Apple Granola 蘋果烤燕麥

This autumn is the first time that we have our own back yard. As nice as it is, I learned that it takes quite a lot of work at this time of the year to keep everything looking orderly and alive. Apparently, you have to trim most of the plants, so they will start setting new buds as soon as the old ones have fallen off. And then, as some of you already know, you have to rake all the falling leaves that cover the yard, so they won't interrupt the growth of the plants and grass. All this needs to be done before the winter arrives. Since our house is surrounded by quite a few big maple trees, picking up the leaves can feel like an endless job. With the large amount of physical work ahead of me, having a good breakfast has become especially important, as it gives me the energy to start off the day and last several hours without having to snack on much else.

Black Sesame-Oat Porridge 燕麥芝麻糊

This porridge is actually based on a traditional Chinese sweet dessert porridge that is normally a mixture of blended black sesame seeds and rice. Here, I'm using oats instead of rice, and I make it less sweet than the traditional one. Black sesame seeds are extremely nourishing, and contain a great amount of protein, vitamin E, magnesium, calcium, and more. By blending the two together with a little bit of soy milk, you get this really creamy and thick texture with a rich sesame flavour, just like the traditional one, plus more health benefits from the oats, walnuts, and goji berries!

 

Dark Velvet Hot Chocolate Overnight Oatmeal with Toasted Pecans 濃純黑巧克力熱可可燕麥粥

For all you chocolate lovers, this is the "it" recipe for your morning! I originally started out making this breakfast for my hubby (a hopeless chocoholic), but I confess, I even ended up loving this myself. I know you might be thinking that this looks like a dessert, and how can it be healthy?! Well, that's exactly what I wanted it to look like, but did you know that cocoa powder is one of those super foods? It's packed with fiber, iron, magnesium, and antioxidants. It can be beneficial for high blood pressure, and high cholesterol, and also acts as an anti-depressant. If you're able to find raw cocoa powder, it would be even more nutritious.