The Creative Salad – Page 45 – Crafty fun and homeschool adventures in Sonoma County, California.

Breakfast Banana Split Recipe

I’m always on the lookout for fast, healthy breakfast recipes. This Breakfast Banana Split takes less than five minutes to make and leaves me feeling full all morning. Plus it sounds like a treat even though it contains only healthy ingredients: cottage cheese, banana, nuts, and jam.

Breakfast Banana Split
Adapted from Clean Eating – since it’s not available on their website, I thought I would post it here for us all to share and enjoy.
Serves 1.

Ingredients:
1 banana
1/2 cup cottage cheese
2 tbsp all-fruit jam
1/4 cup roasted, sliced almonds or nut of your choice

Peel and cut banana in half lengthwise. Place banana halves in a shallow dish or bowl. Place cottage cheese over the center of the banana and top with jam, nuts and (optional!) a pinch of salt. Serve and enjoy!

An Excuse Not to Do the Dishes

In this period after the holidays, when we set aside our regular tasks for several weeks to celebrate, I feel as though I have so much catch-up to do and find myself feeling overwhelmed.

There are so many things I want to do, with barely enough time in the day to do the things I need to do. I feel as though everywhere I turn there is a giant pile of things that need attending, scrubbing, filing, cleaning, or caring for. This cycle of rinse, wash, repeat wears me down as I tackle meal-preparation, laundry, dishes, toy pick-up, house cleaning, bill paying, and daily housekeeping tasks.

In times like these, I need to ask for help (husband! daughter!) and then take a step back. In reality the only thing that matters is caring for our daughter, caring for myself, caring for my husband.

I recently spied this quote on Pinterest and think (hope!) it’s spot-on:

Even though my to-do list is pages long and I feel overwhelmed by the multitude of tasks, I can focus on the most important part of my day: the smiles, the laughter, the joy in being a parent, in being a spouse, in being a friend. Life is short. Every moment counts.

Now excuse me while I go hug my kid and kiss my husband. Dishes be damned.

p.s. Want to hang this quote in your kitchen too? Download a free pdf of the above poster here.

Healthy Recipes For the New Year

After the gluttony of the holidays, here are some healthy recipes to get back on track. Since our family doesn’t eat wheat, all of these recipes are also gluten-free.

Favorites in our house:
Edamame Salad – a fast, healthy side dish and one of my favorite things to bring to a potluck:

Swiss Chard With Chickpeas and Pine Nuts served over your grain of choice — quick and unbelievably delicious:

Simple Walnut and Grapefruit Salad — a winter favorite that also tastes great with our favorite go-to dressing, a Maple-Mustard Vinaigrette:

Kale Salad with Lemon Tahini Dressing that I keep raving about:

Here are some more tasty recipes that I’m excited to try from Pinterest:

Featured above:
1. Quinoa with corn, kale, tofu, and pesto (pin)
2. Lemony Leeks with Chickpeas and Feta (pin)
3. Delicata Squash Salad with Feta and Cranberries (pin)
4. Quinoa Taco Salad (pin)
5. Cucumber Salad with Creamy Mint Dressing (pin)

And in case you’re craving something that seems indulgent but isn’t really, check out these breakfast cookies (pin) containing no sugar, no butter, no eggs, no flour (just rolled oats, coconut, spices, almond meal, mixed nuts, dried fruit, mashed bananas, oil and vanilla):

I can’t wait to try them!

Don’t forget about our post from last month featuring Almost Healthy Decadent Desserts for more no-guilt treat ideas!

View these and many more delicious, healthy recipes on my Recipes To Try Pinterest board.
(images obtained via Pinterest)

A Walk Among the Redwoods

My sister visited us this past week. What better way to introduce a city girl to the country than to take her on a walk among 1,000 year old redwoods?!

Those trees stand tall:

I love this photo of my sister laughing:

We learned that the above hilarity ensures when you ask a little girl, who is walking directly in front of you, to give you a little space, she may bring your scarf with her when she steps forward!

Inventing a game for playing in the forest:

Wishing there were water under the bridge to play Pooh-sticks:

Who’s that wild animal on our path?!

Super Leyba standing in a fire-ravaged trunk:

Teenagers spotted; those big kids can be so fascinating, even when they’re just sitting on a log:

Dancing it up in the forest because you can make your own music anywhere you go:

After a long walk, we hit nearest winery where the grown-up ladies tasted champagne and the youngling chugged some Izzi while we had a snack before heading home. Walking can be just so exhausting. ;)