Lemon Berry Chia Cereal - Two Ways!

Finally, a new recipe! It's been too long.

I won't be posting a menu for the next few weeks since the name of the game right now is use everything possible in the fridge AND pantry. I'm cooking every day but being spontaneous with what I make based on what fresh things I need to use and what dry goods they will pair well with. I like the challenge! I really don't like to waste food but I don't plan on packing that much of it when we move either, so we'll see how low I can get our stocks!

In the meantime, allow me to share with you my recent favorite breakfast. It's super healthy, super fast, and super delicious! I really hope you'll give this a try.

The last time I bought a box of cereal was a couple weeks after Estella was born. It was 50% off, organic, very low sugar gram for gram for a cereal, and was something I could easily eat during those first couple weeks when my body was adjusting to nursing and not being pregnant. All I wanted to do was look at my beautiful baby, and I was hungry constantly! Cereal was a great snack to have around. However, prior to that I hadn't purchased a box of cereal for years...Probably two. Reason being, there really aren't any boxed cereals that should be considered healthy.

If you're a cereal eater that's totally fine, but if you're looking for a healthy alternative, this chia "cereal" may do the trick. It doesn't have the same crunch as most cereals have, and if that's what you're looking for granola may be a better choice for you, but I LOVE this stuff. It's sweet from the fruit and honey if you use it, crunchy from the nuts on top, filling from the chia seeds, and has no refined sugar. It's very satisfying and should keep you full till lunch. That's a claim cereal cannot make, at least not for me.

Of course you can experiment with any fruits, nuts, seeds, or sweeteners that you like, but these two recipes came out great and I will continue to make them. I used frozen berries for this, and let me tell you why. I can buy organic frozen berries for half the price as conventional fresh berries. Since berries are on the dirty dozen list I always try to buy them organic, but they can be unaffordably expensive for me when they are fresh. For this recipe I think the frozen kind are great because they are sitting in the mixture overnight anyway, so you don't even need to take extra time to thaw them, and I find that the frozen kind impart more of their flavor than their fresh counterparts. So not only do they work for this recipe, I would even say they are a better choice. Suit yourself though.

I chose to make this a thinner consistency than the chia pudding recipes I've made, and I prefer it this way. The texture is more appealing to me like this. One again though, suit yourself. Use whatever ratio of chia seeds to milk that you think you'll like best. Also, I think either version would be great with coconut milk and/or coconut flakes but I didn't have any so I kept it simple. But as I said before, and say very often, experiment! I hope you like this recipe but I also hope that it inspires you to try similar combinations that are altered to be best for you and your taste buds. Happy cooking!

Lemon Berry Chia Cereal

Base Ingredients:

1 Tbsp chia seeds

1/2 cup milk

1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

1 Tbsp honey

Blueberry Version:

1/2 cup blueberries

1/2 - 1 banana, sliced

1 Tbsp. pecans

1 Tbsp. walnuts

Raspberry Version:

1/2 cup rapberries

1/2 - 1 banana, sliced

1 Tbsp. almonds

1 Tbsp. walnuts

Directions:
Place all the base ingredients plus berries of your choice in a glass jar with a lid. Shake vigorously until well combined. Place in the fridge overnight. When you are ready to eat breakfast, pour the contents of the jar into a bowl, place the sliced banana, and sprinkle the nuts on top. Enjoy!