I love to cook but don’t often blog about it. Today, I created something wonderfully delicious by accident, deserving to be in the what I learned today category. I made baked potatoes, asparagus, and sauteed broccoli rabe as my dinner, and was content to eat each individually, but, after I finished with the innards of the potatoes, leaving the yummy skins, I decided to put the veggies in the potato skin and eat it like a sandwich. The result: amazing. Read on for the recipe; there are some steps which add to the flavor of the dish.

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I just enjoyed a delicious salad made with the following ingredients (quantities are approximate):

• 1/2 large head chopped romaine
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 stalk celery, diced
• 1 large red bell pepper, diced
• 1/3 small can sliced beets, diced
• several artichoke hearts, diced
• 5 hearts of palm, diced
• 1/2 oz sunflower seeds
• 1 large plum tomato, diced
• 1 avocado, diced, large chunks
• 1 smallish sweet onion, diced
• Walden Farms Honey Dijon Dressing (Sugar Free, Calorie Free, Fat Free, Carb Free, Gluten Free) to taste
• pepper to taste

I used the Progressive International Fruit and Vegetable Chopper to diced the veggies and it works beautifully. With all the different colors, the salad has a beautiful presentation and a taste to match.

Here is an easy recipe that offers a wide range of latitude and still produces incredible results. What’s great about this is you know exactly what is in the cereal – none of those artificial colors and flavors nor any preservatives: all natural and all good.

Ingredients

• 3 cups oatmeal
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup butter (melted)
• choice of add-ins: raisins, chopped nuts, …

Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Spray a thin coat of cooking spray onto a large, non-stick cookie sheet.
• In a large glass bowl, combine all ingredients with a spatula until well blended.
• Spread the mixture onto the cookie sheet, keeping the mixture uniform in height.
• Place the cookie sheet in the oven and bake at 350°F for about 20 minutes, or until the oats have developed a nice golden color. Be careful not to brown or burn.
• When finished cooking, remove the cookie sheet and let rest to cool. Upon removal, the mixture will be soft, but as it cools, it will dry out and become hard. Wait at least 1/2 hour for the mixture to cool completely.
• When completely cool, scrape under the cereal with a spatua, breaking up the cereal into bite-sized pieeces.

Enjoy your cereal. It’s wonderful plain and even better mixed in with some low-fat vanilla yogurt (in place of milk).

Don’t be afraid to be creative – substitue different types and quantities of sweeteners. I have enjoyed molasses in place of the maple syrup. I also enjoy mixing in golden raisins and chopped almonds; any crunchy mix-in should work well.