This article is sponsored by Kodiak Cakes, makers of our favorite protein-packed pancake mixes. We’re sharing our favorite homemade holiday recipes with Kodiak Cakes, which are easy to prepare, full of protein, and of course, delicious!
When we’re packing up for a hike or camping trip, I look for healthy foods that are easy to bring along, quick to prepare, and taste great! Kodiak Cakes pancake mix has long been a family favorite whether we’re at home or on the road because they taste amazing and they’re packed with protein. As Kodiak Cakes has expanded its products into more delicious mixes, oatmeal, and snacks, we’ve added them to our grocery list and made them part of our daily and travel routine. You can shop all of the delicious products from Kodiak Cakes directly on their website, or pick them up at most grocery stores.
I love the extra protein packed into the Kodiak Cakes mixes, so whenever there’s a chance to swap out regular flour or oats in a recipe with something from Kodiak Cakes, I give it a try.
Here are a few of our favorite things to make around the holidays, whether we’re enjoying the outdoors or celebrating at home.
Snacks to eat on-the-go
The holidays can be a pretty busy time, with so many things to do and places to be. This year may be a bit more low-key than usual, but I always like having some healthy (or at least healthy-is) snacks that everyone likes.
Bear Bites Trail Mix
If you haven’t tried Bear Bites yet, they’re delicious. My son will have these as a treat instead of cookies, which is fine by me since these crackers are made with whole grains and have 5 grams of protein per serving. You can eat these straight out of the box, or mix them up with a few other things for a fun trail mix. Bear Bites come in a few different flavors: chocolate, honey, and cinnamon. Here are a few things I put in my treat trail mix made with Chocolate Bear Bites:
- Chocolate Bear Bites
- Cashews (I added coconut cashews here)
- Mini marshmallows
- Chocolate chunks (I don’t think any trail mix is complete without some chocolate!)
No Bake Peanut Butter Bars
We eat a lot of protein and granola bars, so it’s nice to mix it up and make our own. I got this No-bake peanut butter bars recipe from the Kodiak Cakes blog. It’s super simple, easily customizable, and uses the Kodiak Cakes Protein Oats. I like adding chocolate chips and coconut in mine, but you can add dried fruits, nuts, or whatever else you have in your cupboards.
Powercake Banana Nut Muffins
Warm Banana Nut Muffins are the perfect antidote to a cold winter day. These are super easy to whip up for breakfast or a snack to bring along. We usually have some Buttermilk Powercake mix on-hand to make these muffins, which each provide about 6 grams of protein.
Found the perfect spot to enjoy the view — and a healthy snack.
Treats to Share (or Leave for Santa)
Spiced Christmas Sugar Cookies
Making sugar cookies to decorate is one of our favorite Christmas traditions. I’ve tried quite a few different sugar cookie recipes over the years, but this Spiced Sugar Cookie Recipe by Kodiak Cakes has a few things that make it a little extra special.
The spices, like cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg, make the whole house smell like Christmas and add a lot more flavor to a traditionally plain sugar cookie. And because this uses the Kodiak Cakes All-Purpose Baking Mix, you get that extra dose of protein too.
Brownies with Mint Frosting
It’s hard to get better than extra chocolatey, warm, thick and fudgy brownies. But brownies plus frosting…it’s my favorite. The recipes straight off the box of the Kodiak Cakes Chocolate Fudge Brownie mix is great as is, but adding some mint frosting makes extra yummy and festive.
This is a basic buttercream frosting, with a little bit of peppermint extract for the flavor and a few drops of green food coloring for some festive fun. I don’t have my frosting down to an exact science – I usually start with something around these proportions, and then add more milk or sugar depending on how thick, fluffy and sweet I want it.
Mint Frosting:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 Tbs milk
- 1 tsp peppermint extract
- green gel food coloring
Delicious (and easy) Christmas Morning Breakfast
Christmas Crepes
Our Christmas morning tradition is making crepes. I’ve made mine with a variety of fillings over the years, from berries and yogurt, to Nutella and hazelnuts, but Aaron keeps his pretty simple with lemon butter and powdered sugar.
I’ve used this Alton Brown crepe recipe for years, but replace the cup of flour with a cup of Whole Wheat, Oat, & Honey Kodiak Cakes Flapjack and Waffle Mix. Don’t skip the step of letting the batter sit in the fridge for an hour – or even make it the night before so you’re all ready to start cooking Christmas morning.
Buttermilk Pancakes
The Buttermilk Power Cakes Flapjack & Waffle mix was the first mix we ever tried from Kodiak Cakes, and we were immediately hooked. You’ll always find at least one box in our cupboards (right now it’s three or four, thanks to some of our pandemic shopping), and we usually mix up a batch of pancakes once or twice a week. Even though Kodiak Cakes pancakes are a typical breakfast for us, it’s easy to add a few extra things to make them a little extra festive for the holidays. Here are a few of our favorite combos:
Strawberries and Whipping Cream – I like to mash a few strawberries and heat them up with a bit of water and sugar to make a thick and fruity syrup.
Banana Walnut – You can’t go wrong with slicing up a few bananas and baking them straight into your pancakes. Top with some chopped walnuts and pure maple syrup.
Lemon Poppy – If you love lemon poppyseed muffins, you’ll love this refreshing, zesty variation from the Kodiak Cakes blog. Just add a little lemon juice, zest, poppyseeds and top with Greek yogurt.
What are some of your favorite holiday foods and treats? Let us know if you’ve tried any Kodiak Cakes Holiday recipes!