A DIY solution to the cancelled CNF Stampede breakfast

By Giselle Wedemire

I love this city, but I have a hard time getting jazzed about Stampede. I mean, I’ve had some great fun at some of their concerts on the Coca Cola Stage (including seeing Rooney, The Dudes, k-os, and a chance sighting of Drake at the 2006 Nelly Furtado show), but other than that, Stampede really doesn’t matter to me.

But Stampede breakfasts? Now, that’s something I can get behind. Since going vegan five years ago, my favourite part of Stampede has been hitting up Community Natural Foods’ annual Stampede breakfast. Sure, I had to get up at the crack of dawn and be a complete zombie for the rest of the day, but there were free pancakes involved, so it was worth it!

This year, however, CNF has decided against putting on its annual breakfast. While this is definitely sad news, you can’t really blame ‘em, thanks to this not-so-hot economy of ours.

Screen shot via Community Natural Foods' Facebook

If the sting of this news is too much to bear, why not throw your own Stampede breakfast at home? I promise you won’t have to wake up at the crack of dawn to participate (unless that’s your thing), and you won’t even have to put pants on (unless that’s your thing)!

Here are my picks for putting on the best darn DIY Stampede breakfast your kitchen has ever seen:

Pancakes

• The PPK's gluten-free buckwheat pancakes
• Keepin' It Kind's peanut butter banana pancakes
• Berry Ripe's vegan whole wheat oatmeal pancakes

Sausages

• Tofurky Italian sausages (these are usually what I've gotten at the CNF Stampede breakfast, so you'll get bonus points for authenticity with this option!)
• Kristi Turner's sunflower seed sausage crumbles
• Field Roast smoked apple sage sausages 

Syrups

• Maple syrup (duh) or Chicago Diner's maple whip
• Chicago Diner's blueberry compote
• Keepin' it Kind's salted chocolate caramel syrup

Once you've got these three components covered, all you've left to do is decide on the beverages. Since no Stampede breakfast is complete without something to wash it all down, decide if your stay-at-home breakfast will be accompanied by a juice box or big cup of coffee. Then get crackin' and revel in the fact that you don't have to listen to country music at an ungodly hour of the day.

Are you bummed out that the CNF Stampede breakfast is cancelled? Me too! Commiserate with me over on Twitter at @PickyBitchez.