My TV Segment for National Breakfast Month

Did you know that September is National Breakfast Month?  Well, it is! We all know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day!  It gives you the energy needed to jump start your day so you have enough stamina to make it through to lunchtime but it also revs up your metabolism.  So if you're trying to eat right, get good nutrition and even lose weight - cutting out breakfast just isn't a wise idea.

In honor of this special occasion I was invited to appear as a guest on KMOV, Great Day St. Louis.  While there, I prepared a Blueberry Breakfast Parfait.  This quick, easy and nutritional breakfast can be prepared in 10 minutes.  In addition you can also view the Berry Smoothie (takes just 5 minutes) plus Whole Wheat Blueberry Pancakes (takes 15 minutes) I made.  All three recipes can be prepped ahead, so if time is an issue in the morning, you'll have no excuse now. 

You can watch the video segment along with viewing all the recipes posted below.   My segment starts at 5:11 (five minutes, 11 seconds).

This Berry Smoothie is delicious.  You can make it a day ahead, cover and refrigerate and it will be perfect to drink the next morning or for a midday treat.

The Blueberry Breakfast Parfait below can be made with any berries you prefer.  The demo above used blueberries.  If you aren't fond of blueberries feel free to substitute any other berry. 

For the Whole Wheat Blueberry Pancakes, to reduce moring prep time, you can make the batter the night before, cover and refrigerate.  The next morning remove from refrigerator and cook your pancakes. 

I hope you enjoyed the video and hope you'll try these easy berry recipes for you and your family.

Enjoy!

Fresh Spinach Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing!

This afternoon I threw together a fresh spinach salad for lunch.  I love spinach.  In fact, when I was a little girl I ate so much of it my family would often refer to me as Popeye.  I thought if I ate enough spinach I could be as strong as Popeye which would have been very cool.  Instead I remained a skinny little tomboy with lots of bruises from being so active. 

To this day, I often crave spinach, as I did this afternoon for lunch.  So I made this refreshing salad with fresh berries that I had leftover from Mother's Day. 

Fresh Spinach Salad with Poppy Seed Dressing
serves 6

Ingredients for Dressing:

1/4 cup rice vinegar (not rice wine vinegar)
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp poppy seeds
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
salt and pepper to taste
3/4 cup canola oil

Salad ingredients:

6 cups baby spinach leaves
2 cups strawberries, hulled and sliced
1/4 cup thinly sliced red onion
1 yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/4 cup toasted almonds

Directions:

In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, sugar, poppy seeds, dry mustard, salt and pepper.  Whisk while slowly adding in the canola oil until the vinaigrette is well combined.

In a large bowl, toss together the spinach, strawberries, onion slices, peppers and almonds.  Add a portion of the vinaigrette and toss gently.  Taste and adjust by adding more vinaigrette if needed.  Serve immediately.

Enjoy this light and nutritious salad!

Don't forget to enter my OXO Mandoline Slicer Giveaway, for your chance to win this incredible kitchen tool!  Giveaway ends this Friday, May 13th.