MAKE-AHEAD VEGAN BREAKFAST IDEAS » quick & easy to-go

Now that we have the acoustic panels all set up here in the new studio, it means we can finally start filming here. So I think this is going to be the first video ever where from start to finish we have filmed everything in the new Pick Up Lime's headquarters, which is really exciting for me. I feel like I've been waiting for this for a while. Today's video is about vegan breakfast meal ideas. These are things that you can make ahead of time and take with you on the go. All of the recipes that we're sharing in today's video can be made in advance. It might just take like five minutes of your time in the morning to put together the final pieces or to heat it up. As usual, all of the recipe links can be found in the description box below. We also always make sure to provide our recipes in PDF form on the blog in case you didn't know that. It just really helps you out a little bit when you're in the kitchen. And we always make sure to provide our recipes in both metric and imperial measurements so that everyone around the world can make them. Now let's dive into those recipes. First up, we'll be making this creamy, warm and comforting coconut oatmeal using about one cup of steel-cut oats. Steel-cut oats have more texture and fiber than regular rolled oats. That's why I really like them. I always try to soak these the night before if I can because it helps to quicken the cooking time, but it also helps to get rid of certain inhibitors that decrease nutrient absorption. The next day, you'll see it's soaked up a lot of the liquid. So before cooking it, I give it a quick rinse and add it to my pot on high heat. Then I add about a cup of plant milk. I use soy and a full can of coconut milk, which is about two cups. Then add a tablespoon of ground flax seeds, half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon and about a teaspoon of pure vanilla extract. Bring it to a boil, then reduce it to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes. Then we can add the oatmeal to containers. It makes about three or four servings. And just a little heads up, if you don't have the chance to soak the steel-cut oats overnight, it's not a problem. You'll just need to add a bit more plant milk and let it cook for about 15 minutes longer. And once it's cooled off, you can pop on the lids and store them in the fridge. Now comes the morning when you want to enjoy it. When you take it out of the fridge, you're going to notice it's soaked up a lot of the liquid. So what I do is add it back to the pot with about another half a cup or so of plant milk. And I add in one sliced banana as well. Cook it for another couple of minutes, just until it's hot. Alternatively, you can also do this step in the microwave. Then add it back to your to-go container and add some toppings. For the first variation, which is perfect if it's summer where you are, if you have access to fresh mangoes and blueberries, you can add that to the top, along with some hemp seeds and roasted pecans. For the second variation, great for fall or winter, you can top the oatmeal with some stewed frozen berries. Here, I used raspberries, a heaping tablespoon of peanut butter, some coarsely chopped dairy-free dark chocolate, and some pumpkin seeds. I also added some toasted coconut flakes. But really, you can add any toppings that you'd like. Enjoy this at home or take it with you on the go. This next breakfast, I can't rave about enough. It's kind of like a vegan cream cheese, which can be enjoyed for breakfast, but also for lunch. We're going to start by peeling three cloves of garlic and coarsely chopping some herbs. About three tablespoons of fresh basil, a third a cup of fresh chives, and a third a cup of fresh dill. I definitely would not omit any of these herbs. They're really necessary for the bold flavors in this recipe. Then we're going to take a block of firm tofu, gently press it with our hands to drain off some of the water, and dab it dry with a clean dishcloth before adding it to a high-speed blender. We're also going to add three quarters of a cup of cashews that were soaked overnight, and the juice from half of a lemon, or about four tablespoons worth. A tablespoon of apple cider vinegar as well, three cloves of garlic, two teaspoons of garlic powder, two teaspoons of onion powder, two teaspoons of salt, as well as some freshly cracked black pepper. Blend this in a high-speed blender until it's smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides as needed until you get this really creamy consistency. Spoon the mixture into the bowl and add all of the chopped herbs, folding it until it's thoroughly mixed. Now I am warning you, the aroma from all of the herbs at this stage, it's going to make your kitchen smell amazing. Then what you want to do is cover it up, place it in the fridge to allow the flavors to melt for at least an hour, if not longer. On the morning when you want to enjoy your breakfast, just spread it onto some toast or a bagel, I like to add a generous amount, and then top it with some veggies to make it a complete breakfast. So I added some cucumber slices, tomatoes, a mix of sprouts, and some lettuce. Enjoy it right then and there, or cut it in half and place it in a container to take with you. This cream cheese, by the way, it's not just good for sandwiches, you can also enjoy it as a dip with veggies, so it makes a great snack as well. And that's it for make-ahead breakfast idea number two. This final breakfast can be enjoyed in different ways, it's a super dense granola bar loaded with various whole food power ingredients. You're going to start off with a cup of raw hazelnuts, baking them in the oven at 350 Fahrenheit or 180 Celsius for about 8 to 10 minutes, or until it's lightly golden. Meanwhile, we're going to line or oil a baking pan. We're going to create a flax egg by adding two tablespoons of ground flax seeds to a bowl with six tablespoons of water and let that sit to gel. Then we're going to coarsely chop some of the add-ins, a quarter cup of dairy-free dark chocolate, a quarter cup of pecans, and half a cup of dried cranberries. We're also going to remove the seeds from about three quarters of a cup of soft dates. When the hazelnuts are roasted, you can remove it from the oven, let it cool before picking them up a handful at a time, rubbing the hazelnuts between the palms of your hands so the skins fall off. To a food processor, we're going to add the hazelnuts, a cup of rolled oats, a teaspoon of ground cinnamon, and half a teaspoon of salt. Then blend this on high until you get this kind of coarse flour-like consistency. Add this to a bowl along with another one and a half cups of rolled oats and give it a stir. Back to the food processor, we're going to add in the dates and blend it until it forms a paste. Then we can add in half a cup of almond butter, a third a cup of coconut oil, the thickened flax seed mixture, as well as a teaspoon of vanilla extract. Then blend this all on high until you end up with a smooth sticky mixture. We're then going to add this to our bowl along with all of the mix-ins, so the dried cranberries, chocolate, pecans, and pumpkin seeds. Mix it all together until it's well combined and then transfer it over to your baking dish. Press down the mixture and smooth out the top with the back of a spoon. I also like to sprinkle on a few of the mixings on top just to make it look nice. And then you can bake it in the oven at 350 Fahrenheit or 180 Celsius for about 15 minutes or until it looks lightly golden. You want to let it cool completely before cutting it into bars. It makes about 12 bars in total. And then you can store these in the fridge or freezer to take them with you either as breakfast or as a snack. To make sure it's a complete breakfast, we do recommend taking a piece of fruit with you to enjoy when you're on the go. Or you can do what we did here. We added it as a kind of granola to some plant-based yogurt with some fresh fruit on top to make kind of like a parfait. Or you can crumble it on top of a smoothie with whatever other toppings you think you might like. Given that the granola bars are so dense, it's a really nice complement to enjoy it with something creamy like yogurt or a smoothie. Then just screw some lids onto these jars and take them with you to go. I hope you enjoyed these breakfast meal ideas that we've shared with you today as well as the kind of different combinations that you can create with them. If you have any requests for us for meals that you'd like to see on the blog, breakfast or otherwise, share that with us in the comment section below. And if you happen to make any of the recipes that we've shared in today's video, please tag us on Instagram. It's always a lot of fun for us to, it's really rewarding for us to see you guys making those meals at home. And that's it for today. Pick Up Limes signing off, we'll see you in the next video.