Chocolate Berry Chia Pudding (GF + Vegan)

This chia pudding was born from a desire to eat something sweet, but not too sweet for breakfast. It’s creamy, dreamy, but not going to leave you feeling like your teeth are going to fall out or make your blood sugars crash by 10am. There’s healthy fats, it’s sweetened only with fruit, and you can easily meal prep it ahead of time to make mornings a breeze.

Chocolate Berry Chia Pudding

• 1 1/2 cups almond milk 

• 3 medjool dates, pits removed

• 4 cups frozen mixed berries 

• 3 tablespoons coconut butter or almond butter 

• 1/2 cup cashews 

• 1/4 cup cocoa powder 

• 6 tablespoons chia seeds

• sprinkle of salt

Heat almond milk, berries and dates in a medium saucepan over medium high heat. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 5-6 minutes, just until the berries and dates have softened fully. Allow to cool slightly and then transfer to a food processor or high speed blender. Add in the cashews, cocoa powder, coconut butter, chia seeds and salt. Blend until all of the ingredients are fully combined. Transfer to an airtight container and allow to cool thoroughly in the refrigerate before serving. Use additional berries, nuts, nut butters, and coconut flakes for serving if desired. Keep in the fridge for up to 7 days.

If you prefer your pudding a bit sweeter I suggest adding a few more dates or topping it with a little bit of maple syrup when serving.

Blackberry + Orange Almond Flour Muffins with Streusel Topping (GF + Vegan)

Breakfast for me has always been a happy alternation between oatmeal and eggs. Both satisfying and simple but not always my favorite to whip together when I’m half awake. Sometimes what I really want to do is just grab a muffin. And is it too much to ask for that muffin to be more nutrient dense than your run of the mill cupcake-disguised-as-a-muffin situation? I say, heck no! Here is a recipe that brings plenty of feel-good nutrients together to carry you through your morning while still fully satisfying your muffin craving. The blackberries and orange flavors are so bright and refreshing and the streusel topping makes them feel EXTRA. Whip them up on a Sunday and grab them from the fridge and enjoy while you sip on your coffee throughout the week. Zero regrets.

Blackberry + Orange Almond Flour Muffins

Streusel Topping

• 1/2 cup almond flour

• 1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted

• 1 tablespoon maple syrup

Muffins

• 2 1/2 cups almond flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 4 tablespoons ground flaxseed

• 3/4 cup warm water

• 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted

• 2/3 cup maple syrup

• 2 tablespoons grated orange zest

• 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice

• 2 tablespoons vanilla extract

• 5 ounces blackberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a baking sheet for your streusel. Then either spray a muffin tin with non-stick spray or line with paper liners. I generally don’t have paper liners on hand so I just bake them directly in the pan and they turn out totally fine.

The streusel

Combine the almond flour, coconut oil, and maple syrup in a small bowl. Crumble the mixture onto the greased baking sheet and baking for about 18 minutes or until the streusel begins to brown. Remove from the oven and set aside.

The muffins

In a small bowl whisk together the ground flaxseed and warm water. Set aside and allow to gel together. In a large bowl, whisk together the almond flour, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl combine the flaxseed-water mixture, coconut oil, maple syrup, orange zest, orange juice, and vanilla. Mix the wet and dry ingredients together until you have a smooth batter. Fold the blackberries into the batter. Scoop the batter into 8-10 muffin tins depending on how full you like them. Sprinkle the streusel on the muffins and bake for 23-26 minutes. Remove the muffins from the oven and allow to cool completely. Store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Reheating before eating is completely optional, but my preference.

Overnight Chia Oats with all the toppings {GF + Vegan}

This breakfast falls into both my lazy breakfast and fancy breakfast categories. It’s fancy because, i mean, JUST LOOK AT IT! It might just seem like oats, but look at all the extra bursts of flavor and separate textures coming through. But here’s the secret, here’s why it’s lazy, it really just requires you to throw the ingredients in a mason jar or container of choice and then say SEE YA IN THE MORNING! No jokes. No gimics. That’s it.

I use this as my holy-crap-I-only-have-five-minutes-before-I-have-to-leave, but I could also definitely justify it as a “fancy breakfast” on the weekends. You can meal prep it on Sunday and eat on it all week. You can feel both a little lazy and a little fancy. Skeptical? I get it. But give it a try this week and I think you’ll be convinced.

Overnight Chia OatS

Serves 4-6

• 1/4 cup hemp seeds

• 1/4 cup chia seeds

• 1 cup oats

• 2 1/2 cups almond milk

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

• 1 tablespoon maple syrup

Optional

• peanut butter

• almond butter

• berries

• additional maple syrup

• nuts

• yogurt (I used this brand)

In a large mixing bowl combine the hemp seeds, chia seeds, oats, almond milk, vanilla, and maple syrup. Place the mixture in the refrigerator overnight or at least 2 hours. Remove the desired portion from the refrigerator and add toppings. In the winter i like to warm the mixture up and then add the toppings, but in the warmer part of the year i like eating it cold. Choose whatever appeals to you!

Weekend Waffles with Raspberry Orange Syrup (GF + Vegan)

Maybe to you me stating that I love Saturdays is like saying I love sunshine and I puppies. So obvious. For me though, the love is far less obvious. For the past three years I’ve worked as a wedding photographer which meant March-November my Saturdays were filled with commitments that required me take on grueling 16 hours days. It wasn’t always awful, but it wasn’t something I went to bed dreaming about waking up to go do. Saturdays were the day I longed to get behind me, not the day I counted down toward. There was so much dread surrounding this day that so many of my friends and family members longed for.

Today I have a different perspective. I recently transitioned out of the wedding industry into a job that requires MUCH less of my Saturdays and I like I am finally learning to love them again. Our current weekend rhythm is sleeping in until 8 or so, slowly making some coffee, reading a little, cleaning a little, running or going to a pilates yoga class, and then coming back home to make what I love to call “fancy breakfast”. The only thing really ever fancy about it is that it requires more effort than popping a piece of bread in the toaster. It’s never anything back breaking, but it’s always something a little extra special. These gluten-free waffles with raspberry orange syrup fit the bill and have made their appearance multiple times at “fancy breakfast”. Although the list of ingredients may seem lengthy, these waffles really do come together with minimal effort. You can easily enjoy something a little extra even if you’re keepin’ your saturday low key.

Weekend Waffles with Raspberry Orange Syrup

Inspired by the First Mess Easy Gluten-Free Waffles

THE WAFFLES

• 1 cup almond flour

• 1 1/2 cups gluten free oats

• 1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

• 2 teaspoons arrowroot powder

• 2 teaspoons baking powder

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt

• 3 tablespoons ground flaxseed

• 1 large ripe banana, mashed

• 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk

• 2 tablespoons liquid virgin coconut oil

• 1 tablespoon maple syrup

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

THE SYRUP

• 1/3 cup maple syrup

• 1/2 cup raspberries

• juice of 1/2 an orange

• zest of 1/2 an orange

For the waffles, combine the almond flour, oat flour, shredded coconut, baking powder, arrowroot powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk together and set aside.

Using a large food processor or blender, combine the ground flaxseed, mashed banana, almond milk, coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla for about one minute. The goal here is to activate the flaxseed’s gelling power to make sure that the batter stays together when it cooks. e syrup

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and allow to set for 15 minutes. Meanwhile heat a waffle iron to medium-high.

After the 15 minutes have passed and your waffle iron is hot and ready, grease the iron with some coconut oil using a pastry brush. Scoop 1/2 -3/4 cup batter (depending on the size of your iron) into the center of your iron and close the lid. Remove the waffles once they are golden brown on both sides.

For the syrup, combine the maple syrup, raspberries, orange juice, and orange zest in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. As soon as mixture begins to boil, lower the heat to a simmer. Allow the mixture to simmer for about 5 minutes or until it becomes thicker. Smash the raspberries periodically to ensure that they are fully incorporated into the syrup.

As soon as the waffles are finished top with fruit, nut butters, yogurt, and a much raspberry orange syrup you desire.