So we finally had an almost sunny day yesterday and I’m so hopeful that it means all the Spring feels are finally going to start soon. Honestly, can we just get a little sunshine around here???

Well the weather is making me really miss the flowers. That was actually one of my favorite things about the house we lived in in Chile, the backyard had so many varieties of flowers that bloomed all through the spring and summer season. It probably got me a little to be spoiled to using them in my food photography and even sometimes in recipes. Did you know most flowers are edible?

I know the area I live in now has some really pretty flowers but with the temperature being so stubborn it feels like I may never see them. I’ve had to resort to buying them from the grocery and, oh my goodness, why are flowers so expensive? I’m sure any florist would disagree, but it just seems like a few little flowers shouldn’t be so pricey. So clearly when you spend money on something that serves no other purpose than to look and smell pretty, you’re definitely going to take advantage right? So um, you should expect to see lots of them.

Okay, but flowers aside, do you remember those cookie dough bars I made a few days ago? Well I decided I wanted to roll part of my most recent batch into tiny little cookie dough bites and use the mini-sized chocolate chips in them too. In case you haven’t noticed I have a major love for anything and everything miniature. The cuteness factor gets me every time!

And speaking of cute, nothing gives me quite the same pleasure as creating vibrantly colored healthy treats like this. I mean, why use artificial colorings when nature is so full of natural ones?

Also, I’ve been playing around a lot recently with chia seeds because (funny story), my dad seems to think I really like them and has brought me at least 3 giant bags of them. I mean, I do really like them but it’s probably going to take me months to go through so many so I’ve been trying to get a head start.

This recipe makes enough for either 2 large servings or up to 4 smaller servings but you can just decide based on how you want to serve them. Jars, glasses, bowls, or whatever you’d like, all will work for these. I would recommend glass of course, because then you can see all the pretty layers, but that’s not a hundred percent necessary. Oh, and obviously neither are flowers, those are just pretty to look at.

Alright, so these make a great breakfast, especially if you prep everything the night before so you can quickly assemble them in the morning. They’re also good as a snack during the day or even as a dessert. Oh, and one last note; if you’re not into the texture of chia pudding (truthfully it’s not my favorite), then just blend it smooth after it’s thickened and before you make the smoothie layer. P.S. no need to wash the blender in between.

Goji Berry Banana Chia Breakfast Jars

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Yield: 2-4 servings

Breakfast never looked so appealing! These pretty parfait jars have layers of creamy, fruity, and super healthy goodness!

Ingredients

Chia Pudding:

1/3 chia seeds
2 cups non-dairy milk (I use almond milk)
1 cup Greek style coconut yogurt (or regular Greek yogurt if not vegan)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons maple syrup (or other liquid sweetener)

Goji Berry+Banana Smoothie:

1 cup frozen mixed berries
2 medium bananas, peeled and frozen
1/4 cup goji berries (soaked for at least 2 hours in 1/4 cup water)
1/4 cup chia pudding (recipe above)

Optional Add-Ins:

1 medium banana, sliced
1/2 cup mixed berres
goji berries
vegan cookie dough balls (I used this recipe for cookie dough protein bars, but rolled it into tiny balls and used mini vegan chocolate chips instead of chunks.)
cocoa nibs
granola

Instructions

Chia Pudding:

Stir together the ingredients for the chia pudding in a small bowl or container and allow it to thicken in the fridge for at least 5 hours.

Goji Berry+Banana Smoothie:

Add the soaked goji berries (and the water they soaked in) to a blender or food processor along with the lemon juice, 1/4 cup of the prepared chia pudding, and the maple syrup. Blend until smooth then add the frozen berries and banana. Blend until you have a very thick icecream-like mixture.

Jars:

Layer the chia pudding with the smoothie and desired add-ins in jars or bowls. (I like to layer all the goji berries and sometimes granola or cocoa nibs throughout so you can get the crunch.)

For more great food ideas, please do not forget to look at my other recent food posts

1. Chocolate Fudge Brownies with a Secret
2. Dark Chocolate Covered Espresso Bean Mini Loaves
3. Homemade Sushi with Salmon
4. Jamaican Jerk Chicken Plates + Mango Salsa
5. Chocolate Chunk Cookie Dough Protein Bars
6. Ricotta Lemon Pancakes+Whipped Honey Butter
7. Asparagus & Feta Puff Pastry Tarts
8. All The Chunks Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies - VIDEO
9. Lavender Vanilla Bean French Beignets
10. Super Moist Malted Milk Chocolate Chip Bunny Cake

ALL CONTENT IS MINE AND ORIGINAL! All of these food photos were taken with my Nikon D750 and my favorite Lens, the Nikon AF-S FX NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8G. You can find out more in my INTRO POST.

And, by the way, to all the minnows out there, my intro post did a huge $0.21. The key to success on Steemit is to be consistent and persistent. Click on the link below for some great tutorials on how you can also succeed on the steem blockchain:

Master Toolkit: Steemit Resource Guide Illustrated by @sndbox

Also, a huge shoutout to @rigaronib for designing my logo!

Do you want to learn more about me? Click here to see a recent @wadepaterson interview with me - 20 questions with @gringalicious