Sixty Second Fruit Salad!

This is my favorite treat when I have an after dinner sweet craving.  Tropical Fruit Salad!  I even love this instead of dessert or as a quick breakfast!

This is so delicious. And it literally takes less than a minute to prepare. At about 70 calories for 1/2 a cup, it's guilt-free. It's naturally sweet and good for me.

Here's what I do:

I open a can of Native Forest Organic Tropical Fruit Salad, and pour about one half a cup into a wine glass. I add a bit of the juice the fruit is packed in, as well. Most of the time, I toss in a few almonds, too. The almonds increase the calories a bit but not by much. Almonds add a nice crunch and protein, vitamins and minerals. If I have shredded coconut on hand, it makes this even more tropical and delicious.

I very rarely use canned goods but here's my logic: when I want a treat, it has to be quick and simple. It's so easy to open a bag of chips, reach into the cookie jar or help myself to a slice of pie.  I could make my own fresh fruit salad.  It would be much healthier but I don't always have the time to do that. All that peeling, cutting, slicing, and mess? Forget it!  Who wants to get involved with all that, especially when a snack attack hits?  There are times when it is justifiable to use canned products and this is certainly one of those times. I always keep several cans of tropical fruit salad in my pantry.

If you can't find an organic brand and don't want to order it on-line, buy conventional tropical fruit salad. Tropical fruit salad is different than regular fruit cocktail. Read the labels and look for cans that only contain fruits that have thick peels like pineapple, mango, papaya, and watermelon.  And make sure it's packed in juice.  You don't want fruit in heavy syrup or sugar-free. Sugar-free means artificially sweetened!

Enjoy!

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