More Mother's Day breakfast ideas

More breakfast ideas to make the mom in your life feel extra special...as she gets some well-deserved extra minutes of beauty rest. 


Yogurt Parfait
Consisting of fruit and cream, a parfait -- which means "perfect" in French -- is one way to present some favorite breakfast players.  Layer fruit, yogurt, and granola in a fancy glass and you've got an elegant treat fit for your queen.  This is easy enough for kids to make although younger chefs will need a little help.  Use plastic glasses if possible.  I didn't and probably shaved a year off my lifespan from worrying about broken wine glasses.

Ingredients

Approximately 1 cup each of berries or sliced fruit of your choice separated into large bowls.  The bowls I used here ended up being too small so there was some spillage.

Safe yogurt -- We use soy for our milk-allergic kids.  You will use approximately one 6-oz container for each parfait you're making.

1-2 cups favorite safe granola or cereal with clusters.  Please remember to double-check ingredient labels for potential allergens and cross-contamination warnings.










Directions:

1. Starting with some yogurt on the bottom of the glass, alternate between layers of yogurt, granola, and fruit.
2. You could substitute a favorite healthy cereal.  Just choose one that's not too thick (skip the shredded wheat).  And be sure not to prepare this too far in advance or, just like cereal sitting in a bowl of milk, it will get soggy.

Love you, Mom, but get your own parfait!

Fruit smoothies
Smoothies are long overdue in our house but now that the sun is back in full force, let the blending begin!  

Smoothies are great for non-cooks especially because it's hard to go wrong with them.  A little more of this, a little more of that -- so easy to correct!  Frozen fruit enables you to have smoothies year-round if you don't mind the coldness.  I always feel like my fresh berry smoothies do not turn out as sweet so if I am going the fresh route without a ripe banana, I end up adding a little sweetener.

Garnish with a gift to make the smoothie even sweeter.

Ingredients:
2 cups berries or other fruit - I used frozen blueberries, raspberries, and mango.
1 ripe banana (helps put the "smooth" in your smoothie)
Up to 1 container (6 oz) safe yogurt
1 cup safe milk (I used Soy Dream Original soy milk.)
1 Tbsp ground flaxseed meal
Orange juice
Ice cubes if you are using fresh fruit (no extra ice needed when using frozen fruit)

Directions:

1. Put milk product, yogurt, flaxmeal, and fruit into blender.  Do not fill your blender more than halfway when you first begin.  You can always add more once the mixture has blended down.
2. Blend until smooth.  If you're using frozen berries and notice clumping, stop your blender and break apart the frozen chunks with a utensil.  Then continue on to blender bliss!
3. Taste-test your smoothie.  Add extra fruit, liquid, or yogurt as needed.  
4. I usually do not add OJ but tried it for this post.  (Yes, I succumbed to the peer pressure of internet recipes!)  The OJ made the smoothie too acidic so I recommend skipping it or adding small amounts.  Other popular smoothie ingredients are agave nectar, rolled oats, peanut butter, and protein powder. 
5. Not recipe-related but do clean your blender right after you've poured out your smoothie.  It is so much easier to get those bits off when they aren't dried and caked on. 

One final tip for making this perfect:  CLEAN AS YOU WORK.  Nothing will snap your lovely lady out of her pampered mood like a sink full of dishes, which she will presume are waiting for her to wash.

Happy Mother's Day to all you fabulous moms out there and your families without whom motherhood wouldn't be possible!