Wheetabix #mybixmix

As a Mom of two kids aged 9 &10, I try to make sure they eat well. This is especially true at breakfast. I think a great tasting and nutritious breakfast sets them up and fills them up for all of the activities throughout their day including their ability to focus at school.

My kids are old enough to make their own breakfast, so I try to make sure there are lots of healthy options for them. Our kitchen is usually stocked with items such as:

• lots of cut/washed fruit - berries, pineapple, melons are favorites
• milk
• whole grain breads
• yogourt
• cereals - whole grain
• homemade muffins filled with fibre, fruit etc

So it seemed like a no brainer when Wheetabix asked me to join them in their #mybixmix challenge. They wanted to see how Canadians could mix up their meals with Wheetabix and how it affected our energy and hunger pangs as the day went on. 

The kids loved the challenge! We ate Wheetabix like crackers with peanut butter, crumbled over yogurt, with milk (warm and cold), and even in smoothies! The kids liked it best when then they crumbled it over their yogurt and berries - they love they extra crunch it provided.

We also found that it kept us feeling satiated for most of the morning.

So next time you're in the cereal aisle pick a box of Wheetabix up and mix your bix! Check out your social media foods for #mybixmix for other awesome ideas!

Please note: I was compensated for this post but opinions are my own!

Refrigerator Raisin Bran Muffins

Versions of this recipe have been around for decades. The great thing about it is you can keep the batter in your fridge and bake up a fresh batch in the mornings for breakfast or after school for snacks. I've read you can keep it for up to 6 weeks! 

While I haven't tested that, I doubt they'd last that long just because they are sooo delicious and moist! To be honest, I usually bake up the whole batch and throw them in the freezer so we can grab these muffins anytime we're running out the door. They don't take long to thaw and are much healthier than a store bought muffin or processed snack.

This recipe is also pretty forgiving in terms of ingredients...if you don't have bran flakes, use bran buds or fibre cereal. If you don't have whole wheat pastry flour you can substitute all purpose (though you'll lose some fibre content). The batter will also thicken as it stands so if you do keep it in the fridge expect it to go from almost liquid to very thick. Finally, sometimes I make these in mini muffin tins - they take about 12-15 minutes to bake. 

This recipe will make about 4 dozen muffins! If you use dark colored muffin tins you might want to reduce your oven temperature to 350 degrees or watch carefully as they may brown a bit faster than a normal tin.

Ingredients

2 c boiling water
2 c wheat bran
2 c raisins
3 c whole wheat pastry flour
1 tbsp cinnamon
3 tbsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1-1/2 c all purpose flour
1/2 c wheat germ
4 eggs
1-1/2 c brown sugar
1 c vegetable oil
1/4 c molasses
4 c buttermilk
4 c bran flakes

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray muffins tins with baking spray.
2. In medium bowl, add bran and raisins. Carefully add boiling water over them.
3. In a very big bowl whisk the eggs.
4. Whisk in the brown sugar.
5. Add the oil, molasses, and buttermilk. Whisk until well combined.
6. In another large bowl, whisk flours, wheat germ, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
7. Add the flour mixture to the buttermilk bowl. Gently whisk together. It will look lumpy but will come together. It will be very liquidy!
8. Stir in the bran mixture.
9. Add the bran flakes and combine. It will look very wet.
10. Fill muffins tins 2/3 full.
11. Bake for 20-25 minutes.

Peanut Butter Cocoa Smoothie

Did you know a Canadian was the first to patent peanut butter?

In 1884, Marcellus Gilmore Edson (February 7, 1849 - March 6, 1940) from Montreal, Quebec was issued a patent for peanut butter. According to Wikipedia, “His cooled product had 'a consistency like that of butter, lard, or ointment' according to his patent application. He included the mixing of sugar into the paste so as to harden its consistency.”

As a child of the 70s, I grew up on Kraft dinner, lime soda and peanut butter and often watched The Six Million Dollar Man, Little House on the Prairie, & MASH. I'm sure there were healthier foods and other shows but that's what I remember. I also remember sometimes being allowed to eat dinner on our collapsible TV trays! Those were the days :)

Speaking of peanut butter, I don't eat it as much anymore but occasionally use it in my smoothies, including this one. When made with plain yogurt this smoothie has a tangy flavour that reminds me of sour cream ganache. If you use vanilla yogurt it will be milder and sweeter. Originally, I was going for a peanut butter cup type of flavour only to discover that I was running out of peanut butter so I went for more cocoa flavor. But feel free to add as much peanut butter as you want!

The great thing about this smoothie is that it will satisfy your sweet tooth and your chocolate craving at the same time - without the extra refined sugar and fat found in a chocolate bar or milkshake!

Makes 3 small smoothies.

Ingredients

2-3 tbsp peanut butter
2 tbsp cocoa
2/3 cup yogurt - plain or vanilla
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 medium banana
6 ice cubes

Instructions

Place everything in a blender or Nutribullet and blend until smooth.

Fruit and yogurt muesli parfaits

My kids love breakfast! Their go to requests are cereal and yogurt for my son and yogurt and fruit for my daughter. When I combined both in a 'fancy' wine glass they thought I had created 'the best thing ever'. Lol. Yes, they are easy to impress! Now they both want parfaits or 'parfets' as my daughter calls them every morning! The best thing about it is when I use muesli (my son is loving Dorset Cereals 'super cranberry, cherry, and almond' muesli right now), I can make them the night before and leave them in the fridge for them to grab when they wake up (and possibly grab a few more minutes of sleep for me)!

How to make them is pretty obvious, just layer your favorite yogurt, muesli or granola, and fruit in a bowl or fancy glass. I recommend eating granola parfaits right away or the granola will get soggy. Go the muesli route is you want to make them the night before. Also, you can use frozen fruit if you make them ahead of time so they can thaw a bit before eating.

If you REALLY need a recipe...

Makes 2.

Ingredients

2 cups yogourt
2/3 cup muesli or granola
1 cup fruit

Instructions

Place 1/3 c yogurt on bottom of glass/bowl, sprinkle 1/3 cup muesli/granola over yogurt, spread 1/3 cup yogurt over muesli/granola, place 1/4 cup of fruit on top, layer another 1/3 c of yogurt, add 1/4 cup fruit.

Repeat in second glass/bowl.

Strawberry Muesli Smoothie

Ever since I bought a Nutriblender, the entire family is on a smoothie kick. The kids want them every morning. We usually keep it to just fruit and milk but when it's more of a meal on the run vs a snack we've been adding muesli and yogourt to "beef" them up. Our muesli brand of choice is Dorset Cereals. In this smoothie we used "simply nutty" but this morning we opened their "super cranberry, cherry and almond" muesli - yet another delicious box! We made some no bake chocolate muesli "cookies" (they are more like a confection) with it - a future blog post!

This is the smoothie we had today.

Ingredients

1/2 cup greek yogourt
1 cup milk
1/2 cup muesli (I used Dorset Cereal's Simply Nutty)
6 fresh strawberries
1/2 cup frozen peaches
1 small orange (peeled of course)

Instructions

Blend until desired consistency is reached.
Makes two smoothies.

Egg Frittata-Pizza

I like my frittatas thin like a thin-crust pizza. Of course, if you prefer yours thicker you could add more eggs. Broiling the cheese adds a nice crunch and burst of flavour.

Ingredients

• 1 cup egg whites
• 2 tbsp water or milk
• 3 tbsp half and half
• 1 tsp butter or oil
• 1 medium leek, finely chopped
• 5 baby tomatoes, quartered
• 1 tbsp capers
• 2 cups spinach
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tsp or few dashes chipotle tabasco sauce
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, freshly grated
• salt
• pepper

What to do

• Ensure oven rack is about 4 inches from top broil element. Turn oven to broil.
• In mixing bowl, lightly whisk eggs, water (or milk), garlic, tabasco sauce, salt and peppper. Set aside.
• Using a 10-12 inch sautee pan on medium heat, melt butter and add leek, tomato, capers, and spinach. Sautee for 2-4 minutes.
• Add egg mixture.
• Cook for another 2 or 3 minutes, stirring from bottom and sides a few times. Eggs will still be wet on top but set on the bottom.
• Sprinkle parmesan on top of eggs. Put pan in oven. You must watch your eggs to prevent burning! Idealy, the cheese will melt and start to brown. This may take 3 or 4 minutes.
• Remove from oven and let sit for a few minutes.
• Cut in wedges like a pizza and serve!