Amazing Avocado-Hummus Spread!

This morning I had a craving for a bagel for breakfast.  Most mornings, I eat usually eat very light: fresh fruit or a cup of soy yogurt mixed with chopped almonds and a scoop of wheat germ. On the days I have much on the agenda, I cook hot cereal or scramble up some tofu with spinach and salsa. But today, I wanted a bagel.

The traditional way to eat bagels is with cream cheese.  Make it at home, and you have some control over the amount you smear upon your bagel. Order it from a deli or bagel shop and it's piled high with enough cream cheese to generously cover two or three bagels. Or, you can have it with butter. Now, I don't eat butter (it's from a cow) but I do remember the deliciousness of a toasted bagel dripping with melted butter. So good. But there's no real nutritional value in the butter. You're basically eating a bagel covered with liquidized fat.

I don't eat cream cheese, either. Again- it's made from milk and milk comes from--well, you know! The non-dairy versions of cream cheese leave much to be desired. If you want to have cream cheese with your bagel, go right ahead but consider it a real splurge. Cream cheese is really nothing more than a big glob of fat and calories and the low fat or fat free versions are never as good.  In fact, I don't use or condone any kind of low-fat or fat free foods- EVER!

I could have toasted my whole wheat bagel and covered it with my Earth Balance (VEGAN) spread. This is what I use when a recipe calls for butter. This would have been mighty tasty but again, there's really no nutritional benefit. Yes, I want my bagel but I want it to count. This morning I am going to sit with my dad while he gets his chemotherapy treatment. It's going to take at least five hours which means it will be a long time until my next meal!

So what can I put on my bagel to make it filling, nutritious, healthy, and vegan?

Here's what I did:

I took one half of a very ripe avocado and mashed it well. Then I added  one tablespoon of hummus, a squirt of fresh lemon juice, salt and pepper. I mixed it all together and spread it on my toasted bagel.

DELICIOUS!!!

Of course I can't call this a  low calorie, low fat spread HOWEVER, it is nutrient rich, loaded with vitamins, minerals and good fat that will keep me going for hours. Cream cheese or melted butter can never compare to healthy goodness of my home made Avocado-Hummus spread.

The key to eating well, staying healthy and losing weight is making wise choices when it comes to food!

It's okay to have a bagel. It's what you choose to smear upon it that makes all the difference.

Best Peanut Butter Banana Hot Cereal!

Today, I had a hankering for something a bit different for breakfast. It needed to be a meal that would provide plenty of energy to carry me through my busy morning. It also had to be something I could whip up in a snap.  Hot, whole-grain cereal was the quickest, easiest thing that came to mind. When I am really in a rush, I cheat and nuke it. Then I toss in chopped almonds, blueberries or sliced apples, a dash of cinnamon. Unfortunately, I ran out of almonds and blueberries, and tossed the last apple into my son's lunch box this morning. Grocery shopping was definitely on the agenda for today.  

So......here's what I came up with: 

Peanut Butter and Banana Hot Cereal.

 Don't knock it until you try it. It tastes like fresh, warm banana bread; spread with a layer of peanut butter! That sounds good, doesn't it?  The best part: no flour, no eggs, very little sugar and GOOD fat! I only added a tiny amount of peanut butter- fresh, NATURAL peanut butter. It's made right there at the little market where I shop and it has one ingredient: PEANUTS!!  If you can't get fresh peanut butter, buy the most natural, unsalted type you can find. Don't even think about Jif, Skippy or Peter Pan brands. Those are nothing more than jars of artery-clogging hydrogenated oils, a handful of peanuts, and way too much sugar and salt.  

Here's what you do:

Cook one serving of your favorite whole grain hot cereal according to package directions. You can use oatmeal, too, if desired.

Stir in about 1 teaspoon of peanut butter and mix well.

Slice a banana and arrange on top or gently fold the slices into the cereal.

Drizzle with organic maple syrup. (when I say "drizzle" I mean a very, very small amount. You are going to pour it lightly in a zig-zag fashion.) If you MUST measure, I would guess about 1/8 of a teaspoon.

This might not sound sweet enough, but trust me, it is. The bananas lend a natural sweetness and the peanut butter adds such a delicious, creamy flavor, you won't need additional sugar.

Serve immediately!

Enjoy your Cynfully Good Breakfast

Soyrizo and Potato Breakfast Burritos

My son is a carnivore and I am always on the hunt for delicious, meatless recipes I can serve prepare for breakfast lunch and dinner.  I really don't want to cook two different meals.  Who has time for that? I admit, there are times I do cook him meat, but if I can get away with serving a dish he thinks is meat, I do it!  And so far, no complaints............

My son's favorite meal is breakfast and I stumbled upon this wonderful recipe from the Yogic Kitchen: Soyrizo and Potato Breakfast Burritos. YUMMY!!! Soyrizo is vegan sausage. NOT MEAT. This dish does contain eggs; so what I do is reserve a small portion of the cooked Soyrizo for myself before I add the eggs to the pan.

If you're trying to get get your family to eat more meatless meals, this is the perfect recipe. It's delicious for breakfast, lunch or even as a simple supper.


Here's the recipe:
Soyrizo and Potato Breakfast Burritos