I know some people king of have a thing against Valentine’s Day – that it’s a hallmark holiday. But, I think February would be awfully dreary without it. A day set aside to celebrate love? Why not? Count me in! Besides, I don’t go out and buy stuff for Valentine’s Day, I make it myself (it being FOOD). Which, in my opinion, is one of the best ways to show that you love someone – make something.

And what better way to kick off a day of love then with an extra special breakfast. Even if the rest of the day, you all head off in different directions, a special breakfast brings you together at the start of the day, guaranteeing some time well spent enjoying each others company.

In light of that, I’ve got three delicious recipes for you today. They’re all uber simple and easy to make. And, they’re all different enough that hopefully you’ll find one here that brings a smile to someone you love.

P.S. For more Valentine’s Day recipes head here.

Egg in a Heart

For a savory treat take a favourite – egg in a hole – and switch it up with a fun heart shape. It’s so easy to make and should satisfy any toast and egg lover.

If you don’t have a heart shaped cutter you can use a sharp knife to cut the shape. It’s probably obvious that, that’s what I did in the photo above, because for some strange reason I still have yet to buy a heart shaped cookie cutter. But, I personally like it when things look a bit rustic (and homemade) so I’m fine with it. Plus they still made my kids happy and that’s all the matters, right? :)

Egg in a Heart

• 1 slice bread
• butter
• 1 egg
• salt and pepper, to taste
• dried parsley, optional

Cut a heart shape out of a slice of bread. Place a nob of butter into a skillet that has been preheated over medium heat. Once melted add bread, along with heart shaped cut out. Break egg into the centre of the hole, season with salt and pepper. Once the bottom is toasted and browned flip the bread, egg, and cutout. Cook until bread is toasted and egg is cooked as desired. Sprinkle with a bit of parsley, to serve.

Serves: 1

Sweetheart Smoothies

This two-layer smoothie is so luscious, it just tastes like a special treat. It’s starts with a layer of creamy strawberry smoothie and is topped with another layer of raspberry. It doesn’t make perfect layers but when you swirl them together with a straw it creates an ombre effect – so gorgeous! The taste is so decadent, the mouth-feel so smooth, it kind of feels like dessert for breakfast.

Sweetheart Smoothies

Strawberry Layer

• 1 cup frozen strawberries
• 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup unsweetened apple juice
• 1 tablespoon liquid honey
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Raspberry Layer

• 1 cup frozen raspberries
• 1/4 cup Greek yogurt
• 3/4 cup unsweetened apple juice
• 1 tablespoon liquid honey
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Place all ingredients for strawberry layer in a blender. Blend until smooth. Pour into 2 large, or 4 small, serving glasses. Immediately fill blender with raspberry layer ingredients and blend until smooth. Pour over strawberry layer. Swirl with a straw, if desired, to make an ombre effect. Serve immediately.

Makes: 2 large or 4 small servings

Strawberry Heart Pancakes

Strawberry pancakes in the shape of hearts may sound like a lot of work, but I promise, it’s not. To make the hearts you simply put the batter into a ziploc bag, snip the end and pipe heart shapes onto a preheated skillet. And, these light and tender pancakes have only one extra step to regular ones – pureeing the strawberries to put in the batter. See? What’d I say? Easy peasy.

I chose to use frozen berries since the fresh ones at the store are so expensive and bland this time of year. I also chose to puree them because I find that chunks of strawberry tend to give pancakes a still-raw texture wherever the strawberries are. Definitely not the case here. The strawberry flavour is quite subtle but they do lend the pancakes such a pretty shade of pink, and when served with a spoonful of warm strawberries on top, it tastes like strawberry pancake heaven.

Strawberry Heart Pancakes

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 heaping cup frozen strawberries, thawed
• 1/2 cup milk (approximately)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 large egg
• thawed strawberries (warmed) and maple syrup, to serve

Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

Place thawed strawberries into a blender. Blend until smooth. Pour strawberry puree into a liquid measuring cup, add milk to equal 1 cup total. Whisk in oil, egg and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until evenly moistened (lumps are fine).

Preheat a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Spoon in 1/4 cup batter. Allow to cook until edges have set and bubbles pop on top. Flip over and cook until browned on other side. Place cooked pancakes on a plate and put in an oven turned to the lowest setting, to keep warm. Continue with remaining batter.

Serve with additional thawed strawberries and maple syrup, if desired.

To make heart shaped pancakes: Pour batter into a zip top bag, push out excess air and seal the top, snip of a corner of the bag (alternately you could use a pastry bag with a round tip). Squeeze the batter into heart shapes, filling in the centres as you go. The batter will be quite runny so you will need to turn the bag upside down to stop the flow (I put mine upside down in a cup while I wasn’t using it). Cook as instructed above.

Makes approximately: 9 pancakes