Recipe: Soft Instant Oatmeal Cookies

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There's nothing quite like a freshly baked cookie, warm from the oven.

Some people like them crisp and crunchy, some love a chewy cookie and others prefer a softer cookie.

I was lucky enough to be sent some instant oatmeal packs from Nature's Path, as well as the other cereals, and I knew just what I was going to do with some of them! 

Make cookies, of course!

The Nature's Path Oatmeal comes in 3 flavours, 

Original which is simply pure oats with a pinch of sea salt

Apple Cinnamon which contains chunks of dried apple and a hint of cinnamon

Maple Nut which has crunchy hazelnuts and a delicious maple flavour. 

The individual sachets make for a quick and easy hot breakfast 

and the 50g portions are the perfect amount for a filling meal.

Just pop them in a bowl in the microwave with 1/2-2/3C of water, stir and cook for 75 seconds or so.

To make them extra creamy, cook them in a mix of milk and water, adding a dash of milk at the end.

They're the perfect base for whatever toppings you desire, or eaten on their own!

But, back to the cookies!

These cookies are the ultimate quick and easy soft oatmeal cookie that are the perfect base for any addition you want to make. 

I went the traditional route and added raisins to half of my batch, however, they work perfectly with choc chips, nuts, dried fruits or just about any other mix ins you'd find in a cookie!

Soft and Simple Instant Oatmeal Cookie Recipe

makes 1 dozen large cookies

or 2 dozen smaller cookies 

 1C plain flour

1C instant oats

1C brown sugar

2 tbsp boiling water

1 tsp bicarb soda/baking soda

120g butter, chopped

1 tbsp maple syrup

Preheat oven to 180*C. Line 2-4 baking trays with baking paper (depending on cookie size)

In a bowl, combine flour, oats and brown sugar. 

Dissolve bicarb soda in boiling water and set aside.

In a small saucepan, stir butter and maple syrup over a medium heat until butter melts.

Take off the heat and stir in baking soda mixture, pour into dry ingredients and stir until well combined.

Roll heaped tablespoons (for large cookies) or heaped teaspoons (for small cookies) of the dough into balls, place 1 1/2 inches apart on the lined trays.

Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden, set aside on trays to cool completely.

And there you have it, a batch of delicious fresh from the oven cookies!

Try not to eat them all in one go ;)


Our new blog can be found here.

So tell me, 

What's your ultimate cookie like?

and what are your favourite mix ins? 

Kristy received Nature's Path products courtesy of Kadac Health Foods (www.kadac.com.au) 
If you'd like a review of your products, send an email to ksayerphotography@gmail.com

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Granola Breakfast Muffins and a bunch of breakfast goodies!

Breakfast is by far my favourite meal of the day.

I can't understand how people can say they just don't like breakfast.

If I started without it, I'd probably be a zombie for the rest of the day.

So, as you could imagine, I was super excited to receive the package from realgoodfood,
filled with breakfast goodies as well as a whole bunch of other fantastic products. 
So many products, in fact, they won't fit into the one post!
Plus, I also have a delicious recipe for you at the end of the post!

The Organic Oat Porridge is a Wheat Free Mix of Biodynamic and organic rolled oats, sultanas, apple and cinnamon.
It has no added oil, sugar or salt and is GMO free!


It can be made hot on the stove (or in the microwave) as a porridge, 
but now as the weather is warming up, I love to use it as a base for overnight oats!
Just mix up the oat porridge with milk or yogurt (or a combination of both) and leave it to soften in the fridge overnight.
In the morning, all you have to do is pull your breakfast out of the fridge, add any extra toppings you might like and eat up!
Fast, easy and delicious :)

The Choc Berry Street Mix is a fantastic snack to keep around and it's also Gluten Free!

This organic snack mix is filled with sultanas, almonds, cranberries, blueberries, goji berries, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and delicious dark chocolate pieces.

The mix also makes a fantastic topping for oatmeal or overnight oats!

The Organic Street Mix is also gluten free 
 and filled with organic sultanas, almonds, sunflower kernels and pumpkin seeds.
It's a perfect on the go snack for when the hunger monster attacks!

The Organic Bircher Muesli is a wheat free mix of organic & biodynamic rolled oats, sultanas, dried apple, almonds and sunflower kernels.
Bircher muesli is a lot like overnight oats, some people like to soak theirs in fruit juices or water and top with milk or yogurt the next day, while others prefer to use milk or other combinations.
Ultimately, the decision is yours! Play around with different combinations until you find what you like!

You can get realgoodfood products from a variety of stockists across the country!

 Now, the recipe I promised!
As soon as I opened the Organic Toasted Muesli I was hit with the delicious aroma of honey and new it'd be perfect in baked goods!
It's a mix of organic & biodynamic rolled oats, sultanas, honey, sunflower kernels, almonds, barley malt, pear juice and orange.
It's delicious eaten as a cereal, but I decided I wanted to make a way for busy breakfast-haters to enjoy it too!

Thus, the breakfast muffin was born!
It's a perfect on the go breakfast that's fuss free and delicious!
The recipe is also completely adaptable, so it's easy to whip up with whatever you have at hand.


Muesli Breakfast Muffins 
makes 12 muffins or 6 extra large muffins


2 1/2C Flour (you can use white/whole wheat/GF/spelt)
2/3C Sugar (choose whatever sugar you prefer - white/brown/raw etc)
1C toasted muesli/granola + extra for topping
1 egg
1C fruit* 
1/4C vegetable oil 
1 1/4C milk 

Preheat oven to 180*C. Grease/spray muffin tins with oil or line with paper cases.
Combine flour, sugar and muesli in a bowl. 
Mix together egg, vegetable oil and milk and pour into dry ingredients. 
Stir in fruit and mix until just combined. 
Pour muffin batter into muffin tins and top with a sprinkle of extra muesli. 
Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.


*For the fruit, I used a cup of leftover pie apple from a pie I had made earlier - just cooked apples mixed with a pinch of brown sugar and cinnamon 
You can use any fruit you like canned, fresh or frozen apple/pear/peaches/pineapple/blueberries etc.

So tell me, 
Are you a breakfast lover?
What's your go-to breakfast of choice?

Stay tuned for the other half of my review! It's packed full of delicious gluten free goodies :)

Kristy received these products courtesy of www.realgoodfood.com.au
If you'd like a review of your products, send an email to ksayerphotography@gmail.com 
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kerrrrrrrrrrr-unch!

I don't know about you but I always get excited when I see new products on the shelves.

It's probably because I get suckered into marketing ploys

or maybe it's my love of variety that does it.

Carman's Fine Foods have recently extended their muesli bar range to include yogurt and dark chocolate dipped bars. 

The yogurt bars are an Apricot and Almond bar dipped in a creamy yogurt coating.

They're sweet - but not too sweet and are definitely more decadent than your run of the mill muesli bar. 

I loved the addition of the yogurt coating on these bars. 

Not only did you get crunch, but you got the smooth texture of the yogurt too!

Definitely a new favourite for me!

 

The dark chocolate bars are a cranberry and almond flavoured bar dipped in rich dark chocolate.

I love the combination of chocolate, almond and nuts and this bar was like my favourite trail mix compacted into one convenient snack.

Plus, how can you go wrong with chocolate?

I don't know about you, but I'm often ridiculously indecisive. 

I can stand at a supermarket shelve for ages going "yes, no, yes, no - oh I'll get this one - wait! that one looks good too!" and it takes me about 10 minutes to decide on which item to bring home.
Well Carman's have solved my indecisiveness with their new combo box! 

You get three flavours - thus you don't need to spend 10 minutes trying to decide

and you get the variety of if you bought 3 separate boxes! 

I love Carman's products - there's only one thing I'd wish they'd do

and that's much a crunchy bar range for the crunch lovers like me! 

So tell me, 

Are you a crunch lover or do you prefer soft and chewy? 

and do you get excited over new products too?!

Kristy received Carmans products courtesy of www.carmansfinefoods.com.au 

If you'd like a review of your products send an email to ksayerphotography@gmail.com

Nutty nourishment?

You roll over in bed, stretch a little, open your eyes to realise...

It's Monday morning. 

I don't know about you, but for me, 

the worst possible thing that could happen on a Monday morning is thinking it's Sunday.

That's what happened this morning, I got out of bed (still at 6am, mind you)

strolled into the kitchen to make my breakfast when I heard movement upstairs.

My lazy family awake before seven on a sunday?! what?!

It's okay... because they weren't. 

They were awake before seven on a Monday.

fail

But it's okay, Monday can always redeem itself with a delicious breakfast! 

Now that it's starting to get a little warmer (although currently its cold and overcast)

I'm getting back into muesli for breakfast.

For me, a perfect winter breakfast would have to be oatmeal

and for summer muesli with fruit and yogurt goes down a treat!

A little while ago I was sent some Brookfarm products to review.

Their toasted macadamia muesli (pictured second) was a perfect combination of grains, brans, seeds, dried fruit and crunchy macadamia nuts with a fantastic honey flavour. 

I loved the full bodied flavour and crunch of the macadamia nuts.

This muesli makes for a perfect breakfast because you're not only getting your whole grains - but also healthy fats from the almonds and all the benefits of the dried fruit without an overload of processed sugar!

I was also sent Brookfarm's gluten free macadamia muesli with cranberries (first picture)

which was filled with brown rice puffs, amaranth, buckwheat, sunflower and pumpkin kernels as well as sweet currants, sultanas and cranberries. 

Sometimes gluten free products are revolting

I'm talking flavourless cardboard.

But this muesli was delicious! and made for a great change from the regular oat-based muesli

I'm also a huge fan of trail mix.

It's one of my go-to snacks. 

For me, trail mix is about finding the perfect balance of flavour and texture.

Salty/sweet, crunchy/chewy etc. 

Brookfarm's Seven Mile Beach walkabout mix was a mix of dried fruit, nuts and belgian white chocolate.

I love the combination of white chocolate with dried fruit (well actually, I won't discriminate against any chocolate)

and the sweet white chocolate balanced perfectly with the tart dried pineapple. 

I loved how the proceeds from every pack of Walkabout Mix sold goes to Rainforest Rescue to help preserve rainforests in the Daintree. 

Because, afterall, how are you going to go on a "walkabout" if there's nothing to walk through?

Brookfarm also comes through for the Dark Chocolate lovers with their Mt. Bogong Walkabout Mix

This mix was a combination of dark chocolate, cranberries, pumpkin and sunflower kernels, oven roasted macadamias, pistachios, almonds and muscatel grapes.

I think this mix would have to be my favourite of the two because I loved the mix of dark chocolate with tart cranberries and crunchy nuts. 

and if trail mix isn't portable enough for you, Brookfarm have their delicious muesli in bar form

so you can grab and go. 

And the best thing about these bars for me? 

They're all natural with no dodgy ingredients.

Perfect for stashing in your bag for when the hunger monster attacks!

I hope I've knocked a little of the monday funk out of you,

but if I haven't, just remember... 

There's only 4 and a bit days left until the weekend! :P 

To get some Brookfarm products for yourself,
check out their list of  retail outlets and distributors or buy online
You can purchase the products WORLD WIDE. 
So any of you can try it for yourself :)

But do tell me, 

What's your go-to snack?

Kristy was sent Brookfarm products courtesy of www.brookfarm.com.au 

If you'd like a review of your products, send an email to ksayerphotography@gmail.com

 

Hello mother nature?

Is it just me, or did mother nature miss the memo that...

IT'S OCTOBER!

 Or maybe she's a little confused,

because this weather is definitely more fall-like than summer.

But, alas, it is what it is.

This cold weather has meant i'm back to eating my fall and winter favourites,

piping hot oatmeal sprinkled with warming spices like cinnamon,

hot chocolates instead of ice cream for dessert,

and steamed vegetables instead of summer salads. 

My wardrobe even had to revert itself back to winter mode

and my cute summery skirts and dresses are right back in the wardrobe. 

I've also realised that studying in the sun makes it 100x more bearable than studying inside.

and studying inside when the skies are dark, miserable and gray and the heavens seem to be streaming from the clouds? yeah, hardly motivating is it?

But hey, I'm not a study bug

so I get to do other fun things,

like reviewing products, 

shopping,

cooking,

exams? pssshhh!

 So here are the Carman's Muesli bars I talked about in my last Carman's post

their signature flavour of warming cinnamon is perfect for this cold weather.

The Apricot and Almond bar is soft and chewy 

with a perfect balance of crunchy almonds and soft apricot pieces. 

 The deluxe muesli bars could quite possibly be my favourite. 

They're chewy with a slight crunchy from the puffed rice and nut pieces. 

These bars are perfect for those with coeliac disease or gluten intolerances

and they don't taste horrible like some other alternatives available. 

Don't like dried fruit but still want to enjoy the chewy oat-y goodness?

Well, Carman's solves that problem too with their Fruit-free muesli bar. 

 You won't find any fruit here! Just oats, honey, cinnamon and nuts. 

Not my favourite because I'm a big dried fruit fan

but this was the favourite of one of my fussy mini taste testers!

Sometimes its good to stick with the tried and true, 

and that's exactly what classic muesli bar is. 

Sultanas, currants and dried apricots are the perfect addition to the honey oat base.

They're soft and chewy and definitely taste more home-made than other store bought bars.

For me, 

the best thing about Carman's muesli bars is what they're made of. 

 All natural, Australian made, GM free, Preservative free and REAL.

Carman's believe that food should come from the kitchen and not the chemist

and this is something I agree with, 110 percent! 

and they're not going to cost you a fortune 

- you can buy them in supermarkets Australia wide! 

....

So this cold weather has me thinking, 

does the weather affect what you choose to eat?

what's your favourite comfort food?

 

For me, when it's cold, I tend to seek the comfort of a warm bowl of oatmeal 

or a hot cup of tea or hot chocolate.

When i'm feeling sick, I crave salad vegetables - why? I have no idea!

For some reason, the freshness of crisp fresh vegetables seems to do the trick every time.

 

 Kristy received Carman's muesli products courtesy of www.carmansfinefoods.com.au

If you'd like a review of your products, send an email to ksayerphotography@gmail.com

Choices, choices, choices!

 

Breakfast, the most important meal of the day...

For me, I'm all about having variety

the more options I have, the more I'll look forward to breakfast. 

At the moment, my breakfast choices include 3 different types of cereals, K.I.S.S Blend muesli

and of course the muesli you see above! 

I was given the opportunity to make another customized muesli mix, this time by Muesli Mixer

I wanted to make something totally different from the K.I.S.S Blend

to give myself yet another option!

So lets have a closer look at what's in the muesli.. shall we?  

 

Obviously, this muesli is jam packed full of fruit - that's why it's called fruit frenzy!

In Fruit frenzy, there is;

• Three Grains
• Bran Straw
• Buckwheat
• Wheat Pillows (favourite!)
• Amaranth
• Raisins
• Dried Apple
• Apricots
• Currants
• Dates
• Gojiberries
• Paw paw
• Pineapple

This muesli was a bit more cereal-like with the wheat pillows and bran straws.
I loved how many different textures it had and it was a perfect partner for yoghurt! 
I loved this muesli! and it's a perfect choice for breakfast! 

 Do you want to make your own muesli mix like me? Head to Muesli Mixer and create your own from over 55 different ingredients.
Choices, choices, choices!!


So tell me, 
What do you have for breakfast?
and are you someone who likes variety, 
or do you stick to the same thing?



Kristy received this muesli courtesy of Muesli Mixer,
If you'd like a review of your products - send an email to ksayerphotography.blogspot.com

105.

I have a confession, 

I am a super picky eater. 

I'm super precise in how I like my food and what I like, 

so when I got the opportunity to review Muesli4Me's muesli I jumped at the chance. 

Muesli4Me is an Australian company specialising in tasty, made-to-order muesli mixes. Create your own mix the way you like it - make it your way.

This was perfect for me! 

I often end up making my own muesli mixes as I can never find store bought muesli mixes with everything I want. 

Some mornings I just don't want almonds 

and others I might not want raisins.

I created my own K.I.S.S Blend

Keep

It

Simple

Stupid 

It also works because KISS are my initials :)

The first step in making the muesli is choosing the base. 

For me it was the 5 flake mix 

(rolled oats, rolled rye, rolled barley, rolled whole wheat and rolled triticale)

but they have everything from a chocoholic base to an asian base.

Then you have the choice to add grains, 

I decided to K.I.S.S but I was tempted by options like wheat and honey puffs and oat clusters.

Now for my favourite part, adding fruit! 

I decided that my muesli needed 

· dried apricot
· dri ed papaya
· dried currants
· dried blueberry
· sultanas

You then also have the choice to add nuts & seeds 

and extras like spices and chocolate chips. 

The muesli arrived to me super fast! 

Next day delivery fast!

My Muesli4Me is a perfect base blend for me

now I have the choice to add nuts and things myself each morning if I so desire.

I'd definitely try new combinations of muesli in the future

the chocoholic muesli sounds right up my alley as a dessert choice :P

You can easily make your own muesli at www.muesli4me.com.au

and tailor it to your own desires :) 

So tell me, 

What would be in your own muesli/cereal mix? 

Kristy was sent this muesli4me muesli courtesy of Muesli4Me.

If you'd like a review of your products, send an email to ksayerphotography@gmail.com