Surprisingly, people have a lot of opinions when it comes to chia seeds. Who would have thought that such a little seed would elicit such strong feelings. I’m firmly in the chia fan club. Not because they taste delicious. To be honest they don’t really taste of anything. More because chia seed puddings, when made right can taste delicious and make for a really great breakfast. It’s all about what you do with them!
So, for the past four or five months my go-to breakfast has been a frozen berry smoothie bowl, complete with protein powder, nut butter, cashew nut milk and chia seeds. All blended and topped with homemade granola. I love this breakfast as it’s high in protein, tastes pretty good I literally don’t get hungry, even if I’m running late for lunch. As the weather gets colder, I’m not loving it as much! The frozen berry part is a little too frozen for my liking. I’ll have it some of the time, but I want other options too. Step forward the usual suspects such as porridge and eggs. But also step forward Chia Bowls. Make them in advance and they are a really handy breakfast. This one is made with my favourite of all the nut milks, cashew nut milk. I make my own by just blending one cup of soaked cashew nuts with four cups of water. You don’t have to strain it like you do with almond milk. For this Chia Bowl, I also add blueberries, lemon zest for some… well zest…, maple syrup and a pinch of sea salt. I’ve allowed for 1-2 tablespoons of maple syrup depending on how sweet you like it. To top it all off, add a few dollops of homemade apple sauce. The end result is a pretty nutritious and tasty breakfast. Granted there’s a little bit of prep work the night before, but in the morning it’s all ready and couldn’t be handier.
Homemade apple sauce is one of those things that you need to make. Make a batch once a week by cooking some apples in a little water and then blitzing into a sauce. Keep it in your fridge and use it as a natural sweetener on porridge, with yogurt or… as in this case with Blueberry Chia Bowls.
This recipe makes 2 portions of the Blueberry Chia Bowl, but enough apple sauce to fill a whole jar. If you like, double up the Chia Bowl ingredients to make enough to last you the week. It will keep in the fridge for around five days.
Scroll on for the recipe for my Blueberry Chia Bowls with Apple Sauce.
Blueberry Chia Bowls with Apple Sauce
(serves 2)
Ingredients
5 tbsp whole chia seeds
400 mil cashew nut milk
1/2 cup blueberries
1-2 tbsp maple syrup
Zest of a lemon
1-2 tbsp maple syrup
6 Apples
To serve:
Drizzle of maple syrup
Granola or mixed seeds
Method
Place the chia seeds, cashew nut milk, blueberries, maple surup lemon zest and a pinch of a salt in a large bowl. Stir well. Note that it is important to stir the mixture straight away to avoid the chia seeds clumping together. Also a fork works better than a spoon in this regard.
Place the chia seed mixture in a container in the fridge for at least four hours to set.
To make the apple sauce, peel and core the apples. Cut them into bite size pieces and place in a medium size saucepan. Add a small amount of water, just enough to cover the apple. Cook the apples over a medium heat for approximately 25 minutes or until they are soft. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Either, use an immersion blender or a regular blender to blend the apples into a puree. Transfer to a jar and store in the fridge. Note that this recipe makes a jar of apple sauce and leftovers can be used on porridge or with icecream or yogurt.
To serve, spoon the chia seed pudding into bowls. Add a tablespoon of apple sauce to each bowl, a drizzle of maple syrup and a little granola or toasted seeds.
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