Daly - Siriously delicious: 100 nutritious (and not so nutritious) simple recipes for the real home cook

Acknowledgments

To my brilliant cookbook editor, Anja Schmidt. Thank you for holding my hand through this foreign process and for understanding when life got tough and extensions were needed. You=the best.

To the incomparable Ellen Silverman, photographer extraordinaire, who makes standing on top of an island with a camera look effortless. Thank you for beautifully capturing my chaotic kitchen.

Thanks to the talented crew of recipe developers, testers, photographers and stylists down in Birminghams Time Inc. Food Studios.

To Allison Chi and Matt Ryan for making my book look the way I always dreamt it would.

To so many others at Time Inc., including Melissa Brown, Paden Reich, Greg Amason, Mary Ann Laurens, Jacqueline Giovanelli and Dolores Hydock... I humbly thank you all. And to the PR and marketing team, Danielle Costa, Amanda Lipnick and Kourtney Sokmen...thank you for helping me sell this thing!

To the team at Dixon Talent: James Babydoll Dixon, Dan Bodansky and Ben Taren. Thank you for your guidance and unwavering support.

To the Clutterbucks: Thank you for generously offering your home up, even though you had just moved and discovered you were pregnant with your third child. Canadians > Americans.

To Savannah Guthrie for writing my Foreword: Thank you for your kind friendship and interest in browning butter. And to the support of Catherine McCord, Jenna Bush Hager and Jimmy Kimmel...you are all super human beings.

To the unshakable Laurie Brandt, who can do ANYTHING: You are our rock.

To our fantastic nanny Priscilla (or YaYa as the kids call her)...Thank you for giving me the greatest gift: TIME, and for fiercely loving and protecting my children.

To so many friends: my Real Moms In Grey, my Congo Moms (because we live in a jungle?), my Cali Breakfast Club, the Manhasset Boat Crew...all of you know who you are, and I value your friendship like I value air.

To my family. ALL OF YOU. Your support means everything.

To Kiki and Pops, our guardian angels: I miss you every day, and I feel your love deep in my bones.

To my children, Jackson, Etta and London: You are my greatest accomplishment, nothing else compares. Thank you for putting up with Mommy always working at her computer or in the kitchen. I hope one day youll eat broccoli.

To my husband, Bingo (I married a clown): Thank you for being in my corner. I love you. Bloggity bloggity.

And finally, to YOU! There would be no book without you. Thank you!

ONE

Wakey Wakey!

Good Morning! Rise and Shine! Wakey Wakey, Eggs and Bakey! Am I irritating you yet? The truth is, hearing any of these early morning expressions before coffee and something to eat is simply disturbing. While they are meant to motivate your day, words are not enough. Coffee. Coffee and food are enough, and then enthusiasm may follow. All of this is coming from a morning person, by the way. I truly enjoy that crack of dawn atmosphere...the quiet promise of a new day, a fresh start, or as my mother-in-law used to say, another chance to get it right.

Of course, the best part of mornings for me is that small window of time when my kids are still asleep, my husband is at work, and I can collect my thoughts and plans for the day...with my best friend Coffee, obviously. Then, just like that, chaos ensues. Everyone wakes up, and everyone is hungry. Enter, the most important meal of them all: breakfast, the delicious and nutritious fuel your body requires to kick-start the day. Whether you drink it, spread it on toast, scramble it up, or sprinkle it with powdered sugar, breakfast has much to offer. From the sweet to the savory, it fills our sleepy bellies and wakes up our foggy minds, preparing us to take on anything! Too much? Okay, sure, it might not always be that simple. I still have to practically spoon-feed my oldest child in the morning because he seems to constantly move in slow motion. Or I often get the Im not hungry retort where Im left shoving food down their mouths as they walk to the bus. And once they are finally in school, I will suddenly realize that my stomach is empty and Im starving and grumpy. Like so many families, were all eating different things at different times so Ive developed a variety of recipes to make breakfast as efficientand yummyas possible.

This chapter has something for any palate and any circumstance, from those busy, eat-on-the-go occasions to those lazy, weekend mornings when breakfast becomes brunch. There are kid-friendly options like . You guys, we live in a world where it is acceptable to eat that for breakfast! This makes me happy. Many of these recipes would even make the perfect Breakfast for Dinner, in which case I say, Winner, Winner, Breakfast Dinner! (I dont really say that).

No matter what mood youre in, the ingredients available to you, or the time you have to work with, you will find something you love within this chapter. Now go forth, and seize the day! (Or at the very least, pour yourself some coffee.) Cock-a-Doodle-Doo!

Tropical Green Smoothie with Fruit and Granola

There was a time in my life when I would have made fun of a green smoothie. Probably around the same time that I frequented tanning beds and only did laundry once a week. If youre not familiar with this time period, its usually around 22 to 26 years of age when you dont really take care of yourself (my skin hates that twenty-something self). Now that Im old and wise, I am ALL about a good smoothie...the greener, the better. Should we talk about why smoothies are so conveniently nutritious? Nothing is easier to whip up because all you need is a good blender. I mean it, you really cant mess them up. The flavor combinations are endless. Almost all of them are packed with vitamins, minerals, healthy proteins and antioxidants. Also, you can drink them in a glass or serve them in a shallow bowl, topped with fresh fruits, granola, seeds and shaved coconut. This particular smoothie gets its tropical sweetness from the pineapples and grapes, its creaminess from the coconut milk and avocado, and its Why is this so good?! from the fresh ginger. It lends the perfect punch to this perfect breakfast. Take THAT, younger self.

Serves 2

Hands-on time: 10 minutes

Total time: 10 minutes

3 cups loosely packed baby kale or spinach leaves

2 cups frozen pineapple chunks

2 cups unsweetened refrigerated coconut milk

1 cup fresh seedless green grapes

1 cup ice cubes

1 teaspoons minced fresh ginger

1 medium-sized ripe avocado

Combine all of the ingredients in a blender; process until smooth, stopping and scraping down the sides of the blender as needed. Divide the mixture between 2 glasses, and serve immediately.

Siriously Simple

To make for simple assembly in the mornings, combine small plastic containers of premeasured fruits and veggies in your refrigerator and your freezer, so you can just toss in the blender and go. Refrigerate: avocado, kale, grapes, and coconut milk. Freeze: pineapple chunks.

Siriously Mini

I love to freeze green grapes for snack time because kids think they taste like mini popsicles! For the real little ones, slice them in half before freezing.

Mini Frozen Fruit and Yogurt Parfaits

Its a well-known fact that my children are picky eaters. After taking a bite of an apple, my youngest daughter was once famously quoted saying, There is too much apple in this apple. (Then she spit it out, if you must know.) Of course as they get older, their palates expand and they are less afraid of trying things, but Im always on the lookout for fun recipes that star fruits or vegetables. Enter: these cute bite-sized frozen parfaits. You assemble everything in a mini muffin pan, starting with your favorite crunchy granola, adding creamy Greek yogurt and topping it all off with sweet pieces of fruit. Once frozen, they are the perfect on-the-go breakfast or any-time-of-day treat.