Quick, Easy, and Healthy Eating

 by Jan Drexler

Like many of you, we here at the Cafe are busy people! I think you can see that from our posts - caring for grandchildren, cooking for our families, working day jobs, working at two or more businesses from our homes...and writing. 

Somewhere in there, we need to take care of ourselves, too. Right?

One of the things I've done, especially in the summer, is to collect some easy, quick, healthy recipes for meals and snacks that take almost no time to prepare. That leaves more time for writing!

Breakfast

One of my favorite quick and simple breakfasts can also be an anytime-snack or a dessert!

So easy:

1 cup (or so) plain Greek yogurt

1/3 cup (or so) frozen berries (I like raspberries)

Sweetener to taste. I use 1 1/2 teaspoons THM Super Sweet (nearly the same as two packets of Truvia)

Mix it all together, then let it sit for a few minutes to let the berries thaw a bit, then mix it again.

This is so cool, creamy and delicious! It's especially good when you eat it outside on the deck when the morning air is still fresh.

Icey Drink

This can be made with tea or coffee - whichever is your caffeine of choice. :-)

Brew the tea in a quart sized canning jar (or other quart sized container) and let it cool until it's warmish. Then add the fixings you usually put in your tea (or coffee.) I use THM super sweet (like Truvia,) collagen (to add protein,) sunflower lecithin (brain food,) and cream. Blend all the ingredients together with a hand-held stick blender or regular blender. 

Add ice until the jar is full, and you have a sipping drink that will last all day.

Lunch

I love this salad! It originated with fellow Seekerville blogger and author, Pam Hillman. She shared it on Facebook, then I added an ingredient or two to make it my own.

Quick and easy:

Mix together one can of tuna and one wedge Light Laughing Cow Cheese (or a Tablespoon of mayonnaise.) Then add a small squirt of mustard, a splash of Bragg's liquid aminos (or soy sauce,) salt and pepper to taste, a few shakes of paprika and a couple shakes of tumeric. Mix it all up well.

Then dice an apple and mix into the tuna mixture.

This makes a great light lunch to take on a picnic, which I did on Saturday! 

It was our church's annual picnic at the lake day, and we had a lot of fun.

One of my Sunday School students caught a fish!

Isn't that a great smile?

Another thing that happened last week is that we celebrated our first anniversary in our new home! I can't believe it's been a whole year - especially since we're still exploring our surroundings.

We found a new (to us) trail in the National Forest, only five miles away. It's close enough to take the puppies for a run in the morning, after breakfast and before my work day starts.

The dogs loved it!

And the trail was just long enough for a gentle morning hike - about a mile to the end and back.

That's how it's been this week here in the Black Hills! How has it been at your house?

Jan Drexler has always been a "book girl" who still loves to spend time within the pages of her favorite books. She lives in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her dear husband of many years and their active, crazy dogs, Jack and Sam. You can learn more about Jan and her books on her website, www.JanDrexler.com.