Grapefruit.

I've never known quite what to do with grapefruit. Often, I slice it in half, sprinkle on some sugar, and then dig in with a spoon. Although I enjoy eating it this way, I'm not such a fan of getting squirted with grapefruit juice and having sticky fingers after I'm done digging out the precious fruit.

And then I discovered that you can bake grapefruit. 

Now, I'm obsessed with it. I've eaten it for breakfast. Had it as a snack. And dressed it up for a warm dessert.

It's simple really.

Cut off the skin and cut around the core.

Slice the pieces and lay them into a pan and sprinkle them with little brown sugar and some cinnamon. A dash of lime is also wonderful.

Bake.

Eat. I like mine with a dollop of Greek yogurt.

Yum.

Baked Grapefruit

Makes one to two servings

Ingredients:

2 medium grapefruits

1 tsp sugar in the raw or brown sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Cut off grapefruit peel. Cut around core. Slice gently.

3. Place grapefruit pieces into a baking dish or baking pan. Sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon.

4. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

5. Enjoy warm with a dollop of yogurt or simply plain.

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4 Ingredient Go Green Smoothie

I'll confess.

My pants are too tight. Not the just-out-of-the-dryer tight, but the yank-'em-up-and-hope-they-button tight.

Those morsels of spritz cookies, pizza, cider, hot chocolate, appetizers, potatoes, ham...etc are haunting me now. Jingle bells should be translated into jiggle love handles! Anyway, I always feel better after I eat fresh, wholesome, and light meals for a few weeks after the holidays. Plus, my pants tend to fit better too :)

Enter my favorite light breakfast: My go green smoothie.

Most of the time, I like it just as it is. Sometimes, I add some flax seed or oatmeal to make a little more filling.

It's definitely one of those things that you have to have a taste for. And my husband, well, he still thinks I'm crazy when I wander around the house, slurping my green stuff, and proclaiming, "This is SO good."

Maybe you'll think I'm crazy too. Oh, well.

Here are the ingredients:

I think that the lime is the star of this go green smoothie.

Recipe for Go Green Smoothie
Makes one smoothie

Ingredients:
1 small frozen banana
3/4 cup of almond milk (or regular milk). Reduce milk amount if you want it a little thicker.
1 cup of spinach (or kale)
Juice from one lime
(you can also add flax seed, oatmeal, other fruit, etc., for a more hearty mix!)

Directions:
Put it in a blender and blend away. Pour into a cup and enjoy!

{I'm sharing here: Tatortots and Jello, Whipperberry}

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Pancakes. For two.

There used to be a time when Josh and I would have pancakes every Sunday morning--made from a box mix and with loads of butter and syrup. We also crashed about thirty minutes into the church service. Too much sugar!

We don't have pancakes every Sunday anymore, but I do like to sneak them in for supper sometimes. Breakfast for dinner is always fun!

This time around, though, when I went looking for our handy ready-to-mix pancake mix, I came up short. I almost started digging around for something else to eat, but then I decided that I would try and make pancakes from scratch. After peeking at a few recipes, I wondered why I had never bothered venturing away from a box mix.

Oh, yeah, because I thought that all pancakes required buttermilk.

But they don't!

I wanted to make these pancakes a little kinder on the pant strings, so healthy ingredients wiggled their way into the recipe.

Of course, I couldn't help but add dashes of cinnamon and cloves. Before I knew it, I was adding a spoonful of molasses. Who knew making pancakes could be so adventures?

Suddenly, these pancakes were not your run-of-the-mill pancakes. I was a little nervous to serve them to Josh--since he is usually the pancake expert around our parts. And then he took a bite. And smiled. And then I got a, "oooh, these are so good!" and "I really like these!"

Cha-ching!

I gobbled them up right along with him and even made a second batch for breakfast today.

Lucky for me, pancakes are easy to freeze, and now I've got breakfast waiting for me!

Like any good pancake, it begins with the flour/s and the spices.

And then a little milk, egg, vanilla, and molasses.

Finally, whisk it all together and spoon it on the griddle.

Let it bubble. Flip. And eat!

So, so good. Filling, spicy, tasty, simple, and plain delicious! I think it's safe to say that premade pancake mixes have officially been retired at our house :)

Pancakes for Two:
Makes about 10 small pancakes
{printable recipe}

Dry Ingredients:
1/2 cup of unbleached white flour (or whole wheat)
1/2 cup of whole wheat flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp flax seed (optional)

Liquid Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups of milk (I used almond milk)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp molasses
1 egg

Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, mix dry ingredients.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk egg. Add the remaining liquid ingredients.
3. Add liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk together (don't over mix--it may be a little lumpy).
4. Spoon 1/4 cup of mixture onto a hot griddle (on medium heat).
5. When pancake is bubbly around the edges, flip. Once other side is cooked, add to a plate and cover with a dish towel to keep warm.

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Gingerbread Banana Bread

Oh, the love sage between ginger and molasses continues...

After remembering how much I love gingerbread (and after making my first ever gingerbread cake recipe), I decided to bring ginger and molasses together for a banana bread dance.

Although I haven't had much practice with creating cake recipes, I have made many quick bread recipe alterations and felt less intimidated about whipping up a banana bread recipe with a few extra embellishments!

Butter was again left out of the story, but since chocolate is involved, I'm pretty sure no one will miss it!

\

What I liked about this recipe was the depth of flavor--I enjoyed the subtle hint of gingerbread paired with the sweetness of the chocolate. This recipe definitely has room for tweaking (for example, I'd like it to be a little less dense), but it wasn't hard to eat. In fact, it may have actually been a little too easy to gobble up :)

My favorite part of making this bread was adding the heap of morsels of chocolate to the mixing bowl. And then, of course, sneaking a few of them into my mouth!

It may have gotten a little too brown in the oven (oops!), but the recipe is definitely a keeper. I will probably make a few tweaks for improvement, but I still thoughly enjoyed this fun twist to traditional banana bread!

Gingerbread Banana Bread:
Makes one loaf
{printable recipe}

Ingredients:
1/2 cup of applesauce
1/4 cup of white or brown sugar (I used brown)
1/4 cup of molasses
1 cup of mashed bananas
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp ginger
2 cups of flour (I used 1 cup of whole wheat and 1 cup of unbleached white flour)
1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bread pan.
2. Cream together applesauce, sugar, and molasses. Once well-blended, beat in eggs.
3. Add mashed bananas and vanilla.
4. In a separate bowl, sift/mix together flour, ginger, flour, cloves, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda.
5. Gradually add dry mixture to the creamed mixture. Once fully blended, mix in chocolate chips.
6. Pour into bread pan.
7. Bake for 45 minutes or until a knife comes out clean.
8. Let cool, cut, and enjoy!


{p.s. I'm sharing this recipe at the parties over at Life in Grace and Tatertots and Jello}

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Roasted Sweet Potato with Baked Apples and Walnuts

Thanksgiving time is a wonderful time to stock up on sweet potatoes. In fact, our local grocery store is now selling sweet potatoes at just 22 cents a pound!

Like my previous two recipes, this recipe also includes apples. I simply love apples in the fall--and who can argue with soft and warm roasted apples? 

Plus, the smell of cooking apples and cinnamon is absolutely delightful!

I haven't quite decided if this recipe is breakfast, dessert, or just a warm afternoon snack. I ate it for breakfast, and it definitely hit the spot. Plus, I had extra roasted apples that are perfect for topping ice cream or oatmeal.

Tart, crisp apples are the key to savory roasted apples. They need a little extra crispness to keep them from getting too mushy while baking.

Cinnamon, a little brown sugar, walnuts, and a drizzle of olive oil give them just the punch they need.

Toss them on top of a roasted sweet potato, and you have a simple and delicious treat! 

Add a drizzle of plain or vanilla yogurt for a little extra fun!

Roasted Sweet Potato with Baked Apples and Walnuts:

{Printable Version}

Ingredients:

1 or 2 sweet potatoes

2 cups of diced apples

1/2 cup of walnuts

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp brown sugar

1/2 tea cinnamon

Yogurt for garnish (optional, but recommended!)

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 375 Fahrenheit. Peel, core, and dice apples. In a bowl, mix diced apples, walnuts, olive oil, lemon juice, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Place diced apples on a baking sheet. Half sweet potatoes lengthwise and poke holes into them. Place potatoes on the baking sheet with the apples. Bake apples for about 30 minutes (until soft). Remove apples and walnuts from the baking sheet. Continue to bake the sweet potato until soft (about 15-25 additional minutes). Once sweet potato is cooked through, remove from the oven. Spread warm apples over the sweet potato and garnish with yogurt or cinnamon.

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