Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Let There Be Peach on Earth

The secret word for today is "cinnamon". It's always been one of my favorite flavors, in general. What I didn't realize in my cinnamon roll-consuming days is that it also helps support healthy blood sugar levels. Excellent. It's a wonderful extra element to just about anything sweet or spicy. It gives dimension to chili and spaghetti sauce, in addition to the more traditional uses for Americans in sweet foods. I think it's probably one of the reasons I love Moroccan food so much. Heck, I even add it to smoothies sometimes.


Breakfast:
So unbelievably satisfying, yet I could have eaten 5 more bowls. I mixed Nature's Path Sunflower Agave Granola with a scoop of All-Bran and added sliced peaches and skim milk. I also added a shake of cinnamon. Since the peaches were frozen (primarily for smoothies), I defrosted them in the microwave, leaving them warm. A bite of warm peach, mixed with the grainy goodness of the cereal and the milk, it was like eating an indulgent peach crisp, without being overly sweet or butter-laden.


Lunch:
Berry smoothie-- Greek yogurt (0%), frozen berries (strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, blueberries) and skim milk. I have no idea how I forgot banana, but I did. I even had to push past it to get to the berries in the freezer. If the plain yogurt is too tangy for you and/or the fruit isn't sweet enough, you could add some agave (or honey, if your body can handle sugar). Such a perfect meal for a warm afternoon.


I picked up a cool little gadget a year or so ago. It's a microwave pasta cooker. Sure, it doesn't take any effort to cook pasta on the stove, BUT, when it's hot and humid out, the last thing I want is to tend a pot of steamy water on an open flame. And it's got both a serving measurer and a strainer built in the lid, so my portions are perfect and I don't even need the colander. When you have a tiny Manhattan kitchen, it's great when you have as few things as possible in your way of any other cooking. So, there's plenty of stove room for sauces, stir fries, etc.

Afternoon snack:
Brown rice crispies with skim milk

Dinner:
Whole wheat thin spaghetti with tomato basil sauce, spinach and fat-free feta. Rather than have sauteed spinach on the side, I incorporated it into the pasta. The feta added a bit of protein and the saltiness makes up for a lack of parmesan.

Evening snack:
Sliced peaches (warmed) with yogurt, cinnamon and toasted whole oats sprinkled on top

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