I love breakfasts! It is my favourite meal of the day. A lot of people tend to skip breakfasts, but I believe that healthy meal at the beginning of your day not only helps to start your day productively, but it also prevents you from over-eating during the day. In Russia we have a proverb that shows how the amount of food we eat should be divided within a day. It says: "Eat breakfast yourself, share lunch with friend, and give dinner to your enemy".

I am trying to follow this wisdom, therefore I often have dessert for breakfast:)

Today I will share one of my favourite dessert breakfasts with you. It is very tasty and healthy at the same time. Kids who don't like classic oat meal version, will fall in love with this one (results are proven).

Ingredients

• 2 ripe bananas, sliced
• 1/2 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
• 1/2 cup blackberries, fresh or frozen
• 1 cup rolled oats ( I prefer large flake oats)
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 egg
• 3 Tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup walnuts or pecans, roughly chopped

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 1 1/2 quart casserole dish.

Lay the bananas in a single layer on the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle a half of the berries over the bananas.

In a bowl, combine the oats, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Sprinkle oat mixture over fruit.

Whisk together milk, egg, butter, maple syrup and vanilla. Pour over oats, coating evenly. Sprinkle remaining berries and nuts over the top.

Bake for 35-45 minutes or until golden and bubbly and set in the center.

Serve with plain yogurt, vanilla ice cream or milk.

---

Carrot cake was one of my favourite kinds of cake since I was a child. I love it, because it is not only delicious, but also contains a lot of vitamins and healthy nutrients. Today I've decided to add pumpkin into it, to give it even more healthy goodness, texture and natural sweetness. This recipe doesn't contain sugar, I used maple syrup instead. If you prefer honey to maple syrup, it would work too.

---

Ingredients

For the Cake:

• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup olive or coconut oil (coconut oil gives it more flavor)
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree (see the recipe below)
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cups whole-wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 1/2 cups coarsely grated carrots
• 1 tablespoon grated orange rind
• 1/2 cup cranberries
• 1/2 cup diced pistachios or walnuts (I used pistachios)

For the Orange Cream Cheese Frosting:

• 6 oz cream cheese, VERY soft
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 1 tablespoon vanilla pure extract
• 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
• 1 tablespoon orange zest
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Generously grease a 9" springform pan; set aside.

In a large bowl combine the eggs, maple syrup, oil, pumpkin, vanilla, and spices; beat well to combine. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt to the wet mixture; stir until just combined. Batter will be on the thicker side but resist the urge to over mix! Add in the carrots, shredded coconut, cranberries, and pistachios; gently fold together until incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Bake cake for 45-50 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and set, and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool for 20 minutes in the pan, then transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely.

While the cake is cooling, make your frosting!

In the bowl of a stand-mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using an electric handheld mixer, beat the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla on medium-high speed until completely smooth; about 2 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and gradually add the sifted confectioners' sugar. Once all of the sugar has been added beat on high-speed for 1-2 minutes. Once the cake has completely cooled, spread the frosting over the cake, decorate with additional nuts, if desired, then slice and serve! Store this cake in the fridge, covered, for up to 4 days. Not that I think it'll last that long ;)

---

PREP TIME: 25 ACTIVE; 30 BAKING
SERVING SIZE: 6 PEOPLE

---

My mother makes these cookies. They're delicious. As a young girl, I could hardly wait for them to cool! Fortunately they're also very easy to prepare.

---

INGREDIENTS

• 300 gr unsalted butter
• 250 gr sugar
• 3 eggs
• 350 gr all purpose flower
• 200 gr unsweetened shredded coconut

PREPARATION

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
2. Combine butter (preliminarily softened at room temperature) and sugar in a large bolw. Whip it with a mixer at high speed, slowly adding eggs.
3. Add flower and shredded coconut. Keep mixing till sugar is melted and the dough is creamy and sticky.
4. Put baking sheet an a baking tray and grease it with a piece of butter.
5. Make medium-size balls and put them on the tray with 5 cm distance from one another.
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until slightly golden.