The sun bounces off the snow, happy and satisfied smiles gleam; the presents have just been unwrapped on Christmas morning. Everyone is pleased with their haul, or better yet, pleased to have gifted just the right thing to their loved ones. Now that all the gifting is over, the next most anticipated thing about the holidays comes to forefront: the food! There’s no better way to continue the magical morning but with a deliciously satisfying and festive breakfast or, depending on what time your alarm rings, brunch!

This week we worked along with Instagrammer and foodie, Monita Sen (@monita_sen), to help create a holiday breakfast like no other! The entire family will enjoy waffles, hash, and poached eggs, with a yuletide twist! In Monita’s own words, it is a warm and refreshing take on a holiday breakfast, and better yet, the Citrus and Cranberry Sauce Waffles are easy to do, because you can simply add in your favourite canned cranberry jelly sauce to the batter. The seasonal flavours don’t stop there! Combined with the taste of lemon and orange, and the warmth of cinnamon and nutmeg, the entire family will be asking for seconds! With healthy Smoky Cauliflower Hash and Poached Eggs to complete the meal, it’s a celebratory breakfast you can enjoy without guilt!

During the holidays, you might just be in a pretty intense time crunch. Make sure you’re on time for your next holiday engagement with this quick tip from Monita: fry up the hash the night before. Simply heat it up to serve with your fresh fluffy waffles made with the Belgian Rotary Waffle Maker and poached eggs!

Make this special time of year even more exceptional with these 3 recipes!

Making sure your holiday moments are filled with satisfied smiles and appetites,

@monita_sen

Born in Canada, raised between Toronto and Kolkata, India, Monita is a self-taught home cook and baker influenced and inspired by her Canadian upbringing, eastern roots, and her love of Julia Child. Married to a French Canadian who doesn’t speak a word of French and is a picky eater, Monita finds herself endlessly developing fusion recipes to feed and satisfy both herself and her spouse, a challenge she loves as there is endless inspiration from her culinary obsessed heritage and travels.

As an Insta-Blogger Monita has had her food featured on the Instagram sites of Bon Appetit Magazine, Cooking Light Magazine, and Tasting Table, to name a few. A lifelong wordsmith, you’ll find something for your taste buds as well as your amusement on her Instagram gallery @monita_sen.

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, but sometimes it can be hard to plan a healthy one without your sweet-tooth leading you astray. All those sugary cereal options out there, that barely possess any nutritional value, make it difficult to get that boost required after fasting all night and that sought-after energy to start off your day. Today, we’re serving up a fun solution to this common problem! And what’s more is that it’ll make your every day breakfast just as trendy as everything else you do. All the rage with foodies all over the internet, a smoothie bowl is way better than cornflakes and even better than a plain old smoothie (you’ll feel full by the time you’re done and you won’t down it in less than 10 seconds). They come topped with all sorts of colourful fruit and crunchy extras like granola or cereal, which just aren’t the same in a regular smoothie, and that create a nice texture for your palate. But a smoothie bowl is not just a nutritional boost in the morning; it also has the potential to be a work of art! So if you’re into making your food social media worthy, this smoothie bowl could be a fun, new, beautiful challenge to try!

This week, Sarah, from Sarah’s Dolce Vita, is back to show us how to make this divinely healthy meal! You might have already seen some of the breakfast creations on her blog, ranging from healthy muffins, chia pudding and muesli to tiramisu pancakes and protein-loaded oatmeal recipes. Sarah does it all and she’s an expert smoothie bowl maker, too! Our smoothie bowl training is in capable hands and today you have the opportunity to learn how to make her Tropical Green Smoothie Bowl. Loaded with banana, spinach, chia seeds, pineapple, tahini, almond butter, oats and almond milk, this recipe has all the key elements to building a balanced smoothie bowl. A healthy mix of greens, fruits, protein, healthy fats, super foods, ice and liquids all in one! Nutrition and texture are important elements of a good smoothie bowl, so you have to get your ratios right. However, you can also get inspired by the ingredients you have on hand! If you feel like mangoes will go better than bananas or if you have heaps of granola hanging around, why not throw them in? It wouldn’t hurt to add a touch of your imagination to the recipe this week. In fact, we encourage it!

For this recipe, blending is the most important step, so you have to make sure you have the right tool for the job! Sarah mixes together her ingredients with the handy thinkkitchen Pro-Stick Hand Blender. With two speeds and stainless steel blades that can crush ice, this convenient and easy-to-grip small kitchen appliance will keep your counter top blender tucked away in a far-off cabinet for good. Plus, it’s way easier to clean than a big bulky blender. All you need to do is place it under a tap and rinse it off!

Now it’s your turn to have some fun. Get creative and start building yourself a better way to breakfast!

Here to inspire you to be creative with your food,

@thenutritiousprincess

Sarah is an Italian-Canadian who is passionate about food! In fact, she’s pretty sure either tomato sauce or melted dark chocolate runs through her veins. She loves to spend hours experimenting in the kitchen, watching Food Network or let’s face it, hitting the mall. She strives to have a career she loves, one she’ll never want a break from. This is where her love for teaching and passion for cooking merge into one – hello Food Network cooking show?  She has a major sweet tooth and will walk miles for dessert.

Directions

In an electric mixer, beat the eggs with the brown sugar for approximately 5 minutes until they become white, form a ribbon and triple in size.

In another bowl, mix the flour, the cocoa, the corn starch, the magic powder and the salt. Set aside. Gradually add oil while mixing with the mixture of eggs and brown sugar. With a spatula, add the dry ingredients alternating with the hot water until all the mix is well moistened. Leave it to rest for 10 minutes.

Preheat the waffle maker. Put one laddle of dough in the waffle maker and close the cover (or according to manufacturer’s instructions). Cook for approximately 5 minutes or until the waffle is golden brown. Keep it warm while you make the other waffles. Repeat operation with the rest of the dough. Serve with fresh fruits and chocolate sauce.

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To pull off the ultimate brunch, all you need is a frying pan, and a heart and circle cookie cutter. There are two different ways to make eggs and toast into heart shaped. First, cut a heart shaped piece out of the bread. Your first option is to put bread with a hole on the pan and then fill the hole with the egg. Your second option is to separate the yolk from the whites. Place the circular cookie cutter on the pan with the heart shaped one inside. Fill the heart shaped cookie cutter with the yolk and the circle with the egg white. You can even add some meat to your plate in the shape of a heart by simply twisting two strips of bacon to form hearts. This wouldn’t be a special celebration without some mimosas. Serve elegant Mimosas in our Paris Flutes for a unique yet coordinated look. 

For dessert, serve some seasonal fruit in the shape of hearts (once again using our heart shaped cookie cutter). Or if you want to take it to the next level, make some chocolate covered strawberries. Simply melt dark chocolate chips, dip strawberries into it, and then place them on wax paper in the fridge for a few hours to harden. You can even crush some nuts and sprinkle it on top while the chocolate is still warm for an added crunch. Serve these delicious treats on our Glamour rectangular plate.

If you’re celebrating the day just with that special someone, turn brunch into a breakfast in bed for the two of you to enjoy. This task is made easy with our Provencal bed tray served with our Mr. or Mrs. Mug for your favorite morning drink.

The Basics

Steep cinnamon sticks and vanilla pod in coconut milk for 20 minutes – allow milk to cool.

Whisk chia seeds into cooled milk and allow to sit overnight in the fridge. Try to whisk every couple of hours to be sure it’s well integrated.

Enjoy the next day for either breakfast (top with bananas, granola, cereal, nuts) or dessert (berries, cocoa nibs, chocolate curls, toasted shaved coconut).

Top it off

Le Bon Depart (the Good Start): Start your day off the right way with a chia pudding topped with orange slices for some Vitamin C and some cereal for some added fiber.

Berry-tastic: this is the perfect mid day snack to keep you going during those long afternoons. Top it off with blackberries and your favorite nuts for extra protein and nutrients.

Chia – colada: Top it off with some roasted coconut nibs as well as pineapple slices. This is a great dessert to serve at your next party for a healthy, but none the less just as delicious and satisfying as that chocolate cake.

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