Breakfast in a Jar: Fruit Salad

When I was a kid my mom used to buy those huge jugs of fruit salad at BJ's, she and my dad would eat fruit salad with yogurt for what seemed like a month. While I don't think I could stand eating the same thing every breakfast for that long, it's nice to have something healthy and easy to grab in the morning, and the home made version doesn't have all the preservatives often found in the prepackaged varieties. I like to make two or three breakfasts worth of fruit salad at a time, put it in a clean jar and just dump out however much I’m using and top it with some granola. 

Fruit Salad (and how to save some for later)

Adjust portions to your taste/what you have on hand

Ingredients:

1 Apple

1 Banana

1 Orange

1/8 scant cup Orange juice

1 Tbs Lemon juice

(Other fruits that work well: strawberries, blueberries, kiwi, cantaloupe and other melons)

An easy way to gauge how much you're making; If you would eat about 1 piece of fruit for breakfast, then a salad with 3 pieces will last you 2-3 days. I don't recommend making more than a couple of days worth at a time, particularly when using fruits that brown, and especially when using bananas.

Directions:

1. Peel and slice the banana, Place in a medium bowl
2. Wash, core and cube the apple into bite sized pieces (leave the skin on, that’s where most of the nutrients are,) add to the banana.
3. Sprinkle half the lemon juice over the apples and oranges, stir and sprinkle the second half over them.
4. Peel, separate, and slice orange width-wise, and add to the bowl.
5. Prep any other fruits you want to use and add them (if using pears or other fruit that browns quickly add before you sprinkle with lemon juice.)
6. Pour the juice over the fruit and stir to coat.

If you’re omitting oranges, don’t like citrus, or don’t have OJ any somewhat acidic juice will work, as long as the flavors complimentary to the fruits you used.

Don’t leave out the lemon juice, or your apples and bananas will start to oxidize and turn brown. If you don’t have lemon juice, the brown fruit won’t hurt you, but it will get mushy faster if you don’t eat it right away, negating the whole saving it for later bit.

Banana Bread

I love bananas. 

They come pre-packed in their own carrying case, require no utensils, and taste fantastic.

They also get bonus points for being one of the few fruits that are usable even after they've passed their snacking prime. If you have bananas that are black already, but no time to make banana bread right now, no fear! Toss them in the freezer and just thaw them out when you want to make bread with them.

Bangin' Banana Nut Bread
Ingredients:

    3 to 4 ripe banana, mashed (The riper the better!)
    1/3 cup vegetable oil 
    2 tablespoon ground flax seed
    3 tablespoon water
    3/4 cup sugar
    1 teaspoon vanilla
    1/4 teaspoon cinnamon or nutmeg

    Pinch salt
    1 1/3 teaspoons baking soda
    1 cup all-purpose flour
    1/2 cup whole wheat flour
    1/4 to  2/3 cup nuts (raw unsalted is best, I like mixing half sunflower seeds, half chopped walnuts)
    Additional small handful of seeds/nuts for top of loaf

Directions:

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2) Mix ground flax and water in a small bowl, set aside. 

3) Mash bananas in a bowl, add oil and mash a bit more until well mixed. Don't worry about making it smooth, the bananas can be a little lumpy. 

4) Mix in the sugar, flax mixture, vanilla, and spices. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and stir in. 

5) Mix in flour and desired amount of nuts.

6) Grease loaf pan and pour mixture in. Add seeds/nuts to the top of the loaf. 

7) Bake for 45 minutes to and hour. Test done-ness by inserting a butter knife into the loaf. It should come out clean. Cool the bread on a rack to keep the edges from getting soft. ENJOY!

Notes:
- The sugar can be adjusted to taste pretty easily, molasses or other sweetener generally works fine in this recipe, if you're using liquid sweetener (i.e. molasses) increase the flour a little bit. The dough should be soft and sticky, but still definitely doughy.
- Chocolate chips also make a good addition to this bread, just go easy unless you dramatically reduce the sugar or have an intense sweet tooth to satisfy.