In any regard, my intention with my family, is to make breakfasts both nutritious AND fun! And I'm thinking that "Breakfast Parfaits" sound like a awful lot of fun and deliciousness in one meal. Sounds like dessert, but it's healthy and a great way to start your day.
We get so stuck in food ruts at our house. We have the same breakfast day after day, that my littlest daughter has begun to refuse eating breakfast. I think I'm dropping the ball as a mom. But no more!
This parfait will be composed of homemade granola, plain yogurt, fruit & some sweetener like honey or maple syrup if need be... stacked up in a gorgeous glass parfait cup. What kid, or adult, could resist?
Today's granola recipe is adjusted from this one here. I added shredded coconut & ground flax seeds, and I used honey & maple syrup for my sweeteners, along with coconut oil for the fat.
What I have been learning is that once you realize that granola is a formula (actually many versions of the formula), you can add almost anything you want. Here are two I found: Formula 1 & Formula 2.
Because I never like to follow directions entirely, I took all the ideas from many different formulas to make my own. It's a whole lot like... throw in some of this, some of that, etc. My kind of cooking.
I started with 4 cups of oats (because that seemed like a reasonable amount), added 1 cup shredded coconut, and 1/2 cup ground flax seeds.
In a separate bowl I added 1/3 cup warmed coconut oil, 1/3 cup honey & 1/3 cup of maple syrup. I also added a large splash of vanilla extract.
Then I added the liquid to the dry and stirred together till you could see that everything was fully coated. I cooked it at 350 degrees for about 20 or so minutes, checking and stirring every 10 minutes or so.
It really looks and smells delicious! I couldn't help myself as I grabbed handful after handful and crammed it in my mouth. I know, not very lady-like of me. But it was good and I guess I was hungry.
Now onto the parfait part.....
This is the easy part. First I put some granola in the bottom of the parfait glass (Yes I actually have fancy ice cream glasses... I picked them up at the thrift store!). Then I covered that with plain yogurt, sliced bananas, and a drizzle of maple syrup. Rinse repeat, to make up two lovely layers of yummy goodness!
How can you resist!!?
I have to say it was delicious!! Even my picky toddler loved it. I guess breakfasts are a go again.
Don't forget to get creative! There are somewhere around a million different combinations you can make (okay I made that up). You are only limited by your imagination. Try different things in the granola, like sliced almonds, or sunflower seeds. Use a different oil, or different sweeteners. And the same goes for the parfait part.... add different fruits, flavors of yogurt, anything!
Have fun!!
This is linked to Real Food Wednesday by Kelly the Kitchen Kop
