Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal

A new year has arrived, bringing hopeful expectations and cheerful intentions. I feel pressed to make a list of resolutions, as so many friends have done and shared. Two years ago I made a list and shockingly accomplished everything I wanted. Last year I hastily found myself joining the bandwagon late, divining a list of January 5th resolutions that were immediately tossed to the wayside—the single resolution that was accomplished was by shear accident and without intention.

Resolutions have always felt so pressure-filled to me. While others may find them encouraging, my list of resolutions tends to stare at me from my desk, a stark reminder that I am nowhere near crossing them off.

This year I've decided not to make a list of resolutions. Truthfully, I don't really have anything new to add to it. I already try to exercise regularly. Eating healthy has become a lifestyle choice for me, one I have been trying to follow for years. It is a decision I face three times a day. Like anyone, I have good days and bad days, but I do not disgrace myself based on the outcome. I fear that if I put Eat Healthy on my list, I'd only end up in a negative pattern of self judgement. There is no beginning, end, or easy system for measuring healthy eating without dieting—it is just a factor of life.

Despite a lack of resolutions, I do have many goals for myself, both shared and unspoken. Most of them are purposely vague, such as become a stronger writer or become a compelling photographer; they are not easily measurable, a work in progress for a lifetime instead of just twelve short months. For these and many more reasons, it is liberating not to have a handwritten list judging me this time around.

Even so, I have many friends that begin new diets in the New Year. Undoubtedly, I hear stories of one or two who have started skipping (or continue to skip) breakfast to save on calories. These decisions are often followed with excuses (I am never hungry in the morning or I don't have time). After a few years as a breakfast skipper myself, I am now a strong believer in a hearty breakfast. A proper, stick-to-your-bones meal can hold me over until the middle of the afternoon and I really do find I eat less during the rest of the day.

In a way, this oatmeal is for my breakfast-skipping friends—a reminder not to skip the most important meal of the day. It may even be a subtle nudge for you. I know for certain, however, that this oatmeal is for me, too. Healthy and gloriously delicious, I could eat this every single day.

Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal is hearty and satisfying. Mashed banana gets cooked along with the oats, pervading the oatmeal in a wonderful manner. Peanut butter complements the flavor while a pinch of salt brings out the sweetness of the banana. Topped with a pinch of brown sugar and sliced banana, this is a filling breakfast that will certainly hold you until lunch.

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Blueberry Breakfast Quinoa

In the early morning hours, when the sun is low in the sky and my eyes aren't quite ready to open and let the light into my world, a good breakfast wraps itself around me like a blanket and softly whispers that it's time to face the day. Breakfast is a comfort in a tired, caffeine driven world. It's a simple routine that fills an empty stomach and brings warmth and energy into a sleepy frame.

I've found an appreciation for breakfast.

There was a period in my life when I didn't appreciate breakfast. After entering university for the first time, with the nearest microwave fifty feet down the hall and an alarm clock that went off fifteen minutes before class, breakfast seemed a trivial part of the morning. I was born on the foundation of hot breakfasts. I like my breakfasts steaming from the stove top, with a sprinkling of sugar, and a splash of milk. If I couldn't have a piping hot bowl in front of me, I wanted nothing at all. For four years, I snubbed my nose at breakfast, welcoming lunch as my first meal of the day.

I was a fool.

Amid the hustle and bustle of stepping into clothes, fixing hair, and rushing to gather belongings before running out the door, breakfast is the calm in the storm of morning. A quiet reminder to take a moment to sit down and introduce myself to the aromas and flavors of a new day. I revel in the feeling of breakfast. It's a fresh start; a chance to replace yesterday with a new today. Some mornings I wake up early just so I can hold a steaming bowl of cereal in my hands and welcome the day in my own way.

I sincerely hope you've discovered the joy hidden in the depths of your cupboards. There is so much to love in that cereal box.

I've more or less eaten the same breakfast for the last twenty years. However, after trying out a bowl of this Blueberry Breakfast Quinoa, I may have discovered a replacement. Every morning this the past week, I've sat down to this sweet, nutty breakfast and I can't get enough. The quinoa cooks up in milk and absorbs the creamy flavor deep within its seeds. With a splash of milk and a handful of almonds and blueberries, I feel at home. The texture of the quinoa is such an interesting contrast to the warm, bursting juice of the blueberries—it's a texture of which I could never grow tired.

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Coconut Waffles

There is an adjustment period that comes with moving. Even after the belongings have found their way into closets, shelves, and onto living room walls, the new house is not a home. Not yet. It often feels like I'm a visitor who has come to stay, signed the guest book, but has yet to realize I'm not going to be leaving anytime soon.

Adjusting to anything new takes time, as we all know, and there is little to do to hurry the process along.

In the middle of cooking dinner, I often forget which cupboards and drawers I've put silverware or certain utensils and end up tearing apart half the kitchen just to find a spoon. In bed, I lie awake longer than usual, not used to hearing the foreign creaks and groans of a new building. I turn my key the wrong way in the lock, never sure which direction will lock or open the door. These are small things, certainly, but the extra moments I spend adjusting (and readjusting) the shower head or flipping on the wrong light switches leave me feeling like a guest in my new surroundings.

Perhaps it is only when you've mastered the little things that you can feel as if you finally belong in the place you've chosen to be your new home.

Sunday morning breakfasts are my favorite meal of the week for a hundred reasons, but mainly because it's one of the few meals my entire family sits down and enjoys together. Sunday brunch is full of comfort foods and loving people. After eating the past half dozen meals alone, in front of a computer screen, I needed to feel contentment that can only come from a Sunday brunch.

At four o'clock on a Wednesday afternoon, I sat down on the floor with a plate of syrup soaked pancakes in my lap and flipped on a familiar re-run of my favorite sitcom. Somehow, it brought me closer to home.

These coconut waffles have a subtle, comforting flavor. Whole wheat waffles are infused with coconut milk and flaked coconut pieces in the batter to bring in the delicate coconut flavor. During cooking, the outsides of the waffles crisp up slightly while the inside stays soft. I prefer to top these waffles with flaked, toasted coconut and a little more maple syrup than is probably considered healthy. Whether it's Sunday brunch or a weekday afternoon, I hope these waffles bring you comfort, whenever and wherever you may be.

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