Back-to-school Breakfast Fruit Sundaes
Posted: September 4, 2012 Filed under: Uncategorized 29 Comments
Back-to-school Breakfast Fruit Sundaes
Tomorrow is the first day of school for my ponytails. But, for my youngest ponytail, it’s her very first day ever at her K-8 school.
Can you imagine the excitement in my house? I know you are guessing that it is my little ponytail who is excited. And yes, you would be right.
However, my husband and I are beyond excited because it means that we only have to drop the girls off at one school each morning, rather than two. Happy days! The mornings are going to get a tad bit easier. (And the afternoons too, I might add.)
But the first day of school isn’t just a date on the calendar—it’s a state of mind. It’s about new beginnings, a fresh start, a clean slate. You get the idea.
There’s something about this feeling of a fresh start. It must be the crisp haircut, the new pencil case and the spanking new Jordash jeans (okay, that was another era) that signal change is in the air. Even I’ve been swept up by this energizing atmosphere, and I’m the one paying for all the new back-to-school must-haves!
Despite all this change, one thing that won’t change is the fact that the girls don’t like to get up in the morning. Boy some mornings are ugly.
So, I’ve come up with a way to start tomorrow off on the right foot. I’m going to announce that there are sundaes waiting for them on the kitchen table—but only if they hop right out of bed. I’ll just be skipping over a couple of words…since it will be breakfast fruit sundaes that will be waiting there. Do you think they’ll be disappointed?
Breakfast Fruit Sundaes
- Mixed fruit (any combination of sliced strawberries, bananas, plums, peaches pineapple and blueberries)
- Vanilla yogurt (see notes)
- Granola (see my Maple Pistachio Granola recipe below)
- Honey or maple syrup (optional)
Place a ½ cup or so of mixed fruit in the bottom of a bowl or ice cream serving dish. Add a good-sized dollop of vanilla yogurt, followed by a sprinkling of two or three t heaping spoonfuls of granola. Drizzle with honey or maple syrup (optional).
Maple Pistachio Granola
- 1 ½ cups rolled oats
- 1/4 cup pistachios, chopped roughly (or chopped almonds)
- ½ cup sweetened flaked coconut
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- ¼ cup canola oil
- 1 tsp pure vanilla
Preheat oven to 350°. In medium-sized bowl, mix oats, pistachios, coconut, sesame seeds and cinnamon. Add maple syrup, oil and vanilla. Mix well. Spread out on a large baking sheet and bake for 12 to 15 minutes (until your granola is a lovely caramel brown colour). Be sure to start checking on it at the 10 minute mark, as it burns quickly.
NOTES:
- You can add a couple of teaspoons of pure vanilla to a container of plain yogurt to make your own vanilla yogurt. I like to add vanilla to 1% yogurt.
Your gorgeous girls must have been ecstatic to have such healthy but delicious and gorgeous sundaes for breakfast!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
They were for the first day Uru. In fact, they were so excited that they didn’t need to be lured out of bed!
New fullscap paper, bright new binder, new coloured pencils, rainbow jeans.., ah yes, I can remember the excitement well.
Ugly mornings scare me.
Oh yes, I remember rainbow jeans! Ugly mornings are scarey and they make you late — so I can see why you don’t like them!
An ugly morning for me is trying on the third outfit and still not being happy.
I don’t think they’ll be disappointed at all….those sundaes look great! Ahhh, the memories of first days at school, hope it all goes well.
The entire week went really well Ali. Let’s hope that it continues next week as well!
Your ponytails will be delighted at the sight of the beautifully presented breakfast sundaes.
They enjoyed them Norma — although they wanted something different after a couple of days. That’s to be expected though. 🙂
Definitely sweetens the sting of back-to-school!
How true!
A healthy way to start of end their day. Good luck on the new school year. BAM
Thanks Bam. Looks like you’ve been cooking up a storm in preparation for school as well. Hope your boys had a good start to the new school year!
What a gorgeous breakfast idea and it looks so tempting I’m sure your girls will be happier to get out of bed. I would love to have a glass of your sundae for an afternoon snack (I always crave something sweet about 4-5pm). Accidentally I have just had a home-made bar with oats and dried fruit (made especially for afternoon cravings). It gives so much energy and is certainly healthy!
I often crave something sweet in the afternoon as well Sissi. Will you be posting on your oat bar? I am always looking for new granola bar/oat bar type recipes for snacks during the week. Athough I still buy them, I try as best I can to provide “real” snacks for school. Nothing is perfect though!
What a great idea for getting the girls out of bed! My kids would absolutely love these – especially Miss A. I hope the first week of school is off to a great start! Miss A and Mr. N are both at the same school – it does make things SO much easier!
Oh Kristy, I’m beyond excited about the same school. Hard to imagine that something that sounds so simple can bring so much joy, isn’t it? Ten to 15 extra minutes on either end of the day are precious! The first week went well for us — hopefully Miss A and Mr N are adapting well to their new routines also!
I certainly wouldn’t be disappointed to come downstairs to that!!! I love that you’ve made your own granola too – I’m going to try it using this recipe. Thank you =]
There are times when it would be nice to come downstairs to something someone else has made. Do you dream of that too? Hope you are settling into your new kitchen nicely.
Do you think this would help get my teenager out of bed? (I’d try almost anything!)
I’m afraid that I’m a novice at teenagers. Maybe if the sundaes were being served for their friends as well?
Love this Barb!! I’d wake up and make haste to the kitchen table too if I knew I was having a sundae for breakfast. 🙂 Great idea!!
Thanks Karista! I’m must confess that I’d run to the kitchen table if someone made me one too. As much as I like to cook, it is always a treat when someone makes something for you!
Great breakfast to come down to. A healthy sundae that still feels like a treat! That time when there’s only one drop off seems almost like a miracle. I remember that moment. GG
Miracle really is the perfect word GG. How old are your kids? I’m wondering if the one drop off milestone was a while back?
My daughter will surely jump out of bed for a breakfast like this one!
She started 3rd grade last week and I can totally relate to the excitement
Wishing your little ones a wonderful year
Good to know that you havce a daughter who is similar in age to my eldest ponytail (she’s in grade 2). I’m always on the look-out for new dishes that are kid-friendly — as their tastes change constantly. Today’s favourite dish is tomorrow’s turn-off. Here’s to a great year for your daughter as well.
Do you use salted or unsalted pistachios? Lovely blog you have here 🙂
Thanks so much for dropping by! I used unsalted pistachios for this recipe! I’m passing along your blog to my Danish colleague at work!