I love the feeling of throwing away junk mail.

I’m thrilled to weed through the stack after a visit to the mailbox.  I head straight for the trash, shredding as I go, and drop most of it in.

That way, junk mail rarely touches my counter. (unless my husband retrieves it, in which case, I find it tucked in every nook and cranny in the house)

Don’t worry, those of you in the junk-mail-business…I’m a good editor.  I am looking, I’m just speed-reading. I am well aware of the bounty of hidden nuggets to be found.

Like when I was the only one on my street to have the extra-large, rollaway recycling container. Apparently I was the only one to read the extras tucked within our utilities bill.

And then there’s the cool, motorcycle-driving piano teacher who does house calls that everyone wondered where I found. Uh….on a post-it note in my mailbox, duh! I can’t even name the countless deals and restaurants we’ve discovered the same way. None of them, however, can compare to the rewarding recipe I came across recently in a random mailer.

The perfect, kids-die-for-it, mothers-can-sneak-healthy stuff in Parfait :

The recipe (from a hospital’s ‘newsy’ letter) suggested layering Rice Krispies, Orange-juice-tinted-yogurt, and mandarin oranges for a Creamsicle Parfait.

Or- yogurt, peanut butter and jelly, and Rice Krispies for a PB&J Parfait. Both incredibly clever.

Recipes, for me, are guidelines. Here is the Parfait shake down in our house:

The Clementine – watch your kids go wild!

Layer: Fruity Pebbles (you read it correctly), Greek Vanilla Yogurt (about 5 times higher protein), and Clementine oranges

The Elvis – the kids watch you go wild!

Layer: Fruity Pebbles, Greek Vanilla Yogurt, homemade almond butter (okay, peanut butter is fine), bananas and drizzle with honey

Oh how I love junk mail!