Refreshing Breakfast - Fresh Fruits and Vegetables with yogurt dressing

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day! Lots of us either give it scant respect or none at all. It sets up the tone for the rest of the day so eating something refreshing puts you on the right foot for the whole day at least in terms of food.

Summer time around here is when we get fruits and vegetables at their freshest. If you grow them even better. I was starting to tire of my usual weekday breakfast fare - oatmeal, avocado or egg on toast, bagels. Pretty pathetic really nothing that makes you want to jump and want to eat breakfast.

So wanting something quick but something refreshing I did this for a day and have been craving for it every day. I had fresh cucumber, tomato bursting with flavor obviously since it came off the plants I grew ;) and some farm fresh peaches one day and some store bought pineapple the next.

So the trick is a few crunchy vegetables and some fruits and the dressing does not have to be fancy. If you have yogurt or sour cream and some pickles or hot sauce you should be set. You can skip the dressing altogether for a vegan version. This is not so much of a recipe as an idea to keep away from the boring and the carb and sugar loaded stuff that passes off as breakfast.

Fresh Fruits and Vegetables with Yogurt Dressing
Preparation Time: 5 - 10 minutes
Ingredients

1. 1 cucumber cubed into 1/2 inch pieces
2. 2 ripe small tomatoes cubed
3. a few basil leaves (optional)
4. 1/2 -1 cup of pineapple / peach cubed
5. 2 tbsp sour cream or yogurt
6. 2 tsp of pickle of your choice - tomato thokku or mango thokku or some hot sauce any kind
7. 2 tsp of honey

Method

1. Whisk the yogurt with the pickle or sauce till it is smooth. If you'd rather stick to something sweet use the honey instead of the spicy pickle or sauce.
2. Julienne the basil leaves and
3. Combine with all the fruits and vegetables.
4. Pour the prepared dressing over the fruits and vegetables. Toss to combine.

Like what you are reading? Subscribe!

Peach Frozen Yogurt

It is the peak of peach season and if you are close (or even far) to an orchard or farm market I strongly encourage you to load up for the year. They are great for baking, making jams, ice creams, smoothies and of course eating fresh - my daughter eats 4 a day minimum :). You can't have enough of them. I can't believe there was a time when I did not like peach. I realized later that it was the mushy peach. I like them just ripe and still slightly firm.

If you go to an orchard right now they are plentiful and cheap and fresh without any of the waxy stuff you find on fruits in grocery stores. There are white and yellow peaches. The slightly more tart and acidic yellow peaches which become sweet as they ripe and the less acidic and sweet when ripe or not.



Ice creams and frozen yogurts are what you feel like eating on warm and humid days. Peach yogurt is one of the best as they come when made with fresh peaches. Feels like soft serve and is light enough if the sugar is controlled to be even eaten as breakfast ;) While I prefer using plain Greet Yogurt you can also use regular or home made yogurt to make the ice cream.

Wash chop, pit and chop the peaches. Take it in a blender. Add in the lemon juice.
Add in the sugar .
Blend the sugar and the peaches till it is well mixed. Add the yogurt.
Blend the yogurt into the peach so it well mixed.
Pour into the ice cream maker and churn for about 20 minutes. Ready to eat :)
Remove to a container to freeze for another 4 hours or so.

Did I tell that you should all buy an ice cream maker. You can buy one for less than $30 or slightly more. Mine is the most basic kind and it serves the purpose well. Store bought ice creams are heavy and sugary. Making ice cream at home you can control both. The recipe is based off of this recipe in Eating Well.

Peach Frozen Yogurt
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Churning Time: 20 - 30 minutes
Freezing Time: 4-8 hours
Ingredients

1. 3-4 ripe peaches (white or yellow)
2. juice from half a lime (lemon)
3. half cup of sugar
4. 2 cups of Greek Yogurt or regular yogurt
5. 1/2 - 3/4 cup of sugar (I used raw sugar)

Method

1. Wash, seed, chop and puree the peaches in a blender.
2. Add the lemon juice and sugar and blend till well mixed.
3. Add in the Greek Yogurt and blend for 30 seconds more.
4. Transfer to the ice creamer and churn for 20 minutes. It should be ready to eat them but they should be frozen for another 4 hours for a firmer ice cream.

Like what you are reading? Subscribe!