Homemade granola just hits different—especially when it’s packed with protein, fiber, and healthy fats to keep you satisfied and energized. This Cinnamon Spiced Granola is made with just a few real-food ingredients, has the perfect crunch, and adds a warm, toasty flavor to breakfast bowls (think yogurt, blended smoothies yum!)

Why Make Your Own Granola?

To be honest, I started making my own homemade granola because my husband is a granola junkie. lol. In his own journey to health (more on that another time), he found t very hard to pack in protein at breakfast without using high protein yogurts. But in order for him to eat the plain, unsweetened high protein yogurts, he said he needed some sort of crunch and texture. Store-bought granolas are often loaded with refined sugars and unhealthy oils, which, we generally avoid at our hose, and also specifically for my husband and his healing journey, was out. This homemade version is:

• Naturally sweetened with maple syrup—just enough to enhance the flavors
• Packed with healthy fats & fiber from walnuts and chia seeds for sustained energy
• Spiced with cinnamon, which can help support blood sugar balance
• Versatile—enjoy it over yogurt, smoothie bowls, or by the handful!

How to Use it

Sprinkle this Cinnamon Spiced Granola over:
Cottage cheese for a high-protein, satisfying snack
Smoothie bowls for extra crunch & fiber
Sliced apples & almond butter for a balanced snack
Straight from the jar because it’s that good- but if you’re watching blood sugar, always best to pair with some protein too!

Feel free to swap the nut butter for peanut butter to give it a peanut butter flavor. Also so yum! Or tchina!

The key to a good breakfast is keeping it high protein and high fiber. Sets you up to a high energy, blood sugar balanced day. These Cottage Cheese & Cinnamon Pancakes are super easy, and help me get in my target protein on morning when i really just don’t feel like having more eggs. Made with just 5 simple ingredients, they’re packed with protein, fiber, and healthy fats to fuel your morning.

Why Cottage Cheese?

Cottage cheese is one of the most nutrient-dense dairy options, loaded with:
✅ High-quality protein – 11g per 100g to support muscle and metabolism
✅ Casein protein – A slow-digesting protein that keeps you fuller longer
✅ Calcium & B vitamins – Essential for bone health and energy production

What % Cottage Cheese?

Many people default to low-fat dairy, but full-fat (5%) cottage cheese is actually the best choice when it comes to nutrient absorption and satiety. Here’s why:
Higher in fat-soluble vitamins – Vitamins A, D, E, and K are better absorbed with fat- actually they really need fat to be absorbed.
Supports hormone balance – Healthy fats are key for optimal hormone function. Did you know that hormones are built from fat? We would literally die without fat from our diets.
Better blood sugar stability – Fat slows down digestion, preventing spikes & crashes. You all have probably heard me talk about blood sugar every time I get on the internet. But it really is the foundation to metabolic and hormonal health. Can’t be a healthy individual without blood sugar balance.

Anywho.. go give this one a try. Promise it’s yum!

Blood sugar levels dictate how we feel throughout the day. Even if you don’t struggle with insulin resistance or insulin-related diseases, stabilizing blood sugar is essential for sustained energy, focus, and overall metabolic health.

The Importance of Protein at Breakfast

There has been a growing awareness around prioritizing protein—and for good reason! Research shows that starting your day with 20-30g of protein kickstarts metabolism, activates muscle protein synthesis (which is crucial for longevity and metabolic health), and stabilizes blood sugar, mood, and energy throughout the morning.

A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that consuming a high-protein breakfast can attenuate postprandial glucose responses in individuals with type 2 diabetes (PMID: 25733459). Another study in Nutrients demonstrated that a high-protein breakfast can suppress postprandial glucose levels not only after breakfast but also following subsequent meals, showing that prioritizing protein in the morning has lasting benefits throughout the day (PMID: 36678724).

This means that if you love oatmeal for its taste, digestion-friendly properties, and heart-health benefits, you should know how to build it correctly to support balanced blood sugar levels.

The Role of Fiber in Blood Sugar Balance

Another key component to consider is fiber. The recommended daily intake of fiber for adults is 25-30g, yet most people barely reach 10g per day! Aiming for 10g of fiber per meal helps support gut health, hormone regulation, immune function, nervous system balance, and overall metabolic health. This blood sugar-friendly oatmeal recipe is designed to optimize fiber intake while keeping energy levels steady.

Why This Works for Blood Sugar Balance

• Protein (from whey protein and peanut butter) prevents blood sugar spikes and supports muscle maintenance.
• Healthy fats (from peanut butter, chia seeds, and flaxseeds) slow down glucose absorption for sustained energy.
• Fiber (from oats, berries, chia, and flaxseeds) supports gut health and keeps digestion regular.

Whey Protein Recommendation

A high-quality whey protein can make all the difference in digestion and nutrient absorption. One option I recommend is Mt. Capra Clean Whey Protein because it has clean, minimal, and transparent ingredients, making it easy to digest. If this one doesn’t work for you, look for a whey protein with simple, high-quality ingredients and no unnecessary fillers.

This year my eldest daughter started gan moetza, which means I had to start sending her a sandwich every day for aruchat eser. We were never big bread eaters, and didn’t really want to get my kid who was uninterested in bread too interested in it. So figured I’d expose her to sourdough before she discovered what white bread was. Thank goodness for that because she’s obsessed. She doesn’t even care for regular bread when offered to her.

We were buying sourdough from my favorite bakery every 2 weeks just to stock up on our sourdough stash. But it really was getting pricey. So decided I’d jump on the sourdough trend. I am studying to be a nutritionist afterall.

But what’s with all the hype? Is sourdough really that much better?

Here’s some facts about sourdough you might not have known:

Sourdough Facts

• It is much more nutrient dense in micronutrients such as potassium, folate and magnesium. This is because the lactic acid buildup destroy some of the other acidic components commonly found in other bread. Without the presence of the conventional acid, these nutrients become much more available.
• A wonderful source of prebiotic. NOT probiotics, but PREbiotics. This is the fiber that feeds the good bacteria living in our guts. We have an entire ecological system of microorganisms growing in our guts. These good bacteria need to be nourished just as much as we do. Fiber is the best source for godo bacteria to feed off of. And sourdough is said to really fuel these good bugs we’ve got in our systems. This by definition also makes sourdough more easily digestible. So if you get digestive distress going on after you eat bread, you may be ok eating a pure sourdough.
• The lactic acid in the sourdough also sources a lot of antioxidants. Can’t be mad about getting more antioxidants by eating bread, can you?

Those are just some facts of many. But anectodly I will say that I was expecting my kid to be sick every other week when she started gan. Can’t pin this all on the sourdough but i really believe it is contributing to her health. She is getting a great source of prebiotics and getting a punch of nutrient richness daily. And a healthy gut is very well linked to a strong immune system. So I’ll be over here thanking the sourdough ever so slightly for her astonishing health this gan season.

What is “Discard”?

Sounds weird, I know. Part of ht sourdough process is feeding the starter every so often. But before feeding it, you need to make room for it to grow in size. The part you throw out to make room for growth is called the “discard.” The discard still has lactic acid buildup and the same benefits found in the sourdough. NEVER worth discarding! So much can be done with it!

That’s where this recipe came in. Really wanted to make my family a special lunch today. This third lockdown; been hard on everyone. So I decided to make these pancakes as an experiment. I was feeding my starter and needed something to do with the discard. The result was better than I ever expected. So fluffy! Seriously a must try!

So if you’ve got a starter on hand, definitely give these a try! NEVER DISCARD! Trust me, you’re world will be changed.

xoxo

But seriously you gotta try this one. I know everyone has access to shakshuka at their nearest cafe. But I often find that they’re just not as good as they can be. It’s about development of flavors, the right spice blend, not using watery tomato sauce. There’s so many factors that go into making it right. I think I’ve figured out the perfect blend of everything. It took me a while to get here, but through these many lockdowns, I’ve done my fair share of testing. This one turns out on point every time. It’s turned me into a shakshuka snob and it’s turned a lot of my family and friends in to shakshuka snobs as well. No longer can we just go to our local cafe for a shakshuka. Now we make our own at home. And now we most definitely always enjoy.

Now that restaurants are only open for takeout here in Israel, thought it would be the perfect time to share this recipe. Because let’s be honest…bringing shakshuka home in a box is just not the same as freshly cooked shakshuka. Makes for a lovely breakfast or lunch with your spouse if the two of you are working from home these days. Honestly I even make it for dinner sometimes. Ok enough talk. Please try this one. I really think you’ll be hooked.

If you were to ask me, the key to healthy eating is having readily available snacks around that aren’t just fruit and veggies. We are not robots, we are humans. And we need to indulge every so often. But who said indulgence can’t also be healthy? These granola bars are so rich, creamy yet crunchy. Kids love ’em, adults love them. The perfect snack to make in bulk and keep around.

They are also such a convenient grab and go. Like any granola bar really, just these happen to not be loaded with sugar and stabilizers and the like. They store excellently in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer, so you can double or even triple the batch and always have this healthy snack option on hand.

Ingredients are also all accessible. Nothing fancy. Just some oats, nuts and peanut butter. Feel free to play around with the nut combo as well as change up the nut butter. It’s a really simple and versatile recipe, so if you’d rather almond butter, I say go for it! I will however say, that you should try to keep the pumpkin seeds in this recipe. They are one of those nuts that are super overlooked in my opinion. They are loaded with plant based protein (much more than any other commonly used nut), have a lovely omega 3 to omega 6 ratio, and pack in iron, calcium, vitamin A, and folate. I happen to love having my granola bars with my morning coffee, and I find that it gives me such sustained energy with a burst of crucial nutrients right off the bat. So if you are ok with the pumpkin seed flavor, I’d stick with it!

I was reminiscing with my family recently, about how much I miss the fall season in America. The pumpkin spice lattes, and the jacket weather. The smell that permeates the air after all those early morning rains, and the crisp air at night. The leaves changing colors and falling from the tree. The browns, oranges and auburns in every corner. Fall was always my favorite season. And I get a little sad every year when I realize I moved to a part of the world that skips over the fall season entirely. I miss it.

This is a weird and crazy time. I know everyone around the world is feeling it. But here in Israel, it is particularly weird. Lockdown for the Yamim Noraim, outside davening that felt a bit distanced, kids still at home for the foreseeable future…There is so much unknown currently, and it is so unsettling. What makes me feel at ease through it all is familiarity. The people, the smell, the tastes, the feelings that make me feel at home and warm inside. This lockdown we decided to move in with my family in Efrat. We’ve been really enjoying the family time and the bonding our kids are getting with their cousins. Though it is obviously hard to be away from home and not have our normal routine. In an eerie way though, I feel like G-d had my back. Here in Efrat, the fall feeling is very prevalent. That fall “breeze” flew in at the perfect time.

I first felt it the Thursday night before Yom Kippur. I was out on my run, and this slight cool breeze drafted over the sky. I knew it was time to make fall come alive in the kitchen. These flavors, along with big comfy sweaters and soft cozy leggings, with a slight cool in the air, makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.

I used my sister in-law’s can of pumpkin that she got at her local supermarket, that of course carries all of the American products (because Efrat is mini America isn’t it?) And I developed the recipe with the kids running around in the background, with both my mom and daugthers next to me watching me do what I love best. The cinnamon and pumpkin flavor filled the air. It was just such a perfect scene. I got to set up the picture with my family watching, and share the recipe with my whole extended family. I may not have been in my childhood home or my adult home, but it sure felt like home.The first bite just felt so warm and cozy.

I’ll be making it again with a big pumpkin spice latte to accompany it. And I’ll sit in our family sukkah tasting the fall flavors and reminiscing on all those cold fall Sukkot mornings I spent in my childhood sukkah.

I know it’s a stretch to say that this recipe will bring some comfort to all this chaos, but I hope that it might. Every situation in life turns out to what we make it to be. So this Sukkot you may not be surrounded by all your loved ones, or in the setting you hoped to have been in, but you can bring some sort of familiarity into your sukkah. Whether that be family traditions, or familiar smells and tastes, feelings, or sentiments. I hope this recipe brings back some fall nostalgia for those who need it. Chag Sameach!

xoxo

Me

Breakfast is the meal people often skip for a reason. Who has time to make an elaborate breakfast every morning and then sit down to eat it?! I mean maybe you do, and then I want in please! But in all seriousness, breakfast is really the most important meal for so many reasons. If I don’t have a balanced and fueling breakfast, I find myself craving non-energizing food the rest of the day. Then I just feel like garbage, and to top it off I continue to eat garbage. Doesn’t help with productivity whatsoever.

So what’s the deal with breakfast. What should breakfast include? Well, this is not a one stop answer. It very much depends on your day: what you’ll be doing, how much energy you’ll be needing, your individual hormone levels, and a number of other factors. But generally speaking, you want to have some source of protein to keep you feeling full and satisfied, a complex carb to provide the body with energy gradually throughout the morning, and a healthy fat to help with vitamin absorption as well as to regulate blood sugar levels. I know this is the advice you’ll hear dietitians say about every meal, but it’s particularly more important for breakfast because it sets the rest of your day up for success. So if you’re going to put in any effort to meal plan for the week, it really really should be for breakfast! And that’s where this gem of a breakfast comes in. You’re going to love this!

I like to make a dish full of this bake on Sundays, and by Thursday, the whole things is finished.The hubs and the kids love this for both breakfast and dessert alike, and I am so happy having it every morning with a side of coffee. Sometimes when I’m low on time and have this in the fridge, I am so happy to give this to my kids as a dinner with some high fat/protein yogurt. A perfectly balanced and nourishing meal for the littles. So really makes life so convenient and I know I have a meal in my fridge whenever I need it.

Macronutrients

Let’s just talk macros for a second so you see how great this recipe is: in a single serving you get 8 grams of protein, 9 grams of healthy fats, and 25 grams of complex carbs. Top this with a high protein yogurt, and a drizzle of maple syrup, and you legit have a breakfast of champions. Also added bonus: I sneak in veggies to my kids with this one. Best.

Noteworthy Ingredients

All the ingredients are pretty standard and easy to find here. two notes I’d like to make before I get to the recipe though:

• Oats: please please don’t use instant oats. Literally sucks all the nutritional value out of the carb, and will not give you the benefits I spoke about above. So you’re looking for rolled or old fashioned oats. If you want to know a bit more about how to choose your oats, go check out my Grain Guidebook 😉
• Hemp seeds: completely optional, but they gives the recipe an extra boost of protein and healthy fats, vitamins and minerals. I have yet to find hemp seeds in Israel. But the good news is that there are tons of readily available brands on iHerb. I like Manitoba Harvest and find them to always be in stock. If you want to sub with a more readily available seed, just sub with flaxseed or chia, but this will obviously change the macro breakdown.

Ok, enough chit chat. Go get your breakfast prep on with this one.

The best recipes are the ones you never intended to create. This recipe was me just throwing a bunch of scraps and ends together to make a quick Shabbat dessert. Truthfully in the summer months I just stick to making my Healthier Peach Cobbler because it’s so simple and really highlights the delicious Israeli peaches in the peak of their deliciousness. But this crumble is great for all year round because I used FROZEN BERRIES! I was skeptical when I made it. Fresh fruit is always a winner, and frozen fruit is best to be kept for smoothies. But something about this combo turned out so unbelievably addictive.

The key to using the frozen berries is to thaw first. Once thawed, I drain any excess liquid, and then throw the berries straight in the filling mix. I haven’t tried this with fresh berries believe it or not, but I can only imagine how insanely good the fresh version might be. So if you have on hand and feel like splurging, definitely give it a try!

The other great thing about this recipe is its versatility. You can make a ton in a casserole dish, less in a loaf pan, or even make some individual servings in ramekins as pictured below. And I have to say, this is a pretty healthy, low sugar dessert option that makes a surprisingly good breakfast! One of these ramekins packs in 4 grams of protein and 10 grams of healthy fats and loaded with complex carbs from the oats! A great way to start the day if you ask me.

Storing

This crumble can be kept in the fridge for up to a week. So if you do use it as a breakfast option, you have a nice stash to work with for the week.

Modifications

• This recipe uses rolled oats aka old fashioned oats. I wouldn’t recommend swapping to quick cooking oats only because of the nutritional benefits you’ll be missing out on. But If that’s not a concern, quick cooking oats will definitely work. If you want to read more about the different types of oats and their benefits, check out my Grain Guidebook.
• The maple syrup really develops the richness in the crumble, but you can definitely swap with honey or date syrup
• Coconut sugar is always interchangeable with regular sugar. The reason I like to have coconut sugar on hand is because it is a really low glycemic index sugar. This means the way the body processes the sugar is slower and over time rather than leaving you with a rapid rise in blood sugar, which always results in a rapid crash (i.e the infamous sugar crash). It’s a really great ingredient to just have on hand. I find Tvuot’s brand to be most readily available in stores, but there are a lot of options floating around, so you can definitely keep your eye out for sales if you’re concern is cost.
• Arrowroot powder is just a healthier swap for cornstarch, but unless you have sensitivities to cornstarch, really no need to use arrowroot instead of cornstarch since this recipe uses such a small quantity.

Ok I’ll admit this isn’t the real deal. Obviously a creamy vanilla milkshake cannot be recreated into a yummier healthy version. But this mockshake accomplishes its role as a little midday “treat.” And the perk: it’s loaded with protein and healthy fats that at least make me feel full and nourished without a massive sugar crash later on. So I’d say it’s a worthy component!

I do want to say though, that I DO eat ice cream. The full fat, creamy, delicious ice cream. And a lot. It’s always been my guilty pleasure. But mid-week when I need some extra protein without loading my body with some processed powder, this is my go to, and it tastes pretty darn good. I highly recommend this as a post workout smoothie by the way!

Ok, enough of an intro, right? Here’s the deal. This smoothie uses Danone Pro 20 which loads in 20 grams of protein, and i basically spice it up with some vanilla and creaminess from some healthy fat sources. So a few important notes about this recipe.

1. The Yogurt: you can use the sweetened pro yogurt, but if you are okay without it, I’d obviously suggest the unsweetened one. You can also use the vanilla pro 20, it’ll add an extra vanilla punch. But generally I like to stray away from 0% yogurts because without the fat, our bodies don’t actually absorb the benefits of the dairy as efficiently. My go to is the unsweetened 1.5%.
2. The Vanilla: the vanilla used in this recipe really needs to be real vanilla extract. Not the Israeli vanilla flavoring. I believe at one point Osher Ad sold the Kirkland brand vanilla extract, so worth a look. But if not, I get pure vanilla extract from Nitzat Haduvdevan or iHerb. This Organic Vanilla Extract is a go to for me. And if you really want to put the vanilla flavor into this treat, you can scrape in some vanilla bean. Puts this mockshake over the top.
3. The Almond Butter: believe it or not, I’ve tried this recipe with a bunch of different nut butters and brands. The best of the best result is when I use Hashaked almond butter. It’s subtle enough to not give the shake too much of an almondy flavor, but super creamy to give the mockshake a bit more of a real deal consistency. So if you don’t use this brand, try using a more runny almond butter rather than thick and creamy; that seems to do the trick.
4. The Sweetener: I use a small amount of maple syrup or honey in this recipe, but I acknowledge that my taste buds are a bit sensitive to sweetness since I don’t use any form of sweetener very often. If you want to keep the sugar content low and natural you can throw in a date or even put in an extra few drops of stevia. This is going to be specific to your individual sweetness needs so don’t be afraid to adjust a bit. Once you find your “sweet spot” the vanilla flavor will be so perfect, and you’ll want to make this your permanent post workout shake.

If you’re looking for fun ways to jazz the mockshake up a bit, you can definitely top with some berries or dare I say some whipped cream?! You can even drizzle some chocolate syrup. A go to for me is a combo drizzle of silan and almond butter. Really elevates the experience.

That’s all folks. Hope this one makes all your vanilla dreams come true!