Healthy Eating

If you need a new idea for a healthy breakfast to start the first Monday of 2009, try this open-faced banana sandwich my college-age daughter made almost every morning she was home for the holidays. I promise, it’s yummy and probably not so bad for you — I mean, it’s got fruit, right? First, turn on the broiler to about 400 degrees. Then, toast some good sturdy bread to medium — just enough so it’s not soft. Spread the bread with peanut or almond butter and top with sliced bananas. Then sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon and broil until the sugar has caramelized. If you don’t overload the toast, it’s a great grab-and-go meal. If you can sit down and enjoy, add some cold milk and fresh fruit. And watch carefully while it’s under the broiler because it burns and then you have crunchy dots of black brown sugar instead of lovely pools of liquid goodness. Ask me how I know this. Go ahead, ask. Okay, I’ll admit that today is the first time I’ve made this by myself since she’s gone back to school, and although my daughter patiently and carefully took me through the steps of making this on my own, I blew it. A toasted banana/peanut butter disaster. Little crunchy bits of burnt brown sugar everywhere. Sigh.