Hi everyone!
It’s Rosanna here with my weekly recipe blog for SoSueMe readers, and today is all about BREAKFAST!
While weekday breakfasts are usually pretty hectic, I love to enjoy a relaxed brunch at the weekends. This recipe looks pretty complicated, but it’s actually simple enough to make on busy mornings too! It’s sure to impress family and friends.
I love this granola because it’s free from refined sugar, oil and gluten and made from just three main ingredients – dates, oats and cinnamon, with a little vanilla added to sweeten it up. It’s so simple to make and I usually prepare a big batch in the evening time, which lasts us for a few days… depending on how hungry we are!
It works so well sprinkled on smoothies, as well as drenched in ice-cold almond milk and eaten like a bowl of cereal.
The chia pudding is one of my favourite ever breakfasts and snacks! Chia seeds are an incredible food for your skin, hair, nails and building lean, sexy, toned muscles. They’re packed with essential omega-3 fats for smooth, supple skin, plus plenty of amino acids, fibre and minerals including iron, calcium and magnesium. They’re also a good source of the mineral copper, which helps to keep grey hairs at bay and produces the melanin in our skin that gives us that sun-kissed summer glow!
I topped the chia and granola combo with blueberries and raspberries. All types of berries are rich in antioxidants, which help to protect your skin from the early signs of ageing. Hurray! I try to include them in my diet everyday for the most benefits! 🙂
Creamy Vanilla Chia Pudding with Coconut-Cinnamon Granola & Frozen Berries
Ingredients:
For the chia pudding:
4 tbsp chia seeds
1 tsp vanilla extract
180ml (3/4 cup) low-fat coconut milk or unsweetened almond milk
For the granola:
150g (1 cup) dates, pitted and soaked for 15 minutes in warm water to soften
120g (3/4 cup) porridge oats (look out for the gluten-free version)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp cinnamon
splash of unsweetened almond milk, to blend (optional)
Fresh or frozen blueberries and raspberries, to serve
Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 200C and lightly grease a large baking tray with coconut oil.
2. Place the chia seeds in a jar or bowl, add the vanilla extract and then pour your choice of plant milk on top, making sure the seeds are well submerged. Stir well and set aside for 10 minutes to allow them to swell up.
3. Drain the soaked dates well and place them in a blender or food processor (I use a food processor) with the oats, vanilla and cinnamon. Blend until a thick, sticky ‘dough’ forms. You may need to add a splash of almond milk to help it to blend if using a blender.
4. Transfer this mixture to the baking tray and spread out into bite-size pieces using your fingers. Break up any big lumps.
5. Bake at 200C for 12-15 minutes until golden-brown. Allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.
6. The chia seeds should have swollen up and absorbed the creaminess of the plant milk and the sweet vanilla flavour. Stir again well, then top with a handful of the granola and pile up the berries.
7. Serve decorated with a sprig of fresh mint.
Don’t forget, you can follow Rosanna Davison Nutrition on on Facebook and her official website!
