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Hello everyone! I am excited to share with you the full review of the brunch plan I made for the Oh She Glows Everyday Party Challenge. It was so much fun to make and share with my dear friend Dubravka in Vancouver last weekend. I wanted to make it easy for us to make the morning of. I felt like these four recipes (and one spice mix) really fit the bill of easy, convenient, tasty and gluten free (she has a gluten intolerance)
So without further ado, here is the review of the recipes. I made the following five dishes:
- Green Matcha Mango Ginger Smoothie
- Roasted Breakfast Hash
- 9 Spice Avocado Hummus Toast
- Every Day Lemon Garlic Hummus
- 9 Spice Mix
Green Matcha Mango Ginger Smoothie
This recipe is found in the Oh She Glows Every Day Cookbook on page 17. I loved how there is a whole chapter dedicated to smoothies in this cookbook –especially since I tend to drink a smoothie every day in the summer.
Most noteworthy about this smoothie is that it is extremely easy to prepare. There were six ingredients and all are easily found in the grocery store. When making this for my brunch, I gathered the ingredients in the blender the morning of, and then after everything else was ready to go I hit the button to blend. That way everything was ready to go and fresh.
I quite liked the taste of this smoothie as well. Rich and creamy with the mango and banana with just the right amount of sweetness. The ginger and lime really gave it a spicy tangy kick. I would say however that I preferred it without the matcha. When added, I think the flavour combination was a bit confusing on the palette.
Overall, I scored this recipe 93%. Almost perfect in my opinion!
Roasted Breakfast Hash
This recipe is found in the Oh She Glows Every Day Cookbook on page 53. I really loved the spice used in this recipe (see a full review of that below!). I thought the directions were easy to follow and loved the combination of sweet and white potatoes. It really depends on your oven on how long to cook. I left them in the oven a bit longer than the directions to allow the potatoes to really crisp up. Comparing this hash to the hash found in the original Oh She Glows Cookbook, I do find that the addition of potato starch or arrowroot powder really make them crispier (so I would recommend that!)
The other great thing about these potatoes is that they last a long time (unless you have no control and eat the entire serving!) I would suggest heating them in the oven slightly when eating the leftovers.
Overall, I scored this recipe 91%. Again, another great winner and it paired very nicely with the other flavours in the brunch.
9 Spice Avocado Hummus Toast
This recipe is found in the Oh She Glows Every Day Cookbook on page 85. This spiced toast was a great way to use more of the nine spice blend. It is one of those recipes that rounds up a lot of other recipes in her cookbook (hummus, gluten free toast or crackers if you want to use, and the spice blend). I’m not too sure if I consider this a unique recipe but did like the idea of putting these recipes together (bread + hummus + avocado + 9-spice blend).
What really stood out about this recipe is the fact that she rubbed the toast with fresh garlic. Who would have thought of that?! It really took the toast over the top, and I think I will continue to do this on all savoury toast combinations in the future.
One serving of this toast (two slices of bread with half an avocado) is approximately 439 calories. It is a great source of breakfast on its own. When making this as a brunch, I suggest using small crackers or pieces of bread, as with the potatoes and smoothie, it could be quite filling. It is also an excellent source of healthy fats, which is a bonus for someone requiring energy first thing in the morning.
I thought the overall taste was great, and liked the spice combination with the lemon garlic hummus. Two thumbs up for this one! I scored this one 84%.
Every Day Lemon Garlic Hummus
This recipe is found on the Oh She Glows Every Day Cookbook on page 91. This recipe is simple enough to make with 8 ingredients. It does require a pretty good food processor in order to blend it nice and smooth (or a good blender). I liked how simple this hummus was and didn’t overpower the rest of the toast. It definitely has a lemony kick to it however, so you may want to adjust this to taste.
This recipe keeps well in the fridge for several days and could even be frozen. Furthermore, the hummus found in a lot of her recipes throughout the book. It is a good staple to have on hand. I gave this recipe 85 %.
9 Spice Mix
This recipe is found on the Oh She Glows Every Day Cookbook on page 258. I saved the best for last – this spice was everything. In addition, it would make a good party favour too! Let me know if you are interested in the little tags I made. I may be doing a giveaway soon so stay tuned.
Based on your preferences, the spices are easy enough to find and can be substituted or omitted. Notably, I did find it a bit difficult to find smoked paprika, but I would assume just adding extra of the sweet paprika would be good enough. Other advice I would have for this is to make double the large batch, so it makes half a cup as opposed to a ¼ cup. You could get through ¼ cup of spice quite quickly!
I rated this one 90%. Great flavor, easily storable, and great ingredients.
In conclusion it was a great feast! Let me know if you made this brunch yourself, or one of the recipes. I’d love to see the results!
