It's almost Friday!

No fancy quote this time, just simply:

"Man's heart away from nature becomes hard."  ~Standing Bear


I'm off to soften my heart this weekend in Yosemite. :)

What is you favorite food?

Recently, I have found that my favorite food is one that I can alter to my mood and be most creative with, but one that does not take a lot of time and energy to make if I can't give it.  It can also be made healthy and can use a variety of ingredients.

What am I talking about?

Pizza!

 

So many options!
The crust: store-bought wheat or regular, pieces of bread that you can toast first to make mini pizzas, bagels, flatbread, large tortillas toasted, or your own from scratch. What else could you use?

Sauce: Some of many include: tomato, pesto, garlic cream, or even barbecue sauce.

Toppings: Anything goes - even potatoes (if you pair it with pesto and rosemary).  My favorite toppings are artichokes, mushrooms, and spinach.  If I want salmon, I pair it with red onion and barbecue sauce.  Make sure you cook your toppings separately first if your crust is already cooked. Then top them on and cover with...

Cheese: mozarella always works, but mixing cheeses is fine too.  I like mozarella and parmesan, and sometimes a little goat cheese.

Unleash your creative pizza-maker-self!

Someone's Birthday

It is my friend's birthday today, and when I called her, she seemed a little sad.  It wasn't very special feeling, she said.  She had to go to class, ate bad sushi, and no one sang to her.  I sang to her over the phone and told her she had to light a candle so that she could blow it out.  No excuses for not having a candle on your birthday - even if you dislike cake.  She really appreciated my forcefulness :)

Sometimes, feeling happy is about making other people feel great.  Especially on their birthday.  Remember, birthdays are very special to people.  It really is so easy to make a phone call, send a card, or make sure you can add just a little cheer to their day.  Don't leave it to someone else...because they may only send a text.

Coffee Goodness

Not only is coffee so comforting, but it also has many health benefits.  Click here to read more about how good it really is.

Everyone loves a smoothie!

Snack today for the kids in my program:

Peach, Stawberry, and Blueberry Yogurt Smoothie

Few kids (or adults) dislike smoothies.  The only non-takers were those who dislike fruit in general.  These were a great snack for a rare 100 degree September day.

Frozen Bananas

One of my constant challenges is serving snacks to the kids in my program that are both healthy and fun.

Today was a win!

Answer?

It's in the title! Frozen bananas...
All you must do is cut the banana in half (do not peel).  Stick a popsicle stick inside, and then unpeel the banana halves.  Place them in the freezer until frozen and until you are ready to enjoy them. The frozen bananas are delicious by themselves, but you can dip them in melted chocolate and then roll them in your favorite goodies (nuts, sprinkles, coconut, etc).  I decided to just drizzle a little chocolate syrup over the top because I do not have a double broiler to melt chocolate - and the microwave has never worked well for me in that area.

The kids loved the snack - and I did too. I was happy they ate their fruit, and they were happy it was decorated, they were able to choose their sprinkles of choice, and it was fun to eat.

I love breakfast

I am a breakfast eater - I can't go without! The the thing is, I am always eating the same things:
1.  a mixture of 2 of my favorite cereals, with some type of berries or banana, or
2.  yogurt with honey and toast

Over the weekend, I try to have something different, and this past weekend  I made delicious muffins that I found on food.com: Banana oatmeal muffins.  They are healthy, but aren't dry or bland.  They are moist, not too sweet, and simply delicious.

(Photo by GaylaJ on food.com -posted to recipe)