We shopped for groceries today. Before we left, I changed out of my super roomy sweat pants and into a pair of less comfortable but more presentable maternity pants. A pair of pants that I knew were starting to feel snug a few weeks ago, but I put them on today anyway, hopeful that either a.) the pants grew or b.) some small elves came and magically added a few inches to the waist band for me.

But alas, no magic elves came and did anything, so I struggled around the store in my too small pants, occasionally pushing the smaller child as she intermittently rode on the front of the cart, while the big one asked every 1.456 minutes why she didn’t get to ride too.

Because together you guys weigh nearly 100 pounds, not to mention the extra 27 pounds I’m hauling around these days already. Sorry kid.

During our shopping extravaganza, I managed to crash the cart into a rice cake display knocking a number of packages into the aisle. Next, I dumped half a container of (not cheap!) organic raspberries all over the floor in check out. Then, as we were leaving the store my cell phone rang and a short conversation ensued. As I hung up, the phone slipped out of my hand and then straight into the very tall, half full trash can behind me.

This was when the giant belly and I heaved a big sigh in our too tight pants and tried without much luck to dig my phone out of the garbage can. Eventually, a friendly cart pusher spied me struggling and came over to assist. After dumping nearly half the trash out of the can, he eventually retrieved my phone from the very bottom of the bag, and presented it to me covered in some white, creamy substance that the girls deemed to be “yogurt”.

(I was thinking something else, but let’s go with yogurt.)

The Cart Man then proceeded to ask me about the kind of cell phone plan I have and how often I use my phone, all while the girls continuously shouted “Your phone is covered in yogurt! YOUR PHONE IS COVERED IN YOGURT!” and the waistband of my pants continued to grow ever tighter.

The good news about today’s shopping trip? I watched this video right before we left.

I first saw this video about three months ago, but her story SO INCREDIBLE that I still go back and watch it from time to time. It’s a TED video by Dr. Terry Wahls, the woman who cured herself of MS with dietary changes. It’s 17 minutes long and is well worth every minute.

I decided today that the absolute best time to watch this video is right before you head out to the store with your grocery list, reusable bags and (preferably) wearing pants that fit you quite well. Watch this video before you go and you’ll come home with more produce, I promise.

I’ll begin today by explaining that we’ve been eating a lot of the Same Old, Same Old for dinner around here lately.

From what I can figure, any and all brain power that was formerly used for coming up with something new and creative for dinner (or the blog) seems to have been temporarily diverted to growing a baby. A baby who is getting pretty big I might add, and lately has a fondness for doing what can only be described as extended side angle pose in utero.

I did Barbie’s hair. You like?

Yes, she’s ducted taped to the ironing board and yes, she’s naked. Lululemon doesn’t make Barbie clothes yet. Here’s a hunky man doing the same pose if naked Barbie offends you.

Really, I’m simply trying to show you the pose that baby seems to be doing in his or her cozy yoga womb lately. And I’ve just recently started taking a prenatal yoga class, if all this yoga talk doesn’t make that obvious.

ANYWAYS, dinner.

Tonight I made something other than the vegetarian chili, black bean and salsa soup or coconut curried red lentils we’ve been eating so much of these days.

This meal began with about three cups of prepared quinoa. (“Prepared” = approximately 1 1/2 c uncooked quinoa boiled in water until soft, ready in about 15 minutes.) A small diced onion and one clove of minced garlic, sauteed in coconut oil until soft. A chopped red pepper was soon added to the garlic and onion, followed by a shredded carrot. Once the veggies were cooking, I added the cooked quinoa and a cup or so cooked chick peas.

There was no real plan here. This was old fashioned fridge rummaging, plain and simple.

When I realized this dish needed a splash of green, I chopped up a few stalks of asparagus and threw them into the mix at the last minute. Spiced to taste with salt, pepper, cumin, paprika and tiny pinch of chili powder, TA DA! Something I’ve never made before for dinner. Finally. The whole thing took about 30 minutes.

When Zak got home from work and peered into the pan he said, “What’s this?”, at which point I declared this to be my “WTF Dinner”.

That is, “Whatever’s in The Fridge” dinner, of course.

This could be another one of those dishes that could work as a side, or to eat as your main dish, like we did tonight. And like I’m about to eat as “WTF Dinner, Part II” momentarily.

Same Old, Same Old? We’ll see you tomorrow night!

Barbie? We’ll see you at yoga on Saturday. Or not.

Guess what?!

OK, to be fair, unless you are a food nerd who reads a lot of foodie blogs, you might not be able to guess and/or be squealing the same way I did when the UPS man dropped this guy off last week.

On the right? Our old blender. The lean mean muscle machine on the left? My Our new VITAMIX!

Thanks to the fact that my birthday was last week (33! WOOT!) AND that Zak was finally bitten by the Vitamix bug AND a 20% Off coupon from Bed, Bath and Beyond that saved us a bundle, we bit the bullet and welcomed this majestic marvel into our appliance family a few short days ago.

*swoon*

If you’ve never heard of the Vitamix, it’s the blender to beat all blenders. With its two horsepower motor, (that doesn’t mean a whole lot to me, but it sure sounds impressive) it rips through whatever foodstuffs you put in there and liquefies your ingredients in a way that our old blender never could.

It’s a beast of a contraption and if you are health food nerd, this guy makes it that much easier to slurp down a much wider variety of produce when compared to the average blender.

To be honest, I’m just now learning about all the Vitamix can do. Based on the recommendation of a fellow Vitamix friend, I decided to take my typical green lemonade ingredients and make a green lemonade smoothie. I truly LOVE green juice with lemon, apples and ginger, but the juicer can be a big job in terms of clean up. The Vitamix is about 1,000 times easier to clean than the juicer, and the thought of making my beloved green lemonade without all the complicated clean up?

I am so there.

So here we go. Kale, cucumbers, a couple of apples, a couple of lemons and an inch or so of ginger plus some water. (It’s worth noting here that no water is needed in a juicer…)

And yeah, it definitely pureed my favorite juice ingredients. It pureed them into pond scum.

I half expected to see some hideous sea monster rise up out of the froth and latch onto my face.

(As a side note, notice the baby belly at the bottom of the pic there? Yeah, the bump is getting in the way of all sorts things these days. I’ve smacked Maxine in the head with it more times than I can count in the past month or so here. Sorry, Max. Sorry, Baby.)

But back to this pseudo green juice. Rest assured that I am no stranger to green drinks. Not much in the green juice/green smoothie department scares me. But this. THIS!

This scared me.

Be afraid.

The flavor was fine, but the texture? Not so much.

Looking back now, I either a.) put in too much kale, b.) put in too little water or c.) created a breeding ground for some mythical sea creature from the deep.

I drank the thick green slushie (and so did Zak!) without TOO much trouble, but I didn’t enjoy it the same way I do classic green lemonade from my Breville juicer.

In short, come We Have a Vitamix Day 2, I wasn’t taking any chances.

This time I took the more direct route to Green Smoothieville. That meant more fruit, more creamy stuff, less vegetables and most importantly, less kale.

Specifically, some frozen banana chunks, a scoop of almond butter, a 1/2 c or so of 2% greek yogurt, coconut milk and 3 small stalks of kale.

Let’s try this again.

Be hypnotized by the green vortex!

Much better. Oh oh OH so much better.

Much like spinach, when you don’t go OVERBOARD on the Loch Ness Greenness, the flavor of the green leafy stuff disappears into your drink. Kale is a little easier to notice than spinach, but this was still extremely drinkable.

And until now, any green smoothies made here were made from spinach to achieve it’s green color, largely because our blender wasn’t great at handling anything much tougher than those tender baby leaves. But now, the green possibilities are much more varied and possible. And as the crazy bok choy lady and Victoria Boutenko from Green Smoothie Revolution taught us, it’s important to rotate your greens!

My blog friend Lisa at Thrive Style just wrote a couple of fantastic posts on The Great Debate: Smoothies vs. Juices (with a Part II, including a bunch of great reasons to drink your fruits and veggies) that I highly recommend if you want to get in on the vegetable blending insanity.

(DO IT!)

The final word? I’m loving the Vitamix, but I’m not giving up my juicer. The Vitamix and the Breville get to be roomies in our appliance cupboard and will live happily ever after.

But as for the clean up,

(a little soap and water, presto, rinso, you’re done!)

The Vitamix takes the (birthday) cake.

WOOT!

It’s that time of year again. Here in Zone 6A the early spring like weather is upon us and has been hanging around for a while now. It’s time get some greens and spring vegetables in the ground.

First up, I did my part in expanding one of our small, city lot beds into an ever-so-slightly bigger bed.

“my part” = moving the boarder to the edge of the tilled soil that Zak dug up a couple weeks ago.

more garden = less grass to mow. Check it.

We’ve had a small backyard garden for as many years as we’ve been home owners. (8 years!) Each year and at each house we’ve come to expand our garden repertoire a bit more. I still feel like a novice gardener, but I’ve come to really appreciate that it continues to get easier and less intimidating with each passing year.

Sort of like parenting! From tender seedlings to young plants, you care and look after them as you watch them grow, determining exactly what they need to survive and thrive.

And then you eat them.

(never mind.)

For the past few growing seasons now we’ve been growing greens in the early spring, and this has definitely become one of my favorite parts of gardening.

Why? Because!

1. free greens for ME ME ME! (or maybe I should say cheap greens for US, US, US)

2. it’s still too early to put other vegetables in the ground, but planting some spring vegetables helps you feel like you’re “doing something” while you’re waiting for the warmer weather to arrive

(starting seeds inside is another way to get a good gardening fix on too.)

3. by the time your greens are completely harvested in late spring/early summer, you’ve got room again in your beds to plant all those other vegetables you’ve been lusting after

4. re-read #1 again. #1 is important.

And so this afternoon, after I did all the manual labor of moving one long board approximately 1 foot north of where it was sitting this morning, it was time to plant.

One long row of peas along the back of the bed, a couple rows of spinach.

A few rows of kale, and a newcomer to our garden this year;

Nasturtiums!

Nasturtiums are edible flowers that are colorful and a bit peppery in taste (like arugula, perhaps? we’ll see!) The leaves are edible too, I hope to have a lot of fun with these guys in salads this summer.

(Please don’t be sad about my definition of “fun” these days.)

I was motivated to plant nasturtiums thanks to a book I read last summer called The Edible Front Yard by Ivette Soler. A great, inspiring read loaded with tons of ideas for making all of your gardening space into something edible, and beautiful to boot.

Duly noted that I planted nasturtiums in the backyard, not the front yard. Let’s see how it goes, then perhaps we’ll rock out with our nasturtiums out front next year.

Looking back, after planting in mid April last year, we had signs of chew-able life in the garden by mid May:

And by mid June, things we’re really hopping just as the tomato plants were going in the ground. Peas climbing in the back, peppers on the left (planted where the spinach had been), red leaf lettuce took center stage and the kale was crowdy and rowdy off to the right.

I almost forgot how much kale we ate last spring. Plant a lot of kale, eat a lot of kale, love a lot of kale. That should totally be a new saying.

The only signs of life today were some temporary, make shift row markers to help remind me what plants are where, and to help remind the kids and the squirrels that there’s no more random digging allowed.

If you don’t have a yard to call your own or are simply looking to get your green thumbs wet, consider container gardening for starters. If you’ve got a plot of earth to spare out back, throw some spinach seeds in the dirt and call me when it’s time for salad.

And if you’re planting something new or fun this year, tell us all about it! Until then, I’m off to dream about kale.

I went out to lunch over the weekend with a good friend who came in from out of town for a visit. We hit up a local Mediterranean restaurant, and as we were browsing the menu, she suggested the “Banana Honey Milk” for a beverage that she’d had before and enjoyed.

Bananas, honey and milk?  I am so there!

Our drinks were brought to the table by a friendly, older gentleman who proudly told us that he’d made them himself, and then asked us to let him know how we liked them.  This drink was frothy, sweet and thin like milk, as opposed to being thick like a smoothie or milkshake.

It was simple.  And it was delicious.

I spotted the Banana Milk Man as we were leaving the restaurant and I had to tell him that he did a great job. I then threw in that I couldn’t wait to go home recreate it.

“If you can recreate that…” he said doubtfully, “you must come back and tell me about it.”

You know, that sort of sounds a like a challenge, Banana Man.

Bananas, honey and milk?  I am so there.

For my first attempt this afternoon, I started with 16 ounces of milk, half a banana and a tablespoon of honey.

The result?  Not nearly as banana-y and honey-ish as Banana Man’s.

Well played, BM.  Well played.

But with the other half of the banana and another squirt of honey thrown in to the blender?

Still thin, plenty frothy and perfectly sweet.

As my friend Joey Tribbiani would say, How you doin’?

So here’s the deal.  I opted for grass fed cow’s milk as my milk of choice, mostly because I was having trouble envisioning how well a non dairy milk might work here.  I have no problem using almond milk in overnight oats, cereal or for splashing into smoothies, but I don’t ever pour myself a big honking class of almond milk and belly up to the table for a swig fest.  You aren’t gonna get me to drink a glass of almond milk without chanting chug! chug! chug! and the promise of a good buzz.

We don’t typically drink milk here, but cow’s milk delivers a lot of protein, something I’m particularly mindful of right now, so I was happy to make an exception today.  Exceptions are also eagerly made when white haired men with foreign accents throw down the banana blending gauntlet.

Challenge accepted.

Banana Honey Milk

16 oz of milk (I used 2%)
1 banana
2 tablespoons of honey

Blend until smooth. Serves 2.  Or 1.  Whatever.

Simple and delicious.  A delightfully cold snack when you’re looking for something healthy and sweet.

If you try this and use a non dairy milk, please report back with your results!  Our dairy free friends and Banana Men want to know.

Once upon a time I ate one snack a day, usually between lunch and dinner. But now at nearly 7 months pregnant, I’ve stopped counting how many snacks I eat everyday. I need more fingers if I want to keep track.

Today I’m in the mood to hand out some awards to a few of my most favorite snacks in recent weeks. Snickity snacks that are awesome if you eat 1 or 11 snacks a day. Snacks that please the palate whether you’re gestating or not. I think this paragraph needs the word “snack” in it one more time, don’t you? Snack. OK, that’s two more times. Snack.

SNACK AWARD #1

The Snack That Tastes Most Like a Rich Dessert But We Get to Call it a Snack: Homemade Strawberry Jam on Greek Yogurt!

(“Homemade” by my grandmother in her home, not mine.)  

Sweet Granny warned me that this batch was kind of runny and probably wouldn’t be great for PB&J sandwiches.  She suggested I find another way to use it, at which point I started daydreaming about drizzling it upon a big scoop of plain 2% greek yogurt.

As soon as I discovered how truly incredible this combo was, the jar of strawberry jam disappeared faster than you can say “Sweet mother of baby Jesus it’s like I’m eating strawberry cheesecake for my third/fourth/twelfth snack of the day!”

(Store bought jelly or jam could easily work here as well, P.S.)

Award Number #2 goes to everybody’s favorite mushed bean snack, HUMMUS!  But not just any hummus, let’s chat about Wildwood Red Pepper Hummus, shall we?

This Wildwood hummus just so happens to be the new favorite hummus in town. (And no, Wildwood did not pay me to say that.  Wildwood doesn’t have the slightest clue who I am, but they are surely delighted that their sales have likely skyrocketed in the upstate New York area.)

I can only find this brand of hummus in health food stores (also in Nature’s Market at Wegmans) but it’s well worth the hunt if you are a hummus lover. This hummus is also perfect for smearing into a tortilla, loading up with your favorite leafy green and then shouting “That’s a wrap!” as you lift and aim the whole enchilada toward your hummus hole.

Let’s call our third award the Kinda Boring Yet Still Awesomely Awesome Snack Award!

This one goes to fresh strawberries.

It is not yet strawberry season ’round these parts, but you wouldn’t know it if you looked into my refrigerator on any given day of the week lately. Organic strawberries have been on sale and I have not let that strawberry sale go unappreciated. Although they are from California, the fetus and I are overlooking the fact that they had to travel across the country to get to us.

Best way to eat fresh strawberries? Standing at your kitchen counter in your bare feet and performing the following operation on your red berry:

First, pull your strawberry’s hair back into a ponytail.

Next, give your strawberry a lobotomy.

Step three: cut strawberry in half depending on the size of the strawberry and/or your mouth.

Finally, devour, roll your eyes back into your head as you begin to weep at their sunshiney sweetness.

It is at this juncture that I’d like to note that strawberries (as well as most other berries) are one of the fruits that I try very hard to always buy organic.  Strawberries top The Dirty Dozen list when it comes to the fruits and vegetables that you should go organic with, especially if you [ahem] eat a lot of them.  I’m sad to say there is no washing the pesticides and chemicals off of these little red sponges.

Moving on now to our final snack award of the day, The Snack That’s Not the Best Snack Ever But You Know What?  Sometimes That’s OK:

Peanut Butter Pretzels.

A handful of these little guys totally takes care of a nagging candy craving I’ve been trying hard to ignore.  (Except that they are candy, but I’m going to ignore that too.)

And now for the gratuitous belly shot to show that all this snacking seems to be working when it comes to growing the wee babe in my belly:

26 weeks down, 14 weeks (give or take) to go. 20 pounds so far, 1 very kicky baby.

Alrighty, that’s it! A big congrats to today’s award winners! Time go celebrate with a snack.

As a self-proclaimed Salad Lover, I’ve come to see that the pregnant version of myself is not at all a Salad Lover.

No, these days I’m more of a Salad Avoider.  I’m able to stuff leafy greens into sandwiches or the occasional glass of green juice or green smoothie, but my regular salad days are currently on hiatus – much like my days of wearing pants with a button and zipper.

Of course I know how insanely good greens are for us and I’m well versed in how good I feel when I’m doing the green thing on a daily basis. But alas, my favorite blue salad bowl has remained in the cupboard for weeks on end now, surely lamenting the days gone by when we use to hang out with each other every day.

I miss you too Blue Salad Bowl.  Except not really.

Recently I was reminded of a salad I use make all the time and loved with all my heart.  The thought of this salad restored a long lost hankering for a big, giant bowl of green goodness, so I stocked up on the necessary ingredients and laid it all out today:

spinach, red leaf lettuce, an apple, miso dressing, tofu and cashews

Tofu is optional. I’ve come to really question the safety of unfermented soy, so I only eat tofu occasionally these days. Today though, tofu was my source of lunch time protein. Garbanzo beans or hard boiled egg could easily be subbed for protein here as well, for whatever reason tofu might strike fear into your heart.

The most important parts of this salad though will now be presented in the following three photographs, in no particular order.

Raw Cashews

Chopped Gala Apple

and Miso Ginger Dressing

I don’t know what it is about apples, cashews and miso dressing, but together they make this Salad Evader want to dive right in and start chewing, greens or no greens.

Topped with a couple tablespoons of miso dressing, gently stirred so all ingredients are evenly coated. This is where the big blue bowl really shines and saves me from a big ol’ mess on the table.

In hindsight, I probably should have plopped this concoction onto a pretty plate to make it a bit more presentable for the picture.  But Blue Bowl was so happy to be reunited with me, I couldn’t bear to break its little heart.

OR

I was really hungry and ready to sit down and eat NOW, presentation be damned.

(One of those reasons is true.)

And oh yeah, this salad rocks.  That’s true too.

Some of us (who shall go unnamed) have been feeling a lot like this for the past week or so.

(He’s pretending he’s a pregnant woman.)

This means that meals around here have been a bit lackluster lately. I’ve been letting Barbie’s Sharpie outfits steal the show.

I just realized that I post quite a few pictures of my kids in their pajamas. I do dress them when I finally drag myself up from the prone position, I swear.

Over the weekend when I was throwing together a “What Do We Got Around Here” dinner, I found a box of rice and beans in the cupboard. I don’t remember buying it, which means someone probably gave it to us. It was “organic” though and the ingredients weren’t terribly scary, so into the pot it went.

As I was dumping the package of rice and dried beans and seasoning into the pot of water, I got to thinking that we use to eat stuff like this ALL THE TIME. It felt like a huge revelation to figure out that I could make this sort of meal or side dish myself WITHOUT little packets of anything, AND it actually tasted better!

Rice, beans and spices? We totally got this.

Beans and Rice, a vegetarian classic. Together they make a complete protein. Sir Mix-A-Lot lyrical inspiration. (Red beans and rice didn’t miss her!)

Unbelievably Easy (and Tasty) Black Beans and Rice

1 c of basmati rice (optional brown rice if you have the time and patience!)
2 c of water
1 can of black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can of diced tomatoes
cumin, chili powder, salt, Tabasco to taste

Bring rice and water to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Add spices, beans and tomatoes, stirring occasionally throughout the cooking process. It’s ready to eat as soon as your rice is done! (White rice = 20 minutes, brown rice = 45 minutes.)

So simple. No boxes or packets of seasoning required.

I doubled this recipe last night so we’d have plenty to last us a couple of days. I dined on leftovers for lunch, topped with 1/4 of an avocado so I can say that I ate a green vegetable today.

Now if you’ll excuse me, there’s a sunny spot on the floor with my name on it.

The first thing I need to tell you is that this was not my idea.

In fact, I kept trying to change the subject every time it came up, in the hopes that they’d forget all about it.

The little one made fruit shish kabobs with a group of her little friends last week.  On our way home that afternoon, she asked if we had some of those same sticks and if we might be able to make these at home too, you know, with kinds of fruit that she enjoys.  Like apples!

And maybe… oh yeah.  Just apples.

Sadly, without thinking it all the way through, I told her yes, we do in fact have shish kabob skewers at home.

What a rookie mistake.

As soon as I let on that we had shish kabob sticks WAY UP HIGH in the BACK BACK BACK of the tallest cupboard in the kitchen; they never let up.

Can we make fruit shish kabob’s today?!  Can we, Mom?  Can we, please?!  CAN WE??!

I tried to put the fruit jabbing off until breakfast the next day, claiming that it was too close to dinner for a snack.  Of course it was my hope that they might forget all about it.  I really don’t enjoy spending my time at the breakfast table cringing and dodging and grimacing and shouting things like “watch where you’re pointing that thing!!” or “you’ll shoot your eye out!”

But of course they forgot nothing.  They leaped and frolicked and danced down the stairs the next morning, more excited than ever to cut up fruit and pierce it with giant, extremely sharp toothpicks.

And so that’s exactly what we did.

Yes, I do let my almost 8 year old wield a knife while supervised when she asks.  It’s when they’re both holding sticks that look a little too much like swords that I start getting all nervous and jerky.

Maxine tried to be open minded when it came to adding some of the various fruits we cut up.  My high hopes were squashed when she said “Oh yeah.  I forgot.  Oranges are slimy.”

Slimy or not, (not!) we forged on.  In my humble opinion, we had a nice variety of pickings to skewer for our morning meal.

So that’s it?  Cut up fruit?  Slide it on?

And then immediately slide it off and eat it?

Yup.  Pretty much.

That’s it.

But now I have to tell you!  Never, in the history of my children have they ever, EVER eaten so much fruit for breakfast with such enthusiasm and glee, despite all the terror it struck through my heart.

They truly loved this.  I definitely suggest trying this at home with your own brood if your kids are old enough and your nerves can handle it.

And the leftovers, when all was said and done?

My consolation prize for being such a brave mom.

Today, I’m bringing my homeschooled children along with me to a prenatal exam with my midwife.

Hi, my name is Alison and I am a former mainstream, rural, middle class girl turned still-middle class, urban, hippie (but not hip) stay at home mom.  Nice to meet you.

Before we head out today, I’m making some granola!  Of course I am.

No matter where you happen to fall on the lifestyle spectrum, chances are good that you’ll like this stuff.

Please allow me to introduce you to my crunchy granola friends:

Real Maple Syrup, Pecans, Coconut Oil, Rolled Oats, Medium Sized Glass Bowl and Wooden Spoon are all pleased to meet you.

Earlier this week, I made this same granola, recklessly stirring up generous, unmeasured amounts of coconut oil and maple syrup. About two minutes too late I came to discover that we were nearly out of oats.  Still, I forged on.  The proportion of fat and sugar to oats in that batch of granola was probably 4:1.

OK so I exaggerate, but still.  This was some sweet, savory granola, let me tell you. And it was good. It was also probably 5 bagillion calories per serving.  

(Unfortunately, this time I am not exaggerating.)

Anyway, it was so good that I wanted to make it again today, but this time with the proper proportions since we’re all stocked up on oats now. I even measured out the proportions with real plastic measuring cups and spoons! Just for you and your homemade crunchy granola edification.

First, preheat your oven to 300 degrees and then we can start rounding up all of our friends.

Maple Pecan Granola

2 1/2 tablespoons of coconut oil (you could also use butter or canola oil.  Personally, I heart coconut oil.)
1/4 c real maple syrup
3 c rolled oats
pinch of salt
1/2 c pecans (or nut of choice, I’ve used walnuts and almonds before too)

If you’re rocking out with coconut oil instead of butter or canola, melt in the microwave – I’m not that hippie. I tried melting it with the warmth in my heart but it was taking too damn long.

In the microwave, it went from solid to liquid in about one and a half minutes.

Pour in maple syrup, then stir in your three cups of rolled oats.

Stir oats well to coat evenly in oil and syrup mixture, add a pinch of salt if you like.  (I did and I do.)

Next, stir in your nuts. (No giggling at that line!) I lightly crushed these nuts with my hands before adding them to the bowl. (OK, now you can giggle.)

Spread granola mixture across a baking sheet and then slide it into your preheated oven.

Bake for 30 minutes, flipping once with a spatula at the 15 minute mark.

Allow to cool on baking sheet and then move to an airtight container for storage.

A beatnik Ball jar is today’s airtight container of choice. I’d feel OK storing this in the fridge for a week or so, but there’s no way this will last that long around here.

A portion was kept out this morning to be served up with some greek yogurt, sliced banana and a pour of almond milk.

Homemade granola for breakfast, eaten at my kitchen table in front of my laptop, next to some mainstream plastic toys while perched upon a pretty hippy birth ball for optimal fetal positioning.

I have no idea how hippie that makes me? It probably all evens out. I do know that homemade granola makes me happy! Let it make you happy too.

Peace.

Linked to Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade