I have been feeling totally uninspired in the kitchen lately. It’s such a frustrating feeling. I LOVE food. I LOVE to cook. So what’s the problem? Why can’t  I just hop in the kitchen and that’d be that! I decided to spend my down time today searching for inspiration.  It wasn’t the most productive way to spend it (as I have a list a mile long of things I need to get done)  but it was exactly what I needed. Thank you to theminimalistbaker for helping inspire me to get back in the kitchen with a smile on my face.

serves 2, if you want two pieces of toast or 4, if you are satisfied with just one

• 1 can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1/4 cup of sunflower seeds, raw and unsalted
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup onion, diced
• 1 small lemon, juiced
• 1 1/2 tsp tamari
• 1/2 tbsp maple syrup, add a little more if you like it sweeter
• 1 avocado, mashed
• 1 1/2 tsp dijon mustard
• 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
• white pepper, to taste
• salt, to taste
• tomato for topping
• 4 pieces of double toasted rye
• arugula for topping

To Make:

1. drain and rinse the chickpeas
2. place the first 12 ingredients in a bowl and mash with the backside of a fork. Alternately you can use a food processor and give it a few good pulses just to incorporate everything. You want the mixture quite chunky not smooth.

Assemble:

1. lay the rye toast on 4 plates
2. top each with arugula then tomato
3. evenly distribute the chickpea mash to finish them off
4. if you are like me at this point you will add a nice drizzle of your favourite hot sauce. I topped mine with sriracha and it was perfect! minus getting it on the tip of my nose while trying to stuff this beauty in my mouth.
5. enjoy.

I have been craving this particular breakfast for months now but every time I would go to buy granola my health conscious conscience got the better of me. It seems even at the health food stores granola has a ton of extra crap in it that my body just doesn’t need. I don’t know about you but I don’t want salt  + sugar in my breakfast….at least not all the time. In the end I finally decided to just get over my lazy self and make some granola the way I wanted it.

. 1 cup of oats

. 1/4 cup of steel cut oats

. 1/2 cup of shredded coconut (unsweetened)

. 1/2 cup of pumpkin seeds

. 1/2 cup of dried apricots, chopped into small pieces

. 1/2 cup of dried figs, chopped into small pieces

. 2 tbsp of chia, flax or hemp seeds (a mixture of, or you can use just one)

. 2 tbsp of coconut oil, melted

. 2 tbsp of maple syrup

Preheat the oven to 300. Dump everything into a large bowl and mix it together using your hands. Spread the mixture out onto a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, flipping halfway through. Remove from the oven and let cool. Store in an airtight glass jar for a week or two.

To serve: I have been eating this batch of granola with some plain greek yogurt and sliced pineapple but you can pretty much serve it with any fresh fruit!

*Want to mix it up a bit? Try adding any of the following to your granola

. sliced almonds

. walnuts, chopped

. pecans, chopped

. raisins

. dried cherries

makes about 30 macaroons

2 large egg whites

1/3 cup pure maple syrup or honey

1/2 tsp organic vanilla

1/8 tsp organic almond extract

2 cups organic unsweetened shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg whites, maple syrup, vanilla and almond extract. Add the coconut and stir until combined.

Using a tablespoon as a scooper, spoon out the mixture onto a parchment lined tray ( or 2 ) leaving about an inch of space between the macaroons. Bake for 15 minutes or until the bottoms and sides are golden brown and the tops are begining to brown. Once you have removed the macaroons from the oven let rest for a min of 30 minutes before removing from the pan. Enjoy

*note: these would be amazing with a little chocolate drizzled on top!