All Roads Lead to the Kitchen: WWC

Looking for a wonderful variety of items to bring to your breakfast table that contain healthy whole grains? We're talking Spelt and Oats specifically today, bringing together all of the Wholesome Wholegrain Cooking: Spelt/Oats for Breakfast entries that were sent in this month. So much to choose from, I don't even know where to begin. Check out all of these wonderful entries.

Spelt

First up are these tempting Goji Berry Mango Spelt Breakfast Bars from the always innovative, often surprising Lora at Diary of a Mad Hausfrau (Germany). Lora often uses spelt and happened to use it 3 ways in her amazing breakfast bars.

The lovely France from Beyond the Peel (Canada) made a lovely batch of Lemon Cream Spelt Scones w/ Blueberry Honey Dip that are are light and fluffy with a bit of a crunch from added cornmeal.

Moist and chock-full of healthy ingredients, these Blueberry Orange Spelt mini muffins from Denise at Oh Taste n see (Seattle, USA) sound like a wonderful way to start any day.

These Spiced Apple Crumb Muffins that I made earlier this month here at girlichef (Indiana, USA) are not only delicious and addicting, they also make a healthy way to start your day. They use whole grain spelt flour and rolled spelt...and they're vegan.

Oats

Nandita from Paaka-Shalle (Tanzania) made some tempting Apple Oatmeal Streusel Muffins as a pick-me-up breakfast in the midst of the chaos of moving.

Nirmala from Nirmala's Kitchen (Chennai, India) made a healthy Oats Dosa flavored with chiles, coriander, curry leaves, and ginger for breakfast since she was unable to locate spelt.

My pal Natashya from Living in the Kitchen with Puppies (Canada) made a beautiful batch of Oatmeal Bars with Dates and Walnuts. Hmmm. She must have thought I was visiting this week.

Sanjeeta from Lite Bite (India) created some light, fluffy, and tempting Oatmeal and Banana Scones, a healthy way to make a delicious breakfast with very few ingredients.

If you've been searching for a muffin that is quick, egg and butter-free, and low in sugar, look no further than these Oatmeal Breakfast Muffins from Krithi at Krithi's Kitchen (USA).

I am a sucker for any type of "bars" in the morning, especially if they are chewy like these Eggless Chewy Chocolate Oat Bars from Aarthi at Yummy Tummy (India - Nagercoil).

Next up is Reva from Kaarasaaram (UK) with not only a healthy way to start the day...but an absolutely stunning one, as well. I don't know if I'd rather eat these Oats, Butternut Squash, & Rosemary Breakfast Muffins or take their picture.

And here with another version of Oats Dosa that sounds equally as delicious as the one above is Rajani from My Kitchen Trials (Chennai, India). Studded with flecks of beautiful color imparted by carrots and chiles and beans, I would happily wake up to this.

Kalyani (aka Mom Chef) from What's Cooking? made some Eggless Carrot, Oats, & Raisin Muffins in honor of her 100th post. Good morning!

A huge thank you to everybody who participated this month. I wish I had one of everything to try. And thanks to Sanjeeta for having me as a host. Next month Reva from Kaarasaaram will be hosting Wholesome Wholegrain Cooking with the theme: Corn for Dinner...be sure to head on over to get the details!

I've mentioned before that I'm not the biggest muffin fan. I think it has to do with the processed tasting muffins I grew up with. Super sweet...no discernible texture...ginormous. I don't remember my mom ever making muffins at home except for the type you can buy in a box that has a little can of blueberries right in the box itself. And okay, I actually did like those. But other than that, it was (different) muffins from a box or a coffee shop and I never really liked them. Fortunately, I have discovered a few different types of muffins that I actually like A LOT in the past six months or so and I will be keeping them in my arsenal...ready to mix up for guests or easy breakfasts or just because. It really all began with those Sweet Potato Muffins w/ Bacon Pecan Streusel. The flavor! And coming in as another "keeper" were the Brown Butter Blueberry Muffins (way better than the boxed mix I remember, by the way). Now, I never...ever...would have thought that a vegan muffin would fall comfortably into my top 3. But, low and behold, it did. I consider these muffins pretty darn healthy, but they don't taste like health food. They don't have that cloying sweetness that makes me loathe muffins. They are made with spelt flour and rolled spelt. They have bits of fresh apple and roasted nuts in every bite. And they smell like home. I changed them up a bit from the original recipe that called for a mixture of white and whole spelt flour since I only had whole. I switched out the rolled oats for rolled spelt. I switched out the soy milk for almond milk. All this because it's what I had on hand...and though I've never tried them made as originally written, I'm not sorry...because they were amazing.

Spiced Apple Crumb Muffins
adapted from / inspired by My Father's Daughter

makes ~12 muffins (...could make a few extra, depending on the size of your muffin tins)

crumb topping:
½ c. whole grain Spelt flour
¼ c. whole rolled spelt (spelt flakes)
¼ c. brown sugar, packed
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
pinch sea salt
2 Tbs. coconut oil
1 Tbs. almond milk

muffins:
1 c. peeled, finely diced Granny Smith apples (1-2 apples)
1 Tbs. cornstarch
½ c. coconut oil
½ c. + 2 Tbs. Maple Syrup (you could use honey, but remember it won't be vegan if you do)
½ c. + 2 Tbs. Almond Milk
2 c. whole grain Spelt flour
2¼ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. fine sea salt
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
½ tsp. ground allspice
½ c. lightly toasted walnuts, roughly chopped

Preheat oven to 350° F. Line muffin tins with liners (or oil them).

crumb topping: Combine all dry ingredients in a small bowl. Add oil and almond milk and rub together with your fingers until you have crumbs the size of peas or small pebbles. Set aside.

muffins: Toss apples with cornstarch and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together coconut oil, maple syrup, and almond milk. Sift everything else (except the walnuts) into the bowl and stir until just combine. Gently fold in the apples and walnuts. Divide batter amongst muffin tins. Divide crumb topping over each. Slide into the oven and bake for 20-30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

I like these muffins best when they have cooled down a bit...but still have a bit of warmth. Seductively spiced and studded with bits of apple and walnut, the whole family finds them hard to resist. They are a fabulous breakfast or snack option and would be the perfect "welcome to the neighborhood" gift, too.

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Wholesome Wholegrain Cooking: Spelt/Oats in Breakfast hosted by ME this month!