Brunch recipes Archives - Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Cannoli Shell – Waffle Iron Machine Made Easy

Cannoli shell with a waffle iron machine makes life easy and delicious for brunch or a dessert. This is a low-sugar recipe where you won’t even miss the sugar. And you can skip any frying, even though the shell is sizzling!

cannoli shell made easy with a waffle iron maker.

It tastes like it was fried. But since it’s not, it’s healthier.

You can also more-healthy bake your cannoli shell if you don’t have a waffle iron maker… that you could even further roll up into an ice cream cone if that’s what you’re after.

But a waffle iron maker makes a cannoli shell with the bubbly look in easy minutes, a lot like a copycat fried street food cannoli shell dessert you would buy!

So to make this treat, this is what you will need…

Tools:

Waffle Iron Machine

Piece of aluminum foil

Magic Bullet blender (optional)

And if you’re wondering how you’ll make your cannoli shell on your waffle iron without waffle iron marks, I explain below how to make your easy flat irons with your waffl-y iron! 🧇

This reminds me of the wavy hair vs. flat iron… and if you like playing with your hair, you’ll love playing with your food iron this way. I do with mine!

Another easy way is using a Magic Bullet blender that will make this a 2-minute prep for a smooth cannoli shell batter. And a 30 second clean rinse if you’re short on time.

But first you gotta make the batter…

So start by frothing the egg white in a Magic Bullet or easy blender by pulsing a few times. If you don’t have a blender, you can use a whisk to whisk up the egg white(s). One egg white per cannoli shell.

Light fluffy egg white(s) are crucial for this recipe where you don’t need any granulated sugar! Whaaat?

So often sugar is used to help emulsify ingredients, and in most cannoli recipes you’ll find quite a bit of sugar, but this one you can use a little healthy honey only for the sweet taste (or substitute for maple syrup).

Honey, btw is a beautiful tasty-pairing duo with butter. Where you will add just a small pat of butter for each cannoli shell you will make. About 1 Tbsp per cannoli shell. A lot of butter isn’t essential (e.g. if you’re counting fat/calories or trying to be healthy). I used 1/2 Tbsp butter per shell and it worked just fine!

And if you prefer oil already in liquid form, or want to do this quicker or dairy-free, use 1 or 1.5 tsp of neutral olive oil (or oil of choice) instead. And then add about 1/4 tsp of water for a little steam like butter does when cooking (and add back a little more flour as needed to keep a thicker batter that won’t run off the waffle maker sides).

And if healthy are your desires for this cannoli shell, the final cannoli cream for your cannoli shell can be healthy Greek yogurt like what I use.

…Where you’ll want to find a thicker Greek yogurt you like, and you can check on the label if there’s no added sugar. The lactose in yogurt already has natural sugar. You can use plant-based (no dairy) yogurts too.

Then you can pipe into your cannoli shell. How fun!

Add a few sweet mini chocolate chips for a classic cannoli. This is a delicious bite, and probably even better than it looks! You can also drizzle ontop a little honey if you like, or pair with your favorite sweet breakfast foods.

So – ready to make this?

Make the cannoli batter (recipe and step-by-step waffle iron instruction below).

Make cannoli shell batter and add onto foil on waffle iron.

Reveal: After cooled, peel out the cannoli shell.

cannoli shell made easy with a waffle iron maker.

Cannoli Shell - Waffle Iron Made and Low-Sugar

This low-sugar recipe is for one cannoli shell so multiply the ingredients by how many cannolis you want to make that are regular size 4" long cannoli size.

Course brunch, Dessert

Cuisine American, Italian

Total Time 10

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Equipment

waffle iron machine
Magic Bullet (optional)

Ingredients

1 egg white
1/2 tsp raw honey
1 Tbsp melted butter
1/4 cup flour
1/8 tsp pinch of salt (optional)
1/4 tsp vanilla extract (optional)

Instructions

Melt butter in heat of choice, and set aside at room temperature.
Froth egg white with Magic Bullet blender or whisk in a bowl.
Make the batter: if using a blender, add the remaining ingredients and pulse a few times until fully combined. You can shake or use a spoon to ensure all the flour is added. Or combine in your mixing bowl.
Cook the cannoli: if you have a waffle iron with waffle grids (most do), cut two pieces of square aluminum foil that will cover the bottom and top waffle irons. Add one oil piece to the bottom iron and add the cannoli batter to the foil sitting on the iron. The batter should be slightly thicker (closer to a pancake batter) to hold a circle shape that does not run off the iron. Use a spoon to make a thin layer batter circle shape (it does not need to be perfect). Add the other piece of aluminum foil ontop of the circle and lightly close the waffle iron to not make waffle marks. Turn the iron on to medium heat (e.g. middle setting). Cook for about 3-5 minutes until browned all around after iron is heated (e.g. light turns green) and depending on your waffle iron. You can peek from time to time to lift up the aluminum foil.
Shape the cannoli shell while still hot (for best results): turn off waffle iron. While still hot, with a safe kitchen glove in hand, roll up the hot cannoli shell (like a burrito) in the one piece of aluminum foil it's sticking to. Let cool completely.
Reveal the cannoli: after cooled, slowly peel out the cannoli shell out of the foil. It should come out pretty easily after cooled. Be sure any small foil pieces sticking are discarded.

Notes

All-purpose flour works best but you can substitute with gluten-free all purpose blends (like a tsp of buckwheat flour will change the color). If your batter is too liquid runny, add a little more flour for a consistent smooth batter that won't run off the sides of the iron.

Blueberry Muffin – (Low-Sugar) One-Bowl Easy in 30 Minutes

Blueberry muffin is one of my favorite breakfast morning starts. I remember when I was a tween who made blueberry muffins from a box and they were a hit. It’s hard to mess up a mix! Blueberries in a can came in the mix and I remember enjoying draining them as part of the experience.

Little did I know that a blueberry muffin is so simple to make with a few ingredients you probably already have in your kitchen pantry! This wild blueberry muffin recipe is a delicious, low-sugar and healthy-ingredient one. I think you’ll go wild over it if you give it a try! 🫐

With flour, milk, and blueberries, you can bake muffins. And below I tell you how to get the most out of what you have in your kitchen or pantry already, and use healthier ingredients than what you find in a mix/box.

Of course… organic wild blueberries are the super star anti-inflammatory healthy ingredient. Frozen blueberries work great and also go well with a blueberry smoothie with peachy cheesecake tastes.

For the muffins, to improve the muffin texture, an egg yolk and rising agent (baking powder and baking soda) with do the trick. A box of baking soda is usually in your fridge already to prevent odors.

Then add in a little lemon juice or vinegar to activate. And if you don’t have those ingredients, you can also add honey. Yes, honey! Or maple syrup that’s in this recipe for sweetness (to go with the blueberry muffin morning theme). How sweet! 💕

And if you don’t have milk available, you can make your own oat milk from oatmeal or nut milk from nuts and even a pecan latte to go with your blueberry muffin in the process. So you don’t have to keep shelf-stable milks in your home anymore. And coconut milk too is an option on the table!

How nuts… that milking (a plant) is so easy with ingredients you may already have at home! 🥛

Oh, and this easy blueberry muffin recipe starting from the time you gather home ingredients, combine, and bake in your oven… all-in, is 30 minutes!

Ready for your blueberry morning? You may also like to add a blueberry cobbler (made with applesauce), buckwheat blueberry scone, and/or a blueberry muffin with chocolate chips and Greek yogurt.

Blueberry muffin made easy and delicious.

Low-Sugar Blueberry Muffin - 30-Minutes and One-Bowl Easy

This is a healthy low-sugar breakfast staple that can be made from wholesome ingredients. This recipe makes 2 muffins.

Course Breakfast, brunch

Cuisine American

Total Time 30

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Equipment

muffin or cupcake tin

Ingredients

1/4 cup blueberries (organic and wild suggested)
3/4 cup almond flour (or gluten free flour of choice)
6 Tbsp whole wheat flour (or all purpose flour)
1/2 cup milk of choice
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp neutral oil (light olive oil or coconut oil)
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp baking soda
1 tsp maple syrup (or raw honey)
pinch of salt

Instructions

Prepare your muffin tin. You can use cupcake holders or use baking spray so they don't stick.
Combine the dry and wet ingredients in one bowl. The batter will be wet and thick and pour-spoon-able.
Spoon batter into cupcake tin or holders.
Bake at 350°F/180°C for 20-25 minutes.
Let cool and enjoy!

Buttermilk Biscuit (No Dairy) – Savory or Sweet

Buttermilk biscuit can be a healthy recipe way to start a day, breakfast, or weekend brunch.

You can make a texture-full classic savory buttermilk biscuit or low-sugar biscuit with wholesome wheat germ and healthy ingredients in this recipe.

This gobble-friendly biscuit you can make in 30 minutes: one-bowl easy prep time, refrigerate, and then bake! And whether you make one or a dozen healthy and scrumptious biscuits, is up to you. It will take just as long.

And you can use all pantry ingredients to make this healthy buttermilk biscuit. You can even make your own homemade coconut milk from pantry ingredients to use in the biscuits. Because there’s no actual buttermilk, that’s a dairy ingredient.

No dairy needed — no butter, no milk. And even no egg needed. So it’s even more simple than the easiest of cakes. Or easy low-sugar cupcakes in my world.

The buttermilk is non-dairy milk and vinegar, like almond milk and apple cider vinegar. But you can use coconut milk, other nut milks, oat milk, and/or white vinegar.

Use which ingredient inspires you, and you already have on hand.

Whether you make traditional savory or sweet buttermilk biscuit, you can use healthy and wholesome ingredients.

There’s no added sugar needed.

You can make it sweet and low-sugar with cinnamon.

This base healthy buttermilk biscuit recipe uses healthier whole wheat flour (vs all-purpose flour), wheat germ, apple cider vinegar (or any vinegar), cinnamon, almond milk (or any non-dairy milk), and coconut oil.

I used golden wheat that’s the main flour: a whole wheat with a milder taste than regular whole wheat flour… less wheat germ “whole” tasting. And then added back some wheat germ (crunch) that does have gluten, but is anti-inflammatory with Vitamin E, and healthy with minerals, fiber, and protein.

That was a mouthful. And adding a little wheat germ will not negatively change the texture of the buttermilk biscuit, but will add healthy notes.

The wheat germ (embryo) is the healthiest part of a wheat kernel.

Using wheat, the dough will turn out to be a looser dough that’s dry and slightly wet for a description.

buttermilk biscuit dough with wheat germ. — Wheat germ add to dough.

And if you use solid coconut oil, refrigerate for about 10 minutes to let it stay solid. This helps the fat stay separate to create steam and a lighter biscuit. And another healthy fat foods option is small avocado pieces (use half of a medium avocado), that won’t give you the airy rise, but it’s a healthy food exchange. 🥑

You should be able to easily use a biscuit or cookie cutter to cut the dough shape, and the happy biscuit will hold its shape on its own without needing pan walls for structure. It should stay height intact.

And what I LOVE about whole wheat flours is not only that it’s more healthy (protein and fiber) than all-purpose and some other gluten flours, but that it doesn’t stick to your hands or the biscuit cutter!

The only real decision you need to make here is: do you want this to be a slighter sweeter biscuit, or a classic savory one that often is paired with chicken?

And if your choice is savory, as most biscuits are with Southern meals, then after you brush the tops with oil (olive or coconut oil) before going in the oven for baking, you can add a medium salt to the tops like sea salt.

The adds a little fun-faceted bling action, and additional crunch.

And if you know me, I decided to go a little sweeter… so, I added dried raspberries to mine plus the cinnamon spice…

This recipe makes a 3″ large healthy biscuit. Multiply the recipe amounts by the number of biscuits you want to make.

The result: a soft buttermilk biscuit interior and crunch outside that you taste in each bite. Comparable to fresh warm biscuits from some of your favorite brunch and fast food places. But you know what’s in this one. 😊 Because you’ve made it!

Ready to make this? You Goooo! ⏲️

A buttermilk biscuit plate goes well with other brunch-y waffle iron food recipes.

dairy-free buttermilk biscuit that's low-sugar.

Healthy Buttermilk Biscuits - No Dairy Vegan

This makes one 3" biscuit about 2" high. You can make a classic savory biscuit or a sweet brunch one with healthy wheat germ.

Course Breakfast, brunch

Cuisine American, southern

Total Time 30

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat flour (or 3/4 cup flour + 1/4 cup wheat germ or bran)
2 Tbsp refined coconut oil, solid in small pieces
1/4 cup almond milk (or non-dairy milk), unsweetened + additional 1 Tbsp (if the dough isn't fully sticking).
1 tsp apple cider vinegar (or vinegar of choice)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract (optional for sweet biscuit)
3/4 Tbsp baking powder
1/4 Tbsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 Tbsp optional: cinnamon spice (can sub with 1/4 Tbsp maple syrup and 1/4 Tbsp cinnamon if you want more sweet)

Instructions

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients in a bowl. Fully incorporate all the ingredients by hand.
Chill dough in fridge for 10 minutes. No need to wrap/cover (unless you will be baking the biscuits later).
Hand fold dough several times. The dough should be loose and a little moist.
Cut out biscuit with biscuit cutters (or an empty 15 oz. metal can). This makes 1- large 3" biscuit, or 2- 1.5" biscuits.
Brush oil on top(s).
Bake at 425°F/218°C for 16-18 minutes until warm golden brown all around. Optional: For additional crunch, turn oven down to 350°F/180°C and bake for another 10-12 minutes.

Cranberry Pumpkin Trifle Dessert – Healthy and Easy

Cranberry pumpkin trifle is a healthy and tasty sweet treat snack that’s good for the gut where Greek yogurt is the white creaminess you can’t wait to dip your spoon in. And it’s a no-bake easy dessert (for brunch?) that you can make with 10-minute simple assembly.

This makes a great in-between dessert (amuse bouche) go-to… with sweet and sour-tart vibes infused. 🧡

This is a tasty way to keep celebrating and still enjoy food with heavy feast menu days that the holiday season is peppered with. 🎉

When I worked in catering planning, building in extra food touch point details won points with hosts and guests.

Like a special dish add or an amuse bouche (mouth amuser appetizer).

And if you’re feeding guests or hosting a party, small details like an across-the-board zhugh topping are a great way to impress them with very little work.

In an individual dessert like a cranberry pumpkin trifle, the multi-layer effect looks inviting to bite into.

The contrasting taste pairings and rainbow-y colors do the work for you.

And goes well on a food table in individual glasses … oui?

And the other reason a trifle is great is it’s just 10-minute prep work.

It can be enjoyed for no occasion at all…

Like for a great breakfast treat as a starter before your activity day, hike, or physical exercise.

Or anytime of day snack.

I like to have them ready for a Sunday brunch.

The ingredients are simple: canned pumpkin, cranberry sauce, Greek yogurt and orange zest.

And if you’re a bit like me, you want to know all the ingredients before you decide to make a recipe.

✅ You want to know if you have them on hand.

Nothing worse than getting excited about a food dish or gathering all the ingredients, and then not having a primary ingredient on hand.

✅ I also look at the ingredient list to see if they are ingredients I want to use for healthy reasons.

✅ And food ingredients that excite. 🥳

Then when all the checks are there, that’s when the prepping can begin.

The party is when it all comes together.

Success is when there’s a tasty pair duo or combo… Or in this case, it’s a pumpkin-cranberry-orange trio. 🎶

You can hand spoon layer the pump-o-cran trifle.

You can use store-bought or pre-store in freezer yogurt and oranges.

The frozen orange won’t be as vibrant fresh as fridge fresh oranges, but it could save you a trip of foraging.

Storing up can last you though the winter. That’s how we can be one with nature 🧘🏻‍♀️ and more like our foraging squirrel friends than we think. 🐿️

Both the pumpkin and cranberry are convenient cans you can store in your kitchen pantry.

It’s a myth that cranberry or pumpkin are seasonal foods. They’re available on middle aisle shelves all the time so you can get when them on sale if you want. And during the end-of-year months, it’s hard not to bump into them near end-of-aisle checkout areas.

And if you’re doing low-sugar, look for frozen whole bags of cran-berries that are wildly healthy like most berries that are full of polyphenol anti-inflammatory goodness.

You can make your own cranberry sauce. And then store the whole berries and extra sauce in your freezer.

Whole pumpkin is similar has similar healthy and easy vibes. It’s adds beta carotene and the antioxidant vitamins A, C, and E to complement an anti-inflammatory diet.

A-C-E was one of my earliest healthy food acronyms I learned that still has longevity (in A-C-E foods and my memory). 😊

And canned (pumpkin) that’s in puree versions ready-to-use is conveniently on most grocery shelves 365 days a year.

It has many healthy uses…

Like pumpkin is also great in a baking recipe. It’s my favorite Thanksgiving pie… maybe you too? And no-baking needed recipes like pumpkin mousse or chocolate trifle with pumpkin.

Year-round, I like to make easy pumpkin pasta sauce.

It’s a good alternate or change up from tomato sauce… and because tomato sauce is acidic.

If you’re trying to reduce heartburn symptoms, then that’s one easy swap you can make.

Also, pumpkin has a mildly sweet taste, pairing well with the same herbs and spices (as tomato sauce) like oregano and basil.

But I like to punch it up with pungent sage too. ⚡️

And if I’m sweet baking with pumpkin, I usually pair with ginger spice.🫚

Pumpkin sauce is also a glowing orangy-color that lights up faces. 🎃

On days you need energy, pumpkin can help you along with a bowl of pasta. And if you make your own homemade pasta (or eat egg yolks) then you’re getting B12, B6, and B2 from the egg yolk that plays well together to create food syn-energy. 🔋

Then with extra leftover pumpkin, you can see how that all comes together in this tasty cranberry pumpkin trifle dessert.

Cranberry Pumpkin Orange Trifle

Tasty and easy to make for holidays and everyday.

Author Brandy @ Health Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

thick Greek yogurt
cranberry sauce
canned pumpkin
1 orange (Navel and Cara Cara sweet oranges work well)
molasses drizzle or nuts (for additional zhugh)

Instructions

Layer pumpkin, cranberry, and yogurt. Zhugh with orange zest.
Drizzle with molasses or zhugh with chopped nuts (optional).

Low-Sugar Angel Food Cake

Angel food cake is heavenly and cloud-like. This one is low-sugar and will not rise blood sugar. And great to serve for brunch and home party gatherings…

Like the Met Gala TODAY where this year has “superfine” in the theme.

And if you watch celebrate 👗 and wanna bake a cake, THIS angel food cake recipe is a light and minimal ingredient one. 🧡

…You can add a little themed superfine sugar to help your individual cake rise in the air.

Because angel food cake is airy fairy 😇… very different than its opposing devil’s food cake that’s full in calories.

(Notice angel is part of food cake and devil possesses it with an apostrophe in the name).😉

With an angel food cake, it’s made with egg whites as the star ingredient ⭐️ …and you’re looking at 17 calories per egg.

So even with a dozen eggs you’d use is only about 200 calories… FOR AN ENTIRE CAKE!

It’s angel feather wing light 🪽… so think of fluffy egg whites or white clouds as the prep…. 🌩️🌩️

Oh, and that can get even more cotton ball pillowy with a dollop of whipped cream… or if you know me, swirly piped on Greek yogurt with a zhugh strawberry on top. 🍓

But first you gotta make the cake!… anddd that’s when I start to get excited. 🎉

…That btw this is super simple to make and bake.

Whoever said that an angel food cake is a more advanced baking skill? 🤔

…hmm,, I’m thinking that there was an inner debate that may have been going on with an angel on one shoulder and a doubter on the other.

So I’ll make this super simple…

This is an easy bake and if you believe that it’s simple to make, you will have a beautiful and tasty low-sugar cake to enjoy as intended.

On those notes, don’t overthink and don’t over mix with your baking or stand mixer…

After then you get clouds where you’ll stop.

And then make light moves to transfer the egg white clouds to your baking cake pan and gently leveling out with a spatula or back of a spoon.

And that’s it for prep!

I don’t think it gets easier than that, do you?

Low-Sugar Choice

What may be tricky is the sugar bit…

But I love a healthy challenge so that’s what I seek to use just enough…

And if you use monk fruit sugar, you won’t be as concerned with the amount that will tip the scales toward sugar inflammations or spikes.

Monk fruit sugar is plant-based natural (and recommended by dietitians).

And since it’s sweeter than regular table (or granulated sugar), you’ll want to use less of the healthy crystals anyway.

And monk fruit sugar doesn’t affect blood sugar that’s always an important healthy point (especially with those who are pre-diabetic).

And so it doesn’t affect glycemic index as monk fruit sugar doesn’t have calories or carbs.

It’s like Stevia in those ways that’s a common sugar relatable substitute these days.

While both are plant based white sugar alternatives, monk fruit is more of a low-sugar sweet (but still more sweet than sugar)…

In a drink, I think the taste difference is very noticeable. But in a healthy baked desserts with other ingredients, not as much.

And in this recipe, the monk fruit low-sugar sweet minimum is added to mostly help the texture of the cake.

Using less is more because I’m a fan of adding sweet at the end after the bake and for individual tastes.

The additional sweet if you choose can be strawberries or in-season fruit at the end that pairs well with an angel food cake. 🍰

It’s a myth that you have to bake in the sweet tastes.

…It can be even better fresh at the end, and it looks pretty too.

I worked in event planning and catering for a decade, so that’s just how I roll. 😊

I like to cater to tastes because some of us want more sweet and the older ones of us, usually don’t.

Angel Food Cake Process

And for your angel cake flour choice, you could use a sifted all-purpose flour as more easily available, but a fine cake flour is going to pay off for a light as angel finish.

This cake is close to the process for making meringues, but since flour is added, that turns this into a cake.

And you’ll notice there’s no baking powder or baking soda for this cake as the fluffy egg whites will be the rising wings.🪽

Tip: Separate eggs cold when you’re taking them out of the fridge. Because when warm or room temperature, eggs are ready to run… so they may just run away from your hands and be ready for a scramble.

🥚 And if you make this cake, save the yolks! Make scrambled eggs, or make yolk-ingredient desserts like a low-sugar chocolate soft serve ice cream that’s so easy to make with or without an ice cream maker… where you’re never disappointed that the machine is down at a drive-thru!

…Or you make lemon curd for your parfait and other light brunch desserts. 🍥

Low-Sugar Angel Food Cake

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Author Brandy @ Healthy Happy Life Secrets

Ingredients

1 cup cake flour, sifted
12 egg whites
1 tsp cream of tartar
1/4 tsp salt
low sugar or monkfruit sugar (1 tsp or 1-1/2 tsp recommended)
strawberry

Instructions

Beat egg whites. Add cream of tartar, sugar, and salt.
Gently fold in flour.
Line tin with butter to prevent sticking. Bake on 350°F for 35-40 minutes.