How Jessie Got Her Groove Back and GREENola

Thanks to all of you for sharing your own food mix-up stories in my last post; it’s good to know that I’m not the only spazz in the kitchen

I wasn’t going to post again until Tuesday as per my current schedule, but I was so excited about what just came out of the oven that I had to share! But first, some breakfast! (Hey, I gotta stick to at least part of my schedule.)

I’ve been finding that oatmeal sits too heavily in my stomach, so that I feel almost ill as I’m driving to school in the morning. Today, I decided to lighten things up with a Breakfast Smoothie:

In the smoothie was a double handful of spinach, a banana, frozen blueberries, and a dollop of Greek yogurt.

Crumbled on top was a Vegan Energy Bar, a Mama Pea classic. I’ve made these a number of times since last fall and carry them around with me for a quick snack. I always make a big batch so that I can freeze them in our tiny tiny freezer (much to Peter’s chagrin).

(As you can tell by the chocolate chips seductively peeking out, this was not a vegan batch.)

Wait, what else did I have with breakfast??

Yes, this is how Jessie got her groove back. After 10 days without THIS hot and steamy island friend, I’ve decided to let coffee back into my morning. After proclaiming that I was giving up coffee due to sleep issues, I find that (a) cutting out coffee didn’t help with sleep, but unplugging and relaxation before bed did, and (b) sadly, I NEED coffee to survive the commute from heck. I’ll see how things go this week … oh, and next week, too. I have finals next week.

I took a breather from studies and Powerpoint this evening to whip up something I’ve been wanting to make for weeks. Ever since I read about Aletheia’s Greenola, I’ve been squeezing my avocados to see if they’re appropriately overripe. (Ok, I KNOW that one sounded dirty.) So far, I had been failing spectacularly at capturing an avocado at the right moment … and today was no exception.

My first avocado:

EEK!! Avocados aren’t supposed to be fuzzy on the inside, right?? This is as close as I’m going to let you get to that piece of nastiness. In case you can’t tell, the avocado disaster is that lump on the cutting board next to the knife.

My second avocado was perfectly ripe, therefore too unripe to make Greenola. I decided to forge ahead anyway, because, gosh darn it, I was ready!

Avocado and applesauce, ready for mushin’:

I also added maple syrup to the mixture because I like a little sweet in my granola.

Maddie waiting for handouts (that unfortunate hole in my slipper is from a CERTAIN doggie’s razor-sharp teeth. Yeah, I’m looking at you, munchkin):

In the oven for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally:

(Ignore that avocado chunk. That’s a big OOPS.) I used rolled oats for the grains because that’s all we had, but this recipe would be wonderful with a mixture of grains. In fact, my dietetics program is doing a “funky grains” food lab on Thursday, so maybe I’ll get some inspiration from that.

Aletheia, your Greenola is fabulous! I love how it’s sweet and crunchy without all the oil – just healthy fats and fruit, all the way! I can’t wait to add some “flair” to it for my Breakfast Smoothie tomorrow!

I’m off to put my head in the books – see you later, chicas and chicamen!

Q: Do you like avocados? (I already know that you don’t, Sophia! ) What do you like making with avocados?