Healthy Breakfasts

I discovered the  Cancer Fighting Cookbook at our local library. The author's first recipe is Magic Mineral Broth.  The kids and I made this together.  We went on a hunt for all the vegetables and seasonings. We searched for leeks and seaweed,sweet potatoes and red potatoes, and allspice and fresh parsley.   The recipe was way too big for my pots.  So I split it all in half and cooked it in two pots.  At first it smelled really good, but as the hours went by it wasn't so yummy smelling anymore.  I think I cooked it way longer then it suggested because I had to run errands.  I drained it through a regular colander instead of cheesecloth.   The broth was a little cloudy, but I am okay with that.  I wasn't ready to make it into soup so I got out my collection of mugs.  I lined each mug with a plastic sandwich bag, filled it with one cup of soup, sealed the bag, then put them all in the freezer.  Each evening before I go to bed I take a mug from the freezer and put it on the counter to thaw.  In the morning I dump the broth out of the bag and into the mug and heat it up.  I drink it with a salad of quinoa and spinach and a whole wheat muffin that has raisins or dates in it for a little sweetness.  How does it taste?  Well it is definitely not an egg, cheese, and sausage croissant from Carls Jr. (Which is my very favorite breakfast sandwich, but I haven't had one in over 12 years because I can just feel that it is not good for me.)  The broth has a very full flavor but probably unlike anything you might imagine.  When I first tasted it I didn't say, "Wow! This is really good."  I thought, " Well, that's not too bad."  Then after I swallowed the broth I just felt good all over inside.  I felt strong and healthy.  And that is the whole point of eating right, to have enough energy and mental power to conquer what ever the day has to throw at us.

I have two other breakfasts that I rotate.  The second is a big bowl of oatmeal with cinnamon, raisins, sunflower seeds, sliced almonds, and sliced bananas.  Yep, bananas.  They add all the sweetness and creaminess the oatmeal needs.  (Notice no milk-it makes my stomach hurt, and no sugar-not good for me.)  On mornings that I am running late the oatmeal goes with me to seminary.  Since there is no milk in it, it travels well.  (To make oatmeal fast, I add the oatmeal and water together at the same time.  It cooks much faster than waiting for the water to boil first, then adding the oatmeal.  Sometimes I make a huge pot of it and put it all in the fridge.  Then the kids can take out what they want and heat it up one bowl at a time.  I was surprised that leftover oatmeal, while it looks gross, tastes fine. Gavin, 11, loves oatmeal.  He is usually the oatmeal maker. Gavin is an interesting little cook.  He started making oatmeal in the microwave every morning.  Then he graduated to making several servings at once on the stove.  He was doing this very well. Now this was the only cooking Gavin seemed interested in.  All the other kids like to watch me cook and help with any parts they can, from stirring the pot to chopping the salad.  Not Gavin.  He doesn't come in the kitchen unless he is called for a meal.  One morning he asked if he could make toast.  Without thinking I said sure.  We make a lot of toast under the broiler.  It never occurred to me he had never made any before or even watched me make it.  So he went in the kitchen put his bread on the cookie sheet.  Set the cookie sheet on top of the stove and turned on the element under the cookie sheet.  It must have worked, because I came in the kitchen when he was making seconds. I laughed then showed him how to use the broiler.  The poor kid.  in eleven years he says he thought that the cookie sheet th  

The third breakfast is a fried egg on toast with half of a grapefruit.  I keep a cast iron pan on the stove.  It cooks eggs beautifully, and in the same amount of time it takes to make a piece of toast.  (Okay, so I make 12 eggs and as much toast as I can fit on a cookie sheet at once under the broiler.)  Katie, 9, loves fried eggs.  She burned her hand the first time she made them by herself.  I felt awful having let her try something that was obviously to hard for her.  But the next day she was back to try it again.  Two months later, she makes eggs three or more times a week.  She would have them everyday if I let her.