Valentine's Day Raspberry Pancakes

Valentine's Day is only two days away! Here's a fun little recipe for you to try out for Valentine's Day breakfast, or dinner, if you like breakfast food for dinner like me. This is a variation of the healthy oat and banana pancakes I made here a couple weeks ago.  My boyfriend and I don't really do anything too extravagant for Valentine's Day, we never really have, and I actually like it that way. Don't get me wrong though, the day is still special, but we don't really buy each other gifts, so this year I'm going to make him some extra special red valentine's day pancakes (although he may get them for dinner or the day before because we have an exam on Valentine's day). Whether you are looking for something to make for your significant other on Valentine's day, for your family or you friends, this is a really easy and healthy breakfast you could whip up for them!

^^ I was hoping they would turn out a little darker pink, but oh well! ^^ 

Here's the pancake recipe 

2 cups oats blended into oat flour (could substitute with whole wheat flour, quinoa flour ) 

1 tablespoon baking powder 

1 cup almond milk (any liquid will work) 

2 ripe bananas (easily substitute with 1 cup of other fruit or veggie - apples, pears, sweet potato, squash)  
Water (to your desired consistency, depending on how thick you like your pancakes) 

Coconut oil 
1 cup raspberry puree (heat frozen raspberries) 

Directions 

Blend the oats until flour consistency, place in mixing bowl and mix in baking powder. Blend your banana and raspberry puree with milk and mix with dry ingredients. Whisk all ingredients together and add water until you reach the consistency you like (the oats tend to absorb the water and bulk up so I sometimes need to add water half way through cooking the whole batch).  Heat a pan and use a small amount of coconut oil to oil the pan. Fry the pancakes the same way you would a regular pancake, they are ready to flip when you see bubbles. 

Strawberry Pineapple Sauce 

10-15 frozen strawberries (can use any fresh or frozen berry)
1/2 cup fresh or frozen pineapple

a little water 

1 tablespoon of chia seeds (great fibre!)

Directions

Heat the frozen berries and pineapple over medium heat with the water until they are soft and warm. Blend the mixture for a few seconds for a smooth fruit sauce. Then take off the heat and add the chia seeds and allow the sauce to sit for a few minutes. The chia seeds will absorb some of the liquid and firm up the sauce. 

**Since I knew I would be topping these pancakes with maple syrup I didn't add any sugar to the pancakes or the strawberry pineapple sauce. This is a great way to control the sugar content, and a great alternative to the sugary jams you can buy at the grocery store, or the traditional pancake recipes.**

This would be a great way to surprise your loved on on Valentine's Day morning ;) 

^^ all you need to make the strawberry and pineapple sauce ^^ 

^^ the raspberry puree ^^ 

^^ blend your fruit together ^^ 

^^ this batter is ready to go ^^ 

^^ once you remove your fruit sauce from the blender, mix with chia seeds a let sit for a few minutes ^^

^^ I topped these with the fruit sauce, plain yogourt, maple syrup and some dried coconut ^^ 

^^ I don't know how to make foam hearts, so I topped my espresso with a cinnamon heart instead ^^ 

Enjoy!
-M

Valentine's Day Raspberry Coconut macaroons

It's Valentine's Day week here on the peachy pear and I have a fun little gift idea for you to try out! If you're like me you're probably thinking...hmm maybe I should get my friends something small for Valentine's day, but what could I get them? Well I have been thinking for a few days about what I could get Ali for Valentine's Day. I wanted it to be something small, thoughtful and inexpensive as we're on a budget. I decided to make a mason jar with a chalkboard lid, the tutorial on how to make them is herePersonalize the lid with a little message, and fill them with a few of these delightful little raspberry coconut macaroons.

These macaroons are a new recipe for me, I've made them plain before (coconut alone, adapted from this recipe ) but I decided to flavour and colour them with some raspberry puree to make them pink for Valentine's Day. They are incredibly simple in terms of ingredients, they are made with dried coconut, maple syrup and raspberry puree, and they're pretty easy to make too! If you are looking for a quick treat to make for your friends and family this Valentine's Day, or any day really, these are a great idea.

Here's the recipe: 
3.5 cups of dried unsweetened coconut
1/4 cup of maple syrup
1/2 cup of unsweetened raspberry puree
Blender or food processor needed
** They're actually very healthy for how decadent they taste - this recipe made 19 macaroons! **

Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Place 2 cups of your dried coconut into your blender or food processor with your raspberry puree (heat frozen raspberries) and maple syrup, and blend until smooth. Place remaining coconut in a mixing bowl and add blender contents. Mix well until combined. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and form equal sized balls with you coconut mixture. Bake for 15-20 minutes until the bottoms are lightly golden brown. Drizzle with melted chocolate for an added treat.

^^ a blender or food processor will work to make the wet portion of the cookies ^^

^^ the wet ingredients - coconut, maple syrup and raspberries ^^ 

^^ add the remaining unsweetened shredded coconut to the wet ingredients ^^ 

^^ bake until bottoms are golden brown ^^

^^ I drizzled mine with dark chocolate! ^^ 

^^ they are soft and moist on the inside ^^ 

^^ the perfect homemade gift for your friends this Valentine's Day ^^ 

^^ personalize it with a cute message ^^
** I got too excited to write on this lid that I didn't wait long enough for the paint to dry, and I took some of the paint off - oh well! ** 

Enjoy!
-M