I read an article a little while back that claimed that there are two kinds of people: those that thrive on variety and crave novelty, and those that prefer the predictability and comfort of the same routine day after day. While I tend to get bored very easily, I do stick to routines for the more practical parts of life. Like grocery shopping, for example! I know which stores have the items on my list and even where the items are located inside those stores. That saves me time which, with my grocery-store-hating little people in tow, is precious.

When I was asked to create a healthy breakfast recipe for Save Mart Supermarkets, I had to try something new.

I had never been to Save Mart before this week and I was pleasantly surprised to find that the customer service was great and I was able to find all of the ingredients that I needed for the breakfast oatmeal bars that I had dreamed up for this challenge!

For my breakfast recipe, I wanted to create something that could be a grab-and-go breakfast for busy families and something that was easy to make with simple, familiar ingredients. For everyone that says that healthy food is weird or hard to make or contains ingredients that are impossible to find, this is for you! These bars are super healthy, vegan, and gluten free. In spite of all that, though, they are moist and yummy and made from easy-to-find, simple ingredients which can be purchased in any mainstream grocery store (including Save Mart!).

Breakfast Oatmeal Bars
Makes 9 vegan, gluten-free bars

2 cups old-fashioned oats
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup non-dairy milk (almond, soy, rice, coconut, etc.)
1 large extra-ripe banana
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons nut butter (almond, peanut, etc.)
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1/2 cup non-dairy yogurt (soy, almond, coconut, etc.)
1/2 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)

I know I promised you guys this recipe awhile ago and I know that fancy holiday meals have passed, however, this is a keeper!

One of my very favorite restaurants recently went out of business. I was so sad to hear that I would no longer be able to go there but I was happy to know that, in the midst of things closing due to financial woes, this was because the owners had decided to retire. This recipe was inspired by their special occasion prix fixe menu that was a celebratory meal for anniversaries, holidays, and birthdays for us on multiple occasions. I already miss their amazing service, cozy dining room, and delicious food.

These Wellingtons make such a nice centerpiece to a vegan meal (far better, in my opinion, than fake turkeys). They are not difficult to make but do take some time. I recommend serving them topped with mushroom gravy and along side roasted veggies and mashed potatoes.

Individual Braised Tempeh Wellingtons

Truffled Cashew Cheese: Prepare truffled cashew cheese per the recipe, here. Include 1 tsp liquid smoke (optional) and refrigerate until you're ready to assemble the Wellingtons.

Braised Tempeh

Duxelles

My house is really quiet right now and there is a light rain falling outside. I'll be honest, it doesn't suck! Over the past few months life seems to have gotten busier. Not overtly but more in a things-are-leaking-in-from-all-sides sort of way. The little blocks of time I have for myself seem to have shrunken or, rather, are filled with things that feel more consuming than enriching. Bouncing from dry cleaning stops to meetings to homework to email checking, time has to be well-scheduled and tasks prioritized. I crave big blocks of time for writing and reading and projects and little blocks of time for coffee with friends and quiet dinners with my husband. This phase of life is messy and busy and squeezy but it is beautiful too. My boys still believe in magical things like Santa and still have so many first-times that light up their faces and make them say, "oh guacamole!" (a phrase coined by my youngest). We have done a lot of exploring (my word for 2012) this year and I am very thankful for that. My life is full of "too-good-to-be-trues" and realness too. We hike and laugh and play but we work and complain and run late and mess up the house too.

To keep healthy meals on the table amidst the "getting real" of life, I have to plan ahead. I have tried all kinds of meal planning- from walking the aisles of the grocery store to find things that look good, to planning a full month of meals ahead of time. I don't like to grocery shop for huge lists of things or go to the store every other day for just a few items. I've found that planning for about a week works well for me. I can pull a plan together fairly quickly and I don't need to shop for hours and hours to pull it off.

For my meal plan, I use a simple printable page (paper, despite my 12 years of IT experience!) that also helps me to build my grocery list. For the groceries, my husband and I share a common list using the Any List iPhone app. That works well for us!

Because I know you're busy too, I am sharing my meal planning template (with instructions), here.

<Template link removed.>

You'll see that each dinner has two lines- one blank and one labeled "kids". I try to give my kids what we are eating most of the time but they are simple eaters and don't care much for sauces and such. While my goal is to cook only one family meal (and to help my kids learn to love a wider variety of foods), I also give them at least one thing that I know they will eat along with the new stuff.

I'll be back soon with a recipe for vegan tempeh wellington!