If you build it…

I will eat it.

Now since I want you to get it just right; here’s how to build the most be-udi-ful breakfast bowl.

Assemble your team.  I like a balance of textures, so I went with an apple, a pear, The Greek Gods plain greek yogurt, and Udi’s gluten free Original granola.  If the granola didn’t have dried fruit and nuts already in it, they would have been supplemented by moi.  Fortunately, Udi’s granola is legit enough to already contain the goods. 

I loved Udi’s Au Naturel flavored granola (seriously top notch stuff) so I was pretty sure the original flavor would be a treat for my taste buds, too.

And I was right.  It had the distinct crunch of a true granola (as opposed to the raw oaty muesli texture that Alvarado Street’s granola has).  Plus, it had dried fruit (love) and a hint of crispy golden sweetness coating the face of each whole rolled oat. 

Ingredients: certified gluten free oats, wildflower honey, canola oil, raisins, banana chips, walnuts, cashews, almonds and pistachios.

Nuts much? 

I was scared at first because I don’t like walnuts.  At.  All. 

Lucky for me, they weren’t the dominant nut.  There were cashews and raisins aplenty, with beautiful clusters of oats and pistachios.  I love clusters.

To create this divine bowl of perfection, I simply added the chopped apple and pear to a bowl of greek yogurt…

Added cinnamon…

And then topped the whole thing off with Udi’s granola. 

It only slightly beats out the Au Naturel Udi’s flavor.  Udi’s makes so damn fine granola.  And although I keep wavering back and forth, I think this may beat out Frog Hollow Farm’s granola for the top spot.  It’s a close call.  Frog Hollow Farm’s granola did have some massive clusters that I loved, but it also had whey derivatives.  Both have honey, which makes them not vegan. 

The Greek Gods greek yogurt was a new purchase for me as well.  I’ve never had such thick greek yogurt.  I usually buy whichever brand is on sale at Whole Foods (which tends to be Fage or Chobani), so when I saw how cheap this was I figured I’d give it a go.  I don’t have the ability to discern any subtle flavor differences in plain yogurt, so all I have to go on is texture and this was thick and a great mixer for the fruit and granola. 

Anyway, the whole combo was so good that I had three more bowls after.  I hate when my granola/cereal bags/boxes are nearly gone after one sitting :(  It’s a common occurrence with me.

The good news was that this magnanimous breakfast/lunch held me over for a morning filled with errands.  I was all over the place trying to get my life in order, but eventually I put a pause on the chaos for some me time.  And by that I mean a 30 minute jog to the ocean and back.  It was great to breathe in the crisp winter air.  My lungs felt wonderfully painful as I sucked in the harsh air.  It reminded me of my soccer days. 

This is what I like the fruit basket to look like.  But even though it was all stocked up, I was still in need of a few key things…which required a Costco date.

I met my girlfriend for a semi-quick run through (it’s very helpful to have a friend with you to stay on point in such a store).  Even though I had a list already made (which I was ordered to strictly adhere to since we have zero room in our budget for my foodie impulse buys), I still managed to take a few detours in certain aisles.  The most depressing part of this non-story is that I left without ANY hummus or falafel.  Huge fail on Costco’s part, not keeping such essentials in stock.  Unacceptable.  I’m still sad about it.  Sure I’ll get over it sooner or later, but for now I plan on wallowing for a few more hours.

I had two oranges (from my parents’ trees) and an apple once I got home and then got dinner under way.  Since I had falafel on the brain, you can probably guess what I wanted…

The last four falafel balls.  :(  Sad. 

I bought these falafel from Costco in August and froze them so they wouldn’t go bad (it would be rather hard – even for me – to consume 45 falafel balls in such a short amount of time.  I believe the brand is Republic and I highly recommend them.  They were quite tasty for a reheated food that wasn’t meant to be a frozen food item (I bought them in the refrigerated section).  They easily thaw within minutes and tast magnificent too.  Crispy on the outside without drying out on the inside.  Much better than WF’s falafel.  So you understand why I’m so bent out of shape not being able to find such an item.  Cheap AND yummy?  Now I’m on a mission.

Anyway, I made some hummus to go with it.  I used the same method I mentioned here. 

I refilled that little dish many many times because I like my veggies caked in chickpea goodness. 

Even after the carrots, mushrooms, and squash were gone, there was still extra hummus, so you know how I handled that (with Alvarado Street sprouted bread).  I may have had an extra serving of butternut squash somewhere in there as well…because I still have 10 or so left. 

For dessert, I couldn’t decide between sweet or savory.  Such a dilemma.  I chose both. 

Mitica nuts are like a Spanish cocktail mix.  Or corn nuts.  They are salty as all hell, which is why they are so dang addicting.  This mix had soooo many different kinds of nuts and beans in it, I was loving each more than the last.  The big fava beans and garbanzos were soft and kind of melted in my mouth, whereas the corn nuts and almonds crunched in a major way.  I couldn’t stop eating them!!

But I still wanted the sweetness of chocolate, so I turned to dark chocolate covered almonds as a night cap. 

Plus tea.  Lots and lots of tea.