Some of you may know that I’m not much of a breakfast person - I don’t get hungry until mid-morning, and I try to honor my hunger cues (or lack thereof). So, that means sometimes I don’t eat for a few hours after waking, and other days, I feel like having something and will make some breakfast. But more often than not, I skip breakfast and generally have a bigger lunch and dinner. I find myself feeling pretty sluggish by 3-4 PM most days, so I started to question whether or not my meals needed some tweaking.
When I recently saw my physician, I asked him if I should be eating breakfast, even if I’m not hungry. He said that it would probably be a good idea, as it can help decrease insulin resistance throughout the day. So, I find myself now making breakfast most days and I’m actually enjoying playing around with different morning meals that are satisfying, nutritionally balanced and quick.
One of my new favorites is this Vanilla Berry Chia Oat Parfait. I have long loved both overnight oats and chia puddings and recently came up with this parfait that combines the two! It also is a great way to sneak in those antioxidant rich, cancer fighting dark berries that I love so much. This breakfast is gluten free, high in fiber and protein, naturally sweetened with dates and fruit and very packable (perfect for travel, commuting, on-the-go moms/dads and school snacks).
I love using dark berries in this recipe for the summer, but feel free to sub in any seasonal fruit - apples, pomegranates and pears are a great cold-weather sub, or ripe peaches would be an awesome stand-in during late summer.
Vanilla Berry Chia Oat Parfait
Recipe by Lauren Kretzer (www.laurenkretzer.com; Instagram @lauren_kretzer)
Serves 2
Ingredients:
½ cup cashews (soaked overnight, if not using a high speed blender)
¼ cup pitted dates, coarsely chopped
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
1 ½ cups water
½ cup old fashioned rolled oats
3 Tbsp chia seeds
1 ½ cups mixed berries (such as blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and blackberries)
Instructions:
In a blender, add cashews, dates, vanilla extract, salt, cinnamon and water. Blend on high until completely smooth, about 1 minute. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, add rolled oats and chia seeds. Whisk to combine. Pour in cashew date milk on top of the chia oat mixture and stir to combine. Let mixture stand for 10 minutes, stirring once or twice to prevent clumping. Cover tightly and transfer to refrigerator – let chill for at least 5 hours or overnight. The chia oat mixture should thicken substantially.
When ready to serve, layer a heaping 1/3 cup of berries at the bottom of a glass tumbler. Add ½ cup of chia oat mixture, and repeat to form an additional layer of berries and chia oat mixture. Serve immediately. Reserve remaining ingredients to form a second parfait for a future breakfast.