“Caramelized” Banana Berry Breakfast Bowl
I’m about to go off to college in a new state. I realized the other day that now was the best time to appreciate my hometown, Santa Monica. We all tend to take our home town for granted, but I know mine has a lot to offer. So when I visited the pier recently, I took my camera along to capture every moment.
I kind of felt like a tourist, taking pictures of everything. But that was my way of experiencing my city in its full glory.
Another thing I’ll miss about being home is being able to cook more often than I expect to in college. To fully enjoy my current kitchen privileges, I made this dish this morning for breakfast.
Bananas and berries go together like a match made in heaven. This easy cheat to a “caramelized” banana pairs it with blueberry Greek yogurt, fresh strawberries, and dried cranberries for a fruity fiesta! Enjoy this balanced breakfast of fiber, protein and just the right dose of sweetness.
“Caramelized” Banana Berry Breakfast Bowl
serves one
Ingredients:
- 1 large banana
- 1 tbs honey
- 6-8 fresh strawberries
- one container of Greek blueberry yogurt
- one single-serving box of Craisins
Directions:
Freeze yogurt until it has a soft frozen consistency (about 30 minutes.)
Wash and cut up strawberries. Arrange in serving bowl.
Spray a medium pan with nonstick cooking spray. Cut banana into two to three pieces, and place on pan.
Turn heat to medium. Drizzle honey over banana pieces. Turn over when slightly browned, and brown the other side.
Remove from heat. Place banana in serving bowl. Scoop frozen yogurt on top, and sprinkle with Craisins.
Enjoy!
A Masterful Treat: Baked Apple Baked Oatmeal
To celebrate mother’s day and my birthday which coincided with it, my mom and I took a girls’ day the eve of May 10th to visit the Natural History Museum. (You can get some insight into both our personalities here by our idea of a girls’ day out!)
There was a special exhibit called Grandes Maestros: Great Masters of Iberoamerican Folk Art, displaying sculpture, ceramics, textiles, wood carvings, and more from traditional, contemporary artists throughout Central and South America, Mexico, and the Iberian Peninsula. We were encouraged to take photos so hopefully it’s all right for me to post some here…
A room overflowing with artwork.
We both really liked this mask.
I was surprised to see musical instruments on display, and wondered if anyone would ever play them?
All the descriptions of items were in both English and Spanish, and as a linguistic enthusiast who knows little Spanish I was getting really excited by the few words I was able to match up and understand phrases in Spanish. But nothing made me more proud than the billboard I was able to translate on my own on the train ride over to the museum: “Aqui viven las bebidas de un dolar” (or something like that) means “Here live the $1 drinks!” I guess it was a McDonald’s ad. It helped prepare me for the language I was about to be semi-immersed in at the museum.
Unlike a $1 drink, grabbed on the go at a fast food restaurant, the recipe I’m about to share with you takes some care and time to prepare. In fact, you might even say it is a work of art – created by yours truly, the grand master of kitchen exploration.
Well, it’s not really all that hard… I bet there are some talented individuals reading this who could replicate my success with this recipe nearly as deliciously as I was able to craft it.
Who am I kidding? I’m no master of cooking, and have about as much fluency with making baked fruit as I do with Spanish (little to none.) But, following this makeshift recipe based on a culinary dream that struck me several weeks ago, I was able to toss together an innovative new breakfast dish that tasted great! I encourage all mediocre cooks to get their artist’s palette on and try variations on this recipe for basic baked apple baked oatmeal. Translation: A soft, warm green apple boat filled with soft-baked, sweetly spiced oats emblazoned with chewy raisins and swirled with a chocolate hazelnut butter kiss.
Try baking longer than I did for crunchier/firmer oats and softer apples, or bake the amount listed below for softer oats. Furthermore, go ahead and get creative with adding different mix-ins or even using a different fruit puree to flavor the oats. Your masterpiece will be a splendid, balanced breakfast when topped with some delightfully cold frozen yogurt of your favorite flavor. Whether you follow my recipe exactly or go all Picasso on it, I wish you a good morning and a lovely, hearty breakfast. Provecho! (That’s bon appetit in Mexican Spanish according to here.)
Baked Apple Baked Oatmeal: Apple Cinnamon Raisin Chocolate Hazelnut
inspired by Chocolate Covered Katie and Simply Recipes
Serves 1-2
Ingredients:
baked apple/oatmeal
- 1 large Granny Smith apple
- splash of nutmeg
- dash of ginger
- 1 packet of Safeway brand Regular Flavor instant oatmeal
- 1 Tree Top brand single serving container of Cinnamon flavor applesauce
- 1 single serving box of Sunmaid brand raisins
- 2 tbs chocolate hazelnut spread
optional topping
- one container Greek vanilla yogurt (I used Dannon brand Light & Fit Toasted Coconut Vanilla flavor)
Directions:
Freeze yogurt for at least an hour, or until it has the texture of soft frozen yogurt.
Preheat oven to 385 Fahrenheit. Line an oven-safe dish with aluminum foil, and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
In a small bowl, combine oats, applesauce, and raisins. Mix thoroughly.
Cut apple in half around core. Use sharp knife and spoon to lift a half-sphere of apple out of each half.
Place apple halves in baking dish, cut-side up. As for the remaining apple surrounding the core, cut it into slices, and halve the slices. Arrange them in baking dish around apple halves.
Sprinkle spices on apple pieces, and spread any leftover applesauce on them to help sweeten them in baking. Then, spoon oatmeal mixture into and around the holes in apple halves. Spoon leftovers over apple slices.
Swirl chocolate hazelnut butter into oatmeal.
Bake at 385 Fahrenheit for 15-20 minutes or until oatmeal is as firm as you desire and apples are soft.
Remove from oven and place apples into serving dish(es.) Scoop frozen yogurt on top, if desired.
Enjoy!
The Orange Julius for Adventurers!
In 1926, Los Angelesian Julius Freed opened an orange juice stand. Three years later, Freed’s real estate broker Bill Hamlin improved upon his recipe to create a version of the orange drink that was less acidic. It became so popular that by 1964, the “Orange Julius” was named the official drink of the World’s Fair in New York. Dairy Queen saw the beverage gaining a following in the libation kingdom, and purchased it in 1987. Now this icy concoction of orange juice, milk, powdered egg whites, and vanilla flavoring is sold in Dairy Queen outlets from coast to coast.
(Image above from Wikipedia)
Looking at that ingredient list, it’s easy to see why the Orange Julius is so widely liked: it’s boring. I mean, I’m sure it has some taste to it, since there were probably oranges involved in that juice at some point, but most of the other ingredients are designed to soften the edge of that citrus flavor and create a sweetly simple drink even tastebuds accustomed to the most boring of American fast food could handle. And that’s all right for some. Others like to be a bit more adventurous…
I wasn’t thinking about an Orange Julius when I made this smoothie. In fact, I’ve never even tasted one, so I’m not sure I can fairly compare it with what I came up with. All I know is, I took one sip of this ice-cold blend and the iconic drink came to mind. I wondered if I had accidentally created some variation on their recipe… a variation for those who crave a little more excitement, who relish a rich, novel taste and perhaps don’t relish powdered egg whites in their flavorful libations. Is it an improvement on the classic? Dare to taste and decide.
Click here for the full recipe: Orange Julius Plus Smoothie
Orange Julius Information Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_Julius
Super Protein Breakfast Fro-Yo Sandwiches!
On my Israel trip this past summer, one of the most ambitious items on the itinerary was the Masada climb. We rose at 3 AM – not hard to do when you’re sleeping in a tent full of bugs and bodies – piled onto the bus in a drowsy haze of yawns, sleepy greetings, and too-loud Israeli pop music, and pulled up at the foot of a mountain that seemed insurmountable, a menacing peak towering towards the dusky heavens. I was sure the task of hiking it was impossible.
But we did it anyway – all the way up, just in time to see the sun rise: a once-in-a-lifetime view.
The hardest part was actually climbing all the way down without slipping. Everyone in our group got a little ticked off when we reached the bottom – only to discover that the restaurant where we were to have breakfast was a little ways back up the mountain. We would have to fight gravity yet again if we wanted some long-awaited sustenance.
I told the group leader, truthfully, “I’m glad I climbed all the way down the mountain. It was an experience.” It so happens it was also very hot and sweaty. When we reached the restaurant, the last thing I was craving was a hot breakfast of cooked eggs and steaming scalloped potatoes. In fact, I stared perhaps a moment too long at the case of Magnum ice cream bars before getting in line for the buffet.
To tell you the truth, ice cream in the morning is nauseating. However, I think AM frozen yogurt is just peachy. And after conquering a seemingly impossible goal, after testing the limits of one’s own strength and physical and emotional endurance, a little bit of an indulgence is in order.
This treat fits the bill for an active morning reward: a delicious strawberry cheesecake frozen treat composed of ingredients which, each on its own, wouldn’t cause most health nuts a moment’s pause before consuming it for breakfast. Whole grain graham crackers, protein-packed light Greek yogurt, vitamin-rich fresh strawberries, peanut butter as a healthy fat and agave as a low-GI sweetener. A totally unobjectionable breakfast. That happens to look like an ice cream sandwich! A perfect example of why you can never judge a book by its cover.
Just freeze the yogurt for 45 minutes to one hour to achieve a soft frozen yogurt texture, rather than that awful rock-hardness that can result from putting regular yogurt in the freezer for two long. Then throw it all together and you’re set! Enjoy rewarding yourself.
Super Protein Breakfast Fro-Yo Sandwiches
makes 2 sandwich squares
Ingredients:
- 2 honey flavored graham crackers
- 8 strawberries
- 1 container Dannon Light & Fit Greek 80 Calorie yogurt, Strawberry Cheesecake flavor
- 1 tbs creamy peanut butter
- 1 tsp agave syrup
Directions:
Place container of yogurt in freezer for 45-60 minutes.
Cut up your strawberries – I did this with some variety, making some little diced morsels and some round slices.
When yogurt has become soft-frozen, break each graham cracker in half. Place two halves on desired serving bowl/plate. Top with diced strawberries.
Remove yogurt from freezer. Using a large spoon or ice cream scoop, spoon frozen yogurt on top of graham crackers and strawberries.
Top with remaining graham cracker halves.
Arrange remaining strawberry slices around sandwiches. Spoon peanut butter on top graham crackers. Drizzle agave over the whole mess.
And now, for the last and tastiest step – grab a spoon and dig in!
True Healthy Me 