Mmmm… cookies. And for breakfast no less!
These nutritious breakfast cookies have been on regular rotation in our house lately. I’ve been making a big batch on the weekend and pulling them out for easy breakfasts, snacks, and school lunches which has been such a treat. Both of the kids absolutely love them and gobble them up 3 at a time, which is absolutely fine by me! They’re jam-packed with good stuff – whole grains, fruit, veggies, and protein – and include absolutely no added sugar, which means I actually feel good about feeding my munchkins cookies – win!
I’ve been making these fun and easy apple sandwiches for Miss G for a long time now (we didn’t follow the usual no nuts until the age of 2 rule) and they’ve always been a total hit. And because we load ours up with all kinds of healthful fillings, they make a perfect breakfast or even lunch!
You certainly don’t need all of these things, but since we almost always have them all on hand and Miss G enjoys the variety, we usually go for it. In today’s lineup was peanut butter, almond butter, and a pink lady apple, plus unsweetened coconut, pumpkin seeds, sliced almonds, old-fashioned oats, sunflower seeds, and hemp hearts. Also needed is a sharp knife and small cookie cutter of some sort (though you can do without if needed).
Apple sandwiches are really so simple to throw together that I’m sure instructions aren’t needed, but this is how we normally make ours… First off, I slice them up quite thinly. We usually get 8 or 9 slices (not including the 2 end pieces) per apple. Then we separate them into two piles – one where the seeds have to be cut out, and the other where there really aren’t any seeds at all.
Next, we use our small heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut the centres out of the seedy slices. You can use an apple corer or a sharp knife to the trick too. These pieces will become the sandwich tops.
On to the bottoms! Since these really don’t have any seeds, there’s no cookie cutter needed. Just slather them with your favourite nut butter…
And have your munchkin sprinkle them with the toppings of his or her choice. 
Then pop the tops on and you’ve got a yummy snack or meal ready for your little one (or you!) to gobble up!
The other day, while quickly picking up a couple of craft supplies at the dollar store, Miss G and I stumbled upon these adorable miniature clay pots. We both laid eyes on them at the same time, and just as I was thinking, ‘Oooh! I must have those pots!’, she asked, ‘Mama, can we please take home those baby pots?’ Ummm, yes – we certainly can, baby girl. 
To get started, Grae helped me gather up some things – plain organic greek yogurt, 
While she was busy playing, scrubbed the pot well with hot soapy water. Then I mixed up approximately one part yogurt with one part granola, and scooped it into the pot. Next up, I covered the yogurt mixture with a little bit more granola and generously sprinkled cinnamon on top.
Using a daisy-shaped cookie cutter Miss G got in her Easter basket, I cut little flower shapes out of pineapple, cantaloupe, and watermelon.
Then I carefully speared them onto our tiny wooden dowels. I did contemplate colouring the dowels green beforehand, but I didn’t have any natural green food colouring on hand and didn’t feel comfortable using the real stuff since it would be directly in the food. Oh well! Maybe next time…
To put it all together, I simply placed the ‘flower lollipops’ (as G calls them) into the yogurt mixture. Because of the thickness of Greek yogurt, and the fact that it’s 1/2 granola, the flowers stayed up really well. 
Gracen was tickled pink with her edible flower garden, and not only did she request additional flower lollipops during breakfast, but she also requested another flower garden yogurt parfait for afternoon snack. Yay for healthy and fun munchkin meals!
Based on my beginning 
It’s such a simple morning meal, but it’s healthy, can be made a ton of different ways, and almost tastes like dessert for breakfast. ☺ They change from one time to another, but here’s our usual line up of ingredients… 1/2 a banana cut lengthwise, plain organic greek yogurt (you could use sweetened yogurt if that’s what you’re used to), some almond butter (any nut butter would be delicious), a strawberry sliced up, and something to serve as sprinkles (today we used unsweetened coconut, but we’ve also used chia seeds and hemp hearts). 
This morning, I set out the ingredients as a little ‘build your own breakfast’ station and Miss G assembled her own banana split. Just as we’ve done together previously, she laid the banana pieces down first, added a couple of big scoops of greek yogurt, topped them both with almond butter and strawberry slices, then sprinkled the whole thing with coconut.
Breakfast is served!