Before we dig into this showpiece of a sweet bowl, I wanted to share a little feature that I started on my instagram this month. I simply call it March Favorites. It’s a curated list of seasonal favorites that I will share each month. Things that I wear or use and ingredients that we cook with. And since it’s a new thing, I included it here as well. As a sort of inspiration.
/Luise
M A R C H F A V O R I T E S
• Golden milk & raw honey. To warm me up in this cold weather. Here is a recipe.
• Ginger root. We grate ginger over everything at the moment to keep our immune system strong and because almost all food and drinks just taste better with lots of ginger.
• Beet & red cabbage kraut. This little bubbly friend is soon ready! Fermented food is your superfood number one! The recipe is from our book Green Kitchen at Home but another one is here.
• Socks. Stockholm has been too cold this month so I’m walking around in these super soft Alpaca wool socks that David’s friend in London makes.
• Kale flower sprouts. A pretty looking mashup of two of my favorite ingredients – kale och brussels sprouts. These are great to roast as they get super crispy.
• Dried apple rings. We have been making our own apple rings lately and the kids love them for snacking. We’ll share a recipe later. A good alternative to deep-fried chips and candy .
• Rings. I’ve always loved wearing rings. Some of my favorites come from designer Caroline Hjerpe who has her shop dangerously close to our apartment on Södermalm.
• Been treating my dry skin with this face oil and toner from Bare Origin Skin.
• More moist for my face with this fermented coconut juice face sheet mask with collagen from Miqura.
• David made these raw carrot cake bars for our road trip to Denmark last week. So good with lots of ginger and spices.
• As a different form of meditation I have started drawing in a coloring book in the evenings. It helps me stress down after the intensity from three little ones and it’s more calming and satisfying than scrolling on social media. I like these illustrated coloring books for adults from Johanna Basford.
Okay, let’s get on with this chia bowl. First, start by pressing play on this short little recipe video below.
It’s still very cold here in Scandinavia which means that we’re relying on our freezer for much of the produce, fruit and berries we use. Luckily we have stocked up on lots of wild Swedish blueberries. They have this intense blue/purple colour and fresh tangy flavor and we use them to flavor smoothies, porridges and chia pudding. We pair blueberries with cardamom because they are Best Friends Forever. And we top this blueberry chia with something David once called a “Banana & Sesame Thingy” on his instagram, but “Sesame Brittle” feels like a more suiting name. It’s crunchy and sweet (with a sting of ginger) and works so well with quick-heated bananas. There is also some creamy yogurt, rich nut butter and a sprinkling of dark chocolate on top of the bowl. We make this both as breakfast and dessert. Skipping the chocolate for breakfast and keeping it a little sweeter for dessert. We’ve served it in a large bowl to share here but you can of course also scoop it up in two smaller individual bowls instead.
Blueberry Chia Bowl with Warm Banana and Sesame Brittle
Serves 2
Notes: If you want to make this as a breakfast, you can stir in some oats and some extra liquid and leave it in the fridge overnight (add the topping in the morning).
Since the topping is quite sweet, we don’t sweeten our chia pudding. You can use rice milk or add a splash of maple syrup if you prefer it sweeter.
Blueberry Chia Pudding
70 g / 1/2 cup frozen wild blueberries, thawed (or other berries)
1 cup plant milk (or regular milk)
3 tbsp chia seeds
1 tsp freshly ground cardamom
A tiny pinch salt
Topping
1 banana, peeled and sliced lengthwise
1 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp freshly grated ginger
2 tbsp sunflower seeds
2 tbsp sesame seeds
1 small handful walnuts, lightly crushed
4 tbsp Greek yogurt (or coconut yogurt)
2 tbsp nut butter or tahini
30 g / 1 oz dark chocolate
Mash the blueberries with a fork. Add milk, chia seeds, cardamom and salt and whisk until combined. Let sit for 20 minutes, stirring one or twice midway through. Meanwhile prepare the topping. Heat coconut oil and maple syrup in a skillet and grate in some fresh ginger. Stir in the seeds and walnuts and let sit for just a minute. Make room in the centre of the skillet and place the banana slices there. Heat for just a minute on each side. If the skillet looks dry, add a little extra oil or syrup.
Pour the chia pudding into one large or two smaller bowls. Add yogurt to the bowl and arrange the bananas in the middle. Drizzle the sesame brittle over the bananas, add a drizzle of nut butter and sprinkle over chocolate.
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