Chia Fruit Breakfast Parfait

Morning in Puerto Rico

Greetings, Cook's Tour Readers!

Banana Bread (not ready for prime time)

I hope you are all doing OK during these stressful times. If you’re like me, you might be looking for new recipes to try while sequestered at home. During the last week, I’ve made a tried-and-true cookie, a brand new banana bread (that I wasn’t entirely happy with so I won’t share with you just yet), and this quick, easy, and tasty breakfast parfait. 

Chocolate Almond (GF) Shortbread Cookies

Before the corona virus pandemic, we were lucky enough to spend a week sailing the gorgeous British Virgin Islands. Our chef for the week (the Captain’s wife, Lesley) wowed us every day with fabulous meals, while Captain Mike steered the catamaran to various beautiful coves (and plied us with terrific cocktails in the evening) where we whiled away the day snorkeling, swimming, reading, or just relaxing. It was heavenly. 

Light lunch, day 1, aboard Exta-Sea

Tuna Poke with avocado, edamame, cucs, carrots

Good morning from Leinster Bay!

I absolutely loved the breakfast parfait she served one morning, and I couldn’t wait to reproduce it at home. I had never used chia seeds before but knew they supposedly had excellent health benefits. Here’s a reprint from Harvard with some great info on chia seeds. 

Now that I see the benefits and how easy they are to use, I will be exploring other ways to incorporate them into our diet. For now, I’m loving this parfait, topped with fresh pineapple, mango, blueberries, and bananas. 

I leave you with these thoughts: stay well, stay vigilant, practice “physical” distancing. Stay in touch with “your people,” help those that need it. As the great Maya Angelou said, “every storm runs out of rain.” We will get through this.

Chia Fruit Breakfast Parfait (Lesley Blanchard)

1 can coconut milk

1/4 cup chia seeds

1 tsp vanilla essence

sweetener of choice to taste (I use generous 1 TB honey)

Mix together and refrigerate overnight. 

Spoon some chia cream in the bottom of a glass, add fresh fruit of choice, top with another dollop of chia cream. Enjoy!