Fruit And Nut Breakfast BowlAn Easy Back To School Breakfast

Healthy breakfast bowl takes advantage of late summer fruit.

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My New Favorite Breakfast
The end of the summer brings us so much wonderful fruit. Sweat peaches are their peak ripeness, the pears are ripening, strawberries are still around, and so much more. A big bowl of fruit may be delicious but it's certainly not filling.This breakfast bowl adds nuts and seeds, cereal, and some probiotic packed, home-made soy yogurt. This provides the protein and healthy fats that will keep you satisfied until lunch time.

I Can't Believe School is Starting!
Although my children are grown, I still get those feelings of disbelief when kids start getting ready to start school in what seems like the middle of the summer. Getting kids fed and ready to leave for school, or even summer day camp for that matter, is one of the hardest thing a parent has to do. Perhaps feeding them this yummy breakfast bowl will get them to eat up without prompting them through ever bite! It's so easy, they can even help you make it.

Feel free to change up the ingredients. Basically you need 3 fruits, 3 nuts/seeds, some healthy cereal for more crunch, and your favorite yogurt. The ingredients below are for two servings but it' easy to double to make it for four.

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Fruit and Nut Breakfast Bowl
Vegan and Dairy Free (if using vegan yogurt) 
Gluten Free (if using GF cereal)
[makes 2 servings]

Ingredients
1 large peach, diced with skin
1 large pear, diced with or without skin
6 large strawberries, sliced
1/2 cup cereal (such as puffed rice or granola)
1 tablespoon raw sunflower seeds
1 tablespoon chopped raw walnuts 
1 tablespoon chopped or sliced almonds
1/2 cup yogurt

Directions
Divide the chopped fruit between two bowls.

Sprinkle 1/4 cup of cereal over each bowl. I like to use a mixture of puffed rice and puffed kamut because it has a nice crunch and very few calories. Granola would be very yummy and hearty in this recipe too but adds more calories and sugar.

Puffed brown rice and gamut

Divide the nuts and seeds among the two bowls.

Sunflower seeds, almonds and walnuts

Gently stir each bowl to mix the ingredients. Top with your favorite yogurt and serve immediately.

Peach And Peanut Butter Smoothie With Chia Seeds

Peaches and peanut butter pair beautifully in this smoothie.

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Peach Season
We found some big, beautiful, juicy peaches at the market the other day. This morning we decided to blend some up into a smoothie.

Now peaches and peanut butter might seem an unlikely combination, but they pair beautifully. Besides being delicious together, the peanut butter balances the carbs of the fruit with some fat and protein which keeps you full longer. Almond butter will do the same thing so if you are allergic to peanuts, you can make that substitution. Using peanut butter, each serving provides 5 grams of protein.

I also add some soaked chia seeds to this recipe to improve the ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids since peanut butter (and almond butter too) is far richer in omega-6 fatty acids than omega-3. This recipe provides close to a gram of omega-3 per serving. Chia seeds are also a good source of fiber and calcium. Each serving of this smoothie has 7 grams of dietary fiber!

And let's not forget the star of the show. Peaches are a great source of fiber and vitamins A and C, each large peach providing 3 grams of dietary fiber, 19% of your daily requirement of vitamin C and 11% of vitamin A.  

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Peach and Peanut Butter Smoothie
Vegan, Gluten Free, Dairy Free
[makes 2 servings]
Requires a blender.

Ingredients
1 large banana (cut in 4 pieces, frozen)
1 tablespoon chia seeds
2 cups water, divided
2 large peaches, pitted and sliced with skin
1 tablespoon organic peanut butter
4 drops of stevia or other sweetener

Directions
The night before, cut the banana into 4 pieces and place in the freezer. If you plan on using frozen instead of fresh peaches, you don't have to freeze the banana.

About 20 to 30 minutes before you make the smoothie, soak the chia seeds in 1/2 cup of the water. Stir vigorously and set aside. Stir again from time to time until the chia seeds absorb most of the water.

Place the frozen banana, soaked chia seeds and all their liquid, the remaining 1 1/2 cups of water, the peaches, peanut butter and sweetener in the blender. 

Blend until smooth and serve immediately.

Nutrition
Per serving (2): 204 calories, 6 g total fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 906 mg omega-3 and 1,546 mg omega-6 fatty acids, 5 g protein, 37 g carbohydrates, 7 g dietary fiber and 34 mg sodium.