a ripe passionfruit

Instructions

Blend!
Sieve if the kids don’t like ‘bits’

It’s fresh-tasting, thick and yummy – let me know if you give it a try.

Disclosure: Actimel sent us some Actimel drinks, fruit and a blender to create some smoothies with. I am also a sponsored ambassador for the Actimel Family Wellbeing Index.

Filed Under: Food and drink Tagged With: breakfast, food, mango, passionfruit, smoothie

Eggy crumpet – quick, tasty recipe

15 February, 2013 By Emily Leary 3 Comments

Mmmm. Mmmmmm – Miss J, 1

Is breakfast a stressful time in your house? According to Warburtons, between 7.17am and 8.30am mums have to tackle an average of 9.8 challenges – compared to an average of just 4.2 tasks, which senior business people (men and women) face in their first hour and a quarter at work.

Anyway, here’s a recipe that’s as easy as it is yummy. It’s done in the oven so no oil is needed, keeping the fat content low too. And it could work at breakfast, lunch or dinner.

This recipe feeds 2 (2 eggy crumpets each), but you can multiply the ingredients to make more.

Ingredients

4 crumpets
2 medium free range eggs
2 tbsp milk
small handful of grated cheese
4 egg rings
1 baking sheet

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 200c (180C fan assisted)
Put 4 egg rings on a baking sheet and push the crumpets to the bottom inside – it needs to be a snug fit
Whisk the eggs and milk together and pour evenly on top of the crumpets into the rings
Sprinkle a pinch of cheese on top of each one
Bake in the oven for around 5-10 minutes, until bubbly and set through
Allow to cool a little, then lift off the rings (you might need to loosen round the inside with a knife) and serve with a pinch of ground pepper

Easy, huh?

Warburtons are running a nationwide breakfast campaign aimed at encouraging families to share recipes and tips for managing the Breakfast Rush Hour. The survey findings, recipes and tips will be published in a handbook in April.

Mums and dads with top tips, advice and recipes for juggling the family Breakfast Rush Hour can submit them through the Warburtons Facebook page www.Facebook.com/Warburtons

(This post is an entry for the #eggmainsinminutes Linky on BritMums and sponsored by British Lion Eggs Main Meals in Minutes)

Disclosure: Warburtons sent us a hamper of breakfast goodies to use to come up with a family breakfast recipe. No payment was received for this post. All posts are 100% honest.

Filed Under: Food and drink Tagged With: breakfast, crumpet, recipe, warburtons

Breakfast on the go: McVitie’s Breakfast Biscuits (sponsored review)

14 February, 2013 By Emily Leary 1 Comment

Biscuits for breakfast?! – JD, 5

The idea of not eating breakfast fills me with horror. I cannot function properly until I've eaten.

When I used to work away a lot, there were occasions I'd stay up in my hotel room, working into the early hours on a presentation to be delivered the next day, then crashing out and waking just in time to make some final tweaks, wash, dress, check out and shoot on to the tube to be in the right place at the right time. On those days, missing breakfast hit me hard – and I'd have to grab a snack en route: a sugary muffin, a flapjack or even some sushi (yeah, weird but needs must!)

So for those who are not too emotionally attached to breakfast, I understand the need for a quick alternative to sitting down at the breakfast table.

Actually, McVitie's reckon that almost 4 billion breakfasts are eaten out of the home every year, so they've brought out McVitie's Breakfast Biscuits to address that need.

So what makes these biscuits healthier than scoffing digestives at your desk? Well apparently McVitie's have used their 120 years of baking expertise, to design a biscuit made with wholegrain porridge oats – known to release energy slowly – and fortified with vitamins D, B, Iron and fibre.

There are three flavours to choose from; Red Berries, Oat & Honey and Apple, Sultana & Cinnamon, which you can now get for a promotional price of £1 in Tesco and Asda or half price in JS.

I've tried the red berry variety (packed into my bag for a long train ride to an early morning meeting) and they are definitely tasty – like a slightly drier version of a fruit laced digestive – and I'm a fan of the packaging, which means you can just take what you need, wrapped in packs of four, without ending up with bag full of crumbs.

They work particularly well with a cup of tea and a banana and they're also surprisingly filling – after trying these, I actually managed to avoid scoffing all the biscuits on the boardroom table that morning (for once).

So what do you think? Can you function without food first thing in the morning? Would you try these new biscuits? And which flavour appeals most?

Check out the Facebook page www.facebook/mcvitiesbreakfast or follow @McVitBreakfast on Twitter for more ideas for dealing with breakfast on the go.

Disclosure: this is a sponsored post. We were also sent some biscuits to sample. All posts are my own thoughts in my own in my own words.

Filed Under: Food and drink Tagged With: biscuits, breakfast, review, working

Pancakes with caramelised pears and chocolate (recipe)

17 January, 2013 By Emily Leary 9 Comments

This is an amazing way to get one of our five a day – me

Here in the UK, February 12th is Pancake Day, so I thought I’d share with you this recipe that was sent over by Lyle’s Golden Syrup. It serves 4 and is very sweet, buttery and filling, so certainly not for every day, but you can feel a little less guilty knowing you’ve at least had a good portion of fruit…

Ingredients

For the pancakes:

100g plain flour
Pinch salt (if desired)
2 free range eggs
300ml whole milk
Sunflower oil for frying

For the pears:

2 large pears
Large knob of butter
3tbsp golden syrup

For the topping:

25g dark chocolate
Crème fraîche (optional)

Instructions

Put the flour, salt and eggs into a bowl with a dash of the milk and beat until you have a smooth paste.
Gradually add the rest of the milk, beating all the time to avoid lumps.
Leave to stand for five minutes to thicken slightly.
Heat half a tablespoon of oil in a non-stick frying pan and pour a ladleful of the batter into the pan, swirling for a thin layer.
Cook on a moderate heat until the edges turn brown. Gently loosen the edges with a spatula and then flip the pancake. Cook for 30 seconds and then turn out onto a plate.
Repeat to make 8 pancakes, placing a small piece of parchment between each pancake and put in a very low oven to keep warm.
Peel and slice the pears into eighths.
Melt the butter in a large frying pan and heat until bubbling, then tip in the pears and fry until browned, turning occasionally.
When the pears are brown, drizzle over golden syrup and heat until bubbling. If you leave too long and it over thickens, add a few drops of water and stir.
Serve the pancakes filled with the pears and drizzled with the chocolate.
Add a dollop of crème fraîche if desired. It would also be amazing with vanilla icecream for an extremely decadent dish.

Enjoy!

Disclosure: I was sent this recipe and a bottle of Lyle’s Golden Syrup for the purposes of this piece. No payment was received for this post. All posts are 100% honest.

Filed Under: Food and drink Tagged With: breakfast, chocolate, dessert, lunch, pear, sweet

Toasted chocolate cinnabuns (recipe)

26 December, 2012 By Emily Leary 1 Comment

They look like lovely, lovely swirls – JD, 5

Continuing with the weekly ‘A Mummy Too cooks with’ series, today I have a lovely recipe for chocolate cinnabuns from Kelly aka Domestic Goddesque, who sent in the recipe:

Because it’s easy, vegetarian and children can help make them. I love making something special for weekend breakfasts and this one scores highly with both children and husband.

We think so too, which is why we’re having them for Boxing Day breakfast. Here’s what to do…

Ingredients

1 packet of white bread dough mix
1tbsp of butter
1 tbsp of drinking chocolate
1 tsp of cinnamon.

Instructions

Make up the bread according to the instructions on the packet, and leave to rise
In a bowl, beat together 1tbsp of butter with 1 tbsp of drinking chocolate. You can also add 1 tsp of cinnamon
Place your dough on a lightly floured surface and roll out into a rectangle approximately 1/4 inch thick
Spread the butter evenly across the surface of the dough rectangle
Next, roll the dough into a fairly tight sausage, along the longest edge of the rectangle
Tidy up the ends, then cut the sausage into equal pieces about 1.5 inches across: I usually get a dozen pieces from a standard Bread Mix
Turn the pieces on their sides, squidging them (and yes, that’s a technical term) into rounds if they have become particularly squashed, and arrange in a greased/lined tin that allows them space to spread. I use a rectangular casserole dish but you could use a roasting tin
Cover with a damp cloth and leave to rise for 30 minutes in a warm environment. Turn the oven to 170C and leave to warm up. I generally leave my buns on the hob above the oven to rise whilst it warms up.
Bake for about 20 minutes until golden brown.

Admittedly, ours don’t look quite like Kelly’s originals, (I don’t think we rolled our dough out thin enough) but they are so yummy. We’ve been eating them toasted and buttered – delicious!

So what does Kelly make of our take on her chocolate cinnabuns?

They look fantastic! I have never thought to toast and butter them, but will definitely be giving that a try. Maybe for my birthday breakfast tomorrow? Thanks for trying them, and I hope you make them again!

Great stuff. If you’d like to take part in ‘A Mummy Too cooks with…’ – please please read the details of how it works and then get in touch.

Filed Under: Food and drink Tagged With: a mummy too cooks with, bread, breakfast, buns, chocolate, cinnamon

Taste tasting the new Wakey Wakey baby/toddler breakfast cereals

15 December, 2012 By Emily Leary 3 Comments

Mmmmm – Miss J, 1

If you’ve ever looked on the back of a cereal packet, you’ll know that most are packed with salt, sugar and a host of artificial colours, flavours and preservatives – not nice.

Ella’s Kitchen’s new breakfast range, however, is 100% organic and contains just simple ingredients like oats, rice and flour with nothing else added. No added refined sugar or salt. No additives or thickeners. No GM.

The range includes:

Wakey Wakey Baby Porridge (RRP £2.19, 125g pouch) – plain, smooth cereal made from rice and oat flour.
Wakey Wakey Mango + Apple Baby Porridge (RRP £2.29, 125g pouch) – the same cereal, but with dried pureed fruit
Wakey Wakey Strawberry, Mango + Banana Porridge (RRP £2.49, 150g pouch) – the same again, but with slightly more texture for older eaters
Wakey Wakey Banana Porridge (RRP £2.49, 150g pouch) – the same again, but with little bits of banana, though not lumpy
Wakey Wakey Round Ones (RRP £2.19 for 46g pouch) – very like large Cheerios, these are multigrain Os that soften easily in cold milk

So how do they taste? Really good, actually – sweet and wholesome without any bitterness. Miss J seems to really like them and I would happily eat them for my breakfast too.

I’m also rather keen on the packaging – every item in the range comes in easy to pour, resealable pouches – you just have to add milk. And the plastic is free from Bisphenol A and Phthalates too.

All in all, a fabulous range and now a firmly established part of our breakfast routine.

Disclosure: we were sent some Wakey Wakey cereals to try for the purposes of this review. No payment was received for this post. All posts are 100% honest.

Filed Under: Food and drink, Parenting Tagged With: baby, breakfast, cereal, food, oats, porridge, review, toddler

Summer fruit and yoghurt topped crumpets (recipe)

31 July, 2012 By Emily Leary 3 Comments

You’re going to grow so big and strong, mummy! – JD, 4

A rather unusual one this – best served, I think, with a really crispy crumpet. It’s healthy too – a perfect breakfast treat.

Ingredients

50g blueberries
50g raspberries
150g strawberries, halved (or quartered if large)
1 tbsp orange juice
1/2 tbsp sugar
4 crumpets (we used Warbutons)
4 tbsp natural yoghurt
4 tbsp runny honey

Instructions

Put the fruit in a pan with the orange juice and sugar
Bring to the boil then simmer for a few minutes until the raspberries fall apart
Toast the crumpets well (resist the urge to smother in butter)
Put a large spoonful of the fruit mix over each crumpet
Top with a 1 tbsp dollop of natural yoghurt per crumpet
Finish with a 1tbsp drizzle of runny honey per crumpet
Eat immediately!

This recipe was tweaked by me but provided by Warburtons, who are running a two-week Hi-Taste, Lo-Fat eating plan.

Disclosure: Warburtons sent me some breads to test their eating plan. No payment was received. All posts are 100% honest.

Filed Under: Food and drink Tagged With: breakfast, healthy, healthy eating, low fat, recipe, summer fruits