Gluten free - dairy free - refined sugar free - egg free - nut free - vegetarian
     Another installment in my Breakfast Ideas series!  This is a nice change from porridge and this amount makes enough for about 4 people for breakfast.  Funnily enough, I was never a fan of Rice Pudding for dessert when I was a kid...maybe because it didn't quite feel "dessert-ish" enough!  Having said that, if you don't have a massive sweet tooth like I do, you might really like this for dessert!!  I developed this one myself over a few batches, to come up with this favourite mix of ingredients.

Ingredients

• 2 cups uncooked rice (I use Basmati as it has one of the lowest GI's of any rice, for a more stable energy release through the morning)
• 1/4 cup raw honey or pure maple syrup (you could also try rice malt syrup or coconut sugar)
  
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or paste
• 2 x 400ml cans (or 3 x 270ml cans, or just over 3 cups total) coconut milk
  
• 2 cups other milk of choice- plant based or dairy
  
• 3 large strips of citrus peel (lemon or orange)- just use a vegetable peeler
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg or cinnamon

Method

• Rinse and drain the rice a few times to remove excess starch.
• Combine all ingredients except the rice in a large saucepan, and whisk until smooth.  Stir in the rice.
• With the lid on the saucepan, bring to the boil over high heat and immediately reduce the heat to as low as possible.  Simmer, covered, for up to half an hour (this will vary depending on your stove top and how quickly the liquid absorbs). 
• Stir it occasionally to check that the rice is not sticking to the bottom.
• Simmer until there is no liquid bubbling away on top of the rice, but there is still PLENTY of moisture left around the rice.  Take it off the heat when there is still a little more moisture than the final consistency you want, as it will keep absorbing moisture even after you take it off the heat.
• Cool for a few minutes.  Remove the citrus peel. Serve warm, sprinkled with a little extra nutmeg or cinnamon, and drizzle with a little extra honey if desired. 
• If reheating left overs, you may need to add a little more milk.

Gluten free - grain free - dairy free - refined sugar free - nut free - vegetarian
    I've been experimenting with using coconut flour and have finally come up with a savoury muffin that I'm happy with!  If you like a more savoury breakfast, these would be great- even better with a bit of fried bacon, tomato and mushroom on the side!  They make an excellent lunch box snack too.  They freeze well so you can pull them out when you need them. 
   Coconut flour is really nothing like regular flour.  It needs to be baked with lots of egg to help give it it bind.  These muffins are actually a bit of a cross between a muffin and a frittata due to the amount of egg.  They are grain free and dairy free.  They are packed full of vegetable and protein goodness- a great way to fill up for the day!

    Makes about 10 medium sized muffins.  Double the recipe if you want to freeze a batch for later.
Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 1 cup grated carrot (about 160g / 5.6oz or two medium carrots)
• 1 cup grated cheese of choice (100g / 3.5oz).  I use Manchego (a sheep cheese) or sheep pecorino, but cheddar or parmesan would work too.
  
• 1 large spring onion (white and green bits), finely chopped
• 1/2 cup milk of choice - plant based or dairy
  
• 1/3 cup coconut flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon gluten free baking powder
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 2 tablespoons Vital Vege Powder (optional)
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley or rosemary (or 1 tablespoon fresh, finely chopped herb)
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• a few grinds of pepper

Note : you can leave the cheese out all together if preferred.  Or to reduce the cheese, you can leave it out of the recipe and just sprinkle a little on top of each muffin before baking, as I did here:

Method:

• Preheat oven to 190 degrees Celsius / 370F. 
• In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until a little fluffy.  Stir in the cheese, spring onion and milk until well combined.
• In a smaller bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients (coconut flour, baking soda, baking powder, paprika, herb, Vital Vege Powder, salt and pepper).
• Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until well combined
• Leave mixture to sit for 5 minutes.
• Place 10-12 patty cases in a muffin tin. Use an ice cream scoop to put batter into the cases- this helps get a uniform amount of batter in each one.
• If adding cheese to the top, do so now.
• Bake in preheated oven for about 20 minutes, until golden on top.
• Cool to room temperature before eating.  
• Freeze extras in airtight containers.

For more breakfast ideas, scroll through these recipes.
For more lunch ideas, scroll through these recipes.

Gluten free - grain free - dairy free- refined sugar free - egg free - vegetarian
    In my continuing quest to help inspire you all to make interesting, healthy, filling, ' Friendly' breakfasts,  I suddenly had the inspiration to convert a cookie recipe that I make regularly make something more breakfast-like.  The original recipe had egg in it and I decided I wanted to try and make it egg-free for those with egg allergies.  Replacing the egg with Chia worked really well. 
    Of course, this doesn't have to be eaten for breakfast.  It's pretty sweet (although only sweetened with honey) and these make a great lunch box snack too.  When eating for breakfast, I cut the slice into 12 pieces, but if using for a snack, I'd make it into 24.  It's really filling!  I have it pictured above with some Chocolate Avocado Mousse. 
    For something more indulgent you could replace the dried fruit with 100g of dark chocolate (says the chocoholic!!)

Serves 12 for breakfast, or 24 as a snack.
Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons Chia seeds plus 6 tablespoons water
• 4 cups almond meal
• 1 tablespoon coconut flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 cup desiccated coconut (organic/preservative free)
• 1 1/2 cups dried fruit of choice.  I use organic sultanas and apricots (chopped).  You could use chopped dates, currants, cranberries, gogi berries - anything really!
• 1 cup (300g /10.5oz) honey (or less if you prefer)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Method

• Preheat oven to 150 degrees Celsius /300F. 

• In a medium bowl, mix the Chia seeds and water together and leave to soak for 15 minutes
• In a large bowl, place the almond meal, then sift in the coconut flour, baking soda and cinnamon.  Add the desiccated coconut and dried fruit. Stir until evenly mixed.
• Once the chia seeds have soaked, stir, and add the honey and vanilla.  Stir or whisk until evenly mixed.
• Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until completely incorporated.
• Grease a 30cm x 22cm (12 x 9 inches) baking dish with coconut oil (or butter if tolerated).  Your dish could be a little smaller than this, but not larger.   Press the mixture firmly and evenly into the dish and smooth out the top with a spatula or fork. 
• Bake in preheated oven for about 20 minutes, until nicely golden on top.
• Leave to rest out of the oven for 15 minutes before slicing and serving (it needs time to firm-up). 
• If you don't wish to serve it warm, leave it to cool to room temperature before removing from dish and storing in an airtight container in the pantry.

For more breakfast ideas, scroll my recipes here.
For more snack ideas, scroll through my recipes here.