Healthy Breakfast #4

I found another relatively healthy breakfast for the kids, bringing my new total up to four. My hungry little babies like oatmeal, but that instant oatmeal stuff is super bad for you. I found a recipe for steel cut oats that can be cooked in a crock pot, overnight.

Here's the thing about crock pots, in case you aren't familiar with using them: the food doesn't taste bad-- it's always better than just passable-- but it will never be delicious. The food cooked in a slow cooker always tastes a bit bland to me. Like some of the flavor was slow cooked right out of it. So what you gain in convenience you sacrifice in taste.

That said, this recipe for apple-cinnamon oatmeal is fairly yummy. Not perfect. But better than any instant version you'll get. And healthier, too.

Here's a link to the original recipe with pictures: here

And if you don't want to click anything or look at pictures:

Ingredients

• 2 apples, peeled, cored, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (2-1/2 to 3 cups chopped)
• 1-1/2 cups fat-free milk (or substitute non-diary alternative like almond milk)
• 1-1/2 cups water
• 1 cup uncooked steel-cut oats
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar (or substitute maple syrup or other desired sweetener)
• 1-1/2 tablespoons butter, cut into 5-6 pieces (optional)
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon ground flax seed
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Optional garnishes: chopped nuts, raisins, maple syrup, additional milk or butter

Directions

Coat inside of 3-1/2 quart (or larger) slow cooker with cooking spray. Add all ingredients (except optional toppings) to slow cooker. Stir, cover, and cook on low for approx. 7 hours (slow cooker times can vary). Spoon oatmeal into bowls; add optional toppings, if desired. Store leftovers in refrigerator. Freezes well.

I doubled this recipe and cooked it in my 5.5 quart slow cooker with no problem-- everything fit and it cooked  fine. Every crock pot is different, though, so you'll have to watch the length of time you cook it for the first time you cook this recipe. I cooked mine for the full 7 hours, but it was starting to burn around the edges. I'll probably check it after 6.5 hours next time.

With this recipe doubled, we have enough for two breakfasts and still have some left over. Clark especially likes this oatmeal.

Healthy Breakfasts

I've been on a little bit of a health kick lately. Nothing crazy. I'm not trying to do a complete overhaul of my lifestyle or anything-- I just want to make some small, permanent changes.

One thing that I've been working on is finding some healthy, natural breakfasts. Frozen waffles are sooooo tempting when I'm trying to get four kids ready and out the door in the mornings. But I know I can do better than that. I have three solid options so far.

#1) Scrambled eggs. I've added parsley to the eggs as well as basil, both of which the kids liked. Turns out parsley is really good for you, by the way.

#2) I went on a huge search for the healthiest, most natural boxed cereal I could find that the kids would eat. There are plenty of healthy breakfast cereals, but not many that the kids would take more than one or two bites of. I tried a few different kinds, and ultimately got lucky with Cascadian Farm organic Honey Nut O's. They're like Honey Nut Cheerios, but healthier. And more expensive. Of course.

#3) Smoothies! Here's the recipe that we tried last weekend and the kids loved:

• 1 1/4 cups orange juice
• 1 ripe medium banana, peeled and sliced
• 1 cup frozen blueberries, blackberries or raspberries
• 1/2 cup silken tofu
• 2 ice cubes, crushed

Just blend it up. Add sugar if you want, but we didn't think it needed it. We used raspberries this time, but I think that next time I make it I'll use raspberries and blueberries. This recipe makes 3 servings. Here's the link to the original: http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/banana_berry_smoothie.html

Toddler Waldorf Salad

I had a bunch of apples recently and I wanted to use some of them up before they went bad. Didn't want to make applesauce. I wanted to try something new. Somehow I settled on Waldorf salad, which I've never made before, but only requires chopping and mixing so I felt confident that I could do it successfully.

The original recipe calls for mayonnaise and celery and stuff that I wasn't sure the kiddos would like, so I decided to modify it. Actually, yogurt is a common substitution for the mayonnaise, and that got me thinking about other substitutions I could make. Here is my new recipe for Toddler Waldorf Salad:

Whisk together 6 tablespoons vanilla yogurt (I used Yo Baby brand) and 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Then add 2 chopped granny smith apples, 1 chopped pear (instead of celery), a couple of handfuls of quartered red grapes (Waldorf salad usually has raisins, but you can use grapes, too), and some crushed walnuts. I bought a bag of chopped walnuts and then crushed them smaller myself. Stir it all up, chill it in the fridge for a bit, and that's that.

Elise loved it. Kept asking for more and more. Henry wasn't too fond of the lemon flavor, so he didn't eat much. And Georgia will eat anything. But I enjoyed the flavor-- I would make it for myself. It's really just a stirred up fruit and yogurt parfait, I guess.

Yum.