Start Your Morning Right

I am a big believer that breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day. It gives you energy for the morning and gets your metabolism jump started for the day as well. It also helps ward off the desire for extra evening snacks, which sometimes take the place of the third meal when breakfast isn't included in the morning - and these snacks aren't nearly as nutritious as breakfast probably would have been.

When I was growing up I always had Cheerios for breakfast. If I don't fry up a pan of eggs from our chickens, I continue to have my Cheerios at breakfast time. Actually, we have Toastios or Tasty-o's. They are close enough but also get to be expensive. I would like to be able to eat oatmeal to still get my whole grains, but I never had it growing up and find it hard to enjoy now. Thankfully, both of my kids eat it.

In addition to the oatmeal providing whole grains for them, I also take the opportunity to fill some of their fruit requirements for the day. As I boil the water, I drop some raisins in. After I cook the oatmeal, I stir in some applesauce. Fruit and whole grains are something that I think is left out of a lot of diets, so I feel like this is a good breakfast for them, and they love it.

Adding the raisins and applesauce, however, raises the price of their breakfast. I don't want to sacrifice their nutrition for money so I set my mind on canning some applesauce this year.

We were visiting my parents on Tuesday, and they have been saving apples for me from their tree. My mom and I worked through the evening canning applesauce. We sliced the apples, cut out the bad spots, cooked them down, blended them up, and canned them.

I left the skins on the apples for added nutrients and flavor. They cooked down nicely. I chose not to add any acid to stop oxidation, but with leaving the skins on, the jars have a nice red blush to them - although the photo below doesn't catch it well.

This is the first time I have canned apples, and I am really happy with what we ended up with. The taste is incredible! Much better than store bought. Although we won't have enough for the year, the 20 pints we canned will last quite awhile. I am excited to do more next year, and I just might start eating oatmeal for breakfast myself now.