Happy New Year!

If you believe in resolutions, here's my list:

Focus on eating as many raw veggies in a day as I can bear.
Move at least once a day, walk if knees are up to it.
Be more vigilant about the kids' schedules.
Smile every time I'm annoyed.
Talk less. MUCH less.

If you don't believe in resolutions, that's okay too. I know what they say about goals, resolutions and the like, needing to be specific, but the above is all I can manage today.

I'd like everyone's input on something.

If I get up and cook for breakfast, the family will usually eat it, then come back an hour later to have cereal. If I don't cook, they have cereal and don't come back an hour later for anything. I'm not a morning person, but I can get up and cook if necessary. They just don't seem to like it, and they're eating the same amount of cereal on top of my cooking anyway.

Should I cook so that the better nutrition is available to them and hopefully wean them of the cereal habit, or should I just let them eat cereal and save myself the expense and frustration?

Oh yeah. Oh YEAH.

Now, here's something I could eat for breakfast almost every day. Our plan is to make these weekly, changing up the fruit each time so we don't get bored.

Breakfast Bars
Preheat oven to 325°. In a bowl, combine 1 cup rolled oats, 1 cup whole wheat flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, 1/4 cup sunflower seeds (the shelled, unroasted kind - I find them at the health food section of the store), and 1/4 cup dried cherries (this part would change weekly.) In a separate small bowl, combine 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup applesauce, 1/4 cup honey, and 3 tablespoons OJ. Add to the oat mixture and stir it around. Take 1/2 cup out of the oat mixture and press the rest into a pan-sprayed 8x8 pan. Back in your small bowl, mix together 2 tablespoons OJ and 1/2 cup fruit-only cherry (again, changing with the dried fruit) preserves. spread that evenly over the oat mixture in the pan, then sprinkle on the reserved oats, pressing it in lightly with your fingers. Bake 35 minutes until golden brown. Cool and cut into 8 bars.

Delish! We had cherry this morning, but we're going to try every flavor of fruit-only jam they make one delicious panful a week!

I love this guy.

Breakfast of Champions.

Surely you remember Ken. Betcha don't remember him in crumpled jammies with bedhead. I'll tell you, this photo is enough to get any trivia-lovin' nerdy chick's heart a-thumpin'!