A Bit of Spring for Breakfast

We haven't hit the first day of spring, not for another month or so and our days start to grow longer.  But, the weather seems to beg to differ.  Yes, we are in California so there is no such thing as SEASONS (no snow like the east coast but it gets pretty darn cold for my standards), but we have had such wonderful weather that I think Mr. Groundhog's prediction of two extra weeks of winter was a bit off.   Sorry Mr. Phil.  Maybe it's time to step down.

Just the other day I spotted peaches, plums, nectarines, and tulips in the farmers markets! Delicious!  To think I haven't hit all the recipes for winter vegetables yet and I can already incorporate peaches into salads and tulips on the table.  My first stop of the morning, after a nice run through the streets, was to Safeway to pick up some generics, and then I took a chance and tried this Farmer's Fresh Fruit & Vegetable market down the street.  I had passed it on my bike a few times, but never ventured in, always relying on Trader Joe's or the quick fix - Safeway.  But, I think I have been changed for the better.  There was such an array of fresh produce (probably fresher than Safeway but maybe not as close as farmer's markets) and it was significantly cheaper than I had been spending in the grocery stores!  Stocked up on some zucchini, cucumber, peaches, nectarines, bananas, clementines, and good-looking asparagus.  My dad has a thing for the skinny asparagus, but this chunky stemmed sort looked twice as good today.

Next up was Trader Joe's and luckily it wasn't nearly as crowded as the last time I had been there, but it was a hopping place.  Who doesn't love that store after all?  More vegetables (eggplant - a new favorite...maybe attempt an eggplant parmesan?), yogurt heaven, panko breadcrumbs (experiment with veggie chips), iced tea and green tea, and my favorite - milk.  I even picked up a thing of salmon. We shall see how it goes.  I've never actually made fish on my own (if frozen fish sticks doesn't count) and I am not sure how well it will turn out, but with some of those fresh lemons, asparagus or pea pods, and a little brown rice, it's worth a shot.

Last stop was Michael's where I found the cute pastel spring sprinkles to mix into the granola and after a quick walkthrough (ok, maybe a leisurely stroll) through World Cost Plus Market (SO MANY COOL FOODS AND CANDIES!), I was finished and ready to head home.

So as you can see I hit as many different types of stores as possible. I have a secret love of food shopping.  Some call it strange but just roaming the aisles discovering new products I had never seen or even heard up, dreaming up different types of recipes.  The tough part is most foods are prepped for 2+ servings and since there is no one special to share with, let alone cook for my family, I have to be realistic about my recipes and serving sizes.  But a girl can dream.

Anyways, I had held off grocery shopping for a couple weeks and thought with the three day weekend, today would be a perfect day to get is all done.  In the process of market hopping, I decided to experiment with a fun granola recipe to spice up my morning yogurt.  This one is adapted a Fit Foodie Finds favorite snack recipe along with my own little twists.

Ingredients:
- 2 cups oatmeal (Quaker Oats in my case)
- 1 cup nuts (a mix between almonds and walnuts)
- tad bit of cinnamon (for extra flare)
- 2 tbsp ground flax seed
- 1 cup Craisans (any dried fruit will do)
- 1/3 - 1/2 cup Agave Blue Nectar (instead of the honey/olive oil recipe)
- Optional: Fun sprinkles! (notice my spring themed sprinkles? - You can change this for any month or holiday...Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter, 4th of July, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas)

 

Basically any holiday I have listed, stores go above and beyond to stock the shelves with themed products and I am sure you can find any type of sprinkle and more if you search for it.

Remember those Lucky Charms days?  We were only allowed the wonderful sugar treat around St. Patrick's day when the leprechauns made havoc in our rooms and left a box of the cereal on the counter. Each bowl I searched for every marshmallow and usually ended up leaving the cereal bits behind.  Healthy, right?

Ready to Roll:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 

2.  Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl 

A food processor or even The Magic Bullet would have been extremely useful in blending the nuts, but a knife and cutting board did the trick.

Add the agave syrup on top and mix together well. 

Stirring, stirring, stirring.  Just keep them oats a stirring, RAWHIDE! 

SPRING!!! Can you feel it? I plan to eat it all up!

Lay the granola mix on the baking sheet and spread it as evenly as you can across the parchment paper.  Place it in the oven and bake for about 25-30 minutes, stirring periodically to get all of it baked evenly. 

This would go perfectly in addition to your favorite yogurt, added with some berries and milk, or just a handful to snack on in the morning or afternoon.  

Spring indeed.  Possibly my favorite time of year and I am so excited for each new day with the sun rising in the east, setting in the west (exactly according to the almanac) and wonderful weather to enjoy life outside!