So though I haven’t mentioned it yet, Miss G and I have been pretty much stuck in the house for the last week and a bit… We’re not sure what’s going on, but she’s dealing with some sort of bladder issue that is causing her to have to go every few minutes, the poor thing. Needless to say, our usual routine of being out of the house every morning on fun adventures and meet-ups with friends is not happening right now. It’s just too hard.
In the meantime, we’re getting things done around the house {like painting a chalkboard wall finally and adding new pictures to our photo wall} and trying out some fun new activities. This morning, we decided that we’d have some fun with our breakfast! Instead of toast and fruit {a regular morning meal in our house}, we used our ingredients to create adorable little toast animals {or TOASTIMALS thanks to our friend Tairalyn} and admittedly, we had waaaay too much fun doing it.
The best part is that all of our toastimals can be made with these four ingredients – bread, your favourite spread, bananas, and berries (strawberries and blueberries to be specific). For ours, we used delicious walnut bread from Paul and almond butter, though cream cheese did make an appearance part way through. {Honey or any other nut butter would be good too!}
Before starting, we sketched out some of our ideas… First, I was the drawer, and then Gracen added to our idea sheet afterwards. Her illustrations include monkey toast {my drawing wasn’t doing it for her I guess}, FRUIT FLY toast {bahahahaha!}, and lizard toast {plus a cloud and some rain of course}.
Then it was time to get to work. Here are the 5 fun toastimals we came up with…
A bear {a favourite though not a new idea – we’ve been making this one since Miss G was wee}…
A kitty…
An owl…
A monkey…
And a chicken!
This poor guy did not get Miss G’s stamp of approval, sadly. He was supposed to be a pig, but kind of turned out looking like a dog or a bull or something else, and she declared him ‘very mix-upded’. Perhaps we’ll have to rework him and try again next time…
For now, however, I have to say that our little zoo of approved toast animals is pretty cute. ☺
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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!
Miss G and I have been loving this simple twist on the 
For extra flavour and an extra burst of nutrients, my little smoothie lover and I top our drinks with a generous sprinkling of cinnamon. Of course she just slurps it all up. 
Miss G and I continue to start most of our days with a big green smoothie each, and I must say, we’re loving it. It’s become a morning routine for us… Grae retrieves the blender and fresh produce, I grab the freezer ingredients and chop things up, she puts everything into the blender, and together we enjoy our mason jars of green goodness. 
Breakfast // Heart-shaped wholewheat flax oat pancakes with a tiny drizzle of pure maple syrup. Strawberry hearts.
Special drink // Frothy strawberry milk (made with freeze-dried strawberries) with heart-shaped milk ice cubes.
Lunch // Veggie and wild rice soup with heart-shaped carrots (aka “love soup” according to Grae).
Dinner // Roasted veggie and feta pizza on a thin wholewheat crust.
This morning Gracen and I made one of our go-to breakfasts… Eggs in a hole. Except we always make ours with a fun shape instead of a plain old circle and then change the name just a tad. ☺ On this morning’s menu? Hearts in a hole. 
I love this breakfast because it’s so easy, but it’s more fun than just plain eggs and toast. Plus Grae gobbles it up every time and all you really need is eggs, bread, a little bit of oil, and a cookie cutter of some sort. 
This is really so simple that it doesn’t warrant instruction. Just place the cookie cutter in the middle of the bread…
And really push down.
Then place the bread, along with the cut out in an oiled pan warmed over medium heat and carefully crack the egg into the hole. Because we like our eggs cooked hard, we cover the pan right away.
When the white appears cooked through, flip everything over and let it cook a couple more minutes.
That’s it – breakfast is served. And today, just for fun, we added strawberry hearts too. (This meal may just have to be repeated on Valentine’s Day.)
Breakfast // Organic shredded wheat cereal with hemp hearts, frozen blueberries, fresh raspberries, and organic milk.
Breakfast // French toast (made with omega seed bread) with plain organic yogurt, frozen blueberries, a TINY drizzle of pure maple syrup, and a sprinkling of cinnamon.
Breakfast // Wholewheat cinnamon raisin English muffin with all-natural peanut butter. Kiwi slices. Fresh raspberries.
Breakfast // Parmesan basil scrambled eggs. Homestyle potatoes with onions and peppers. Flaxseed toast.
Breakfast // 
Breakfast // Flaxseed toast with all-natural peanut butter, chia seeds, and hemp hearts.
Breakfast // Wholewheat ‘Gracen’ 
Lunch // 
Lunch // Black bean veggie quesadilla on an Ezekiel 4:9 tortilla with sour cream and fresh avocado.
Lunch // Parmesan and avocado toast. Carrot sticks and hummus. Apple slices.
Lunch // 
Lunch // Chicken, tofu, and veggie stir-fry on fresh rice noodles.
Lunch // Curried tuna and apple salad on a tomato wrap. Red pepper slices. Roasted squash.
Lunch // 
Dinner // Wholewheat spaghetti with spicy turkey tomato sauce and fresh parmesan. Roasted Brussels sprouts.
Dinner // Creamy corn and veggie soup. Multi-seed flatbread with humus.
Dinner // Harvest grains, steamed veggies, and sesame tempeh.
Dinner // Parmesan and walnut encrusted chicken. Roasted Brussels sprouts. Roasted golden beets with feta. Cheese ravioli with herbs and spices brought home from Italy.
Dinner // Tuscan sausage soup with shell pasta, spinach, and white beans. Parmesan rye spears. 
Dinner // Homemade pizza (BBQ chicken and roasted veggie and feta).
Dinner // Wholewheat penne with tomato basil turkey sauce and feta.