Sour Cherry Berry Breakfast Bowl

Recently, I was gifted the most beautiful sour cherries by my friend Carolyn, who is also a chef herself (check out her site here!). She mentioned she turned around for a minute, and her kids ended up harvesting 13 pounds in no time, which makes me the lucky one...since she ended up sharing with me. 

Little did she know that sour cherries are very dear to my heart. They are very popular in Romania and I remember growing up eating them every summer...sometimes, picking them as a little girl, from my grandmother's cherry infused liquor (I ended up just fine, never got drunk, I promise), in glorious vanilla pound cakes, or straight from the tree (and everyone seemed to have one). But in all of these, I ended up isolating the cherries, dismissing anything that was around them, and just enjoying their pure taste.

I have to admit, I had to force myself to make something with them. My desire was two eat them straight out of the bag, but I had to come up with something more interesting than that. Also the whole low-glycemic thing came into play...if I made pound cake, well, there's not enough stevia to make pound cake palatable. But here's what eventually did happen:

1. I made a berry crumble for my boys, and they loved it (not pictured) with the crumble topping from Minimalist Baker found here. (I also cut the sugar in 1/2 and mixed cherries with peaches, gooseberries, blueberries and strawberries...a potentially weird combo, but it rocked!)

2. I froze some for my sister (since she has to taste them, but she's returning from a trip in July), and gave some to my mother (who was beside herself, since she obviously spent more time in Romania than I have and she remembers sour cherries fondly). 

3. I made a yummy raw hazelnut vanilla torte with sour cherries and chickory flowers, which I'll be using in my wild edibles book (out whenever I get my act together...currently working on two others now). 

4. And last but not least, this sour cherry berry breakfast bowl. In love with the last sweet tart tastes of these beauties, and breakfast is complete. 

1/2 cup coconut yoghurt (plain or unsweetened vanilla)

1/2 cup almond milk, unsweetened

1/2 cup sour cherries, pitted

1/2 cup frozen strawberries

1 scoop chocolate classic protein powder (Sunwarrior, vegan, raw)

sprinkles of blueberries, unsweetened coconut flakes,  cacao nibs, and chia

Blend yoghurt, milk, berries and powder until smooth. Pour into your favorite bowl and decorate with blueberries, coconut, cacao and chia. Enjoy!

Fresh Coconut Acai Love Bowl

During this quarantine, we may be doing more home cleaning than before…and if you’re up to your elbows in your fridge, scrubbing and discovering items you’ve forgotten about, you may by chance stumble upon your frozen Acai packets. If that’s the case, you just SCORED! We’re making a lovely Acai bowl today.

You've probably seen the glorious photos of Acai Bowls everywhere...on instagram, Facebook, even in some healthy restaurants, made at home by those of us who want to eat healthy. Why do we need ONE more, you ask? Well, this one is loaded with good healthy fats (that keep you satisfied, help your hormones, etc.), and it's also low-glycemic ~ that's the important part! Many of our common Acai Bowls contain sweeteners and are loaded with sweet fruit. While this works for some people, I'd like to make the sugar down a bit and increase the healthy fats. You'll enjoy this delicious bowl of superfood goodness, giving you energy while keeping you away from the blood sugar rollercoaster! 

Acai is a berry that's touted as a superfood, containing fiber, heart-healthy nutrients, Vitamin C, healthy fats, antioxidants and capacities to help us detox (Because the benefits are just SO HUGE and too long to list in this post, here are two super useful and fun articles to read to further your knowledge on Acai : HERE and HERE).  But the bottom line is: Acai berries are delicious, and that's reason enough for us to eat them! Eat more of the good and less of the bad. This fiber-rich antioxidant bowl works really well as a morning breakfast or a mid-afternoon pick me up. 

Also, I've recently ordered fresh frozen coconut meat from Exotic Superfoods in hopes of making low-sugar raw desserts, but I haven't even gotten to that part yet ~ I've just been eating it straight out of the bag and it's absolutely delicious! I did buy the case, which can get expensive, but cutting into regular young thai coconuts and not knowing if they're fresh or not, sprayed with formaldehyde to keep the outside white, or low-yielding, then you have to clean the meat....It's a lot of work! I figured this saves me time, hassle, it's all clean, and I can taste the purity. 

Ingredients:

One packet of unsweetened Acai Berry Puree, defrosted (I like the Sambazon brand)

a few drops liquid stevia 

slivered almonds

blueberries

1/2 cup fresh raw coconut meat, sliced

chia seeds

bee pollen

In a bowl, pour out the Acai puree and stir in a few drops of the stevia. Start with three and taste as you go, making it sweet enough for you. Add in the rest of the ingredients, and eat with a spoon :)

That’s it! Besides, this makes a really good superfood treat in-between fridge cleaning sessions. Hope you enjoy it! Now, back to work.

Blue Ocean Creamsicle Chia Pudding

I’m going out on a limb to say that maybe you’re all pretty well versed with chia recipes, since there are thousands on the internet at this point. But maybe you’re not secure on the ratio of chia to water. Fret not, I’m here to help. You may also not be sure how to flavor it so it’s super delicious, and healthy for you. Fret not, I’ve got you covered there too. And on top of that, if you’d like to raise the superfood qualities of it adding in some seaweed power to make it pretty blue? I’ve got you there too. Read on.

Basic Recipe: My favorite ratio for chia pudding (one serving) is: 1 oz chia, 7 oz almond milk. You can use any kind of milk, actually, or even do 1/2 milk, 1/2 water, all of these are great choices.

Make it yummy: you can add in stevia (I choose not to since I buy unsweetened vanilla almond milk or make my own, and in both instances, I find it a little bit sweet). To make the creamsicle version of this, you’ll add 2 drops Young Living Vitality orange essential oil and a splash of vanilla extract of vanilla powder. Easy peasy! There, my friends, is my favorite way to make chia pudding.

Spruce it up: However, if you’re looking to make it over-the-top good for you, you can try adding in this gorgeous blue powdered spirulina. Trust me, you won’t taste it, but it will look like the ocean, and when you make your food pretty, it’s always a good thing. Spirulina (and all things green) are very good for you too, offering chlorophyl and protein. The brand I love the most is from Klamath Lake in Oregon, and you can learn more about it here (note it is an affiliate link, because I love them so much). You can also add in other powders that you like, such as maca, cinnamon, etc.

So, without further ado, here’s a quick recipe that a 10 year old can do. But trust me, you will want to eat it all up yourself. It basically tastes like an orange creamsicle that’s blue :)

1 oz chia seeds

7 oz almond milk (or milk of choice)

pinch salt

1 tsp vanilla extract, or a sprinkle of vanilla powder

sprinkle of cinnamon

2 drops Young Living Orange Vitality Essential oil (optional)

1 capsule (or 1.5, go crazy) blue Majik powdered seaweed (here’s the link again)

Ball jar

Combine all ingredients together in a ball jar. Give it a good shake and leave it on the counter for about 3 minutes. Shake it again, making sure there aren’t any lumps at the bottom. Refrigerate overnight and enjoy in the morning with some nuts, fruit, or anything else you’d like for breakfast. Alternatively, you can eat this during the day, just make sure it sits overnight in the fridge to solidify.

Light Breakfast Bowls

Breakfast is a funny thing. Sometimes I wake up and don't have to eat until 11:00 am. Sometimes I'm ravenous at 6:30 am. Most of the time, I keep it simple and just have a satisfying protein smoothie, but there are some days when I want something light and refreshing.

These are two of my signature bowls that I've made over and over and they fit the bill perfectly. The first is tart, sweet, and just the right thing when I need something to hold me over, but I'm not starving. The second is a little more substantial and holds me over for longer...but it still follows the same formula. Some fruit and almonds. Love the both and hope you enjoy them as much as I do! Interestingly enough, they're sweet enough (but low-glycemic) to pass for a dessert. 

GRAPEFRUIT ALMOND BREAKFAST BOWL:

1 grapefruit, cut in half, flesh scooped out

1 banana, sliced

a handful of pumpkin seeds.

Combine ingredients and enjoy.

COCONUT YOGHURT BLUEBERRY BOWL

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut yoghurt

1/2 cup blueberries

a handful of slivered almonds

Combine ingredients and enjoy.

Enjoy! And let me know what you're having for breakfast!