Mango Banana Smoothie

Mango Banana Smoothie

Mango Banana Smoothie If you’re looking for a refreshing nutrition packed start to your morning or even later in the day this Mango Banana Smoothie is a favorite of mine.  I often buy frozen mango chunks but I will use in this either fresh or frozen bananas.  By using fruit no ice is needed when blending so there is no dilution of flavors.         Mango Banana Smoothie Ingredients 1 cup cubed frozen mango cubes 3/4 cup sliced ripe banana (about 1 medium) 2/3 cup milk or almond milk 1 teaspoon honey 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract Preparation: Place frozen mango and the remaining ingredients in a blender. Process until smooth. Pour into a tall glass and enjoy! To freeze your own mangos: If using fresh mangos, peel and cube then arrange the mango cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet; freeze until firm (about 1 hour).

Warm Hearty Pumpkin Cranberry Oatmeal Bowls

Warm Hearty Pumpkin Cranberry Oatmeal Bowls

I think fall and I think what can I make with pumpkin A hearty healthy breakfast in the fall needs some additional fall ingredients such as pumpkin. Two of my favorite things about fall….the brilliant leaves against sunny gray skies….and the classic fall flavors of pumpkin, cinnamon, the new fresh crop of apples, and cranberries.  Just makes me think cozy fires and hanging around with friends and family. It’s fun for me just seeing what’s in the kitchen and experimenting with new flavor profiles.  This is one of those recipes with things always in the pantry but a new combo to please the palate.  Super simple, easy and quick…all things you love for a weekday morning recipe. One of my prerequisites creating a new recipe is nutritional value.  If we fill with food lacking what our body needs, we will wind up eating more later because our body isn’t satisfied and that promotes overweight.  The addition of the pumpkin in this recipe boosted our daily intake of Vitamin A, C, iron, B6. and magnesium. Just one cup of pumpkin is 197% of the Vitamin A which we require daily but only 30 calories.   That’s a win-win food: tasty and healthy!   Warm

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Busy Morning Corn Muffins

Busy Morning Corn Muffins

There really is nothing like fresh muffins right out of the oven, but who has the time?   You do!  Make these Busy Morning Corn Muffins Here’s how I save time in the morning. If I’m already pulling out all the ingredients, measuring spoons and cups I also pull out a 2nd bowl or more and here’s why:    You can make at least 1 extra dry mix and store individual recipe portions in air tight containers.  Please remember to label them as muffin mix so there’s no confusion later.   Label the container with the liquids you need to add and baking times also.   This is like making your own box mix muffins without the chemicals and with out over paying! Do this the night before, days ahead or even weeks ahead. This is also a nice gift mix to bring with you too  (dress up the packing and attach instructions for finishing and baking) I often use those quart size deli containers since I have so many I’ve saved with Chinese takeout over the years.  Love those containers for portioning and storing soup stocks, marina and other sauces also. These muffins are perfect on their own or slathered

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Super Easy Healthy Granola

Super Easy Healthy Granola

My First Granola Recipe The first time I made granola, I found myself researching for an easy cooking method and just what ingredients should be included in the granola. There were many recipes I found so I gathered from all of them what I liked, merged cooking methods. Next I wrote my own recipe that I believed would work well. With that recipe I created my very “first homemade granola”. Merging at least 12 recipes into my own creation. Since that first baking of this granola, I’ve made this about once a month and I do experiment with ingredients based on what’s on hand at the time. Why you should make granola yourself After I made my first batch of granola I realized that I had greatly over spent for years on boxed granola.  You can’t beat the fresher flavor of homemade granola! You are the boss when it comes to cooking! You know your tastebuds best! Experiment!! I love creating in the kitchen which is playtime for me! The best part of making your own is it’s exactly to your taste with the fruits and nuts you love best! And did I mention that the house smells amazing too?

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Experimental Food Ideas – Irish Eggs in a Well

Experimental Food Ideas – Irish Eggs in a Well

Don’t Be Afraid to Experiment with Food! Irish Eggs in a Well All recipes were creative projects at some point in time! Last week I was looking in the refrigerator not sure what I wanted to eat for breakfast.  So, I decided to be a little creative!   Creative Breakfast Food Ideas So, what food is in the fridge that might help with the creativity today?  Eggs, and leftover steel cut oatmeal. My favorite oatmeal is McCann’s steel cut Irish oatmeal. It takes a little longer prep time but definitely worth the extra time, about 25-30 minutes and I give it rest time also.  I make it as per the tin’s instruction, which makes 4 servings, and will have 3 servings left for other days unless I have people here to help eat it. This oatmeal is fine leftover too, so no big problem with that!  I actually had less than one portion left so what to do, what to do? Get creative! In a small frying pan, I melted a bit of butter (only use real products), added the cold oatmeal to heat it through.Once heated through I made a hole or well in the center and let the

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