Healthy Tropical Granola

I'm a cereal girl- I used to prefer cereal to any other meal. Back when I was in college (yes that was 10 years ago), when I'd come home, my mom would ask me what I wanted for dinner, and I'd just shrug and say "cereal." She thought I was joking (or maybe just wouldn't allow it)- but I wasn't. I love cereal. And granola has always been a favorite, with its sweet oats, crunchy clusters, and mix of textures. Granola is also the perfect multi-tasking cereal- breakfast with milk; lunch with yogurt and fruit; snack-time in your hand; mixed with chocolate chips or on top of froyo for dessert.  And luckily, it's so easy to make, and easy to alter the flavors. This "tropical" variation I love, and I included some healthy add-ins too.

Smoothie & Juice "Cleanse"

Last week I tried out a 2-day mostly smoothie "cleanse." Things have gotten hectic and a little stressed, so I thought it would be a good time to reset and mix things up- literally ;-)

I did 2 days- rather than 3, or 7, or longer- because I'm a pretty active person and I didn't want to feel drained, and I didn't want to put a lot of time into planning.  I also didn't want to pay a lot for a juice cleanse through a company.  I just wanted to refresh, reboot, and refocus. I've been curious about juicing/cleansing for a while, and when I get curious about something, sooner or later, I just have to try it for myself. So when my hubby was away for work last week, I figured, what better time? While everyone else was posting about Valentine's chocolates and decadent desserts, I was doing this...

Chewy Ginger Molasses Cookies

In addition to s'mores cookies, I also made Chloe Coscarelli's Vegan Ginger Molasses Cookies this weekend. I was totally pulled in by a picture of them I saw, along with the description- chewy and sweet. I love a good chewy cookie. Plus, I've had some molasses in my cabinet for a while that just needed to get used.

Nearly Raw Broccoli Slaw

Before I get to the other cookie recipe I made this weekend, let's have some greens, shall we?

Ok, so this technically might not be a slaw, but I just thought it had a nice ring to it ;-) This broccoli salad contains mostly raw ingredients, and just barely steamed broccoli, in a very light, slightly tangy and sweet, dressing. Barely-there dressing, but just enough to bring it all together. Crunch+sweet+fresh veggies= filling healthy meal love.