A Distinctly Grownup Breakfast

This ain’t one for the kiddies.

I went with the four quadrant look for my oatmeal toppings this morning (the BEST way to try out a lot of toppings). Beginning at 3 o’clock and moving clockwise, we start with Plain Jane Saratoga PB:

Strawberries drizzled with the best balsamic vinegar we had on hand (thick and sweet):

Chillin’ Chocolate (of course):

(ALERT! ALERT! If you have children watching, you may want to send them from the room.)

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Aaaaand, finished with a quadrant of brandy-soaked strawberries – a suggestion from my wonderful Greek friend Christa! 😀

Ooh, baby, did these strawberries kick breakfast up a notch. I wouldn’t dare have this for breakfast on a clinical rotation day, as I think my preceptor wouldn’t take too kindly to brandy breath as I see the patients.

Each quadrant was delicious! Have you ever tried balsamic vinegar on strawberries? Choose a sweet one for the best effect, or reduce a cheaper one by simmering over low heat on the stove. …All right, I have to say it: I dare you. I double dog dare you to have brandy-soaked strawberries on your morning oats or cereal. I triple tripe dare you.

Anyhoo, here’s a food I bet you’ve never seen before: fresh garbanzo beans. No, not those tan things. This:

I picked them up at Whole Foods last weekend and spent about 20 minutes shelling all the pods (each pod had 1 or 2 “chickpeas” ). You can eat them like edamame: steamed and salted. OR, you can make a green hummus. And that, my friends, is exactly what I did.

With garlic and tahini. After blending, I drizzled in a little olive oil and blended some more. I only added a little oil because I like my hummus thick, not oily.

Cucumbers and Super Green Hummus on a slice of Peter’s Dutch Crust Bread:

All the delicious crust crispies fell off the top of the loaf, so I ate them like … well, like pieces of crust.

Let’s go from delicious eats to not-so-delicious eats. My sister C sent me this link about a week ago. The article features this sandwich:

This KFC creation is basically a bacon cheese sandwich with two slabs of fried chicken instead of the bun. The 5″ x 4″ sandwich has more fat and sodium than anyone should eat in a “snack”. Even if you’re not watching your intake, why would you intentionally put something into your body that will not only raise your blood pressure and harden your arteries, but will make you feel terrible as it’s being digested? Perhaps I shouldn’t offer my opinion so strongly – after all, everyone is entitled to make choices about what they eat. All I want to say is: keep yourself informed about what you put into your body. Don’t chew blindly.

Let’s end on some adorable doggle pictures, because goodness knows I exploit Maddles’ adorableness 😀

Let’s look at a closeup, ’cause, well, why not?

Peace, sistas and bruddahs.

Q: Have you ever tried different toppings on the same dish, just to try out lots of different flavors?

43 Comments

  1. Hate to break it to you, but my kids would kill for that breakfast 😉

  2. In response to your question, the answer is Yes. Yes, I do love experimenting with toppings.

    Salads are the gravel pit and toppings are my playground.

    Greenola is my sandbox and “flare” is my sandcastle.

    And so forth. I could go on but I won’t. WAHAHA.

    I really like the glorious green hue of your fresh garbanzo beans. I have, however, only seen them in the States. What the heck, Canucks! Get on importing those beans!

    LOTS OF FRIVOLOUS LOVE,
    Aletheia 🙂

  3. You are so cute! Love your 4 quadrant oats! 😉 They look so yummy!! 🙂

    Ok, I am married to a man who… da da dummmmmmm… ATE ONE OF THOSE KFC things!!!!!!!!! I was like, uhhhhh, WHY did you do that??!! He said he felt sick the rest of the day and was really thirsty. I’m pretty sure he learned his lesson.

    Oh, and yes I do try out different toppings on the same dish. I like doing that with salads especially. Or sometimes with pancakes I’ll do a little cream cheese on one, some PB on another, and classic buttah and syrup on the other. Love getting some variety on my taste buds!!

    1. Hehe, aww, poor Andrew!

  4. I’ve actually never tried balsamic vinegar on strawberries, but I will take you up on that dare! I admit, the brandy-soaked ones kind of scare me, but I love your willingness to try new toppings! 🙂

  5. Brandy-soaked strawberries? Um, I’m not sure that that would make a good breakfast for this lightweight, haha!

    And I never knew there was such thing as fresh garbanzo beans! Do they taste similar to the ones we’re all familiar with?

    1. They taste … fresher? Greener? I find that brown chickpeas don’t have a lot of taste, but these have an in-your-mouth flavor that is delicious! 🙂

  6. Mmm, what isn’t good on strawberries.

    and FYI, this is EXACTLY what you give your kids for breakfast, Mom needs a break every once in a while 😉

  7. Wait, What?!? I didn’t know garbanzo beans started off green…why are mine brown?? lol I’m so intrigued

    The KFC chicken sandwich…dear god

  8. Oh, man – that’s some pretty serious oatmeal right there! I bet it added a kick to your morning, hm? 😛
    I’ll have to give balsamic strawberries a shot. I’ve had them on a spinach salad with balsamic – but never thought to eat just the strawberries with balsamic!
    I find the fresh chickpeas quite intriguing, too.

  9. Hooray – green hummus and green cucumbers on Earth Day 🙂 Very appropriate 🙂 That sandwich sounds like a joke you’d hear on The Simpsons. I’m surprised KFC still exists.

    Hmmm, I do like trying different toppings. I really like mixing different textures and flavours – it’s just a delight for the taste buds 🙂

    And thank you for expressing your opinion strongly, it’s always interesting to hear your thoughts, especially since you’re very well informed 🙂

    1. I didn’t even remember that it was Earth Day! Thanks for the reminder, Lucy! 🙂

  10. mmmm…brandy-soaked strawberries 😛 I’ve heard of those but have never tried. sounds like the perfect combo. and can i say that your doggie always looks so relaxed. whatever Maddie’s eating, i’mma putting my kiddies on the same diet 😉 i like to try waffles with different toppings.

  11. I love the looks of your breakfast! I’ve never tried balsamic vinegar or brandy on strawberries, but both sound delightful. I’d love to try the balsamic…I’ve heard of people doing that before but never tried it myself.
    As for the green chick peas, I’ve never seen them before! That’s so cool. Sounds like it takes a bit more work than opening up a can though haha. I love the looks of the hummus though- I also like mine thick.
    Such an adorable dog <3

  12. love the puppy pics! ugh that sandwich looks so sick from kfc-makes me ill.
    green fresh garbanzos-how wonderful….need to keep a look out for those for sure. happy friday!

  13. You are a brave girl!! I’ve had balsamic on strawberries before…but over salad, not on my oats. It isn’t something that exactly screams “delicious” to me but….since you dared me… 😉 And while we’re talking dares, I guess that means I’ll HAVE to try those brandy strawberries too. 😉 Although maybe I’ll put them on ice cream first before I transition to oats…

    Anyway, I put different toppings on the same dish ALL the time. I never can make up my mind, so I figure I’ll try a little bit of everything.

    And I never knew garbanzo beans were green!!! Are they not “ripe”? Why do they turn brown??? (I’m not slightly disturbed….haha) I love your green hummus though!

    And finally, thanks for ending with pictures of Maddie (and not the disgusting double down)! She’s so adorable!!!

  14. ahh no ive never had balsamic vinegar on my strawberries! I BET THAT IS SO GOOD <3 i love both of those things..so why not put em together!

  15. Wow I’ve never seen fresh garbanzo beans before and had no idea they were green! Very cool that you can eat them like edamame or make a spread out of them… I’ve never seen them at my Whole Foods but I’m intrigued so I’m going to look for them.

    I looove trying different toppings. I have overnight oats today with dark chocolate chunks, dried cherries, flax, and sliced almonds.. sooo good!

  16. LOVE balsamic & pepper on strawberries so I’ll definitely have to try the brandy kick.

    I’m another canuck who has never seen fresh garbanzo beans in the stores here…wonder how hard they are to grow…hmmm…

    1. It tasted stronger, somehow, more chickpea-y. Also, it tastes kind of green. Must be all the chlorophyll! 🙂

  17. omg ive never thought fresh garbanzo’s were green.. im so used to canned beans ive never stopped to think about how they grow! good to know 🙂

    haha brandy.. yes kids outta the room!

    o and i love topping the same dish with something different. because even 1 small change can make the biggest difference in taste and texture. its fun to play around with.

    xo

  18. Balsamic is great on strawberries. I love the chocolate with your breakfast. I haven’t had fresh garbanzos in a while. I have had falafel made form fresh ones though, but not hummus. Great use of them.

  19. brandy soaked strawberries…oh you don’t have to dare me 😉 I am going to have to try balsamic and strawberries, I have never tried that out!!!

    Why aren’t garbanzo beans tan??? Have I been fooled my whole life!!

  20. Wow, those stawberrie look magical. I also go for more than 1 topping. Variety is the spice of life, right?!?!
    I’ll have to look for those garbonzo bean at WF. Love the tahini!

  21. Theres a drink at a restaurant I love in DC that has strawberries and balsmaic muddled into it. It is just dreamy!! Love the idea of doing that on your oats 🙂

  22. WoW!! Those garbanzo’s are way too cool!!! Kudos to you for going the natural and unshelled route. I am a sucker for convenience so all i know are those canned chickpeas. Thanks for introducing the “real” ones to me!!! 🙂

  23. I have just recently started trying out all kinds of toppings for my oatmeal, but I know everyone else has been doing this for forever haha.

    1. Thanks for stopping by, Cait! 🙂

    1. I LOVED them! In fact, I finished all the hummus today :O I think I’ll need to get more next time, although it was a BEAR to peel them all.

  24. Wow how cool! I’ve never seen green garbanzo beans before – definitely a cool Friday Firsts! I love your idea to make green hummus with them, how delicious and appropriate!

    Ew, that Double Down disgusts me. America has been brainwashed to think carbs are so evil that this is actually a GOOD choice. Johnny’s brother was so excited to try it and when I mentioned the stats his reply was “well bread is bad for you.” I just had to bite my tongue from that point…

  25. Ohhh I got mentioned in one of my wonderful American friend Jessie’s blog posts!! Yay! 🙂 🙂

    I have never tried strawberries with brandy before, but they must taste fantastic!! But I don’t think I’ll dare do that for breakfast hehe

    That KFC thing even looks bad! As for the bread argument, the fried chicken is coated in crumbs (which are really bread aren’t they?) that has also been fried! So instead of carbohydrates you get carbohydrates dipped in fat. healthy… 😀

    I’m no stranger to eating junk food, but at least I am aware of how bad it is for me and I’m trying not to eat too often.

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