The Hedgehog Knows: breakfast

breakfast

Showing posts with label breakfast. Show all posts

Something I like about granola is its versatility and convenience. Versatility - in a sense that it can be paired up with a plethora of other ingredients; and convenience - as it is so easy to prepare for breakfasts.

It is important to start the day right, with breakfast made from natural ingredients which are free of artificial preservatives (as far as possible), so I will share 3 healthy granola-based breakfast varieties.

Revive: A made-in-Singapore brand that delivers healthy snacks and breakfast foods

I was recently introduced to Revive, and was intrigued by its range of healthy snacks and breakfast foods.

A search of their product list brought me to their extensive range of granolas, overnight oats and natural nut butters.

I have to admit that I am very selective about my granolas and nut butters, in particular, as they are usually laden with hidden sugars, but upon reading Revive's label, I realised that their products are pretty "clean" - consisting of mainly rolled oats, whole grains, nuts etc. This is a classic example of "less is more".

Below are my 3 breakfast varieties featuring Revive's granolas. Opening the granola packs, you will first notice that the large chunks of granolas (like granola bars in bite-sizes) set this brand apart from the usual off-the-supermarket-shelf ones. Importantly, I like how they are 100% natural, free from refined sugar and artificial preservatives, and vegetarian/ vegan.

Feel free to adapt my recipes, switching for whatever you find in your fridge!

#1: Choco Nutty Bananarama Bowl

Ingredients: Chocolate Granola + Hazelnut and Cacao Nibs; Peanut Butter; plain/ Greek yogurt; chia seeds; banana slices and strawberries.

My usual weekday breakfast consists of unsweetened soymilk, oats and chia seeds, so you can likely tell how health-conscious I try to be and how bland my taste buds can be. Hence, I would say that this yogurt bowl still hides elements of my usual preferences of unsweetened yogurt and chia seeds - but is way fancier.

Revive's chocolate granola with bitter raw cacao nibs is my favourite among their granola range and I have sometimes just eaten them on its own, out from the packet! Peanut butter is something I usually avoid (commercial brands have nasties like palm oil and loads of sugar), but Revive's is just made of pure 100% dry roasted peanut with no added sugar. I add banana because banana & peanut butter never gets out of fashion, and the strawberries add a dash of happy colours!

#2: Blueberry Almond Coco Bowl

Ingredients: Maple Granola + Almond & Coconut Granola; blueberry yogurt; fresh blueberries and strawberries.

I call this as a super quick 4-ingredient breakfast. The blueberry yogurt is wonderful "cheat" ingredient as it offers a pleasant fruity base. It is perfect for my husband who, unlike me, generally likes his food more "tasty". The whole almonds, pumpkin kernels and toasted coconut flakes granola pack a whole lot of textures and flavours to the dish!

#3: Matcha Cashew Bowl

Ingredients: Matcha Granola + Cashew and Almond; Peanut Butter; unsweetened soymilk, banana slices and blueberries.

Matcha is the star ingredient of this breakfast bowl and a great perk-me-up either at breakfast or post-lunch periods. I use soymilk, but feel free to just use whatever milk you find in your fridge! Again, peanut butter is featured here as I love how I can indulge in Revive's guilt-free!

Other Products

Granolas: The other 2 flavours are "Honey Granola + Pistachio & Rice Puff"; as well as "Earl Grey Granola + Macadamia & Puff Rice".

Overnight Oats: Raw oats, when soaked with milk, allows the oats to soft enough to be consumed uncooked. Revive's 4 varieties range from fruit-based flavours (tropical mango) to classic combinations (chocolate banana).

Natural Nut Butters: I highly recommend Revive's creamy nut butters as they are free from added sugar, salt, hydrogenated oils and palm oil. Revive offers 4 varieties. If you like something special, go for their premium "ABC Butter" made from dry roasted premium quality almonds, brazil nuts and cashews. Otherwise, you stick to the classic "Peanut Butter".

Promo Code

Quote HEDGEHOG15 to enjoy 15% discount off Revive's full range of products from https://revivenutrition.com.sg! Note: Code cannot be used with other coupon codes or items on sale and is for new customers.

Free delivery is available with minimum spend of S$21.25 (after discount).

Tag me on Facebook or Instagram if you use my recipe and stand to be featured!

www.facebook.com/thehedgehogknows

www.instagram.com/thehedgehogknows

Follow me for more recipes and food-related reviews.

Nowadays, our weekends are usually filled with DVD-watching at home (much cheaper option than going to the cinema!) While we used to snack along with some unhealthy chips and chocolates, we recently decided to get healthier with ready-made baked chips (available from supermarkets) or BoxGreen snacks.

If you can’t get your hands on those, you can try another of our favourite healthy homemade option: Guacamole dip with crackers! We especially love this with Meiji Plain crackers or Olive Oil & Rosemary Crackers from Phoon Huat (S$2, 250g pack, 8 individually-wrapped packs).

Whilst there are various variants of guacamole dip, this one that I usually make is super simple. Feel free to adapt this recipe with whatever you find in your kitchen. Enjoy!

Guacamole Dip with Greek Yogurt and Onion

Serves 3 to 4 (over 1 movie session)

Ingredients

(A)

2 ripe avocados, deseeded

1 purple onion

1 clove of garlic, minced

A dash of pepper & salt

(B)

100g Greek yogurt

Directions

1) Blend the ingredients in (A).

2) When almost mashed up, add the Greek yogurt into the mixture. Combine until smooth.

3) Chill slightly. Serve with crackers. Enjoy!

P.S.: In caseyou were wondering, I used my Tefal manual handheld chopper to help blend all the ingredients together in Step #1 .

If you have tried this recipe too, share your photos with us!

Facebook: www.Facebook.com/TheHedgehogKnows

Pin for later: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/392728029989749661

Instagram: @TheHedgehogKnows

One of my favourite buns recipe is that of the Savoury Cheese Wheat Buns Using Breadmaker and Airfryer. Healthy and easy to bake, it makes for a good breakfast the next morning after a quick warm-up in the toaster.

Recently, I got some small ready-to-eat seaweed packs from my friends who returned from Korea for holidays. Using those seaweed, button mushrooms and Parmesan Grated Cheese, below is my next recipe for sharing. Have fun!

Pull-Apart Cheesy Mushroom Wheat Buns Using Breadmaker & Airfryer

Yields 8 buns

Ingredients

Buns

(A)

235ml Hokkaido milk (normal milk is okay too)

1 egg, beaten

50g unsalted butter (cut into fine slices)

1/2 tsp salt

25g white sugar

100g whole wheat flour (see photo below)

90g top flour/ cake flour

260g plain flour

1 1/4 tsp yeast

(B)

Seaweed (salted/ unsalted)

Button mushrooms, sliced

Parmesan grated cheese

Directions

1) Put all ingredients in (A) into the baking tin, in the above sequence.

2) Use Setting 10 (Dough mode).

Tips: We use Philips HD9045, so do adjust this based on your breadmaker.

3) After 1hr 30min (or whatever time your breadmaker requires), the dough will be ready. Remove and lay flat on a board wrapped with baking paper.

4) Punch the dough flat. Gently knead and cover the dough with cling wrap. Let it rest for 15 min.

Tips: It is crucial not to have wind drafts blowing over the dough, or else it will become dry. I save cling wrap by putting the dough into my microwave oven - of course without turning it on! :)

5) Split the dough into 8 parts. Roll them into your desired shape, meanwhile ensuring that the tops are nice and smooth.

6) Keep the buns in a warm airtight condition until they double in size. That would take approximately 45 min.

Tips #1: Ensure that there is sufficient space within each baking pan for the bun-doughs to rise. Best to use square baking pans if you can, as the buns will rise to take the baking pans' shape.

Tips #2: To simulate a warm condition, I pre-heated the airfryer (without the buns) at 80 degrees for 5 min to warm it up and placed the baking tray into the airfryer.

7) After 45 min, sprinkle a layer of cheese over the dough, followed by a sheet of seaweed and mushrooms. Bake in airfryer at 150 degrees for 7 min.

8) Thereafter, add the top layer of cheese.

9) Continue baking at 150 degrees for 8 min.

10) When baked, remove the buns from baking pan immediately and place on a rack. If not eating immediately, cool properly before storing in an airtight container. Enjoy!

Love this recipe? Follow us!

Facebook: www.Facebook.com/TheHedgehogKnows

Pin for later: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/392728029989463426

Instagram: @TheHedgehogKnows

For our other bread recipes using airfryer, click here.

For other airfryer recipes, click here.

Breakfast is often a rushed affair for us working adults and we often just grab a milk and dash out of the house. However, this often-heard phrase tells us that we must never skip this important first meal of the day: "Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a pauper".

Since today was Labour Day, to reward ourselves for the whole year's labour, we decided to treat ourselves to a slow breakfast and start the day with a nice meal. :)

Located on 57th Level of MBS, Sky on 57 offers breakfast with a view. At S$41++, this was a semi-buffet where we were able to choose 2 main courses, with a buffet spread. Helmed by Justin Quek, a celebrity chef, this breakfast at a 5-star hotel was a good deal. Below was a neat menu that greeted us:

2 Breakfast Items

The choices for the 2 breakfast items were sufficient. With Western and Asian concepts, this caters to both local and foreign palates. The Western dishes like eggs benedict were common brunch staples (and suitable for children), while the Asian dishes like laksa and ramen would likely be popular choices for tourists:

I chose 1 Western and 1 Asian dish. They felt warm and assuring for the hungry and cold stomach:

My Western dish. I chose a more less common dish - the Baked Egg Printemps.
On a side note, I think I may try to replicate this on the airfryer one day.

My Asian dish - the Tonkotsu Ramen.

Buffet Spread

I then headed over to the buffet section. The variety was good, almost like a full-fledged buffet with porridge, kway teow, cheeses, smoked salmon, danish pastries, fruits and juices. I will let the photos do the rest of the talking :)

Cheeses

Corn flakes for the children

Smoked salmon and ham

Various nuts (walnuts, hazelnuts) and dried toppings (cranberries, raisins etc).

Danish patries and muffins

Hashbrown and bacon to go with the egg main course dishes

A wide range of cut and whole fruits to start the day

Juices

Free flow of gourmet coffee, TWG tea and chocolate is also available upon request from the servers. Nice!

Overall

We had a hearty breakfast and certainly didn't need to have lunch. Service was prompt and the staff were attentive.

If you are someone who doesn't mind starting the day early or are staying over at MBS, this is the best choice for you. With the buffet stretching from 7am to 11am, this is indeed the place with a view to enjoy your breakfast over the morning newspapers.