Breakfast and other food thoughts

  I just have to give my husband a virtual pat on the back for stepping in as executive chef last night.  I was fully planning on preparing dinner, but he wanted pasta with meat sauce and happily took over dinner yesterday.  Let me also not forget to mention that he also cleared the table and did all of the dishes!!  It was just the break I needed for my Monday blahs and it sure was delicious!

 

  We used to make each batch of sauce completely from scratch, even using our own homegrown tomatoes when we canned them.  However, Trader Joe's organic basil marinara has been a great find and we usually use a jar of it and add in garlic, onions, and another jar of diced tomatoes.  We also have plenty of ground beef in the house if you can imagine.  We used some and it was certainly tasty!

 

  Speaking of food, we have a love-hate relationship going on at the moment.  I used to love to cook, bake, experiment, etc.  In fact, I invited extravagance and I would be happy to make EVERYTHING from scratch and spend hours doing so.  Occasionally I find the energy to get excited about a meal now, but the reality is I want quick, easy, and of course yummy.  I am definitely feeling the grind of preparing 3 different meals every day, trying to keep the crowd pleased.  I am even a lucky one with kids who eat most everything I make, from Indian food to hamburgers and veggies on the side.  The hardest part is variety, they are no longer digging oatmeal every morning for breakfast and have never eaten the same lunch everyday.  I welcome ideas!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

  I, on the other hand, could do leftovers each week and eat the same thing for breakfast and lunch for months.  For years I ate a sandwich for lunch and I would also treat myself to homemade chai tea during nap time.  Every day.  About a year ago I stopped eating that and have been switching it up with whatever is in the fridge.  For years I have had toast with peanut butter and banana for breakfast.  Just recently I have changed up my breakfast and am stuck in only wanting it each morning.  We'll see how long this lasts.

 

  It has evolved a bit and is now just right.  It started after I made a batch of "Paleo Granola." (I don't believe in the Paleo diet as a lifestyle, but since my husband is an avid Crossfitter Paleo is kind of popular and something I've researched a bit.)  Anyway, I actually LOVED the granola, it has unsweetened coconut flakes, sliced almonds, pepitas, and pecans.  After I ate the first batch I got everything to make it again and never did, so I just mixed all of those ingredients and didn't bake it with the coconut oil and maple syrup.

 

  I took some pictures of it, because that's what you do when you have a blog.  :)  And yes, I JUST had it again for lunch since I don't have as much time to take a picture of each step in the craziness of the morning.  And maybe because I like it enough to eat it for each meal.

 

 Add a small handful each of honey nut cheerios and cheerios,

 

 a big handful of the unmade granola,

 

 a big handful of blueberries,

 

and your choice of milk to a bowl.

I use unsweetened vanilla almond milk because cow's milk does not do my body good.

 

Here is my unmade granola mixture recipe if you choose to try it for yourself:

 

2 cups sliced almonds

2 cups unsweetened coconut flakes

1 cup raw pepitas

1 cup chopped pecans

 

If you wanted to make the actual granola:

 

Preheat oven to 300F.  Melt 1/4 cup maple syrup, 1/3 cup coconut oil on low and add 2 tsp. vanilla extract.  Mix 1.5 tsp. ground cinnamon and 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg into nut mixture.  Thoroughly mix oil/syrup mixture into nut mixture.  Bake for 30 minutes or until golden.  Let cool completely in pan.