Yogurt Parfaits

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I refuse to skip it! Actually, I am starved in the morning, because I usually do not eat after supper. While adults need this important meal, kids need it even more. As they are  growing their bodies and developing brains need a regular intake of food. When kids skip breakfast, they can end up going too long without food, and this can create a lot of physical, intellectual, and behavioral problems for them.

These attractive breakfast parfaits can entice even the pickiest eater. You can be creative when making these, choosing fruits they like and even trying new ones! Start with Greek vanilla yogurt. Most brands offer 13-14 grams of protein per serving. Serve these in a see-through glass bowl or goblet to make them seem even more special!

I chose fresh pomegranate seeds and frozen organic wild blueberries for my fruit. I layered those with yogurt, granola and sliced almonds.

This breakfast was the perfect fuel for our hike in the mountains. Of course, I packed trail mix and water too….

We have this little book describing day hikes in Phoenix, so I picked one that I thought I had taken my sister and niece on a few years ago. I faintly remember it being easy hiking with beautiful scenery. The book said it was almost 4 miles long. (I didn’t remember it being that long, but oh well…I was sure it was the same one) My honey said he trusted me on this one, although the summit hikes always entice his manhood. (Why is it that men feel the need to master a mountain?) This was called the Squaw Peak Circumference Hike and it makes a wide circular 3.75 mile hike around Squaw Peak. The book said, “this hike is one of the best kept hiking secrets in the area, offering solitude and gorgeous scenery in the midst of urban Phoenix.” It started out with gentle inclines but before long we were huffing up switchbacks and climbing large boulders. Just when we thought we were done climbing and starting to descend, around a corner they fooled us and we were climbing again. Here some hikers took our photo with my phone and informed us that we still had 2 hours to go!

This was not the nature hike I took my sister on…but we hiked on!

At one point we realized we had taken a wrong turn and ended up retracing about 10 minutes of our steps. My honey was enjoying every minute of this adventure, gently teasing me about my nature hike! After about 30 minutes of steep climbing this was my posture…

Two plus hours later we joined up to the Squaw Peak Summit hikers and heading down the slope! The book was not joking when it said this was a 3 hr. hike, but it was lying when it said it was an easy hike. However, it was a beautiful day and the scenery was breathtaking. And I realize one thing…I need  to bump up my training to prepare for the big Grand Canyon hike that we have scheduled this September with a group of friends!