Shredded Wheat Apple Muffins

What do you do with the crushed Frosted Shredded Wheat in the bottom of your cereal box?

If you want, the crumbs could be baked into some yummy muffins.

Oatmeal Coffee Cake

This breakfast recipe is so tasty, and it doesn't even require milk. My dad can't do milk, so I was interested in a recipe that looks like a regular coffee cake except that in the place of milk, you basically make a big bowl of oatmeal in the microwave. Isn't that a fun replacement?

Oatmeal Bites

Just like my Oatmeal Pancakes, I have been looking for more ways to eat lots of oatmeal, even when it's so hot! These are great for breakfast, dessert, or a 3 a.m. snack. They don't need refrigeration, but I think they're extra delicious that way. These are a good example of something that you can make to suit your mood: When I really want something healthy, I use oatmeal in the place of the coconut flakes and substitute all raisins instead of half raisins and half chocolate chips. On other days, I use these to indulge my sweet tooth and eat the recipe as written.

These are so easy -- just stir, scoop, and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Notice they require no cooking or baking, so I have made them countless times over the summer.

Pregnancy Waffles

These waffles are so yummy and have extra eggs and milk in them! I developed the recipe when I was struggling with morning sickness in the first trimester of pregnancy. I found that the easiest thing to digest was carbs, but I worried Saltine crackers don't have the protein and calcium I needed. Well these waffles sat well in my stomach and helped me better balance my diet, even when ill.

Oatmeal Pancakes

I used to eat a bowl of oatmeal just about every morning. That was years ago when I was a busy college student. These days, a bowl of oatmeal is good on occasion, but I now like more variety.

Real Strawberry Topping

This simple strawberry topping makes breakfast (or dessert) a happy occasion. 

Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie

Pumpkin Oatmeal

Ever make a recipe and have leftover pumpkin puree? I freeze mine in ice cube trays to make into smoothies, shakes, and oatmeal, especially this time of year. This easy pumpkin oatmeal is hardy and delicious with lots of pumpkin flavor, brown sugar, and raisins. This breakfast is definitely inspired by pumpkin pie!

Strawberry Lime Smoothie

I love sweetening my smoothies with fruit alone, but that usually means using a banana. While I love bananas in smoothies, my husband, his sister, my niece, and lots of people I know really don't like everything to taste like a banana.

This smoothie has honey, which is a good, natural source of sugar, but you probably should accompany this smoothie with whole grains so the fiber can help you digest the sugar. (Fruit has natural sugar in it, but it also has fiber which helps you digest the sugar in it. Honey doesn't have fiber in it.) The strawberries I used were very sweet, which helped make a tasty smoothie.

 

Banana Walnut Muffins

I think I buy bananas every single time I run to the grocery store-every time! Even if I'm just running to the corner because we're out of milk, I find myself grabbing more bananas too.

Strawberry Plum Smoothie

Ripe, tart plums give this smoothie a bit of a kick, which is just what I need in the morning. 

 This turns a very happy pink color, which is always a nice way to start your day too.

Sweet Strawberry Carrot Muffins

When I bought a lot of strawberries, I started dreaming of the things I could make with them, including strawberry muffins. One of my goals is to eat more vegetables so I decided to make some strawberry carrot muffins. Unfortunately for the world, searching "Strawberry Carrot Muffins Recipe" does not yield lot of results that just feature the strawberry and carrots. Fortunately for me, I had some ideas about how to put them together.

Strawberry Yogurt and Oats

Has summer hit hard for anyone else? It seems like it's been about a million degrees out here in Northern California. Normally I love oatmeal for breakfast, but it's just so hot to eat. I sometimes will blend 3 tablespoons of dry oatmeal into my smoothies, but I was ready for something different.

Zucchini Multigrain Muffins with Raisins

Zucchinis are back in season and one of my favorite muffin recipes uses them. These are about 50% whole grain, but are still really delicious without too much sugar or fat.

Orange Banana Smoothie with Carrot

I had some leftover cooked carrots the other day and decided to use them with a smoothie. After some experimentation, I found a combination that tasted really good and the carrot gave it a really pretty orange color.
Inspired by a creamsicle, I decided to use some milk in this smoothie.

Orange Poppy Seed Pancakes

These pancakes are decadent and tender. They have so much flavor. I love that the only ingredient in them that I don't keep on hand at all times is an orange. It's orange season, so I'm always getting more.
I don't know about you, but a lot of my meals are mostly based on things I always keep on hand. I sometimes look at recipes that call for things like fresh leaks, half-and-half  and cream and think, "Well, that's not going to happen."
It has to be a really good looking recipe for me to buy lots of new ingredients just for it.
Anyway, these pancakes are amazing, and just a bit naturally sweeter than lemon poppy seed recipes.

Peanut Butter Oatmeal and a Kiwi Orange Smoothie

These recipes are a bit of a no-brainer, but I thought I'd share because I've been eating peanut butter oatmeal since I was in college. Studying always made me starving.

Mint Smoothie

My Pinterest feed is green. Everyone is excited to celebrate Saint Patrick's Day and look forward to the coming of spring!

I decided to call this a smoothie, though it was so thick I actually ate it with a spoon, and I don't usually put chocolate in my smoothies!

But being filled with healthier ingredients, including spinach, I decided smoothie was the best label.

Berry and Cherry Muffins with Coconut Topping

Today I was thinking about contrast. In foods contrast is great. These muffins have tangy cherries and berries and a splash of lemon in them, paired with a sweet coconut topping. Delicious.


In life, some contrast can also be tasty. Today I woke up sleepy and stayed sleepy all while cooking and cleaning this morning. After lunch I thought about drifting off for a nap, but decided to push myself instead into some contrast. I put a leash on my miniature dachshund, and we went on a 2 mile adventure together, enjoying some sun. Recently it has been raining, raining, raining, cutting our daily walks short. I've had to watch the weather for a good window, and then drop everything when it's finally dry enough outside. Today the sun finally came out for a good time, so I carpe diem-ed it, dropped everything, and just walked for awhile. It was so much better than just trying to make do with exercise DVDs inside! And since my long walk I'm finally over being sleepy. The contrast of being outside is sweet.
The contrast of the sour cherries and sweet coconut are also a great pair.

Easy No-Sugar-Added Cinnamon Applesauce

Chunky-style applesauce

Applesauce sometimes get a bad rap--it's too processed, it has too much sugar. Personally, I think making it yourself is the perfect solution, especially if you have another problem: that you have some soft or bruised apples around the house. It's actually a healthy, easy choice!